Vetted in Vet Med: Episode 4: Built from the Struggle: How Dr. Milligan Became the CEO of Her Own Vet Life: Part 2

This conversation delves into the signs and impacts of burnout among veterinary professionals, exploring emotional exhaustion, compassion fatigue, and the importance of self-care. The speakers share personal experiences and insights on navigating challenges in the veterinary field, including issues of racism and sexism, while emphasizing the significance of community support and representation in fostering a healthier work environment. In this conversation, Sherrelle Milligan shares her experiences navigating mistrust in the veterinary field, the emotional toll of personal challenges, and the sacrifices made in her professional journey. She discusses the impact of her husband's career decisions on their family life, the challenges of relocating, and the motivation behind starting her own veterinary practice. The dialogue highlights the complexities of being a Black woman in veterinary medicine and the importance of community support and networking opportunities. In this conversation, Sherrelle Milligan shares her journey in veterinary medicine, discussing the challenges faced by veterinarians, particularly women and people of color. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive workplace culture, the impact of burnout, and the need for self-care and mental health support. Milligan also talks about her plans for expanding her veterinary practice and the significance of using technology to improve veterinary care. The discussion highlights the importance of community, mentorship, and the drive to create a supportive environment for future veterinarians.

Takeaways

Burnout can manifest in various ways, including emotional exhaustion and detachment.
Recognizing signs of burnout is crucial for recovery.
Compassion fatigue is a common issue in veterinary medicine.
A reduced sense of accomplishment can lead to feelings of failure.
Self-care practices are essential for mental health.
Community support plays a vital role in overcoming challenges.
Personal stories of resilience can inspire others in the profession.
Experiences of racism and sexism are prevalent in veterinary medicine.
Representation matters in creating a more inclusive environment. 
It's exhausting to prove myself to clients.
I had to support my husband in his career choices.
The emotional toll of miscarriages affected my work.
I had to build my practice from the ground up.
Corporate practices can push you to start your own thing.
I had to be 100% on board to start my practice.
The journey of relocation was life-changing.
Networking opportunities at Ivy League schools are invaluable. Veterinary work can be overwhelming and stressful.
Leaving a toxic work environment can lead to personal growth.
Building a family-owned practice allows for a positive workplace culture.
Maintaining the soul of veterinary medicine is crucial.
Acquisition strategies can help expand veterinary practices.
Embracing technology can enhance veterinary care.
Adjusting prices to reflect market value is necessary for sustainability.
Creating a supportive workplace culture fosters employee growth.
Therapy and self-care are essential.

Chapters

• 0:00 Navigating Challenges in Veterinary Care
• 1:18:43 The Value of Ivy League Education
• 1:24:42 Entrepreneurial Aspirations and Challenges
• 1:35:49 Overcoming Corporate Challenges
• 1:52:31 Empowering Women in Veterinary Medicine
• 2:01:20 Celebrating Achievements and Future Aspirations

Transcript

Dr. Daveeta Levy (00:36)

All right. So now we going down, because we got to go down memory lane ⁓ with you. So.

Sherrelle Milligan (00:40)

Okay. ⁓ Lord.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (00:43)

Now we are venturing, we're on the train. The next stop is your departure from Texas, which was, you know, so heartbreaking for me.

Sherrelle Milligan (00:54)

Yeah.

I know.

When I tell you I did not want to leave at first, I was very, very, I mean, I didn't want to leave because I don't want to leave my friend. You know, that's a big part. Also, we were very stable. Like we just bought a house. We had a baby, blah, blah, blah. And like very shortly after we bought our house, ⁓ my husband shares that he wants to go back to school and get his MBA. And not just to get his MBA because he can get his MBA anywhere.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (01:06)

⁓ no.

Sherrelle Milligan (01:25)

he really wanted to go to one of the top universities. A lot of his coworkers, he was at the time working for Chevron, not even his coworkers, I'm sorry, that's the wrong word, his friends, literally friends, Tuskegee grads that were at Chevron with him, which I'm so proud of. I'm so proud of that group. One of them went to Harvard, one went to MIT, one went to Penn. And so, and he saw like,

He would hear about what their experience was like at getting their MBA at these schools and the networking opportunities and just the life-changing experience it is going through that program. But I really did not want to go. I was very much so like, why do you have to leave? You're just trying to be like everybody else. Why do you feel like you have to do this? We're so good. And I realized I was being selfish.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (02:17)

Hmm. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (02:18)

I was being selfish, to be honest. I was really

thinking about my own stability. I was really thinking about the present. I was really thinking about...

myself and not really like what his like what life would be like if he didn't try to do this. You know what I mean? Like the regret and the exactly probably the resentment. You know what I mean? If I kept him from it, you know, ⁓ and he would rightfully have like, I would understand that in this mindset that I'm in now, like this is something that is really important for you to try to do. I say that like this on this end, I was not

Dr. Daveeta Levy (02:35)

So many of them.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (02:36)

The resentment that he would have

Dr. Daveeta Levy (02:41)

Mm-hmm. he's not a tyrant.

