Cat Clinic of Lawrence
Kansas SBDC at KU Emerging Business of the Year 2015
Veterinary medicine was a life-long dream of Dr. Jennifer O’Driscoll.
In 2010 Jennifer attended a small business startup seminar led by the Kansas SBDC at KU in Lawrence.
She knew her specialty but needed to know how to turn that into a viable practice.
Will Katz, regional director and consultant at the Kansas SBDC at KU worked with Jennifer to answer her questions about starting a business and pulling together a solid plan for growth. Dr. O’Driscoll shared that she had found other resources about starting a business, “But I had no formal training. I really wanted to talk to somebody who had experience guiding others in the process. That is what I found at the Kansas SBDC.”
Together with Katz, O’Driscoll navigated several pre-startup issues and after start-up, worked on personnel management and financial dashboarding/analysis. And her hard work and work with the SBDC has paid off. Since opening in 2011, the Cat Clinic of Lawrence, LLC has grown every year. The Cat Clinic currently employs a team of five in the heart of Lawrence at 1701 Massachusetts Street.
Working with the Kansas SBDC has made a significant impact on O’Driscoll’s business. “The information I get from the SBDC is information that I couldn’t get anywhere else.” O’Driscoll credits the one-on-one approach with making a difference “It helps to receive good advice that is specific to my business, not just general information. Also, it helps to have validation that I’m not the only business owner facing challenges.”
When we asked Dr. O’Driscoll about her secret to success she shared, “Willingness to work hard, willingness to learn and re-examine everything.”
What advice would she give to someone else starting out in business today? “Start as simply as you can. It’s easy to underestimate costs.”
Learn more about the Cat Clinic of Lawrence visit catcliniclawrence.com, on Facebook, or
call 785-856-6369.
Assisted by
Will Katz | Kansas SBDC at KU | 785-843-8844 | willkatz@ku.edu
