Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmine Gibbs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jasmine, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

For as long as I’ve known that I wanted to become a veterinarian, I knew that I wanted to always work for myself. I knew that would not be easy after just graduating vet school in 2018. I decided to work for a big corporation in the veterinary field in order to get my feet wet and understand the ins and outs of not only being a veterinarian but a business owner. I was able to learn how to merge book learning and in person learning because it is a huge jump. I honed in on my surgical skills, medical skill and overall communication skills with the staff at the hospital so that I would be able to bring everything I learned over to Two Beating Hearts. After two years of working for this company, I decided that I would obtain my LLC and start my own mobile practice while still gaining the experience that I needed. I assessed what supply’s I needed by seeing the most used supply’s in corporate practice, opened up a supply account and ordered what I needed with the money that I saved throughout my two years. There were a lot of challenges that I did not expect such as ordering too many vaccines and not having enough clientele/patients and then $200 worth of vaccines expire. Exhausting my savings for my start up was another challenge, when I could have used my resources with lending and etc. However, the banks are not willing to give a business with no gross income money to borrow so that is understandable. I started working out of my personal vehicle with a couple of assistants/friends from the prior company who had no problem helping me for just a little bit of money. If you do not have anything else when starting a business, the biggest thing would be to have the support of someone/anyone. There is no way I would have gotten to where I am without the support of my family and friends.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dr. Jasmine Gibbs, DVM and I grew up in Snellville, Ga. There was never a doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a veterinarian and from a a young age I made sure that I would accomplish that goal. I began with shadowing at Centerville Animal Hospital when I was 16 years and from there getting offered a job as a kennel technician. While still working there, I enrolled in a dual program my senior year of high school where I was involved in a veterinary technician based program which was the highlight of my year. I went on to graduate high school and attend the University of West Georgia, studying Biology with a concentration in pre-vet. While in attendance I was in the pre-vet club and worked at Carroll County Animal Hospital. 4 Years later I graduated and went on to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine located on the island of St. Kitts. I completed my education and 3.5 years later. There are a lot of things that set me apart from others, but I think the main characteristic would be my bed side manner. This is something I can get told almost every day in my career and its probably the best compliment someone could give. I enjoy the animals that I treat but I also enjoy talking to my clients, educating them on the well being of their fur babies and taking my time understanding them and their livelihood as well. The fact that my practice is mobile allows me to take my time with my patients and clients, learn more about them, how they live, what they expect from their caregivers etc. Being able to asses the home of the pet also allows me to give better feedback on what is needed to improve the health and wellbeing of my patient. As a doctor, it can be intimidating for some clients to talk to us, however I make sure that they know that we are equal. I do not change the way I talk when I communicate with my clients, I do not try to make them feel less than and I always allow them to give me their opinions throughout the appointment. We are all humans and we all deserve to be treated with reciprocated respect.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The biggest lesson that I had to unlearn was that everyone will not respect you and your business. We come into this profession and of course with business owning, with the thought that the people closet to you will respect what you have built for yourself and that is not always the case. When it comes to disrespect this does not have to always mean that they are being rude or nasty to you. This can come from the fact that they are not respecting your time , )calling after business hours), asking for discounts, not calling you Dr. in front of other potential clients, not following your recommendations and the list goes on. I’ve had to set a few ground rules when it came to my friends and family. Please do not look for handouts because I did not get them, do not look for free medical advice or access to me when I am on vacation or enjoying my work life balance.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for building my clientele has been word of mouth. I spent a lot of money the past couple of years on google ads, Facebook and Instagram ads, business cards and etc. But I realized that that most of my clients/patients have come from word of mouth. Someone who has spoken highly of your business and on your character speaks to a higher volume and its something that i do not discount to my growth

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twobeatinghearts.org
• Instagram: twobeatinghearts_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwoBeatingHeartsMobile/