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

Stevie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I wanted a name that I could make into a brand. A name that no one had in the industry and was not named after a street or a particular community. As I shifted through ideas, I had some self-reflection on my own personal wins and losses. I leaned back to when I was a child and noted that I have always been goal-oriented, driven and determined.
This word has been ingrained into the fabric of my upbringing. It’s a word that has positive attributes and an uplifting spirit. A word that describes drive and determination yet remains focused and calm. A word that can be associated with anything the brand does or plans to do. The word that describes that positive action and mentality is ACHIEVE.
Anytime you ACHIEVE a goal or task… you are reaching for greatness.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Stevie Jones, Jr.; a father, husband, veterinarian, and entrepreneur. The journey to who I am today began by being raised in a small southern country town in Danville, Virginia, by both parents with my younger brother. This is where hard work and determination was instilled in me. With both parents being members of the Army, structure was important but so was the ability to be flexible and live to your highest potential. At the tender age of 3 I found my dream to be “An animal doctor” because I couldn’t say “veterinarian.” By God’s grace I was able to ACHIEVE that dream by continuing my education at two historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Virginia State University and Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine.

After pursing my education, I practiced small animal medicine as a general practitioner (GP) in Virginia Beach, VA for 10 years. In the summer of 2019, I made the transition to Maryland to advance my career goals of owning a veterinary clinic. It was my thought to open or purchase a clinic and practice the type of medicine that I had been doing my entire life, but God had other plans, and by having the entrepreneur mindset sometimes you must pivot. In 2020, the world changed dramatically due to COVID-19. Veterinary medicine as a profession also had to change. It had to adjust to the increase demand for pet care. People were working from home watching their pets closely, emptying out the shelter with new puppies and kittens that needed medical attention. This had caused a great overload within the veterinary industry. There were so many pets that needed to be seen but the GP clinic appointments were booked out for weeks. On the other side, the emergency room (ER) has 10-12 hours wait times. This is when, after many talks with my now wife, an emergency veterinarian, that our community needed something different to help sick pets that needed immediate attention but for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses like there is in human medicine.

As a result, ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care was born. On Sept 25, 2023 ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care had opened. Our goal is to provide a service to the community that will treat small animal non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses. This service serves as a link between the primary care veterinarian and the 24-hour emergency hospital. Just like an urgent care center for humans, we provide prompt, superior quality as well as compassionate state-of-the-art healthcare that is tailored to the needs of the pets and pet parents. We intend to ACHIEVE this in a manner that is trustworthy, transparent, and as efficient as possible.

Within this new niche of veterinary medicine we are allowed to be of service to two spectrums of clients. The individuals that have sick or injured pets and our fellow colleagues in general practice and emergency medicine. We as an urgent care can support clinics by being an extension of their healthcare team and by helping to improve the team’s workplace quality of life.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my business partner, which is now my wife Dr. Jasmine Nolan, at our alma mater Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine veterinary symposium in 2018. The symposium is equivalent to a homecoming celebration where we also have the opportunity to attend continuing education classes for credits. Going back to see friends, administration and prior teachers is always a great time. This may sound cliché but as I was sitting in a class, I noticed her from across the room and I had to find out who she was. So after the class, I introduced myself and we spent the rest of the symposium getting to know each other. In the following years, we moved to Maryland together where I began working at another GP facility and she completed a small animal rotating internship.

Shortly after moving, I began the process of reaching for my life time goal of clinic ownership and she didn’t want any parts of it. Ownership was not a goal of hers, and she liked the process of showing up for work and then going home once the work was finished for the day. She continued to work in emergency medicine, a passion she found during her internship. I continued to pursue my passion but switched from owning a general practice clinic to an urgent care only practice. That peaked her interest for this was right up her alley being an emergency veterinarian without the overnight hours. We would meet in the middle of our individual disciplines and build something different in our community. With Jasmine’s attention to detail, knowledge and experience it has been a blessing to have her as my business partner, and more importantly my life partner.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

A time in my life where I had to make a major pivot was in 2006 when I had my son while in veterinary school. Although my son is one of my most proudest accomplishments, having a child while in veterinary school is not recommended. I have always been a goal oriented person but the mind shift that was needed for me to succeed as a new father while pursing a career (which could change our lives forever) was tremendous. Life was no longer about me…it was about we. Being a single father, raising a 3 year old, fresh out of veterinary school was no easy task. The amount of sacrifice, patience, compassion drove me to be a better person. It also taught me to be resourceful and open to people for help. My family has always been in my corner and have always been willing to help but leaning on them, asking for help was different for me. Without them times would have definitely been more challenging than they were.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://achievevet.com
• Instagram: achieve_vet
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/achieveveturgentcare
• Linkedin: ACHIEVE Veterinary Urgent Care

Image Credits

Edward Underwood Photography
Dexios design