Full Transcript for From Neuroscience to Veterinary Innovation: Dr. Marissa Kelso’s Journey

acknowledged it and was like, you know what? We're just gonna go for it. And time is gonna pass anyways, might as well do something that we like to do. Marissa: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It was like the first major pivot. And it was it was hard because growing up it was kind of like you do something and you do it for a long, long time. And so it was switching that over the years it's continued to be, you know, let's switch that up. What's not working, let's make it work for us. T-DAWG: True. Like we were taught for so long that the only way to have a successful career is to work in one company for 35 years. Not just, you know, like not just not doing what you were doing with the one company. Like you fully were like, no, we're just gonna close this chapter and we're gonna start something completely other. So I like it. I appreciate it. Especially Marissa: Yeah. Where are we at? T-DAWG: so many of us, you know, are starting to hit that point in our life where we're like, Well, is this what we want to do? And have completely changed. So that's inspiring. Now you've worked in traditional clinics and now you run a mobile veterinary practice. What was the moment you realized veterinary care could be div delivered differently? Marissa: I reached a point where unfortunately it was it was either I leave this industry completely like or I change it. I could not continue to do what I was doing. and of course it was all around COVID time too. I went back, I went back from my first maternity leave. I had about not even three months of of my daughter being in a galerie at her daycare and then and then COVID happened. and so, you know, we worked we it was hard juggling everything. and then I got pregnant with my second and I was still trying to juggle everything and it just got to I ended up going off early. with my first, I'd really pushed to stay in the industry and stay working for as long as I could until I would go off for my MAT leave, but I just couldn't do it the second time around. My my mental health, my physical health, the strains, the stresses of my career, of being in clinic. In clinic is really, really, really hard. And kudos to anybody who's in there. the you know, seeing 14 plus patients a day, day in, day out, and then having all your follow-up and and everything. it just wasn't the type of medicine that I could that I could or that I wanted to be practicing. and so after I had my second, it was kind like three months of I don't know. I don't know that I can go back in I know I can't go back into the clinic. I just don't know if I can if I can continue to be in this in this industry. and then three months I was like, I don't even know where it came from. but I was like, you know what? I think I could be a mobile vet. and originally it was, I think I can be a mobile in-home euthanasia vet. in terms of although like that is probably something that People view as the hardest part of our job, it really, it really isn't. It's a very emotional one. It's one

that I'm grateful that I'm allowed, I'm able to help pets and their families with, but it's not the hardest part. and being able to help a family, and then T-DAWG: Ha ha ha. Marissa: we kind of move on to another family. and help them. It it didn't have the continued support for for families. It was it wasn't as and and it would allow for more flexibility in terms of my schedule and what I thought I was cap capable slash able to do at that time. And then time goes on things happen for reasons and a number of different things led me to you know what we're gonna do Not full service because we can't do full service mobile, but we can do we can do really, really good at wellness, preventative care. We can do palliative care. We can do those non-emergencies but are still illnesses, sickies, skin infections, ear infections, all those things. And then over time it's just been like, wow, the experience with clients with their pets in home. at home is just completely, completely different and it's so much more relaxing for the owners, the pets and and for me. T-DAWG: I really think you're like the pet whisperer. My cat was like basically like dead to the world the whole time and then he hears your voice and was like, look. It's a cat Marissa: Yeah. T-DAWG: lady. I'm gonna wake up and sing the song of my people Marissa: I Emily Harrington: So Marissa: think we've got a kitty on though. Emily Harrington: I want to dive in a little bit. because I think we touched like I think you touched on some really important points. Not only that like there's such high burnout rates and like mental health struggles in the veterinary industry, but then you throw on like postpartum and adjustments to, you know, not only returning to work after a Matt leave, but then from one kid to two kids and throw in a pandemic. And all of that, like being able to make that switch and f reignite your passion for the industry without completely burning yourself out, is incredible. And I don't think we give enough credit for the power in kind of finding yourself again after you've had kids and again in such a grueling industry too. Marissa: Absolutely, absolutely. Kids and any major adjustment to your family, like that's hard. That's hard. And like Sashi kids, everything it all changes. It all one kid is completely different than two kids. And just I don't know. Before you have kids, you think maybe they're just gonna be the same. And like, you know, people make it look easy and and it's it's not. and Very real. I had a lot of postpartum anxiety. and like those were really, really hard times. and I I they were times that I did a lot of personal work. I did I I started with therapy. I was working with a naturopathic doctor. I was working with a physiotherapist who does a lot of like Hands-on body stuff does myofascial release, a lot of body work. Like I was hitting all of the different modalities and trying to find myself. I think you know, there's there's a lot of things that come out also about having kids, right? And it makes you it makes you reevaluate, it makes you you go back to whether whether you know it