Today we’d like to introduce you to Gwendolyn Delavar.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Gwendolyn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started out as a veterinary assistant in a mixed animal practice in OK. I worked there for several years and eventually was promoted to practice manager of all of our locations. We were the fastest growing multi-site veterinary practice in the Midwest at that time. I left there to move to Houston TX where I worked in a wonderful small animal practice for a couple of years. Then I moved to San Diego.
I was pregnant at the time and no one wanted to hire me into a practice while I was pregnant. I wanted to work so I started cold calling on veterinarians – basically telling them what experience I had and if they had any work that I could help them with – i.e. collections, marketing, training, etc. I was able to get a few clients but it wasn’t really enough to support myself and my kids. So, I contact Mark Opperman, who is one of the leading veterinary management consultants and asked for his help. Mark came down and gave a seminar to the veterinary practices in the area and introduced me to many more practices than I had been able to reach on my own. About a year later he contacted me and asked if now I could help him with a client that was in need of a practice manager in MD. Of course I said yes! And at that moment my recruiting company was born!
I have been recruiting for the veterinary industry now for 25 years. With Mark’s referrals I primarily recruited veterinary practice managers for several years. About 10 years ago I added recruiting for veterinarians as well. Then most recently, about a year ago I added recruiting for the veterinary pharmaceutical companies as well as veterinary biotech.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Most of the trip has been smooth going. We have grown every year since I started. I have been on a steady learning curve and always open to new ideas and new technology. The biggest struggle has been wearing multiple hats – all the time. Owning a small business is a lot of fun but sometimes there is so much to do and so many different jobs – sales, customer service, bookkeeping and marketing. Thankfully, I have been very lucky to have my step-daughter work with me since the inception of the business and her support and help has been invaluable.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Veterinary Recruiting – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a veterinary recruiting firm. We have been in business for 25 years. We recruit veterinary personnel for veterinary practices and the veterinary industry. My company works nationwide and we have an excellent team of recruiters plus a recruiting manager, an artist who designs our mailers and a website developer. We round out our team by working with local small business owners, IT, social media, and database expertise.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan on continuing to grow and develop the veterinary industry side of the business as more and more candidates express desire to move into pharmaceutical sales and development along with biotechnology. We are currently changing our name from VetMgrCentral to Veterinary Recruiting to better express what we do and who we are. We are growing our social media side and growing the way we can connect with both our clients and candidates.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2667 Caminio del Rio S Ste 311
- Website: http://www.VeterinaryRecruiting.com
- Phone: 8582796553
- Email: glowder@VetMgrCentral.com
- Instagram: gwen@veterinaryrecruiting.com
- Facebook: VetMgrCentral
- Twitter: VetMgrCentral
- Yelp: VetMgrCentral
- Other: VetMgrCentral
Image Credit:
Brittany Janas
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