By the time Garry Gotfredson found Sterling in Glendale, CA, he had practically worked himself into the dirt.

"Three years ago, when I decided to open my own veterinary practice, I knew I was in for an uphill battle. I was competing against a large 12-doctor clinic in my area plus a smaller one. But I also knew I could outwork anybody, and I was right. We grew like crazy, but the 7-day-a-week schedule exhausted my soul and contributed to the end of my marriage. Fear of failure, though, kept me going.

"I couldn’t keep up even after hiring an associate. There was no time for managing the staff, who thought I should personally handle every little thing that came up.

"One day, for instance, while I was knee-deep in surgery, an employee interrupted me to talk to a Yellow Pages salesman. Another asked me to call a client and let him know his prescription was refillable. To make matters worse, when clients called in about their sick animals, the staff recommended home remedies rather than scheduling appointments. They weren’t accountable for their positions or the condition of the practice.

"The money was coming in but we didn’t know what to do with it. Should we hire somebody? How could we free up my time? How should we manage the practice? These were the questions we faced when, after working myself into the dirt, I became a Sterling client.

"Sterling helped us recognize exactly what was going on organizationally and how to deal with it. They trained us on managing the practice and then came out and trained the staff to be accountable for their jobs. As part of the program, we implemented an employee bonus system based on our reaching practice-wide goals. Now the staff are focused on productivity—theirs and the other staff’s—so they can get bigger bonuses.

"My wife Nicole and I also took Sterling’s communications course to better interact with staff and clients. One success we had was in dealing with a staff bully who was stealing medication from the clinic. Using what we learned on the communications course, Nicole and I met with her to dismiss her. We weren’t nervous, stayed in control of the conversation, gave her a final paycheck and that was that.

"Even more meaningful is that we bought a house, and now I actually have some free time to spend with the family. I take off one day a week plus vacations. And despite working fewer hours, our collections continue to reach best-ever levels. This winter, Nicole and I plan to take a month off and when I return, I’ll fill in at the clinic doing more of the procedures I like and growing the business. While things may not be perfect, we’re making good progress.

"Sterling helped us define our vision for the practice and then taught us how to achieve it."

Garry Gotfredson, DVM