or not, like subconsciously, you're going back to when you were a kid and the things that you experienced. And so I think that was a huge part of it too. You start to react to your kids or or try to parent your kids the way that you were and then and then you go, Whoa, this isn't this like, I don't like this. There's things that have changed and there's things that my kids need differently. That sort of thing, especially. I mean, my first, she's now been diagnosed with multiple spectrum. she's she's my spicy girl, and she's been spicy since day one. So, like thinking, why is this so hard? Why is parenting so hard? And then a second one, the second one, thankfully, you know, was was a much easier, much A baby that you could bring out and that you could very easily kind of read her and help her, but the first one you couldn't. And so it makes you question everything. Thankfully, you know, that's when I took the time. I was able to take the time. I I there wasn't really an option, right? You get to those points. I think a lot of people are in that period where they're like, I I I can't not work, I can't. continue to be in this space. And then it's it's making that big leap to talk to those that are supporting you, talk to those that are in your your village, your crew. And the only way out for me, the only way I could see that I would be able to be myself and grow as an individual and support my family was to make a major shift. T-DAWG: And it's so important that you acknowledge that. And something else that I really appreciate that you said, going back to how you started the business, so many entrepreneurs feel like when they start their business, they have to go all out and hit this level of a business right out of the gates. Like I'm going to build this big empire on day one. And what a lot of people don't realize is it doesn't have to be that way. You can start with something small, get really good at that. Build on that every day, build on that, build on that, and you might get your empire one day, but don't feel like you're not successful just because you know you only had two clients versus, you know, the 50 that you're hoping to get, or you're only offering these small amount of services, but you could offer more later. So I think that's really important to talk about with entrepreneurs is that bite off what you can true. Dream big. Absolutely. I want you to reach for the stars. But don't feel like you need to grab all those stars and put them in your basket the moment you decide to become an entrepreneur. Marissa: Mm-hmm. That's huge. Have the dreams, right? Have those ideas, write them down, keep keep thinking about them. and eventually they will they will come or they will change and other dreams will will T-DAWG: Yeah. Marissa: come forward. Like there's there's there's little pivots. the I I I was lucky in

that, you know, I was offering when I started I was offering a unique business. and and it was something that people when they heard about were like, this was this is amazing. And I had a lot of support from from friends and individuals in the in the community and it was I needed it to be a slow growth. I needed it to be a slow. because there's there's so many different protocols that you just like you're kind of making up on the fly and and you're like, I don't have all day every day to work on this. I have a family and they are my priority. And so I have to schedule myself in the be in these hours, in between these hours. I think every year, every I've made changes to my business. I've I based on my clients, I I have the extra time to like do bigger research, do deeper, deeper dives, offer things that are different from what is available in clinic and really help support those those clients. and like that's the fun thing about growth within a business. It can look completely different from what you what you expect. I think it's important to always keep in mind what your Goals are what your things are that you enjoy because it's easy to be taken off path. and that's where things can get a little bit messy, and then you get yourself back into this land of like, wait, I just feel like I'm running, I just feel like I'm busy, I'm feeling like I'm I'm spending all my time on other people, and I I haven't had a chance to like come back to center and see what it is that I want to be doing and how I want to be moving forward through this. So That's been really important. And I think it's important for all entrepreneurs to be moving forward or to be to be you know growing, but also make sure that it's something that you you are still enjoying about your business. You can you can work really, really hard, really hard. You can hustle hard and end up somewhere completely different that you don't recognize, or you can find you can end up where your goals are. T-DAWG: Love that. Now, veterinary medicine sounds freeing, but I imagine it comes with some unique challenges. What has been the hardest part of building that business? Marissa: I think it's good question. I think it's it's actually grown really organically and really nicely. the I think probably the hardest part about anything across the board is boundaries. and there's all sorts of this I learned at the beginning of therapy that one of the first therapy appointments, it was like, we're gonna talk about boundaries. And then sh the therapist was like, What kind of boundaries are there? And I was like, but I don't know, like saying no to people or something. And then she ended up sending me this sheet and it had like, I don't know, it's six to ten different categories of boundaries and all the things within them. And I was like, okay. So so I need to learn about boundaries. and ever since that it's kind of been a practice. I would love I love helping people and I wanna help their animals and sometimes I

