Over the past year and a half, while looking for a hospital acquisition, I cannot help but notice the number of one-doctor practices that sit on brokerage websites for far too long, unable to find a new owner to take the reins. Revenue starts to shrink, the building gets tired, the team burns out or leaves, and eventually the business either closes or sells for the value of the real estate.
There are a lot of reasons this happens, but one pattern is obvious. The seller and the eventual buyer are running on completely different timelines. The owner wakes up one day and realizes they want to retire in three to five years. The associate who could have been the buyer never saw a path there and moved on long ago. When I spoke to the students at Oklahoma State last month, I shared my perspective on being practice ownership ready in the first 12 to 24 months after graduation and how important it is to think about ownership as a student.
If we can get those two clocks to line up, we create much better transitions for everyone, including the communities these hospitals serve.
Early Career Vets: Treat Your First Job as an Ownership Launch Pad
Approaching ownership as a career path starts before you sign your first contract. When I talk with students, I tell them not to sort offers only by salary, signing bonus, or the promise of mentorship. Those things matter, but if you want to own a practice, you have to talk about your long-term career goals in the interview itself. Bring up ownership. Ask whether practice ownership or partnership is on the table and what that might look like over time.
When I was a managing partner at my previous hospitals, I made a point to raise this topic with new graduates because I wanted to build a culture of ownership. I wanted them to know that if ownership was on their horizon, I was willing to help them get there. I also push back on the idea that ownership needs to be seven to 10 years away. With the right preparation and mentorship, I believe early-career veterinarians can realistically move into ownership or partnership in 12 to 24 months.
That often means looking at smaller, independently owned practices with one or two doctors. These can be some of the fastest and safest paths into ownership if you approach them the right way. Ask about mentorship on the business side, not just medicine. Ask how the owner reviews financials, how decisions are made, and where they see growth potential. If you step into a role like this, your ownership mindset has to start on day one. Be engaged in every aspect of the business so that when the opportunity to buy in appears, you already understand what is expected of a partner.
Current Owners: Succession Starts 3–5 Years Before You Want Out
From a current owner’s perspective, it is not enough to hope that the right associate somehow shows up when you are ready to sell. If you want to transition your business in the next three to five years, you need to prepare the practice to be an attractive place to work and an attractive asset to buy.
The reality for many one-doctor practices is harsh. They sit unsold for years while revenue declines, the facility ages, and newer, shinier options appear in the same market. If you are hoping for a strong exit, you cannot wait until the last year to fix this. Start by cleaning up your financials so a buyer can clearly see what they are stepping into. Build a culture and workflow that do not depend on you being in every exam room and making every decision. Leverage your technicians, your support staff, and any associates you bring in so the hospital can function without you at the center of everything.
Reinvest in the practice, both in equipment and in aesthetics. Modern technology, a clean and updated building, and a well-trained team are incredibly attractive to early career veterinarians. At the same time, be explicit about your intentions. Start recruiting for the next owner, not just “another associate.” Put timelines, expectations, and a rough ownership path on the table. Do not hide what you want.
Getting The Two Clocks to Meet in the Middle
When these two mindsets come together, the clocks can line up in a powerful way. On one side, you have an early career veterinarian who is ready to get into the ownership game faster than the profession usually talks about. On the other side, you have an owner who is intentionally preparing to transition out within three to five years.
It all starts with clarity and honesty. Owners need to keep investing in their practices and be open about recruiting a successor. Early career veterinarians need to be willing to step into responsibility before their name is on the ownership documents. If the current owner starts mentoring on both the medical and business sides before a deal is done, a culture of ownership will grow naturally inside the hospital. The associate will be better prepared, the transition will feel less abrupt, and the practice is more likely to keep thriving in the same community rather than disappearing or changing hands to someone far removed from the day-to-day work.
Why This Matters for Independent Veterinary Medicine
If we do not solve this, the outcome for many of these practices is predictable. They will sit unsold, they will close, or they will sell only for the value of the building. Most corporate buyers are not eager to take on a hospital that relies entirely on an owner-operator who wants to retire and has not built a strong team around them. When that happens, communities lose access to care and we lose one more independent practice.
With the right mindset and systems, early career ownership becomes possible and transitions can be smooth and intentional. We can create win-win scenarios where a retiring owner exits well, a younger veterinarian steps into a platform that is primed for growth, and the community keeps its local hospital.
Current owners, start thinking about what you want your practice to look like for the next person who will buy it. Early career veterinarians and students, start thinking about each interview as a step toward the career you actually want, not just a paycheck. Do not let salary and signing bonuses distract you from your long-term goal of ownership.
The future of many independent practices depends on these timelines lining up, and that will not happen by luck. It will happen because both sides decide to plan for it.