Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Frederickson.
Dylan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up on a dairy farm in Central Wisconsin. So I was immersed in animal care from day 1. I was drawn to the veterinary career and eventually attended veterinary school at the University of Wisconsin.
I’d been working as a veterinarian for almost 10 years in some good practices in Chicago but felt ready to start a practice on my own that had brand and identity that I could really pour myself into. We opened our first practice in Logan Square–where my wife and I live–and it received a very positive reception in the community and grew quickly.
2 years later we decided to open a second practice in a residential part of River North. Even thought it was downtown it was an area of the city that was relatively underserved in the veterinary space. BLVD Vet River North opened in August 2017.
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?
Opening a business with no business experience whatsoever is a bumpy ride. It requires a lot of patience and diligence to go through the financing process, find a suitable building and budgeting properly for an expensive project like an animal hospital. Fortunately banks are willing to lend, but they require a ton of due diligence before they hand over the money. Of course we were doing this with no clients and no guarantees that people would show up when we opened.
One of the challenges I alluded to was finding suitable space. Zoning laws are quite restrictive as to where you can open a veterinary clinic. We had to hire a special zoning attorney to navigate all that.
It was a challenge to assemble the original team. I had to admit early that I made some hiring mistakes and move past them as quickly as possible. For the past year however we have the most talented, hard-working, drama-free team I’ve ever worked with. It takes time to establish your culture and find team members that support it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a veterinary clinic that provides high-quality neighborhood veterinary care. We focus only on veterinary medicine and can provide a full range of preventative care, advanced diagnostics, surgical and dental procedures as well as long term management of chronic illnesses.
Some things that set us apart:
-Very high medical standards. We are fully accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association–something only 12% of veterinary clinics achieve
-Excellent customer service. We have a culture of pleasing clients, and if we fail in that, we diligently try to assess why, and improve.
-Beautiful well-designed clinics. I’m creative at heart and building our clinics and brand has been so much fun. I feel attention to detail in the physical appearance and comfort of your work place signals attention to detail in the other areas–patient care and medical excellence.
What were you like growing up?
I was a curious farm kid. I felt a lot of responsibility to the farm and animals on it. We didn’t have TV so I read books constantly for entertainment.
Contact Info:
- Address: Boulevard Vet Logan Square
2740 W. Armitage Ave.Boulevard Vet River North
375 W. Erie St. - Website: www.blvd.vet
- Phone: 773-360-1731
- Email: info@blvd.vet
- Instagram: @blvd.vet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boulevardveterinary/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/boulevard-veterinary-logan-square-chicago
- Other: https://www.yelp.com/biz/boulevard-veterinary-river-north-chicago-3
Image Credit:
Aaron Gang
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