Sherrelle Milligan (02:57)

thinking that like that, you know, on that, on the other end. But he tried, the first time he tried, there was a wait, he was on the wait list for it. And then he reapplied like the following semester or something like that. It wasn't until I literally, until I said, I'm on board with this 100%. And I supported him.

you know, like 85 % I would like watch Asher while he studied and you know, all that, but I still wasn't 100 % on board. And it wasn't until like I was 100 % on board that like literally maybe a week after we had that conversation, he got the phone call that he got in with the scholarship, okay?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (03:43)

Hmm.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (03:43)

Yeah, baby

the universe be universe and the gods be gods and the ancestors be ancestors. Okay? They like, listen, I know my girl struggling but we gonna work it out. As soon as she accepts, everything's gonna fall into place. I love it. Love it.

Sherrelle Milligan (03:49)

Yes. Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (03:51)

you

Sherrelle Milligan (03:54)

Yes. Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (03:56)

Right.

Sherrelle Milligan (04:01)

Yeah, yeah,

About to say bye to my friends.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (04:06)

Thank you.

Sherrelle Milligan (04:07)

That's fine.

And yeah, we, the house was being rented at the time because it wouldn't get sold. And we packed up our stuff and moved across the country. And, you know, me, Asher, and Roderick we went from like a nice, you know, like 2,500 square foot house in, you know, Houston to a 650.

600 square foot student housing department in New Hampshire. You know what mean? Not very nice at all. I was pissed when I showed up and saw how bad. Just like.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (04:38)

But it's

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (04:44)

It's still shot.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (04:47)

real passion and she doctored it up

Sherrelle Milligan (04:50)

Oh yeah, I tried.

never got it to where I needed it to be, but it was only two years. And I also realized there's more than just where you live when it comes to being here. We ended up having an amazing experience, literally life-changing experience. We still, of course, still talk to people that... We went to three weddings this season, one in South Africa, one in Baltimore, and one...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (04:55)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (05:20)

That's in, in Rochester, Minnesota. The daughter, the dad of the daughter that got married is one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the world. Like literally the top orthopedic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic. And we got to go to his wedding because Roderick is very good friends with the son who went to Tuck with him, you know.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (05:38)

in middle the night.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (05:46)

Nice.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (05:46)

Mmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (05:47)

That's

just a small, small, small example of the people that you encounter when you say, okay, I'm gonna try to go to these Ivy League schools and see what it's about. Don't let people fool you and make you feel like, not to encourage your children or people you know to pursue that. We'd like to have the mindset. It's like the money thing. I don't wanna have a lot of money because it's gonna make me have more problems.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (06:00)

Yeah, I knew it.

I ain't never said that.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (06:15)

I ain't never

Sherrelle Milligan (06:16)

But

you know how people are. You know how people act like.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (06:20)

I

know people say that, but I ain't never said that.

Sherrelle Milligan (06:24)

Yes, yes.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (06:25)

Well.

The person who said it got real problems. But

Sherrelle Milligan (06:27)

They got real problems, okay?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (06:28)

Right, right.

Look, I love money and money loves me

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (06:32)

have them kind of issues.

Sherrelle Milligan (06:34)

Yes,

but it's the same thing with schooling too, where they like to tell us, know, especially in the Black community, like, just go to school, doesn't matter what school, you know, and it is a huge accomplishment for us to get to school and graduate and, you know, go, but I just want to spread the word that there's another level of ⁓ connection and

Dr. Daveeta Levy (06:38)

yeah. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Thank

Sherrelle Milligan (07:03)

I don't know, it's just this whole other world when you meet these Ivy League people. mean, you just learn about a whole different type of living, like a whole different mindset, like a whole different... It's just, it's different. I would never tell my kid, go to Harvard, don't go to Dartmouth, don't...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (07:23)

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (07:31)

Because there's something they they get something there that they that they just can't get other places You know what I mean? And and if they if they decide not to go to those places and go somewhere else I still love them. I'm still proud of them. Like if y'all hear this 20 years from now, your mom loves you. She's so proud but the reality is that there's a difference between for example getting your MBA From another school in New Hampshire

Dr. Daveeta Levy (07:36)

Bye.

Nuff.