have to say no. Whether it's especially as things got busier, I found I was traveling too far. I was spending too T-DAWG: Mm-hmm. Marissa: much time on the road. And so I had to change my area, my radius that I could cover. because although you might think that I like being on the road, I don't, I don't love I don't love it. and so it's like I was getting home, I was tired because I'd been on the road all day and I didn't have time. When I'm on the road, I'm not working on notes or I'm not working on research and and that sort of thing, which there's a lot of background stuff that goes or you know, getting meds made up or those sorts of things, sending out samples. and so I had to, you know, I have to say no to people. that that it's maybe not a good fit or based on location. that one's a little bit easier. But then there's also certain things that it would be better for a client to go to a regular vet clinic. They can offer a lot of like if anybody needs an x-ray, it doesn't really make sense for me to go and fit into my schedule when When it's not something that I'm really gonna be able to, my best recommendation is is gonna be to have some imaging done, or that might be part of the treatment plan. So there's all sorts of different boundaries. The biggest boundary is not letting my my business roll over into my personal life, which is really hard because I am my business. I am the face of my business. but trying and like when there's things that you just want to, you just wanna be able to help an an owner so they're like they have a question, okay. This should be quick, but like, but also then that stress comes over into my personal life. And then, you know, I'm not as I'm not as relaxed for my kids or you know, I respond more reactively to them that I want to. So from from four to seven, really try not to be looking at anything on my phone in the evening so we can I can be with them. Nothing work related. same thing. I used to, you know, you get up, you look at your phone. I'd see emails and be like, my goodness, or I'd see a message from my assistant, my goodness, like I need to get back about that. I stopped doing it until I stopped looking at that stuff. My kids get on the bus, then okay, I can look at it. But like I'm not helping anybody in terms of in terms of replying at that at that time of day. so like those are little boundaries that seem like they would be really easy, but I had to work. to get there, to recognize it and make the change. T-DAWG: You know what's interesting too? One of our other previous guests, Darcy Lang, came on and she talked that she doesn't even look at her phone, not even like personal wise, email-wise, nothing for 45 minutes. So I have my Kindle, so I'll grab it, but I'll read. I won't turn on the airplane because I don't want to see the notifications because if I do it, I'm not strong enough to resist. And that has made a huge difference in my mental health. Just reading. And ignoring the world for forty five

minutes at least, getting your mind the chance to wake up. So I I do respect those boundaries, but it it is crazy how accustomed we are and addicted we are to checking things and knowing things. And it's like, We're gonna survive this. It's gonna be okay. Marissa: Mm. Your phone is your alarm clock. You gotta look at it to turn it off. And T-DAWG: Mm. Yeah. Marissa: then it's easy to get sucked into it. So yeah, I T-DAWG: Yeah. Marissa: I've definitely thought about, you know, charging it in another room. I haven't made that change yet. But yeah, the goal is always less less time. T-DAWG: I actually did get a an alarm clock. Not that we set I don't even need an alarm clock because my frickin kids are up at crack of dawn. But just so in the middle of the night, because I'd wake up and look at my phone to see what time it is, and then obviously get addicted. So I actually got a physical alarm clock that shows the time. So I can just look up, see, it's only two in the morning, go back to bed and not check my phone. And it has made a difference too, because I'd be like, I'll just take a look, see, and then I'm reading smut at two in the morning. It's Marissa: Yeah, yeah. T-DAWG: like, no, not necessary. Marissa: Yeah. T-DAWG: Now looking back, what do you think has been the biggest factor in the success of the mobile vet? Marissa: This one the this is kinda tricky because like I have made it what it is, right? And so I don't I have a hard time acknowledging success or or things that I've that I've done. I really am the face of of my business and I really love helping owners and their pets. and and I'm good at it. Even though it's hard for me to say that like I'm good at it and I enjoy it. and just having a welcoming community people have been so open to it. I'm always surprised. You know, I've been doing it for four, four years in this area, and there's al there's always people that it's it's a new thing for them. They haven't heard about it. and they're they're excited about it. the being being very careful and and just doing what feels right in terms of growing the business. And I believe the clients like the the right clients hear about me and and the right clients at the time hear about me. and so it's a it's a continuous cycle of working really, really hard on the business and working hard in the business. So it is a big You know, sometimes it's really busy in. I've got a lot of clients. It's thus the last month has been a lot of annuals and a lot of, you know, it's that time people think about spring and it's the time to check in with the vet and and and I love that. and then it it makes working on on the business a little bit trickier. but having a good balance of the two, or trying as best as I can, is what I feel like either way, if if either of those things weren't continuously worked on, then it wouldn't be as successful as it is. T-DAWG: Isn't it funny though that you were like, it's taking me really hard to say that I'm good at it? And we're all just kind of like, yeah, we feel that in our soul. Emily Harrington: Yes. T-DAWG: And how pathetic is that to be like, I'm shy to say I'm good at something. No, no, say it as loud as you freaking can. But we all acknowledge it, being like, I feel that in our soul. Marissa: No. Emily Harrington: I think also acknowledging that there is a difference between working in your business versus on your business is a huge thing because I think that's where a lot of early stage entrepreneurs struggle is you start by working on the business and you have a plan and idea and all of these things and then you start to work with the real