Exploring Life & Business with Nicole Lenz of BarkWell Animal Care Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Lenz.

Hi Nicole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
To briefly walk you through my story, we begin in my early childhood before I could walk. When I was very little, my first word was daddy, then doggy, then mommy. I have been drawn to animals from the very beginning. I always knew that my passion was to work with and care for animals and my focus as I grew up was to make that passion become my profession.

I attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, and graduated from their veterinary college in 2016. While in Manhattan, I met the Colorado farm boy who soon became my husband. We moved to Nebraska where I worked at a veterinary clinic that saw a high volume of animals including pets and livestock. I learned a tremendous amount about myself, and I developed an ever-growing foundation for my skills as a veterinarian. The most enlightening part of my first job with its widely varied caseload was the discovery and development of my special interest in internal medicine, chronic medical condition case management, and client education.

To help foster my special interests, I then began working in a larger multidoctor small animal only veterinary clinic. I loved my time at this practice – not only because of the veterinary care I was providing but also because of the additional business management skills and staff management skills I was developing. I thought I would most likely settle down and stay in that practice, but life has a way of surprising us all! My husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to move back to the family farm in the Wray, Colorado area. We took a leap of faith, packed our bags, and headed home to Colorado!

My husband hit the ground running with the fall harvest in the fall of 2018 and I began looking for veterinary work in the surrounding communities. I had a very detailed vision of the type of practice I wanted to work in and the specific standard of veterinary care I wanted to provide. Enter leap of faith number two!

In late fall 2018, I decided to open my own small animal veterinary clinic. I purchased an empty building in Holyoke and my father and I renovated it over the next several months. We opened BarkWell Animal Care Center in February 2019 and the business continues to grow as we continue to meet new clients and pets daily. Our community support has been amazing; I am so blessed that life brought us here.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Looking back on my BarkWell journey, one of my largest struggles was learning how to run a business. For 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of vet school, I learned a staggering amount of information and developed a plethora of technical medical skills related to the veterinary field, but I had minimal business experience.

When planning BarkWell,  I think of the trusty notebook I carried everywhere with notes and questions, dates and contact numbers scribbled from cover to cover – This was the little business bible that made the daunting learning process manageable. I had no business experience, but life had taught me how to learn.

So learn I did. I learned about inventory, zoning, loans, staff management, plumbing, hardware installation, etc. I overcame these challenges by tackling each task individually, instead of looking at the whole daunting list in the notebook. Over time, the challenges became smaller as I learned and grew as a business owner.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I hope what sets me apart is the fact that veterinary medicine is not just my career—it is my lifestyle, my passion, and my lifelong commitment to spend each day dedicated to caring for those animals entrusted to my care. I enjoy educating and gaining the trust of client families so that pets and their people can live happy, healthy lives.

At BarkWell, we are not only focused on treating animals but also on teaching the next generation about veterinary medicine. One thing that excites me when I walk into BarkWell is to see the enthusiastic face of a student, volunteer, or intern who is going to spend the day with us. Sharing my love of veterinary medicine with others is something I greatly enjoy.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
At BarkWell, our goal is to “keep pets on paths to wellness.” By improving the lives of pets, we can have a positive impact on their human families and consequently improve our human experience.

Life is full of opportunities, and I hope that my story can be a reminder that anyone with a little idea, and a large amount of passion and persistence can accomplish much.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.barkwellvet.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barkwellvet/