Sherrelle Milligan (07:56)

versus getting your MBA from Dartmouth. It's a different experience. It's a different dynamic. And the way that he did it, he literally, he lived on campus. He like engulfed himself in the program really like, he was just a student. He wasn't working nothing. was just, I was working, okay, while he was in school. Yes, yes, yes. So that.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (08:16)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you're the first. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (08:25)

I

was really upset at him going at first, at him wanting to go. And then I accepted it. And then we went after he got accepted, we experienced it together. He graduated. And then we came to a crossroads of like, okay, what happens now? And so when that happened, he, because of his Ivy league MBA, got an amazing position at Apple, like right out of business school.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (08:40)

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (08:54)

He interned for Apple as well while he was in school. ⁓ But it's not really very common for somebody to get an internship or a job right out of school at Apple. It's a very competitive program and he worked as a global supply chain manager for them. So he was responsible for making all the business deals and negotiations for all the parts and things for whatever device he was working on.

So that involves California as a place. And we discussed options of us all moving to California versus us not going to California. And he really wanted to work for Apple. I supported him in that, but I was like, it makes no sense for all of us to go there because it's too expensive.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (09:28)

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (09:52)

like for what we were wanting. We have no family there. We already struggled in Texas, not having any, you know, family to help us raise the kids. We had Daveeta like Daveeta literally, Daveeta was our family in Texas. And we had, of course, like my aunt and uncle in Austin, but like locally, like our family, were at, you know, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day. We going to Daveeta, we going to Daveeta, Darrell and Tressie's house, okay?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (10:08)

Mm.

Hmm.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (10:17)

I'll take it.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (10:20)

you

Sherrelle Milligan (10:20)

That's what's happening. ⁓

there's a... It's different, you know, actually having a friend in town. In California, I literally would have had nobody, no, not a single person. And so I was like, I don't think we can do this, you know? And we're never, like, we don't even say the D word. Like, that's not even an option, like...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (10:36)

Thank you.

Sherrelle Milligan (10:48)

And it wasn't even that kind of conversation, but I can imagine for some married couples that might be on the table with that kind of decision to make. But we decided instead, was that.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (10:54)

FNNFNNNN

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (10:58)

That's a lot.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (11:01)

Yes.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (11:02)

that though to in my brain I'm just like that's a stretch like okay somewhere else

Dr. Daveeta Levy (11:04)

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (11:06)

⁓ yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (11:10)

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (11:10)

Yeah. Right. yeah. yeah. And so.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (11:12)

It happens all the time.

traditional.

don've have to be so traditional.

Sherrelle Milligan (11:18)

Exactly,

exactly. We decided that we were going to try having him live in California during the week and then come home on the weekends to see us. then I would just, while we were in New Hampshire, we were making that choice that we would move to South Carolina, the family would move to South Carolina.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (11:22)

you

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (11:35)

Y'all are still in New Hampshire.

You

Sherrelle Milligan (11:43)

because

it's closer to Roderick's side of the family. They're from Augusta, Georgia, so that's like an hour away. His mom was already wanting to move to South Carolina as well. So I was like, I'm just gonna follow his mom. Where my mom lives, there's not a lot of opportunities for growth and jobs and stuff like that, like where my mom and dad live. But where she was wanting to move, there was lots of things that I could do. There were

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (11:56)

Hey, mom.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (11:56)

Mm-hmm. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (12:12)

different clinics and things like that I could choose to work at. And I wanted a house. And so we literally, was pregnant with William, my second one, and it was during COVID. And so we built the house in South Carolina remotely while we were living in New Hampshire, which is a whole other, turned out well, turned out okay, but that was a whole other thing to stress and stuff like that. Eventually.

you know, Roderick decided to leave Apple because they were trying to make him go back. He was working remote for the most part initially. He didn't have to do the commute that much back and forth, but they were trying to make him go back to California permanently. And so ⁓ we were like, no, not happening. ⁓ And...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (12:55)

Mm-hmm. Especially

after having the house built. Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (13:01)

He trippin', I ain't goin' nowhere.

He didn't even ask me, he didn't even ask, he knew, like, I mean, at that point he didn't want to either, because he, you know, it was a really hard position. I mean, he did fantastic with it, but, I mean, he said that's the hardest that he ever worked in his life, working for Apple. ⁓ he, so that's when, that was around when I decided that I wanted to start my own practice, and,

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (13:08)

Never. Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (13:16)

Hmm

No

Sherrelle Milligan (13:30)

I told him, you're not 100 % on board with this, I'm not going to do it. You know what I mean? Because I've had other entrepreneurial endeavors in the past, and that didn't really go as far as I would have liked. But it's a journey. yeah. Thank you. It's a journey. Yes. Thank you. That's OK. I mean, I remember in vet school, I was selling soap and lotion to our professors between class. You know what I mean?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (13:34)

⁓ I'm happy.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (13:45)

I loved it. I loved it.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (13:56)

Thank you.

