Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Lillian Baker.
Hi Dr. Lillian, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I am a native of Monroe, Louisiana. I completed my undergraduate career at Southern University A & M College in 2013, where I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Sciences with a concentration in Animal Science. I went on to graduate with my Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee School of Veterinary Medicine in 2017.
Shortly after graduation, I relocated to Houston, TX to accept a position as a small animal associate veterinarian. My skills quickly evolved as I became a solo practitioner and became solely responsible for a wide variety of complex small animal medical and surgical cases. After a few years of practice, I gave birth to my son and realized not only did I want to be an active and present mom in his life, but there was an overwhelming need for veterinarians that could service pets in the comfort of their home as an added convenience for both the owner and their pet. A few short months later, I became committed to providing this need for those clients as well as for my son. Thus, in July 2020, Baker’s Mobile Veterinary Services was born.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road, but it has been rewarding. The biggest struggle was obtaining loans to fund my business. Unfortunately, I was not approved for any due to my business being mobile. This was a challenge that I accepted head-on and worked a lot of hours to fund my business 100% myself using my savings. I was thankfully able to have the mobile unit financed. Other struggles were finding consistent and trustworthy help along the way. For the first year, I worked alone almost 90% of the time and would hire help as needed. My husband who would help out occasionally decided that he could be of more consistent help to help alleviate my stress which helped tremendously. He has been a great asset to the company since joining full-time in 2021.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We offer a wide range of veterinary services, including wellness care, minor illness or injury, on-site radiology, cold laser therapy, as well as general surgical procedures, all provided without the pet ever having to leave their property. I specialize in general services with some advanced soft tissue surgeries as well. I am known for providing compassionate services and being very down-to-earth and thorough. I believe what sets me apart is my realistic and honest approach to how I practice as well as being able to all of these on wheels. There is no one size fits all method, so tailoring the needs to not only what the patient needs but what the owner is capable of doing allows us to build a relationship of trust and quality medicine.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
To those that are starting out is to ensure that this is what you want for your life. It is not for everyone. It is also important to always put your mental health first and to ensure that you establish a practice culture of clients that actually care about you and understand you are not a robot. Sometimes you will get ill; your child will get ill; you will have a flat tire; there can be car accidents. Clients who understand makes all of the difference.
Having healthy boundaries with clients and setting up expectations is something that I wish I would have been taught in 2017. Back then, I worked for a corporation, and it was the client is always right, and they could speak to you anyway, and you had to accept this and move on. This cultivated a practice culture of bad client behavior that was rewarded. In my new practice, bad client behavior is not tolerated. The client is not always right, and it is my job as their vet to educate them if they chose to make the incorrect choice and not trust me, that means we may not be a good fit for them. That is also okay as well; there are never any hard feelings or disrespectful disagreements. As an older vet told me, “You can be the sweetest peach on the tree, and someone will say they hate peaches!”. Knowing what my boundaries are allows me to have many peaceful and nights and great days to pour continue to pour my heart into what I do and not resent the field.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bakersmobilevet.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bakersmobilevet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bakersmobilevet
