Currently, news about the veterinary market can feel stressful. Veterinary visits are down (Kelly, 2025), and there are a multitude of ways suggested by experts to map, understand or manage the business cycle in individual practices (Neil et al. 2025), (Wom, 2025) or as an industry. As an associate, owner or veterinary team member, the headlines can make anyone feel stressed and worried about instability or job security. You might even feel paralyzed about making decisions, or like you want to avoid the headlines altogether.
Having ridden out good and bad economic times in practice and now supporting many businesses and executives as a coach and consultant, I can say there are tools and techniques to lean into to maintain your sanity and come out stronger than before.
Alignment is the First Step to Stop Panic
During times of uncertainty, most people feel the need to take three types of action: compare, try multiple things superficially or avoid all action entirely. These responses are just like our animals and how they react under stress in our practices, giving a side eye to the dog beside them in the waiting room, jumping all over the vet team, or cowering in the back of the cage pretending they are invisible. None of these responses are conducive to making good decisions. Keeping a cool head and ensuring you’ve reoriented yourself to your purpose allows you to clear your mind for stronger decision-making. Remember the purpose that you have as a clinic, team and individual. A great way to realign with this is to ask yourself a self-coaching question like, “What would I like every client I serve to know and feel?”
This self-coaching question can also be used at a team meeting to center your team, be posted on a whiteboard or can be used if you are feeling panicky at certain times.
Strategy Allows Purpose to Take Action
Once you’ve reminded yourself of the purpose you have as an individual, team or clinic, taking appropriate action is important. Without strategy and action or a leader who can show they have confidence in the path ahead, purpose feels impotent or futile. Strategy takes purpose and moves it into an actionable direction. Strategy also examines two critical items:
- Seeing opportunities amid challenges.
- Controlling what is controllable and influencing where possible.
As an individual or team member: Think about how you’d like the purpose you identified to be seen and known by others, like your team, clients, patients and colleagues. Here are two self-coaching questions to ask yourself:
- What are the tangible opportunities to show up with your purpose shining through or to make your purpose more visible to others?
- What do you have control and influence over that could help right now? What do you not have control over?
As a leader or clinic owner: A full strategic plan is ideal. At this economic inflection point, engaging expertise can be money well spent to develop a clear plan with action points rapidly and let you then get on with the things you do best. Strategists with veterinary expertise can help you quickly and without fuss. Even before taking this step as a business, having a leadership or team meeting to ask the same coaching questions listed above is an important first step.
You can also add in questions like, “How are we different from other clinics nearby?” Go beyond “high quality medicine,” “caring like family,” etc. Ask a few of your best clients what keeps them coming back to you or why they chose you over another clinic.
If an external strategist is not possible at this time, a sample plan could look like:
- Draft a single sentence purpose statement.
- Identify three things that your clinic different from others.
- Identify three actionable ways you can show your clients who you are.
- Draft your action plan for the next three months identify: Three things you’ll stop doing, three things you’ll start doing, and three things you’ll continue doing
Noise or Data?
Even after setting a strategy, it can feel very tempting to get into endless reviews of metrics or to change paths every week as soon as you see a new article or hear what others are trying.
You might even have some naysayers on your team! If you want to waste less time and see more gains and confidence, spend time aligning on your strategy and action plan and then turn down the noise. For an individual or self-directed clinic strategy, I suggest choosing five metrics that really tell you how you or your business are doing, metrics that are easy to pull quickly and regularly.
Set a meeting monthly for the next few months and check progress against the metrics and plan you set out. Did you do what you said you would do? Are you seeing any progress? Even if it is a board meeting or team meeting of one person as an individual, make sure you schedule it and prioritize it.
Double Down on Supports
During times of high stress, you know that your team will need calm leadership. You’ll also likely experience more dysregulation as you ride the wave of economic uncertainty. This is the time to ensure you have clear ways to regulate yourself, doubling down on activities that calm you, keep you grounded and support you being the best version of yourself.
The “Inspire by FVMA” program can be utilized for this exact purpose, to provide support through targeted counselling and coaching. Veterinary team members in Florida can take advantage of up to three free counseling sessions, and these can be excellent ways to access support in times of stress or as a preventive method to ensure you don’t end up in crisis. Your team may also need more support if they are feeling uncertain, so directing them to visit the “Inspire by FVMA” webpage is a way to support everyone.
Here are some self-coaching questions to consider:
- What would help support my resilience today?
- Who can I turn to for support?
Conclusion
Ultimately, veterinary teams are going to go through economic and local uncertainty, just as they have for as long as veterinary clinics have been private businesses. Getting clear on your purpose, creating an actionable strategy, measuring that plan and taking good care of yourself and your team are ways that smart veterinary professionals are thriving.
Showing that you’re thinking about these questions amid the noise of news and uncertainty is a way to show your colleagues and team that you are available for honest conversations and cohesion. You might not know exactly what will happen next, but no matter the economy, the unique way you serve is more important than ever to show everyone in the workplace and profession.
Dr. Melanie Barham is a veterinarian, and holds an MBA in Sustainable Commerce, a project management designation, and a coaching certification in conflict, business and career coaching. Melanie has led multiple national and international companies and charities, growing teams and scaling operations. She supports businesses and leaders in growing with purpose through coaching, strategic planning, and training at her company MKB Strategic Consulting Ltd. Melanie is a coach with the FVMA Inspire program, and resides in Canada with her family.