#099: Profit With Purpose in Vet Med with Martin Traub-Werner

Mar 16

Financial conversations can feel loaded in veterinary medicine. Many of us entered this profession to care for animals, not to analyze income statements. But avoiding the numbers does not protect your mission. In fact, it often increases anxiety, fuels burnout, and limits your ability to grow.

In this episode, I speak with entrepreneur Martin Traub-Werner, founder of VetBooks, about why financial control is foundational to sustainable leadership. Martin shares how his work in veterinary data analytics revealed a major gap for independent practices: clear, accurate, and timely financials that truly reflect profitability.

We explore the emotional side of money in vet med, including the common fear of being perceived as greedy. I offer the perspective that money is energy. When used intentionally, it becomes fuel for reinvestment, team development, better equipment, and expanded patient care. Profit is not a betrayal of purpose. It is what allows your purpose to endure.

Martin also breaks down practical steps for gaining financial clarity, from committing to curiosity instead of fear to using the AAHA VMG Chart of Accounts. He emphasizes focusing on your top revenue and expense categories, where most of the meaningful change happens.

If you have ever woken up at 3 a.m. worrying about payroll, rising costs, or sustainability, this conversation will remind you that your financials are not something to fear. They are a diagnostic tool. And when you understand them, you gain back control.

What’s Inside:

Why avoiding your numbers increases anxiety and uncertainty
How profit can fuel your mission instead of competing with it
Practical first steps to gaining financial control in your practice
Why focusing on your top revenue and expense categories drives sustainable grow

Today’s Guest:

Martin Traub-Werner dressed up as a businessman for Halloween when he was seven. Since then, he’s spent more than 40 years refining his skills and honing his craft. He completed an undergraduate degree at York University in his hometown of Toronto, Canada and a subsequent Master of Industrial and Labo(u)r Relations (MILR) degree at Cornell University. His time at Cornell was spent learning and thinking about the complexity of people management in organizations. Martin spent a number of years working in Human Resources in large Fortune 500 companies. Ultimately, his entrepreneurial spirit won out. A builder and problem solver, Martin is happiest putting the pieces together to create value. He’s done this a number of times including with VetSuccess. In 2013, Martin started VetSuccess and created the veterinary industry’s first business intelligence and data analytics company. In 2018, VetSuccess was sold to Vetsource and Martin transitioned to an executive leadership role in the company. In 2022, Martin left Vetsource to pay attention to VetBooks which he founded with some industry friends in 2017. VetBooks is a leader in veterinary bookkeeping bringing financial control and discipline to independent veterinary practices.

In addition to being an entrepreneur, Martin volunteers his time with RISE Asset Development serving on the organization’s loan review committee and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs. Martin and his wife Tamara live in Nanaimo, British Columbia and have two teenagers and a lovable Texas street dog named Austin.