clients and then you get just so tunnel visioned and so drawn into the world of doing the work that you were trying that you wanted to do. that you forget about all the back end work and trying to find a balance between those two worlds is an ongoing juggling act. So I think even acknowledging that those are two separate pieces of the business is huge. T-DAWG: And Marissa, you've already Marissa: Thank you. T-DAWG: done something that's really incredible that many entrepreneurs have a really tough time of is letting go. You said you have an assistant. And so many entrepreneurs really have a tough time even doing that because they're like, I'll just do it myself. But it's just like, well, no, you don't, you don't need to be great at doing it in min stuff. You need to be great at helping cats and dogs and and animals kind of thing. You have an assistant for that. So that's already a huge step for an entrepreneur in that own right. Marissa: Mm. And and like that was a trial and error process as as well. in terms of, you know, when do you when do you find out or when do you think that you're ready to have an assistant, that you can financially support an assistant, but then also what roles do you want them to have? What do you want them to be responsible for? Yeah, I answered all those emails for a long time. And then it was like, I don't know, can somebody answer these with my words or like in the same way that I would answer this and give as much like support and you know? I have an amazing assistant and we've I think we're like two and a half years now. so for the first year and a half, it was it was me after about a year, that was when I started looking. and I I went through a number in-person assistants, and online virtual assistants. And, you know, those ones didn't work out, but they were they were the work that I needed. I in the work and it was like overwhelming to think of training somebody and then training somebody multiple times, but it was also huge in terms of learning for me, helping with my communication. And and just knowing what I needed, what I wanted from somebody. And then it was just a matter of like, okay, let's find that individual. And that individual found me and we're we're all good. But T-DAWG: Yeah, Marissa: it's it's that's a really stressful part of a business too. You think, great, you

know, we're busy enough, we can have we can bring somebody on and then boy, we find that person and how do we train that person and how we how do we have capacity for that? T-DAWG: Yeah. And that's it too. Like even my husband just took on an assistant and he was like, What do I give her? What do I do? And and and letting go kind of thing. He'd like at first he was like, CC me on every email. And I was like, Okay, now you have like double the emails, honey. I was just like, so trying to find that balance. But so just moving forward, you know, you're continuing on this amazing journey. In twenty twenty five, you helped launch a dedicated spay and neuter clinic while still running your mobile practice. What made you decide to take on a second business? You're still in the baby phases of one business. You're like, you know what, not busy enough. Let's go round two. Marissa: Yeah. I like challenges. I'd like adventures. no, one of a veterinarian in the neighborhood, actually. She just lives down the road. But in the veterinary community we have this group that's the DVM moms. and it's just veterinary moms that talk about all the different things. Anyway, sh I guess she was in that group, so she reached out to me as another DVM mom, and was like, Hey, I live from close by. Would you be up for, you know, chatting sometime, hanging out? and and so it originally it was her her goal. That was it was something that was on her mind in terms of what she wanted to start it. She was curious if we could share the space in terms of my mobile practice, maybe having a base and and other days that I wasn't there, it being a Spaniard or clinic. I didn't really need a home base. I the whole premise of mine is that it's a mobile practice. but in speaking with her and looking at it, it was like, hey, I've already started a clinic. This is a very different clinic, but I can also, we can get this off the ground and running. And it offered supports to the community and the pet the pet parents and the pets in the community that I wasn't able to offer as a mobile vet. So it also we were it kind of all fell into place in terms of the property. We just found like the perfect property for it, the perfect space for it. It wasn't even a question of if that space was gonna be ours. and then we just made it happen. so And and like it's a wonderful it's a wonderful space. We love, love, love all the support that we've gotten thus far. and that we continue to get. And the word is just getting out now and it's continuing to to be a place for for our pets and our pet parents. And I I just I like a good challenge. T-DAWG: I So it and it was amazing. I remember talking to you when this dream just started happening from like an insurance perspective. And we weren't able to help, but I remember looking at it being like, my gosh, this is it. Like she's gonna do great things because it didn't just have because there's multiple, you also have a property on it too. So you're a landlord and this business and the mobile vet, and you have like little horses too. So like this is just Marissa: I'm ready to T-DAWG: You know, cheaper by the dozen. Yeah. Emily Harrington: Little horses, little children, all the little things running around. Marissa: And it just sound it sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud, but I do T-DAWG: Yeah. Marissa: I haven't given like the major, major, major props to my wife, who is also a like just let's get it done individual. She does the books. she's done she's always done the books for my company, but she does books for other companies. She's done it, she does them for the the Spain Ruder Clinic. She is part owner in a rental property management company. and so in terms of the rentos, in terms of the stuff that we had to do to update the house and then have a tenant. and then and then we have a lot of acreage at the at the farm. it's a