Skip to Content (custom)

      9 Goal Ideas to Set for Your Practice in the New Year


      Whether or not you tend to be a habitual “resolution maker” each January, the start of a new year has a way of naturally getting us thinking about what lies on the horizon and how we’d like to see the months ahead shake out. If you find yourself musing about what 2025 has in store for your practice, January is the perfect time to outline the goals which will lay the foundation to ensure your vision becomes reality as the year unfolds.

      To help get your wheels turning, we’ve gathered 9 goal ideas guaranteed to help steer your practice’s ship towards success in 2025. Each of these recommendations can easily be tailored to fit the needs of your individual business and will truly come alive once you add your own color and pawsonality!
       

      1. Refresh your physical space

      image-for-physical-space-refresh-idea.png
      Making tangible, physical changes to your facility is a surefire way to help your clinic feel fresh and vibrant in the new year. Small-scale strategies could include rotating out tired art and décor, swapping faux plants out in favor of real ones, and giving the whole place a thorough cleaning so things start to sparkle again.

      Strategies with a mid-tier effort and investment level could look like upgrading and replacing the furniture in your lobby, or setting up a complimentary refreshment station with snacks and drinks for your customers and patients.

      Or, perhaps this is the year to “go all in.” A large-scale space-refresh mission could look like a complete remodel of your existing square footage, or exploring moving to a new space to better fit your plans. If a major overhaul is something you’re considering, reach out to your Patterson Veterinary representative to learn about Guiding Practice Success (GPS), our exclusive event which connects veterinarians looking to open a new practice or expand an existing business with all the information and resources they need to be able to see the process through from start to finish.
       

      2. Refresh your digital space

      image-for-digital-space-refresh-idea.png
      Just as it’s important to welcome your customers into a clean and well-kept physical space, it’s also vital to consider the way you present yourself digitally. When is the last time you’ve given your online presence some love? Make this the year to dive into all things digital.

      A great place to start could be a website refresh, as your website is often responsible for the first impression your practice will leave on a potential new client. Make sure your home page reflects your care philosophy and features recent photography and perhaps even video. Consider hosting a photoshoot for your team, so everyone can have an updated headshot and biography in your “about us” section. You may also consider adding a blog plug-in to your website and exploring content marketing.

      How is your social media presence looking? This is the perfect time of year to create and populate a content calendar, so you remember to stay active online, and give your community a reason to continue visiting and engaging with your accounts. Besides a social media audit, it would also be a great time to assess the state of your SEO efforts, any paid ad campaigns you may be running, and your online reputation management. Patterson’s “Practice Websites” can help you with a brand-new site and digital marketing tools tailored to your location and the level of competition in your market.
       

      3. Assess your equipment

      idea-for-bringing-in-new-equipment.png
      Nothing ruins the productivity and flow of a bustling veterinary practice day like a piece of equipment being down. You likely made significant financial investments when bringing equipment into your practice, so it makes sense to protect that investment to make sure that it serves you well both now and into the future. Treat your tech to a diagnostic visit from a member of our TechEdge service team. Specifically trained on veterinary equipment, our service technicians will keep your equipment running at peak performance – especially if you enroll in our preventative maintenance program.

      After taking stock of things, you may decide that 2025 is the year to introduce some new equipment into the mix. Being able to offer various rehabilitative therapies through modern technology like water treadmills and therapy lasers would certainly be a powerful strategy for setting yourself apart from your competitors. We offer simple and straightforward financing that’s worth exploring as you undertake your assessment of needs and wants.
       

      4. Get a better idea of your finances

      getting-a-handle-on-finances-idea.png
      Speaking of financing, the start of a new year provides a wonderful opportunity to wrap your arms around your practice’s financials. Would you like to increase your customer base by a certain percentage? Expand your pharmaceutical business by a particular dollar amount? Make progress towards recouping the return on investment (ROI) on a recent equipment purchase? In order to know where you want to head fiscally and be able to track your progress, you first must have a solid understanding of where you are!

      If you, like many veterinary health professionals, got into the industry because of a love of caring for furred and feathered friends, versus a love of crunching numbers, you’re not alone. And thankfully, there are many resources available to assist with the brass-tacks side of things. For example, as a part of our current course catalog, Patterson Veterinary Academy offers classes including "The Flow of Money and Revenue Management," "Expense Management," "The Finances of Human Resources," and more. Each of these courses has the added benefit of earning learners one hour of RACE approved CE credits.
       

      5. Help your team advance

      help-your-team-advance-idea.png
      What better way to ensure that 2025 takes your business in a positive direction, than by investing in one of your most precious resources: your people! Showing your team members how valuable they are through helping them advance in their careers will make them feel empowered, like their expertise matters to you and to the practice, and will likely also increase buy-in and decrease turnover.

