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FNBO
Customer StoriesSep 21 2021
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Customers of FNBO—Family Pet Hospital's Story
We’re proud to feature Family Pet Hospital out of Longmont, Colorado.
Dr. Molly Abernathy has always loved animals and studying the bond between animals and humans, but she didn’t see herself as the owner of her own veterinary practice early in her career.
“To be honest, when I was much younger, I thought that men really were the owners of practices,” Abernathy said. “Owning was not a role for women.”
However, as she began her career and worked with more and more women business owners, the vision for a practice of her own quickly developed.
“I was able to pick and choose the amazing qualities from each practice I had worked at previously to help formulate exactly how I wanted to provide services to my future clients and patients,” Abernathy explained.
But building a veterinary practice from the ground up proved to be an expensive endeavor.
“I did not have the funding to build my own hospital,” Abernathy explained. “I borrowed all my startup expenses, knowing I would likely not have an income for at least one to five years, as many small business owners experience.”
And with her ambitious vision and the support of her family, husband and children, Abernathy was able to open Family Pet Hospital in the spring of 2015.
Since opening in the spring of 2015, Family Pet Hospital has grown from a team of three to a team of 20, expanding its facility to nearly double its original square footage and adding two new full-time veterinarians.
Abernathy credits the practice’s success to the many mentors she’s learned from across her veterinary career.
“One mentor specifically told me to keep laser-like focus on my end goal. To not be swayed by the temporary circumstances and to not bend to the outside forces I will surely encounter,” Abernathy said.
“Another taught me a very basic standard: Keep honest and practice good medicine. Be open with your finances, be open with your books and keep your integrity intact,” Abernathy said. “Integrity creates good business, and the money will follow good medicine practiced at a good business.”
This focus on integrity and building strong customer relationships is also what brought Abernathy to bank with FNBO in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the pandemic started, we were fearful we would be losing employees, losing income, seeing a loss of clientele and losing our savings,” Abernathy said.
“What we found was an incredible increase in demand for our hospital. Many pets were added to families and new attention was being paid to many pets’ healthcare as they began to play a bigger role in many people’s daily lives. Our demand skyrocketed.”
“The pandemic led me to FNBO after I was needing a more direct channel to emergency funding,” Abernathy explained. “Other institutions made it incredibly difficult for that to happen. I was working with large, national corporate banks and found that they were difficult to speak to, never had one point of contact and I did not feel supported. FNBO was the opposite of that, providing excellent customer care, and I'm incredibly grateful to have them as a monetary partner.”
Learn more about how FNBO supports businesses of all sizes.
The articles in this blog are for informational purposes only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations. When making decisions about your financial situation, consult a financial professional for advice. Articles are not regularly updated, and information may become outdated.