beautiful, beautiful space. It it does lend itself hugely to my mental health and spending time there. It was just kind of everything all together that that that I wanted and that would be supportive to my mental mental health and I and I really hope that I can make this space supportive for for others that are in the industry. T-DAWG: And it's good to acknowledge the support we do get from our partners. You know, like Jordan is building his financial planning business and I'm in the kind of he has to write a newsletter. So we were going over like ideas today and stuff. And it's just, you know, being supportive there. But this weekend there was the garage sale in the new in the neighborhood. And my daughter came running in. She's like, Mom, dad needs one of your business cards for Let's Network. And I was like, what? And he's just like, Yeah, there's a lady that just moved here is looking to meet people. So he wants to give out your business card. I was like, Thank him, Daddy. Like, I appreciate that. So it does Marissa: Yes. T-DAWG: make a huge difference when you have a supportive partner. Now, Marissa: Mm-hmm. T-DAWG: you know, saying in saying that you do have multiple businesses, how do you decide where to spend your time and energy when you have multiple businesses competing for your attention? Marissa: It's a juggling act. it's a juggling act. I I have a I have a partner with the with the business. And so it was never my intention to be necessarily on the floor long term for the at the Spay Neuter Clinic, right? I have a a partner who is an incredible surgeon and she's running the day-to-day in the clinic. And then I'm helping manage, oversee, make decisions, those sorts of things. So those things I fit in to my to my day. I really try to have one one day a week where I'm working on on the businesses, trying to catch up on or do the research or figure out, you know, how can we if we can get the cost of microchips down or Emily Harrington: Mm-hmm. Marissa: those sorts of things. and it's it's a juggling act. Every week is different in terms of the the number of of

appointments that I'm seeing, or the number of appointments like some appointments are longer than others. If it's a booster vaccine, then it it's not as intensive. If it's a first time that I'm meeting a client, we're spending a lot of time together. We're spending a lot of time together and I'm asking a lot of questions and just trying to get to know. the family, the pet, if there's multiple pets, the dynamic, that sort of thing. and so on those weeks I don't do as much in person. I do go to the farm every day 'cause the horses are there. and sometimes, you know, it's it's to feed them, it's to take a few deep breaths. It's to listen to them eating and and just doing their horsey things. And that's like calming to the nervous system. And trying to do that between when my kids get picked up on the bus and when they get dropped off. T-DAWG: Which is really only like six hours. Like it's so hard to think that once your kids go to school, you're like, my gosh, I'll have all this time. No. And then they're sick half the time and there's a PD day every second week. Like it's not what we thought it was gonna be. Like when we were done paying with daycare bills, it's like, I actually have less time than school. Marissa: No. Yeah. And then summer camp, summer camp for us, then we they're home for an extra hour and a half in the morning. So the summer days are harder in terms of you you got, you know, the same amount of stuff to do and less hours. but you know, there's your boundary. Like I can't do it all. I can't do it all and continue to do it. And so where do we have to make The changes. T-DAWG: And not only that, in the summertime, Emily Harrington: Yeah. T-DAWG: because later later, they were like, Well, no, the sun's still up and so they're feral for longer. And you're like, and then I like Marissa: already on you. T-DAWG: this week, I was like, When's the last time you took a bath? And now doing tick checks? Like, I have never been so up and close and personal with my children. I was just like, I am not made for parenting in the summer, country, all these things, but we're doing the hard things. Marissa: That's very good. Emily Harrington: So can we also dive into what it means to be like an entrepreneur family with all of these things on the go? Because when you're both entrepreneurs, like to think every day looks different for the two of you. And you've gotta c there's gotta be so many checks and balances and communication that happens that I think when you're just in a nine to five, that you don't realize how much mental Jenga both of you are playing constantly to make sure that everybody's getting their things done and the time to do it. Marissa: My goodness, that like hits the nail on the head. exactly. In terms of every day is different, which which is great. And that's, you know, we had to choose, we had to choose a life of flexibility, in terms of and and like having kids and when kids are sick, and like you mentioned, like during the school year, like if we I couldn't imagine if we both had. regular jobs. Like you you only one of you would be able to work. Like the number of times that and and my oldest, like we have a lot of appointments with her to help support her and her needs. And and like I don't know, we like only one of us could work. And and now that our second is is at school and our sister needs a lot of time separate from her, but they're on the buses together like They we really both need to be home when the kids get off the bus and they need their individual time. They need our world just needs one-on-one time. and so every day is a juggle, in terms of, you know, are we both gonna be home? We're both on the road. So like you're looking at the clock. we're both we work from home, but we're also on the on the road. So It is it's huge. Our our life probably looks very different than the lives of others. I guess, like, I don't know, there's after school programs and stuff that some kid kids would go to. I have really early risers and like my oldest, she's finished when she gets home. and and it's like we both have to be there and we both have to be there