Doyle Watson, DVM, has eyes full of mirth as he recalls how his daughter, Carly Watson Tobler, came to work alongside him at Simmons & Associates, a south Georgia-based veterinary practice broker. “She called me up one day begging to come work for me,” he says. He pauses with his mouth slightly ajar in a half smile, waiting for Carly to react to his teasing, but she instead shoots him a long suffering look—which feels like it’s employed often—and Dr. Watson’s chuckle echoes his apparent amusement.
“I’m kidding, of course,” Dr. Watson concedes, still smiling. “I wanted her to come work at Simmons. She’s got an incredible mind for business, and she’s my daughter. I was the one doing the begging.”
Carly is the eldest of two daughters Dr. Watson shares with his wife of 43 years, Lee. At Simmons & Associates, Carly collaborates with her father on long-range visioning and planning for the parent company, which serves veterinarians in all 50 states and Canada. But her most rewarding work, she says, is working with veterinarians in the four states that make up the Simmons Southeast footprint as the Vice President of Sales.
In this role, she works with veterinarians in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida who are ready to begin the process of purchasing, valuing or selling their practices. “I enjoy helping veterinarians find the practice of their dreams or exit their practice in the most seamless manner possible,” says Carly, a Stetson University alum. “I’ve formed some fun and very meaningful relationships over the years, and they go beyond just the transaction—we truly become our clients’ partners for the long haul, and many times, great friends.”
Founded in 1977 by Jerry Simmons, DVM, Simmons & Associates was the first national veterinary practice broker in North America, perhaps even the world. When Dr. Watson was ready to sell his practice on St. Simons Island, Ga., he tasked Dr. Simmons with the transaction. At the time, Dr. Watson owned three practices in southeast Georgia and was increasingly devoting his time to his veterinary publication, Veterinary Forum, which he began publishing in the early 1980s to fill the need for a place where doctors could read candid clinical articles and communicate staffing and other needs via national classifieds.
It was through Veterinary Forum that Dr. Simmons connected with Dr. Watson and eventually asked him to join him as a partner to develop the business on the eastern seaboard. Under Simmons’ training, Dr. Watson discovered he had a passion for the business side of veterinary medicine.
“I learned more and more as I went along,” Dr. Watson recalls. “I took courses in business appraisal from several different institutions, and I got to know the instructors. If I had a question, I would just call them for information. Over the years, I developed a very specific way of determining the value and salability of a veterinary practice—it’s not exactly the same as other businesses, or even other practices like dental or human medical.”
This innovative, veterinarian-to-veterinarian approach to valuing and selling practices quickly earned Simmons & Associates the trust, respect, and attention of doctors and veterinary organizations across the United States.
In addition to writing articles in Veterinary Forum, Dr. Watson soon began speaking on practice appraisals at various conferences to help practice owners understand how their operations could impact their market value when it came time to sell. His wife Lee would join him with their two daughters, selling ads for Veterinary Forum and bringing up Carly and her sister, Evan, in the industry they would one day work in together with their father.
“It’s neat—Mom will often come with me or Carly to conferences still,” says Evan Watson, who assists Carly with corporate transactions and business development for Simmons Southeast. “People who remember her from when she traveled with my dad will come visit, and it just feels like old friends catching up.” “Doyle was—and likely still is—an excellent and entertaining speaker,” adds Ralph Huber, Business Development Specialist at the FVMA. “He was always on hand to lend advice and often, when I was in a pinch, filled in when other speakers suddenly dropped out of the event.”
Around the time Dr. Watson began traveling and speaking more, Dr. Simmons approached Dr. Watson about taking over the company. Dr. Simmons wanted to return to clinical practice, and Dr. Watson had clearly demonstrated he was devoted to helping practice owners financially succeed through the business.
By the late 1980s, Dr. Watson had became sole owner of Simmons & Associates and hired a full-time editor to take the helm at Veterinary Forum. Seeing the benefit of localized expertise and relationships, he implemented a license model for the company, bringing on and training other veterinary leaders from all over the United States to off er services regionally through Simmons & Associates. Th is model has continued to expand over the years, today encompassing 12 territories serving all 50 states and Canada.
As the landscape for veterinary practice ownership has changed dramatically over the years, Simmons & Associates has stayed true to its original creed of “veterinarians first.” As Dr. Watson puts it: “We are here to help veterinarians—period.”
“I think there’s a lot of concern over the future of private medicine, and serving the profession in a way that helps alleviate that concern is important to us,” Carly says. “We also talk to many owners who are seeking a corporate buyer, and we want to help them secure their future in the way that benefits them and their families foremost.
“Our clients set the desired destination, and we serve as their GPS. We’ve been around long enough to have experienced the full gamut when it comes to practice transactions and can anticipate the typical roadblocks, delays, and hazards that other brokers simply cannot.”
Serving in various roles at the FVMA over the past 22 years, Huber has had the opportunity to work many times with Simmons & Associates and counts Dr. Watson as both a professional partner, mentor, and friend. “He has a long history of being the guy you can count on to support and contribute to not only my own success but also that of the FVMA and its programs and events,” Huber adds. “Simmons is a trusted industry partner, and his daughter, Carly, has followed in her father’s footsteps.” Simmons & Associates is the foremost veterinary practice appraiser and broker in the U.S. and is dedicated to serving veterinarians in Florida. Have questions about your practice future? Call (912) 638-6578 for a confidential, no-obligation conversation.
