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| Missouri Small Business
Development Centers ... your success is our business |
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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Entrepreneur Archive:
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| Dr. Debbie Leach (left) prepares to see her next patient while veterinary technician Deb Tolentino (center) and office manager Patti Clark verify data accuracy on the computer. |
She's always had a love for animals. The path that love has taken to this latest entrepreneurial stage is a long and circuitous one.
Debbie and her first husband made their home in northwest Arkansas, raising two children and making the best of life for 10 years. But life dealt the family a bad hand in 1988, when her husband died suddenly in an automobile accident. His passing left a void in the hearts of the grieving family members. It also slashed the household income by nearly three-fourths.
At the time Debbie's work at the Bentonville, Ark., headquarters of Wal-Mart was demanding, but for a single mother with only a high school diploma, it wasn't going to sustain her family for the long haul. She needed something better and to achieve it Debbie knew she needed the education she had never been encouraged to pursue.
She started college in the fall of 1989, majoring in poultry science. That led her to the study of poultry genetics. Debbie was bright, hard-working and motivated. Her professors recognized her talents and abilities, and encouraged her to stretch her professional horizons as far a possible.
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| A conure, one of the guests at My Zoo, takes advantage of a digital perch supplied by Deb Tolentino. Conures are a type of parakeet native to Central and South America. |
While studying as an undergraduate Debbie met and married her current husband and during her senior year at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville they had a child. The following year Debbie and her family uprooted themselves from the familiarity of northwest Arkansas and moved to Columbia, Mo., so Debbie could pursue her passion and enroll in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri.
Upon graduation from the vet school in 1998, Dr. Debbie devoted most of her professional efforts to large animals, though she also worked periodically with small animals. Within two years her focus had evolved exclusively to small animals after opportunity presented her with full-time work at the Noah's Ark vet clinic.
Right around that same time she got the urge to explore options for starting her own clinic. She attended an initial training session run by the local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). That's how she met Nick Arends, a business development counselor with the University of Missouri Extension.
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| Dr. Debbie smoothes the coat and soothes the fears of a furry rex rabbit. The breed originated in France in the early 20th century and served as the inspiration for the children’s classic story character “The Velveteen Rabbit.” |
"That introductory meeting was at the Boone County Public Library," recalls Dr. Debbie. "It was either then or shortly afterward that I met Nick. He's been a fantastic resource and great cheerleader for me during the past five years."
During those five years Dr. Debbie methodically developed and nurtured her dream of opening her own clinic. While working full time and raising a family she also gradually took the steps necessary to start a business.
"Nick helped me develop a detailed business plan and get the numbers to flow," Dr. Debbie says. "The bank said yes (to her loan request), but the big hang-up was the purchase of the property."
She knew she wanted to locate her clinic in the growing business and residential corridor in the north central part of Columbia along Rangeline Road, where she targeted a specific two-acre piece of land. The problem in purchasing it was sewer related. Three local government agencies endlessly debated the best approach for the area's sewerage system.
By the time three bureaucratic offices ironed out their differences and devised a sewer plan for the developing area, the property Dr. Debbie wanted to buy had been pulled from the market. After extended negotiation, the owners finally relented and sold the tract to Dr. Debbie in February 2005.
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| During a visit with the vet, Dr. Debbie examines one of the more standard varieties of patients she treats. |
Construction began in November 2005. Dr. Debbie moved into the clinic with her veterinary technician Deb Tolentino and office manager Patti Clark on May 22, 2006 when My Zoo Animal Hospital opened for business.
While business could be better, Dr. Debbie has already seen a positive growth trend in the first few months. She has a fully equipped veterinary facility with three exam rooms, diagnostic, operating and recovery areas, and additional room available for flexible expansion. She foresees the steady growth of her business and plans for the gradual addition of three full-time partners during the next 12 years.
She is developing a pool of part-time help from the current crop of local veterinary students. It is from this pool that she plans to draw her future business partners and colleagues.
While she's finally in business, Dr. Debbie doesn't hesitate to admit to apprehensions.
"At times this has been a scary experience," she confesses. "I've gone through a lot of ups and downs in the past five years, but Nick has been with me in this process to pick me up when I was down. His prodding was what kept me going and pursuing my dream."
My Zoo: Animal Hospital
1300 East Boone Industrial Blvd.
Columbia, Mo. 65202
Phone: 573-875-DOGS (3647)
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| Dr. Debbie and her staff opened their new north-Columbia veterinary clinic, My Zoo Animal Hospital, in May. |
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