to support the family. And and that can be really hard because we don't get a lot of just ask time. we don't get a lot of alone time because it's even hard. We've got great great support systems. but it's it's hard to get away. We have to be very like choosy in the times that that we're we're going away and doing something as as a couple and that takes a toll on a on a relationship. being in being entrepreneurs, like we we both have big goals and they're they're we're working together on them, but yeah, there's all the conversations are work and kids and schedules. And we have thankfully my wife got us set up with a we're all in the same Google Calendar and everybody's color coded and she had she had to train me pretty good on that because I had a hard time putting stuff in the calendar. T-DAWG: Yeah. Marissa: yeah. T-DAWG: use cozy and it makes a huge difference because the color coding and we say if something's in there first, you get priority. But it's funny because Emily and I have talked about like the nine to five jobs and and both people doing and the stuff. Like I had a nine to five job and I had so much vacation and it was great because you know, I was in Florida just a few weeks ago and like when I closed that laptop at my old job, I was like, I'll see you in two weeks. Bye. And this time, like I was checking my email every day just to make sure I had flexibility. They weren't expecting to maybe be beyond 24-7, but I was checking it. I was making sure the newsletter was going on. And that part was kind of like, well, did I really get a vacation? However, you know, I have so much flexibility at home. So entrepreneurs do have to deal with that. Yes, you may not get that full off ever again. But if your kid is sick or your kid has a concert, you don't have to answer to as many people to go to it. So it's

really choosing. the life that you want and figure out what works best. Now, something you kind of touched on and you've been very open about it, which I really appreciate. Mental health and veterinary medicine is something you're very passionate about. Why do you think this issue doesn't get enough attention outside of the profession? Marissa: Always curious about that in terms of and I and I've brought it up, you know, I bring it up on the regular, but it's like within the community, it's so known. I think I think mostly the work has to be done within the the veterinary community. and and some of the stuff that's just it's been seen as part of our role, part of our job, you know, not having boundaries, supporting everybody and everything in any way that you can, it's not a sustainable way to do things. the type of individuals that are also drawn towards vet medicine, I'd argue compared to maybe some other roles, it's it's the people that really connect well with animals. And and then we have to deal with people. T-DAWG: The worst. Yeah. Marissa: The animals don't come by themselves, right? and and I love I I love people. but I really connect with the animals. And so I think a lot of those people do tend to be people that maybe have a little bit more trauma from when they were younger, that that, you know, maybe were ostracized a bit or weren't included so much with people or or that sort of thing. Also, like neurodiversity in the veterinary community, I think is I I don't have a study on it, but I would I would like to guess that it's higher. And so there is an a higher amount of of you know trauma in those individuals, or there's a higher chance that they have been they have had more difficult times and and so like yes, we lean into animals and And that's our community. And then and then the flip side of it is we hear they're in it for the money. They don't really care. and and we're like people pleasers to the max and we just want to help. and so it can be really, really hard when the push from within the industry is you need to work as hard as you can, we need to, you know, see as many pets as we can. we're we're trying really hard. We're trying to figure out these diseases and things that are wrong with these pets that like we don't have a magic eight ball. We have we have testing that can tell us. We do have great medicine. We have great options, but also like we need to probably do some of those testing to be able to appropriately treat or give the best recommendation. so the the the role itself is stressful. and then I I don't know I don't know from the outside, from like the community. I hear a lot of like I love my veterinarian, I love my clinic, I love and I also hear I you know, I have a hard time, I'm not seeing the same person, I I feel like I'm more of a number, I feel like I'm not listened to as my client and and not supported. So it's like how do you bring these sides together? There's every you know, there's a lot more to both

sides of it. The I think the main thing is like be compassionate for people. Bets are people. Those that work on the industry are people. owners are people. They just, they want to do their best, the best that they can for their, for their pets. and just like take a moment. Take a moment and try to try to connect with people as people that are just trying to do their best on either side of it. T-DAWG: And I think too, like the veterinarians that I've met have been so empathetic. They're empathetic towards the animal, they're empathetic towards, you know, the the owner. So you're trying to balance so many feelings and and I can believe that veterinary medicine can involve compassion fatigue, difficult conversations and grief. What habits or boundaries have you helped stay healthy and avoid burnout? Like you're there at some of the worst times in a family's life. So what do you kind of do to help that for yourself? Marissa: Yeah. I mean it's it's huge and it continues to be a practice. They talk about a vet medicine, you know, it is a practice. It is I go through periods. We've talked about that as this at Let's Network events. we've talked about things to help in terms of when we are feeling burnt out. I think the biggest one for me is like recognizing that you're going down that hole. You're going down that road. And there's different levels of it. And it's not that you're never gonna