Selling a Practice

Knowing the value of a Veterinary practice is a vital part of owning and running one. Knowing when to and then actually obtaining Veterinary practice valuations; however, can be complex and stressful. The experts at Omni Veterinary Practice Group understand how confusing the process can be and work hard to ensure as stress free experience, regardless of the reason for looking into valuations.
Common Reasons for Veterinary Practice Valuations
There are several reasons doctors need to know the value of their Veterinary practice. The most common reason is for Veterinary practice transitions or sales. Valuations help to determine if the asking price is reasonable, to figure out a reasonable asking price to begin with, and to ensure the practice is profitable enough to invest in; this is also important to know when considering a merger. Doctors should also get their practice valuated within ten years of retirement and every two years after for estate planning purposes. Therefore, it is important to make sure the valuation is not a cookie cutter process.
Rule of Thumb Should Not Apply
No two Veterinary practices are the same, so no two valuations should be the same. Often veterinary practice valuation are conducted using a rule of thumb method. The method does a major disservice to both the seller and the buyer, as it often does not highlight the practice’s uniqueness and how that influences the actual value of the practice in question. For a true valuation, many aspects of the practice must be taken into account and evaluated by experts with extensive formal training and resulting certifications, such as the experts at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group.
Experience Matters
When looking into Veterinary practice valuations, it is important to make sure the professionals have extensive experience performing said valuations. The team at Omni Veterinary Practice Group; example, have helped hundreds of doctors buy and sell their practices using accurate valuations based on the practice itself and are considered Veterinary industry experts in practice valuations.  As members of the Institute of Business Appraisers and the Practice Valuation Study Club, OMNI Veterinary Practice Group offers accurate and individualized valuations for Veterinary practices in Washington, Oregon, and California.
To learn more about why and how Veterinary practice valuations are conducted, or to request a free consultation in the Washington, Oregon, or California areas, please contact the expert staff at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group. OMNI’s team of experts are dedicated to ensuring each client’s success through transitions, valuations, consulting and other real estate services in the Veterinary field.

​The process of selling a Veterinary practice can be exceptionally challenging for those without experience in the practice transitions.  It’s a process that requires the leadership and guidance of an expert in the Veterinary practice field, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the steps involves in a business sale. The experts at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group have decades of experience helping practice sellers locate qualified buyers for a seamless business sale, and in this latest article, they explain the cons of completing a sale without a Veterinary practice broker.

The Seller May Not Receive Full Practice Value
A broker can help their client to achieve full value for the money they’ve placed into their business over the long-term. They can then work to obtain viable selling opportunities and to locate qualified buyers within the marketplace. Without this type of guidance, the seller may find their selling opportunities restricted.

Sellers are unable to Handle the Legal Aspects Alone
The legal aspect of a practice transition is often a critical element within the Veterinary practice sale process. Buyers will have their lawyers review the business’s paperwork and any issues they find must be analyzed closely by experts in the legal field. Brokers often have significant legal experience or have a legal team on their side and can help handle any challenges that arise during the transition process, while keeping the seller’s needs as the foremost consideration. The broker will be available at any time via phone or email to answer the seller’s questions and move the transaction process along. This can help prevent the seller from making poor choices and becoming embroiled in legal challenges.

The Seller Doesn’t Have Marketing Experience
When bringing a Veterinary practice to the marketplace, the seller must be able to highlight the advantages of their business in a way that attracts qualified buyers. Brokers are often experts in this area. They can use their experience to craft compelling marketing materials for the seller and use their experience in the marketplace to build target buyer lists and send out high-value content to these buyer lists.

​Sellers Cannot Handle Mediation with Buyers Alone
The buyer will likely have a lawyer driving their purchase process. The lawyer will be negotiating with the seller on all elements of the transaction, including the final price. Having a broker on-hand during this process ensures the broker can handle all mediation, negotiating on the seller’s behalf to get the right price and the ideal structure for the purchase.
Working with a qualified broker can help Veterinary practice sellers reduce their transaction challenges and secure a seamless sale. To learn more, speak with the team at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group at 877.866.6053 or visit their business website at www.omnipg-vet.com.

By planning their transition carefully and working with a trusted broker in the Veterinary practice marketplace, practice sellers can ensure each element of the process is completed smoothly. But first it’s important to learn more on the types of Veterinary practice transitions available for those considering a sale. In this article, the team at OMNI Practice Group explains the processes involved in several types of Veterinary practice transitions.

Partnership
Selling a portion of your practice via a partnership has its own pros and cons.  One of the pros is that if you can find a partner with similar interests and philosophies as well as a set of skills that enhances your practice and you get along well, you’ve found a winner.  The cons are that those types are difficult to find.  The ADA states that 70% of partnerships fail.  However, if done right using experts in partnerships, you can have a successful and happy partnership transition.

