I was really lucky in my first job. I was paid well and I worked my butt off for it. It was a crazy busy practice. I started on the award and within 3 months I was given a 10% pay increase. 9 months later, I was given a 25% pay increase. The after hours was so busy that I added close to another 5 figures to my income.
For my second job, I negotiated a pay increase and it was another crazy busy practice. I left that job pretty quickly as there were aspects I really didn’t enjoy. I found a quieter practice where I had time to think, I had good support but I took a 10% reduction in pay for this job. They couldn’t afford to pay more and if it was a practice that didn’t have split shifts and didn’t transfer the phone lines for 4 practices to my mobile so I had to answer every call after closing, I was happy to take the pay cut.
It was a great practice. I worked with very supportive vets and I learned so much. However, the practice struggled with good profitability. They were doing ok but I believe they could have done better.
Why?
Everybody got a great deal. Everybody was looked after. A missed charged here, a smaller charge there. The clients had been with the practice for so long, you felt guilty for charging them. They were like family.
The problem was that doing a good deal for everyone significantly impacted the turnover and the profitability of the practice.
I remember wanting to go to a week long conference but I couldn’t afford to pay for it myself. I asked if the clinic could pay for it and they did but as I was given the cheque, I was told to never expect this again. I remember feeling so guilty for asking and so frustrated that I couldn’t afford to pay for it myself.
I left that practice after 2.5 years to move to the UK for work. When I left, my salary was 10% more than when I left my first job. That was my first lesson. I recognised that by moving to a quieter and less profitable practice, I had impacted my earning ability.
I remember having salary reviews and wanting to earn more but I had no idea of what I was being evaluated on.
Was it my skills? Of course.
My ability to build good relationships with clients? Of course.
How much I was bringing into the practice? Of course. I didn’t have access to these figures or understand them anyway.
I wasn’t a good negotiator and I was brought up to believe that if you worked hard, you would be rewarded. That was certainly true in my first practice but it didn’t translate in my second.
I get it now. If the practice isn’t profitable, there isn’t any spare money to pay you more. The owners have to protect their asset, which is the business and their investment in that business.
In the following years, I began to understand more about valuing my skills, being a good communicator with clients and building relationships.
I still found negotiating my salary frustrating. How did being great with clients and a good employee translate to more income? It was so subjective and depended on when I asked, how busy the previous few months had been and the owners mood.
It all changed when I was working at a practice after having children. I was told I had to invoice a certain amount to cover my costs. I was indignant! How dare my worth be solely evaluate by my turnover. I couldn’t dictate what clients were willing to pay. What about the clients who couldn’t afford what I recommended? I was quite annoyed. What about my skills and how good I was with clients?
But then everything changed. I started to look at what we invoiced for the day and I easily made the targets. I was sole charge so this was easy to see. I started to really look at what I was invoicing and I noticed what the other vet was charging for and not charging for when I saw revisits. There was a lot he wasn’t charging for. It started me thinking.
When my children were very young, I started to locum and I worked for a few different practices. I noticed the same thing. There was a lot of things that weren’t being charged for. To be honest, the practice owners were the worst. I get it. After I’d been in practice for years and had my good clients, I would feel guilty about charging them.
That’s when I saw what the problem was. We all moan about our salaries or lack of. Practice owners are very upset and frustrated by the lack of profitability of their practices, yet the veterinarians were giving so much away!
There are many reasons for missing charges or discounting:
- lack of confidence
- lack of time
- you are so busy that you forget to charge
- feeling guilty about the fees
- doing a good deal for a client
- clients getting upset
- underestimating surgery time
- devaluing your skills
What I found is that it’s not a massive amount. It’s as simple at $20 here and there but over the course of every day and every week, it adds up to a significant amount of lost turnover. This directly impacts your income and the practice’s turnover.
I talk about money all the time with my clients, business and associate clients. I talk about it as so many people are uncomfortable with it.
It’s just money! But it’s not about the money. It’s what the money gives you…
Fuel has just gone up to $1.70/l here in Brisbane. I use U98 so the fuel for my car is closer to $1.90/l!!! I have 2 kids in school. Steve and I are insured to the hilt just in case anything happens. It all costs a lot of money!
I look at all my personal and business expenses. My insurances increased by 5-10% this year. Fuel, electricity, rates and food have all increased. My business costs have increased.
My AVA membership has increased. CPD costs have increased.
What have you noticed over the last year in price rises? Have you noticed you are paying more?
You can’t afford to not be paid well! If your salary isn’t increasing, you are going backwards.
However, you can’t expect your practice to increase your salary every year just because it costs more to live. You have to present the business case to them. Show them how you are an asset to their practice and are covering the cost of employing you, plus more.
I started to work with veterinarians years ago on their income. I didn’t just show them where they are missing charges. I addressed the reasons it occurs. We worked on confidence, communication, building client relationships so they follow your recommendations, productivity and lastly we worked on salary negotiation.
There is only so many people I can work with individually so I created the Income Accelerator Program.
(*If your salary is evaluated by 20% of your turnover. Working 4 days/week, 46 weeks/year)