feel overwhelmed. It's that the sooner you recognize it, the sooner that you can start making some adjustments. it's like I wasn't recognizing it until I was way down the road and just like, I'm overwhelmed with everything. One of the first first tells for me. Well, one, it's like, I I just I just gotta get this done. I wanna. Take control and perfect everything and and get everything done. It's like I'm just gonna get this done and then I'll feel better, and then all these clients will be will be helped. And it's like, no, it's okay for this to happen tomorrow, or it's okay for this to happen the next day. Right? It's like T-DAWG: Emily, are you listening? Emily Harrington: As as a chronic yes, overachiever, I am ver I'm like, Yep, yep, I've ticked all of these boxes until I burn myself to a crisp. T-DAWG: Ha ha ha Marissa: Yeah. We're like, I'll just go in. And then I can T-DAWG: Yeah. Marissa: breathe. But but that is telling my nervous system that I'm not that that's my nervous system being like you're not safe. You're not safe. In order to be to be safe, you need to fix all the problems. so that and then also I noticed that in the car I'm like, Do I want to listen to the radio? Do I want to listen to a podcast? No, I'm listening to nothing. And and like it took me a few rounds of like usually you just you you also need to schedule a vacation. You get to a point where you're like, it's just been too many weeks. You're like, my goodness, am I gonna be able to do this anymore? And then you schedule a vacation. And even if the vacation isn't super relaxing or restful, you come back and you're like, okay, I've got new ideas. I wanna, I wanna do this, I wanna try this, I wanna work. this into my into my day, that kind of thing. And and you get you need that mind break. You talked about how, you know, we we we're on our computer, we have our jobs have access to us. We have access to our jobs, even on vacation. but taking a mind break, even though it's really hard to do, and you're like, I gotta get all this done before I can do that. it's huge. One of my mentors, She's like, put it on the calendar. You know, look at the calendar as a year and block off these, you know, you wanna you need four weeks or, you know, spread it out. and that that also very much helps. When when I'm at the end of my rope, like, why I can't do this. Why is this so hard? I haven't had a vacation in a while. We have to make this happen. T-DAWG: My dad always says that fatigue makes cowards of us all too. And so when you're tired and things just seem like they're so overwhelming, it's just like we're children again, go take a nap, go to bed at seven Marissa: Усі T-DAWG: o'clock. You need to reset. Now I just want to quickly dive into something else. So as a member of the LGBTQ plus community, have there been experiences that have shaped the way you lead your businesses, build teams, or connect with clients? Marissa: think I've been really lucky in that, you know, it's always at least facing, like forward facing to me, I've I've always it's always been very positive. my goal for clients, any clients for me, I mean, if somebody's welcoming me into their home, I want them to be I want them to be comfortable. and and so if I can offer that to individuals who wouldn't necessarily or who would wor be worried about that, right? In terms of are they gonna be judged? I'm going into a home and like I see a lot. I see a lot about a person when I go into their home and I and I love it. You know, I don't get that when I when you're in an exam room. and I don't think I paid attention to it for a long time when I first started because I was like, okay, the pet, like I don't want to be intruding on somebody's face, but now I I get to learn a lot more about an individual, a family with with the stuff that they have around there and in their homes and and I can connect with them on that. so I just want it, I just I'd l I love to be an an ally and a safe person for people to invite into their homes. And if somebody can see what I'm doing and say, hey, you know, she she's married to a woman and she's doing everything that she wants to be doing. Like it doesn't really feel like it's necessarily a part of of our everyday lives because we're just living our lives how we want to be, how we want to be and what and I'm really fortunate at the beginning there was definitely more comments, probably from those that are closer to me, that were like, you know, you're gonna have to be careful in terms of who you tell and how you live your life. And you know,

there may be people that don't support you. you know that don't want to be clients because of your lifestyle. and thankfully that was I think that was people trying to be protective and it's never been it's never been an issue. so if I can if I can help others in the community be more comfortable and help their pets and and them you know if they weren't comfortable going into a clinic if Then I can offer them that comfort and safety, then I'd love to be there for that. T-DAWG: So now what advice Marissa: Okay. T-DAWG: would you give to the LGBTQ plus professionals who want to build successful businesses while staying authentic to who they are? And I remember you spoke at one of the Let's Network events. And you're like, I am very clear as to who I am. So that there's, you know, maybe someone doesn't want to work with me or they do want to work with me. So you are very authentic. You're like, this is who I am. I'm not hiding it. So what advice would you give to others who are starting to kind of build their business? Marissa: It's funny, as you asked that, I just had this like aha moment that was really, really interesting. And and it may have I don't know, I don't want to give it too much credit, but I also feel like it may be what has just made it easier for me in that my you know, my biggest challenge is it it wasn't Or like the hardest thing wasn't starting the business or wasn't starting businesses. the hardest time or the biggest shift was when I star I looked inward and I was like, hey, actually I'm not living my life the way that that I think I'm meant to be living it. and so like the biggest leap was probably Being like, hey, actually I am