Why do you run your vet business? For Dr Michael Archinal, the answer was always: to sell it one day.

A few years ago he did exactly that, after building and running nine practices while working roughly half a day a week. In this conversation Michael takes the long retrospective view with Sam and unpacks what it actually took to get there.

He shares his supernatural method for moving on staff who aren't a fit (you'll want to hear this one). The handful of KPIs he tracked every single month, including one that sounds incredibly boring until you hear what it was really measuring. Why a standard of care written by the owner gets about 35% buy-in, and one written by the team gets 85%. Why he actively discouraged his partners from chasing surgical qualifications. How he knew it was time to let go. And a line about failure right at the end that Sam reckons might be the most important bit yin the whole conversation.

In this episode:

Why partner in a group model instead of going it alone
Managing culture across nine sites, and how Michael only ever sacked two people in his whole career
The lead indicators hiding in your dentals and vaccination numbers
Patient advocacy factor: comparing vets fairly
Getting real buy-in on standards of care, including from senior vets who think they know better
Setting your team up to succeed, and putting people in the right seat on the bus
Knowing when it's time to step away
What Michael would tell his younger self about risk and failure

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.