Walk Away Sale
A walk away sale involves the seller removing themselves and their business interests from the practice the moment the sale is completed. This could be ideal for those in the process of retiring or relocating to a new area across the country. But sellers must analyze whether they truly want to walk away from the business they helped create. To complete a walk away sale effectively, sellers must tie up all loose ends many weeks before the buyer completes their transaction. This ensures a seamless handover process and allows the buyer to immediately enter the business with a fresh start.

Sell and Work Back
This can often be very gratifying.  The seller sells 100% of the practice, but stays to work as an employee in the practice.  The seller may cut back their hours, or may keep up the pace.  The seller and buyer work together and the seller may even mentor the buyer.  The seller no longer has any management responsibility or ownership.  He simply does clinical veterinary medicine.  As long as the two get along, this can work wonderfully.

​Customized Transition
Working with a Veterinary practice transaction broker can help sellers customize the sale according to their unique requirements. Brokers are experts in managing the transition process, from organizing the timing of asset sales to implementing buy back procedures once the sale has been completed. It’s important the company the seller works with has a full understanding of their business plans before they begin the transition process, as this will help reduce potential issues as the transaction is completed.
By having a clear understanding on the available Veterinary practice transition options, owners can ensure the right model is found for their sale process. To learn more, speak with the trusted team at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group at 877.866.6053.

When beginning the process of selling a Veterinary practice, it’s imperative to work with specialists who have experience in selling Veterinary practices. Experienced transaction brokers can help Veterinary practice owners streamline the sale and achieve their ideal return on investment. The team at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group are specialists in this industry, and in their latest article they highlight five benefits of selling a veterinary practice through their services.

1. They Are Marketing Specialists

Working with a trusted industry specialist such as OMNI Veterinary Practice Group gives sellers access to a wider array of market options. Because the company’s staff has significant experience in the marketplace, they know how to quickly locate qualified buyers and to promote the seller’s practice in high visibility markets.

1. They’re Experts in Business Transitions

The specialists at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group have many years of experience in business transitions. They’ve helped hundreds of sellers to achieve their ideal objectives through the selling of their Veterinary practice. This means they can guide sellers throughout the entire process, from finding qualified buyers to completing negotiations and due diligence alongside the buyer’s legal team.

1. Frees Up the Business Owner’s Time

The work of Omni Veterinary Practice Group helps to support business owners in running their organization throughout the negotiations. They won’t have to take time away from their business to review the marketplace or to deal directly with buyer negotiations. They can leave all the work to the team at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group. This also means that they can retain the value of their company throughout the transaction, helping to support the on-going growth of the company and meet the needs of their patients while OMNI Practice Group responds to all transition requirements.

1. They can Prepare the Business for Sale

Because of OMNI’s experience in the marketplace, they know what it takes to prepare a company for sale. They can pinpoint structural issues within a business and help the seller to eliminate these structural issues before the sale begins. They can also highlight the elements the buyer will be analyzing during their due diligence, and complete processes areas such as the completion of all equipment paperwork to ensure every part of the transaction is in place before the sale begins.

1. They Seamlessly Close Business Transactions

The length of time a business transaction takes to complete can have a significant impact on a business owner and their finances. The team at OMNI works to reduce the timeframe of the sale and streamline the closing process. They ensure each element of the sale is completed according to the seller’s timeframe, and help reduce closing costs to ensure optimal value for the business.
Specialists for the sale of Veterinary practice businesses, OMNI is committed to working with sellers across the marketplace in finding qualified buyers for their practice. To learn more on the company and their services, contact their office team today at 877.866.6053.

​We have talked about what buyer’s want in the practice, but here are some things that buyer’s hate to see.

1.  High overhead – even though it can be corrected, this is something Veterinary practice buyers often don’t have the vision or knowledge on how to correct.  Even in high producing practices, if the overhead is too high, the buyers freak out.

2.  No way to increase the practice production or income.  If you are doing everything from general checkups to emergency procedures you may be maxing out the practice.  I’m not saying it’s impossible to find the right Veterinary practice buyer, but if you’re doing all of the procedures, it can be a bit more challenging.

3.  Old practice from equipment to the shag green carpet and the orange laminate counters.  If it’s been 30 years since you have updated anything in the practice, don’t expect a premium price.

4.  Remote practice – A practice in a small town 3 hours from any major city is harder to sell than a practice in a desirable area.  Give yourselves 2 years to sell Veterinary practices in remote areas.

5.  Relatives working in the practice.  It’s okay to have a wife or child as an employee.  But if you have a wife, sister, daughter and son working in the practice and two of them will be leaving upon the close of the sale, you will have problems selling the Veterinary practice.

These are some of the things to look at as you get closer to retirement, or just want to transition out of your Veterinary practice.