Mark your calendar!
Okay, okay, after weeks of answering with “late December or early January,” we have finally set a date and will open our doors on the second of January, 2008. “Why so long?” some of you will ask. Well, the reasons are numerous, and I assure you that this decision wasn’t made quickly.
Among the considerations we made when deciding to start our new year with a bang were:
- Even though construction will be finished prior to Christmas, our computer system and the networked lab and digital X-ray equipment won’t be installed until after all the dust has settled. While easy to use, these systems will be brand new to Dr. B (and at least some of our staff) and everybody needs a some time to train.
- As we began phone interviews for prospective staff members last week, we realized that it would be tough to change jobs without knowing specifically when you would be starting your new gig. In an effort to help our incoming teammates plan their own lives, we felt it was important to set a firm date, and we can say with certainty we’ll be ready to “go live” on the second.
- Once assembled, our team will need some time to get to know each other. No coach would field a team without some practice, either; we’ll spend the last several days of December “gelling” with each other as we move in, learn how everything works, and iron out any big kinks that arise so things run smoothly when we start to welcome guests.
- Opening up a brand new practice with no established clientele is much like throwing a party without knowing if anyone is actually going to show up! While we’re certain that we’ll win you over with our brand of service and top-quality care, we really aren’t up for the added anxiety of competing with the holidays for clients’ time.
- There’s something to be said—at least from a book-keeping standpoint—about starting our fiscal year on the first of the year.
- And, finally, there is the emotional aspect of opening our doors as the New Year dawns, a symbolic “fresh start” that will leave lives—not only ours, but those of our teammates, clients, and patients as well—changed for the better.
Believe me when I tell you that the wait will be as tough for us as it is for anyone. This dream has been five years in the making, and we can’t wait to see it come alive with a welcoming team, clients who are as infatuated with their pets as we are with our own, and dogs and cats of every age, color, shape, size, and breed. We look forward to meeting you in January!