Building a Career, Not Just a Clinic
Building a Career, Not Just a Clinic
Dr. Steven Beil, Livewell Animal Urgent Care of Bothell
Over the past 10 years of being a veterinarian, I have moved between privately owned practices and larger corporate entities. Both models offered distinct advantages and disadvantages. I had been wanting to continue to grow my career path, but did not feel private ownership was the best choice for me. While I yearned for the ability to implement my vision and truly build something, the stress, financial risk, and sheer isolation of taking on full, independent ownership always felt like a barrier I wasn’t wanting to pursue.
Livewell offered a uniquely compelling alternative. It presented a less than common opportunity to step into a leadership role as a Founding Lead, granting me the autonomy to shape and build a brand-new urgent care hospital from the ground up. It has allowed me to expand my career path and build genuine financial security—without the anxiety associated with sole proprietorship. This opportunity has shifted my professional trajectory, providing a structure where my expertise and leadership can continue to develop, backed by a robust and supportive network of professionals.
One of the most rewarding aspects of this journey has been the incredible support structure Livewell provides. Being on the urgent care side, we have a dedicated medical director who has served as an invaluable mentor through the initial opening phase. There is also a network of founding urgent care DVMs, which regularly connect to exchange insights, discussing what protocols have worked well and identifying areas for improvement across our respective hospitals. This collective knowledge-sharing prevents the isolation that often plagues independent practice.
Livewell also empowers you from the very beginning in team building. I had the opportunity to collaborate in hiring my hospital manager and assembling the entire team. This shared ownership in the hiring process ensured we could establish a positive, high-performing culture from Day One. Coupled with a dedicated marketing team that provides significant support, we’re also encouraged to bring our local knowledge to the table, finding unique, community-focused ways to grow the clinic’s presence. This Thanksgiving my fellow Livewell GP colleague and I ran in costumes for the local Turkey trot.
My current team is great, and while we are still very much in the process of building out our definitive protocols and streamlining operational efficiency, the foundational work is paying off. From day one, I made an excellent client experience a major point of emphasis with my staff, and seeing that commitment reflected in our daily work has been incredibly rewarding. We are successfully serving a critical need in the community for pet owners, while simultaneously acting as a reliable, supportive partner for our neighboring general practice veterinary clinics.
It’s important to recognize that Livewell is still in its early stages of development. As a member of the founding team, we are actively involved in developing the operational framework for these hospitals. Are we “test subjects?” Perhaps a little, but that’s the exciting part. This is not a cookie-cutter, algorithm-driven, “do it this way only” type of hospital system. Our input does matter.
If you are a veterinary professional looking to grow exponentially as a leader, forge your own distinctive career path, and maintain true autonomy over the way you practice medicine, then Livewell is likely the fit you’ve been searching for. It’s an opportunity to build a legacy, not just take a job.