      First, making time for one-on-one conversations with each of your team members to understand where their interests lie and where they see their career trajectory headed, will help you get a handle on how best to help them achieve their goals. From there, the options are plentiful…give team members the opportunity to represent your clinic at a large-scale industry conference like VMX, send them to a more local, hands-on training opportunity, or gift your team with a subscription to Patterson Veterinary Academy. A team subscription starts with access for 10 individual users, and there are three separate tracks to choose from to fit your varied needs: a clinical course track, a professional development track, and a management track.
       

      6. Attract new customers

      image-for-attracting-new-customers-idea.png
      Growing your patient and customer base is one way to directly expand your bottom line in the year to come. January is prime time to outline which strategies you’d like to employ in order to bring new business your way – and you can even work new year messaging into your marketing efforts! New year new customer specials, complimentary new year nail trims, $20.25 off your bill in the first few months of 2025 … the possibilities are endless.

      Some additional ideas include offering free clinic tours to prospective customers, making sure to send visitors home with a “doggy bag,” using window signage to advertise the offerings that set you apart from other clinics (Fear Free accreditation, rehabilitative therapies, grooming, boarding, etc.), and partnering with other local businesses on mutually beneficial cross-promotions.
       

      7. Get more involved in your local community

      idea-to-get-involved-in-your-community.png
      Getting more embedded in your local community accomplishes more than just increasing a sense of belonging. According to Beyond Indigo Pets CEO Kelly Baltzell, getting involved gives you opportunities to expand your network, solidify a positive reputation, give back, and win new clients.

      What might this look like, practically speaking? Let local Scout groups visit your clinic to earn their animal care badges. Present on various animal care topics at local elementary schools. Visit local dog parks and hand out flyers. Participate in local parades and festivals. Sponsor local events and charities. Consider spending an afternoon with your team at a local coffee shop and having a caffeine-fueled team brainstorm session.
       

      8. Get organized
      get-organized-idea.png

      It’s much harder to envision your practice’s fresh future, if your current space is bogged down with clutter and disorganization. The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to begin a new focus on organization and clutter reduction.

      One area that tends to be a big offender in the vet practice space? Paper! Consider ditching pesky paper stacks for paperless solutions where possible. Make your own payments electronically and encourage clients to do the same (VetHero Pay can help). Opt for a paperless check-in experience, paperless post-op care protocols, and paperless storage of OSHA-required safety data sheets through a service like AutoSDS.

      Another space that can easily fall into disarray is the pharmaceutical storage area. Besides impacting workflow and inventory management, this can present compliance issues. Maybe it’s time to explore some custom cabinetry to help with storage and access. Patterson-exclusive Luxé casework uses state-of-the-art design software so designers can create detailed layouts specifically for your space.
       

      9. Prioritize team wellness

      idea-to-prioritize-team-wellness.png
      For many, the start of a new year inspires feelings of renewal and hope. If, however, your team is already struggling with issues like burnout, compassion fatigue, or exhaustion, this may not be the case. A great goal for 2025 would be to prioritize the overall wellness of your veterinary team. According to Heidi Hulon, DVM, CCFP, MHFA, CPPP, there are eight dimensions of wellness that make each of us whole and fulfilled. Focusing on these elements of wellbeing will help you lead a happy and healthy life. Ranging from emotional wellness to physical and financial wellness, it is important to keep all eight in healthy balance.

      This page of our website will connect you with wellness-focused articles, webinars, and other industry resources (like Not One More Vet) to aid your team wellness journey. Making time and space for team members to connect with one another on a personal level is another smart strategy, and if you’d like additional guidance, Patterson Veterinary Academy offers a step-by-step guide on how to create an employee wellness program!


      We hope these nine goal ideas sparked inspiration, as you look to create the vision of what a successful and thriving 2025 looks like for you and your practice. Do you and your team set aside time to outline new goals every year? Any big ones we missed? What is something you’re looking forward to in 2025? Let us know in the comment section below, and best of luck to you goal-getters!

      If there is anything we can do to help bring your vision of success to life, reach out to your Patterson representative anytime.
      Share

      Related blogs

      February 13, 2025
      12 Punny Printable Veterinary Valentines
      Sure, a dozen roses would be NICE to receive on Valentine's Day, but wouldn't a dozen punny veterinary-themed valentines be a little more...meowmorable...for the quirky veterinary professionals in your life? 
      December 20, 2024
      Free Printable 2025 Veterinary Calendar
      It's here, it's here! The 2025 edition of our free printable calendar. As always, this year's calendar features a mix of need-to-know dates, industry-specific events, and just-for-fun callouts ... as well as a cute and colorful design that beckons you to print one for your practice.