Dr Melyssa Cotton runs a new-ish mobile veterinary practice, and business is steady. The problem is where that business comes from: almost every client arrives by word of mouth, which is great, until it isn't.

In this episode, Sam coaches her through the unglamorous stuff that actually grows a practice from the ground up: a website that convinces strangers to book, Google reviews (they matter more than you think), a neighbourhood referral trick that costs basically nothing, and pricing set by your goals instead of whatever the clinic down the road charges.

It's a mobile practice on the table, but the advice applies to any vet business.

Resources as promised:

Sam's Veterinary Marketing Playbook

Hugh's post on valuing your skills more

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away. The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again - without the sacrifice.

You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

What if the thing holding your practice back isn't your team, your prices, or your marketing?

What if it's the building?

In this episode, we sit down with Jerry Kennard from Evoke Projects, someone who designs veterinary spaces for a living and has watched a lot of owners get this expensively wrong. Because a practice build always starts as a dream: the right location, the beautiful fit-out - the clinic you've always wanted. But plan it wrong, and that dream can quickly turn into a trap that stifles growth and demotivates teams . And most of it comes down to five mistakes that are a lot easier to avoid before you sign anything than after.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why falling in love with your site before you've validated a business plan is the single most expensive mistake you can make
• The "too big or too small" problem, and how to future-proof for expansion without drowning in debt
• Why designing for the pet and the client but forgetting your team is a false economy
• How lean design and smart workflow let you do more in less space, without burning anyone out

A great clinic isn't designed to look good on opening day. It's designed to perform every day. For the pets, the clients, the team, and the business.

Press play to find out how.

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away.

The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again, without the sacrifice. You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

What if your team isn’t slow?

What if they’ve just never been shown how to work faster and feel safe doing it?

In this episode, Sam unpacks one of the hardest tensions inside modern veterinary practices: How do you deliver excellent patient care, protect your team’s wellbeing, and still run a profitable business? Because for many teams, the word “productivity” feels loaded.

It can sound like:

“Do more. Move faster. Stop complaining. Just learn to cope.”

But efficiency is a different conversation. And this is where we're having it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why productivity and efficiency are not the same thing
• How fear of complaints, mistakes, and burnout can slow your team down and what stress does to their brains
• How to help your team see pressure as readiness, not danger
• Sam's five-step process for improving efficiency without creating overwhelm
• Why the most profitable practices are often not the most expensive — they are the most efficient

• 
  

The goal is not to squeeze more out of your people. It is to build a team that can move with clarity, confidence, and care.

Press play to learn how.

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering whysuccess still feels so far away.

The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practicethat supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again -without the sacrifice. You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

Ever had one of those seasons where everything looks fine on paper… but you still feel flat, disconnected, or stuck?

In this episode Sam and Hugh unpack what those feelings are really trying to tell you - and what to do about it.

This isn’t a motivational pep talk about “thinking positive.” It’s a practical conversation about how to recognise the early warning signs, shift your emotional state without relying on willpower, and make clearer decisions when life and business feel heavy.

Sam shares the exact framework he uses to break out of emotional quicksand - from the neurochemistry behind why practice owners get stuck to the small daily habits that can radically change how you feel.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between changing your thoughts vs changing your environment
• Why willpower fails most people (and what actually works instead)
• Simple habit-design strategies that reduce decision fatigue
• A practical framework for making small, medium, and life-changing decisions
• Why overthinking keeps practice owners trapped in frustration and inaction

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or uncertain about what comes next, this episode will help you create momentum before the universe forces your hand.

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away. The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again - without the sacrifice.

You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

In one of the most personal episodes of the Veterinary Business Accelerator yet, Sam opens up about a season in his life that looked successful on the outside, but felt completely flat underneath. What started as frustration became something deeper: a realisation that life and business had slowly drifted out of alignment.

Together, Sam and Hugh unpack the idea of “universal taps” - the subtle warning signs that show up long before burnout, crisis, or breakdown.

This isn’t a hype-filled business episode. It’s an honest conversation about the hidden cost of staying stuck in “meh.” Because sometimes nothing is technically wrong… but deep down, you know something isn’t right.

This episode is the first part of a deeper conversation about mindset, energy, alignment, and building a business - and a life - that actually feels good to live.

___

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away.

The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again — without the sacrifice.

You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

What happens when practice ownership quietly pushes you to the edge?

In this episode, Dr. Tess Salmon shares the raw, unfiltered story behind her journey from a burnt out rural practice owner to building - and selling - a multi-million dollar clinic.

This is more than a growth story.

It’s the reality most practice owners don’t talk about - a conversation about pressure, identity, and the moment you decide things have to change.

From feeling trapped and overwhelmed to gaining clarity, confidence, and control, Tess reflects on the mindset shifts and practical steps that transformed both her business and her life.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• What burnout actually looks like (and why most vets miss it until it’s too late)
• The moments that force change - and why many never reach it
• How Tess grew from $280K to $2.28M in under 10 years
• How to drop the guilt around money and lead with confidence
• The role of mentorship, structure, and simply following a proven process
• What she’s doing differently in her next practice ownership adventure

If you’ve ever felt stuck, stretched thin, or questioned whether it’s worth it- this conversation will hit close to home.

And it might just change what you do next.

Hit play and hear what happens when staying the same becomes impossible.

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away. The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again — without the sacrifice.

You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

Here's something we keep hearing from practice owners:

We're getting feet through the door, but we're hearing a lot of 'no'.

Costs of running your practice is going up. Wages are at an all-time high. So your prices have to follow. And yet - clients are feeling the pinch and counting their dollars.

Somewhere in the gap between those two realities your profits are vanishing...

Most veterinary practices think increasing prices is the only way to stay profitable.

It’s not.

In this episode Sam will teach you how to narrow the gap.

Listen to learn:

• Why veterinary fees are rising faster than household income, and what that means for the future of practice
• The hidden ways pricing impacts compliance, trust, and visit frequency
• How inconsistent standards of care stretches the perception of 'I can't afford that'
• A simple framework to help clients see value, so they say yes with confidence
• What “I can’t afford it” really means, and how to respond without discounting
• The operational shifts that increases profit without increasing prices
• Where AI, insurance, and new care models might fit into the next era of practice

This isn’t about lowering your prices.It’s about running a smarter practice—one that works for your clients, your team, and your bottom line.

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away.

The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again -without the sacrifice.

You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.

What if the pressure in your business isn’t coming from the workload...but from how you’re carrying it?

In this episode Dr. Sam returns from a motorbike trip through Tanzania with a perspective most practice owners never consider.

One that could instantly make your business feel lighter.

This isn’t about working less or adding another strategy. It’s about seeing things differently.

Because the truth is: many of the best outcomes in business don’t come from forcing a plan.

They come from knowing what you want.

Spotting the right opportunities.

And taking the next obvious step (without having to force it.)

This episode is a reminder of something easy to forget:Your business is your game.

You choose how it’s played.

If things feel heavy right now, this might be the reset you need.

After 15 years owning Practices and helping 257+ Veterinary Practice Owners, Sam's seen the same pattern: brilliant Vets grinding through long weeks, wondering why success still feels so far away.

The answer isn't working harder. It's building a Practice that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Visit acceleratepracticeacademy.com to discover how Practice Owners across Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada learn to enjoy their Medicine, their Business, AND Life again — without the sacrifice.

You'll find free resources, real success stories, and ways to work with Sam directly.