We recently had the chance to connect with Jennifer Le DVM, MBA and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
Unfortunately, because we are in a service industry that involves caring for animals, there is often a misconception that we should be doing all of it out of the goodness of our hearts and not charging anything, and while many of us got into this profession because we care for animals, caring alone does pay the bills nor does it allow us to help as many animals we can.
Owning and operating a veterinary hospital involves a lot of overhead expense, including the initial building and startup of the hospital itself, rent, utilities, employee salaries, business and liability insurance, employee insurance, and medical equipment and supplies, to name a few. We try to keep our prices fair, but we also have to ensure that we are able to keep our lights on to continue providing care. We not only have to think about our own livelihood, but we also have a full staff that we are taking care of as well.
On top of that, we are having to compete with giant corporate retailers in regards to prescription medications. We, along with many of our colleagues, have been accused of price gouging as corporate retailers often have cheaper prices. What we want people to understand is that these retailers have the ability to purchase more and can negotiate a lower price on their products with distributors. We have literally been told by one of our distributors that they have contracts with big box retailers for them to purchase for significantly less, sometimes upwards to 50% off of the prices that a small business like ours pays for the same products. We understand that price is a factor in many choices, however, please no that we are overtly charging higher because we are “ripping you off.” We honestly have no cnoice, and the more people support big box retailers in this many instead of small local businesses, the worse it will get for everyone involved.
I truly believe having an animal is a privilege and not a right. Just like taking care of a child, it is the responsibility of the caretaker to be able to provide for that living being. We understand that sometimes things happen that we don’t plan for and care sometimes becomes derailed, however, there are some individuals that go into owning an animal believing that the responsiblity does not lie with them and this is unfortunate to all of those involved.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jennifer Le and I am a small animal veterinarian and co-owner of A Couple of Vets Animal Hospital in Spring, TX, along with my husband, Zachary Reynolds. We like to call our hospital a group of “rescues” as the majority of our team came from toxic working environments prior to our hospital opening.
We recently did a collaboration with Cowboy Jack, a local YouTube children’s show. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KdInqAL-y8
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was completely and unapologetically myself. I remember not caring as much about what others thought of me and what I did or said. I am highly sensitive and an empath, and I was comfortable being so until people around me started telling me to stop being so sensitive and that I needed to toughen up. Over the years, I’ve learned to hide my emotions and have had a hard time opening up to others for fear of being thought of as “too much,” or being abandoned. I also hid parts of myself to try to “fit in” and try to be what I thought others wanted me to be. With the help of my therapist and finding “my people,” I’m slowly unlearning this and getting back to who I truly am, which has been very freeing. Even if we try to be what others want us to be or fit into some kind of mold, there will always be someone that is going to have a problem with it, so why worry? It’s also nice to think that those who are truly meant to be in my life will stay, and, for the haters, “it’s actually romantic” (IYKYK to my fellow Swifties). I have also learned that being vulnerable and being emotional are actually signs of strength, not weakness. As long as we learn to fully accept ourselves, we need not worry about anyone else, which is easier said than done, but definitely something we should all work towards.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering has taught me to truly appreciate the good times. Without true suffering, we cannot know true joy. If life were easy and handed us everything we wanted, we would never have a sense of pride or accomplishment. We also wouldn’t know what truly matters to us as it requires us to have grit to continue pursuing something through struggle. What also may be seen as a struggle at the time may now be seen as a blessing as if we had gotten what we wanted at the time, it may have taken us down a completely different path. For example, I didn’t get into veterinary school the first time I applied. If I had, I wouldn’t have gotten my MBA and I may not have met my husband, who was one of my anatomy lab partners. Sometimes, struggles occur to lead you towards something better.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
I definitely admire my 3-year-old son for his character. I would be lying if I said he did not have power over me and his dad. Haha. But in all seriousness, seeing him grow up and become the person that he is meant to be is one of the most amazing experiences. At 3 years old, he is already so kind and thoughtful. When he picks up something at a play place or at the store, he always picks another item up for me or his dad because he doesn’t want us to be left out. He is considerate and tends to let others go ahead of him on the slide or in line. When you are upset, he tries to make you laugh or cheer you up in some way. I’m also very impressed at how self-motivated he is already with wanting to learn and to better himself. It’s crazy to look at him sometimes and know that he is only 3 years old, as he already displays so many admirable characteristics at such a young age.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When have you had to bet the company?
When my husband and I first started this journey on opening our own hospital, we really had to bet not only on the company, but we had to bet on ourselves. There are many ways you can go about opening a hospital, including acquiring an established hospital, partnering with an equity firm, being a part of a franchise, or starting from scratch. We wanted something that was specifically ours and designed in a way that was based on our values and the way we wanted to practice medicine, so we opted to build a start-up, which has the most risk but, in my opinion, the most reward. Our venture was made riskier in that the actual building process was delayed through no fault of our own until after the start of the pandemic.
We received financing from Bank of America and invested some of our own money to develop A Couple of Vets. We selected our realty group, Xite Realty, to find us a suitable space; our builder, J.A. Greene, to design and build our space; our laboratory partner, Idexx, to provide us with diagnostic equipment and laboratory services; our distributors, Covetrus, Elanco, and Patterson, to provide us with hospital and medical supplies; and our marketing partner, Hearst Media, to design our logo, build our website, and provide search engine optimization (SEO) to allow people to find us. We were a part of every step of creating what you now see today.
We also hand selected our employees from people we have met along the way throughout our career. These people also had to bet on us and the company as they were leaving stable jobs with guaranteed pay for a new business with no certainty for success, and all in the middle of COVID! Due to complications with our landlord getting everything together for our space and COVID-related issues of getting a fire marshall inspection in a timely manner, we were delayed opening and had to pay our employees out of our own pockets for several weeks.
Now, 5 years later, we can honestly say it is one of the best decisions we have made. It allows us the freedom to practice medicine in the way we want, see clients and patients we would like and refuse those who are overtly rude or disrespectful to us or our employees, and to provide us and our staff with a good work/life balance and positive working environment. This goes to show you that it is ALWAYS worth betting on yourself in order to create a life you love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.acoupleofvets.com
- Instagram: acoupleofvets
- Linkedin: acoupleofvets
- Facebook: acoupleofvets
- Youtube: acoupleofvets
Image Credits
Ashley Newman Photography
Teziti Photo Booth Rentals
