Dr Remona Horn's boutique talent

Dr Remona Horn was happy being a locum vet, until COVID forced her to dream up her ideal boutique veterinary practice.

  5.5 minutes

One of the lovely benefits of being a locum vet is popularity. “I really enjoyed being a locum because everyone is always super excited and happy for you to be there because they’ve got someone to help them out,” says Dr Remona Horn. Add to that the flexibility to travel to, say, South Africa where Dr Horn’s family live, and it’s fair to ask, why would you ever change?

“I think probably COVID was the trigger,” she admits. “If it wasn't for COVID, maybe I would have done something different. We used to travel back to South Africa twice a year, but with COVID and because it was still lockdown in Brisbane, we didn't have that opportunity. So, I thought, ‘We're stuck here, we might as well make something out of it’."

Owning a veterinary practice was never on her mind before that point. “I feel like I'm probably more of a ‘take it step-by-step’ person and then if the opportunity arises, I will jump on it or create an opportunity if I can't find one,” she explains. “So it played out that way but it definitely wasn't planned.”

Dr Horn initially trained at the University of Pretoria, working and researching in equine medicine, before her husband was offered a job in Brisbane. She applied for work at the University of Queensland in the university’s clinic and did that for a few years before moving into locum work.

“I think I've learned so much from being a locum vet because you pick up so many positive things from all the different places that you've been to,” she says. “I worked with 30 different clinics, so it's a great opportunity to really pick up on things that you like and that you can apply one day in your own practice.”

A local shop for local people

While Dr Horn was locked down in Brisbane, she started looking around for locations where she could establish a practice. She didn’t have to look far. She was living in Paddington, an affluent area not far from the city. “We didn’t have a vet in Paddington,” she explains. “And we have so many dogs in Paddington. There was definitely a gap in the market. And with COVID, everyone's moving more towards supporting the local community and really wanting to engage in the community. The people in Paddington really want to support a fellow Paddington business, which is pretty amazing.”

There were a few things on her must-have list for a property. It had to be on a busy street, so people could see and find it easily. It needed parking for clients. And importantly, she wanted to start it from scratch as a destination in its own right—not just new rooms where she could redirect the clients she had been seeing. “I really didn't want to take any of my existing clients from my locum work because I didn't feel like that was ethical,” she says. “So while I worked hard to attract new clients, my idea was to create something where there are other aspects of the business that can generate an income as well.”

Dr Horn started looking around and found the ideal property quite quickly. “And it just escalated from there,” she says. “Before you know it, everything's up and running.”

More than a clinic

PetKind Veterinary Wellness Boutique opened earlier this year, offering both veterinary services along with a retail outlet and grooming service. “It creates that experience for the owners coming in,” says Dr Horn. “The reception we have set up in such a way that the waiting area is bigger compared to the rest of the clinic, and is more of a high-end store. People can just come in and shop and it can be a positive connection for the dog that, ‘I come and buy my treats here’. It's not associated with a negative experience for the pet.

“And then we have the grooming side of things as well. So if the vet calls in sick that day, the whole business is not standing still. The grooming side of things can still continue and then the boutique store can still continue as well.

“And the nice thing about the boutique is that it's also an online business. People are at home and they are spending more money on their pets. They like to buy their dogs a new jumper or a new bed or toy. It gives us those different streams of income.”

Focusing on the business of starting a practice has been rewarding for Dr Horn as well. “I really enjoy the business side of things. Both my partner and I are very business minded. I think that it's good to be educated in that side of things. I love to be successful, and I think to be successful, you need to be educated and think of different ways to generate money.”

That approach also leads to a more satisfying experience in dealing with the veterinary clients. “We have a slightly different approach because our consults are a little bit longer instead of other practices where it's 15 minutes. We do 20 or 30 minutes, which means you’re doing a better job as a vet. But you also generate more money because you can actually go through everything with that client and touch on various things that you would have missed in 15 minutes. You generate more money and the client is more satisfied. And I feel like I'm not as stressed, I have enough time to do my notes. I have enough time to take bloods.”

Making it better

When it came to financing the new practice, the choice was quite easy. Dr Horn had organised a car loan through BOQ Specialist when she first came to Australia, and a home loan later on, so they were the natural choice when it came to her commercial finance needs.

“We called up Colin Taylor when we had the idea to open the clinic, and met up with him before we started looking into anything,” says Dr Horn. “He was really reassuring because obviously it's a big job going from being a locum to starting something from scratch where you don't have a single client. People might think you're mad. But we just had a chat to get a feel for what the future would look like if we did decide to go ahead.”

Now that PetKind Veterinary Wellness Boutique is up and running, Dr Horn is working towards making it her ideal practice—not just in business terms, but for everyone involved.

“It's nice to have that stability your own practice brings, and then to take all of those positive attributes from all the different places I’ve been and try and incorporate that into my own place and really make it successful. I think the one sad thing about the industry is that it's currently one where a lot of people leave. I thought about how we can possibly turn this around and make it a positive experience for everyone in that ecosystem, whether it's the receptionist or the nurse or the vet or the client or the animal that comes in. And still make it a profitable business. That's the hard thing, finding that fine balance where you make it a positive experience where everyone wants to be there, but still a business at the end of the day and a profitable one.”

Thinking about starting or growing your veterinary practice? BOQ Specialist provides tailored veterinary practice finance solutions for setting up a practice

Ready to take the next step? Contact us to find out how we can tailor a practice finance solution for you, or call us on 1300 160 160.