Dr. Alexandra Mittner made a phone call that changed her life.
With ten years of experience as a DVM and a lifelong dream of opening her own hospital, the Traverse City veterinarian was eager to take the next leap in her career. Opportunity knocked when a friend stumbled upon an ad for PetSmart Veterinary Services and encouraged Dr. Mittner to look into it. After visiting the available PVS hospital in her local PetSmart, Dr. Mittner reached for her phone.
“I made the call, learned more about the PVS franchise model and quickly realized it could be the right path to ownership for me. The rest has truly been life changing in the best way.”
In the interview below, Dr. Mittner details how working with PVS helped her grow into her new business-owner shoes, quickly scale her hospital and soar to profitability within a few short months.
PVS: Why did you decide to open your own veterinary hospital? How were you working before becoming an owner?
Dr. Mittner: I always knew I wanted to own my own veterinary clinic. Before becoming an owner, I spent 10 years practicing as an associate veterinarian and building my medical knowledge.
When the PVS opportunity came along, I started by asking if financing would even be possible. Within about a week, I had an answer that they were willing to support me, and that gave me the confidence to seriously explore the franchise agreement and take the next step toward ownership.
What was the biggest challenge or difficulty in getting to opening day? What resources most helped you get there?
The biggest challenge was waiting for the hospital remodel to be completed and making sure all of the equipment and systems were ready for opening day. There are so many details that go into launching a hospital, and that waiting period can feel both exciting and stressful.
The financing provided through the PetSmart franchise model was a major resource, and our PetSmart Veterinary Business Consultant, Kyle, was incredibly helpful in guiding us through the process and making sure we were prepared to open successfully.
After six months, what has been the most rewarding part of ownership? The most challenging?
After six months, the most rewarding part of ownership has been the relationships we have built with our PetSmart store team, our community and local rescue groups. Every day, we are helping more people get the care their pets need, and it feels good to see the hospital becoming a trusted resource in our area.
The most challenging part has been adapting to the administrative side of ownership. As a doctor, my focus has always been on medicine and client relationships, so learning to balance patient care with business management has been the biggest adjustment.
Working directly with the PVS franchise team has made that transition much smoother. Their support has taken a lot of the burden off my shoulders, allowing me to stay focused on patient care, client relationships and building the kind of hospital I always wanted to lead.
How have your expectations changed over your first six months? How have you adjusted to any changes?
My expectations have changed in realizing how much goes into ownership beyond practicing medicine. I knew I was ready to lead a hospital, but I still had so much to learn about the business side.
Working directly with the PVS franchise team has made that transition much smoother. Their support has taken a lot of the burden off my shoulders, allowing me to stay focused on patient care, client relationships and building the kind of hospital I always wanted to lead. Having that guidance and structure behind us has helped me grow more confident as an owner over these first six months.
What have been some of the biggest surprises since opening your hospital? How have you responded to these?
One of the biggest surprises was how much organization matters before you ever see your first patient. The medicine is the part I knew well, but getting the software, workflows, equipment and daily operations organized was a bigger adjustment than I expected.
Again, the PVS franchise team really helped us here. They provided the structure, equipment, setup and guidance we needed to get started the right way. My advice to a new owner would be to focus on the tools PVS gives you, stay lean in the beginning and be willing to learn as you go.
How have you grown your client base? Has this been easier or more difficult than you anticipated?
We have grown our client base by being visible and intentional in our community outreach. Social media has helped, but our strongest growth has come from building relationships with local rescue groups and being willing to show up when pets and people need help.
Early on, we created rescue rates and reached out to rescue organizations to help fill our schedule while also supporting important work in our area. When you are starting with nothing but your veterinary degree, it is pretty incredible to suddenly have the tools, space and support to own and operate an entire hospital.
That is when giving back becomes fun. It reminds you why you entered this profession in the first place. When someone posts that a pet is hurt and they cannot find care, being able to step in, help and build trust in the community has been one of the most rewarding ways we have grown.
What aspects of the partnership with PetSmart have you found most beneficial?
The location has definitely been one of the greatest benefits of the PetSmart partnership. Many clients are happy to have veterinary care available in the store again, and the convenience of being connected to a place they already know and visit has helped us build trust quickly.
Being near other pet services, products and prescription diet options also makes the experience easier for clients and creates a more complete resource for pet owners in our community.
How has PVS support helped your hospital succeed or grow?
It’s one of the biggest reasons our hospital was able to open, grow and become profitable so quickly. The franchise model gave us the startup support, equipment, buildout, training, marketing guidance and business consulting that would have been overwhelming to manage alone.
Instead of building everything from scratch, we were able to step into a supported model that allowed us to stay lean, focus on patient care and start growing right away. Only six months in, we have a functioning hospital, a growing team, strong community relationships and a profitable business.
Ownership is still a lot of work, but PVS gave us the structure and support to move from a dream to a successful hospital much faster than we could have on our own.
As you look out to the next six months, what are you most looking forward to? Do you plan to add or change anything to your hospital?
I’m looking forward to continuing our fast-paced growth and staying busy. The hospital has gained momentum quickly, and it has been exciting to see the demand for care in our community.
This opportunity has truly been life-changing, and as we continue to grow, we hope to add more team members, including another associate veterinarian, so we can keep serving more pets and families.
Curious to see where your own story leads? Reach out to our Franchise team today.