attracted to women, to women. And actually, I I had the experience where it was one individual. I met one individual. I was already curious, but then like I met, I met my wife, and like there was absolutely zero question about it. And then it was like, how do I bring this to my world? Like, how do I how do I, you know? You have to tell people. I I I don't know that I would do it differently now, but at that point, like that was the biggest thing. And so since I was able to do that, if you're able to do that, if you're able to you know be truthful and say something that's really, really personal personal, be vulnerable. with your community, with your family, with your community, with your friends. Like if you can do that and come out the other side and and thankfully I think there's a lot There's kind of less shock about it than there was whatever, twelve, thirteen years ago. I I like to think, but I know that's not the case for everybody, and I know not everybody has support. But hiding hiding who you are is like life is so much more important than that. And being yourself and and living your true life, being open to those challenges, not not easy in all aspects. But yeah, I think like that was probably the hardest thing for me to do. And then running a business, you know, I didn't really have to worry

what about what other people thought about me because I had already had the biggest challenge or what felt like the biggest challenge. T-DAWG: And I love that too, because it doesn't just, you know, that doesn't just revolve around the LGBTQ community. It's everyone. Like, be true to yourself. If you're like, this isn't what I want to do, I'm not gonna shrink myself to be in this room. There are other rooms that I can go to. And we've talked about that numerous times on Less Network. If you're at a table that doesn't allow you to have your voice, build your own damn table. Because there's plenty of success to go around. And like you said, life is too short. To worry about people say, I was at the airport and you know, I started dancing and Ellie's like, Mom, what are doing? And I was like, I'm dancing. She's like, but people can see. I was I'm not gonna see these people ever again. I was just like, I don't care. And I was like, I wanna be the weird one. It's fine. And Marissa: Mm. T-DAWG: so, but in her mind, she was like, I will never recover from this. I was like, that's like hey, buddy. Now, just to like kind of finish everything up. So between the mobile holistic care, the spay neuter clinic, fostering horses. mental health advocacy, and your new concierge memberships, which is really cool. What's the vision for the next five years and what impact do you hope to leave on both veterinary medicine and the families you serve? No big deal, no pressure. Marissa: No big deal, no pressure. Yeah. and I think it's great to have five year plans. I think it's I think it's how things move really how you can move things forward. you don't realize how how short that can be. And it's really great to back in your five year, ten years and be like, Wow, you know, we did that, we moved that forward. Whew. continuing to like grow my space and make my space more more beautiful and just feel even more comfortable in in my body and in what I'm offering. the you know, the businesses will continue to grow. I will continue to have to shift how I work in them and on them and my outside you know, then my outside of the workspace stuff. I I'd like to work towards like the kids, things are gonna change so much in the next five years. They're they're five and seven. so it's kind of like what are their schedules gonna entail? How are they gonna be growing and what are they gonna be wanting to do and what challenges am I going to be helping them with? It's really fun. It's exciting. I'd like a little bit more horse time in my day. T-DAWG: I literally was like, all I want to hear is she's getting some more ponies that I can just come feed. Marissa: my goodness. I really, really want my mini to come over to the farm. Him and some other minis and ponies are are my business partners, and I really want he may he brings me so much joy. I would love to at the farm be able to do some some pony or some mini visits, some horsey visits. It's just so good for the nervous system. and and continuous continue to work towards something for the veteran community where I they can they can have supports where I can give them support and give them an idea that like there is light at the end of the tunnel and you can make changes, you can shift things so that you can be living your best life and and doing what you really enjoy. T-DAWG: Awesome. Well, thank you so much. This is amazing. And it's been so inspiring meeting you. We've only known each other for these few years and it's just you're just such a wonderful person. Even hearing your voice is like soothing to me. I was like, This is great. So if you wanna let us know where people can find you on social media, Marissa: Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. Excited to have this chat. I've loved our Let's Network events and there's always fun things. I I I'm I'm not a super peoply person, but I love going to these and finding out what else is in the community. and and it's been really great. It's been a really great network to have. So thank guys for setting that up and getting it, getting it going and supporting it and continuing to to work on it. I am the mobilevet.ca on on Facebook, on Instagram. I do the social media for for the mobile vet and then also ovspay neuter.ca Ottawa Valley Spay Neuter Clinic also on Instagram and Facebook. And please, please, we have availabilities for dogs and cats for spays and neuters. please let anybody know who has puppies or kitties or even older pets that that could benefit from spare neuter surgery and prevent them from having some medical illness issues later on and as Barker Bob Barker says, please. Spand new to your pets. T-DAWG: That's Emily Harrington: Yeah. T-DAWG: awesome. Emily Harrington: well, thank you so much. We are so excited you were able to join us. Thank you to everyone who has listened today, and we will catch you on the next episode of Let's Network the Podcast.