Sherrelle Milligan (13:58)

That's the Harlem Hustler.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (13:59)

The body butter. Yeah, I'm like,

had a whole workstation, a whole little warehouse situation.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (14:06)

Thank you.

Sherrelle Milligan (14:08)

Yes, yes. And when I was in New Hampshire, I actually had a church allow me to use their basement to make soap, you know, for the nonprofit that Daveeta and I were ⁓ starting at that time. I've always had that like, you know, entrepreneurial wanting to start something type of mentality. But I said, if you're not 100 % on board, I'm not, I'm not doing it.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (14:16)

You won.

Mm.

Sherrelle Milligan (14:33)

And when I presented it to him, he was like, I'm 99 % on board, which was like really high, you know, in compared to like other things. So I was like, okay. And the more he sat and thought about it and meditated on it, he was eventually like, I'm a hundred percent on board and I want us to do this together. And I was like, yeah, because he has that business acumen, you know, Dartmouth and I have the medical side. And so us coming together was like,

Dr. Daveeta Levy (14:34)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mmm... yeah.

and writing.

Right.

Sherrelle Milligan (15:03)

That was, it was, that's how we got here. Yes. Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (15:04)

Magic. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (15:04)

So

just still in like the entrepreneurial bug, that's what drove you from not wanting to own a clinic to wanting to own a clinic. There was nothing else at all.

Sherrelle Milligan (15:20)

Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (15:22)

Yeah,

what was the last straw? Like, yeah, what was like, okay, you know what, I'm done with this. I'm starting my own stuff.

Sherrelle Milligan (15:24)

⁓ I know y'all wanna hear about that. Yes, yes,

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (15:28)

I'm

Sherrelle Milligan (15:29)

yes,

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (15:30)

sick of this. I'm outta here. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (15:34)

yes. yes. We've all had similar.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (15:36)

And

before you answer that, I do just want to say, like, it's really admirable and I feel like for other couples, other married people that, you know, the marriage looks the way that you want it to look. It is not one way and it does sometimes include sacrifices, whatever that may be.

Sherrelle Milligan (15:57)

Right. Yeah.

Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (16:03)

⁓ because the fact that you supported Roderick in the move, you know, it makes it easier for him to want to support you, you know, in whatever your next endeavor is. And, you know, I don't know. I mean, he probably would have still supported you, but I don't know if it would have been that easy if you hadn't already gone through it and, you know, supported him the way that you did.

Sherrelle Milligan (16:13)

Yes.

Exactly.

Right.

Oh yeah, no, I don't think it would have like, you know, he's not a petty, but like, if I would have held him back, you know what I mean? From like being on the other side of it and seeing what it did for him and like the stills, like the pride and the joy that he has and like, just knowing that he's just the feeling that he has of finishing, you know, like if I would have, oh no, that would have been, that would have been bad, you know?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (16:36)

Yeah.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (16:39)

it.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (16:44)

no.

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (17:00)

So yeah, you you're absolutely right. And we always want to say, about me? And you know, that kind of thing, but it's not about you. Like it's a, you guys are one, you know what I mean? Like we both got to breathe. We both got to live. We both got to feel love and feel supported, you know? So sometimes it takes one person, you know, making that big, but we, you know, I can't say that that was the first thing. It just went back and forth.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (17:11)

⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (17:28)

you know, our entire relationship of one person being there for the other. And, you know, we were long distance married for like the first two years, because, or like the first year, because I was, you know, finishing vet school when we got married and that kind of thing. ⁓

Dr. Daveeta Levy (17:33)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (17:45)

It was like the last semester. No, it was the first, it was the fall of my senior year of 2013. It very small, very intimate, last minute. Cause we were, I know right, she was like, how come I ain't getting invited?

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (18:01)

I know how to see your heart.

Sherrelle Milligan (18:02)

No, not at all. It was not my heart. It was more so like, okay, we just need to get this done because we've been engaged for like a whole year now and neither one of us got money to have no big wedding, but we want, you know, we just trying to move forward with life. So let's just get this thing done and stop being celibate.

Dr. Ayanna Wilson (18:08)

Yeah.

Good luck.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (18:18)

See you home.

Yeah.

Yeah, that was hard. ain't gonna lie to you. That was hard. I mean, there were other reasons why we, because we got married in vet school as well. There were other reasons, but that one right there, that was a big one. I'm like, you know what?

Sherrelle Milligan (18:33)

Let's get to it.

Okay ⁓

Yeah, that's

push that'll just help you get in there.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (18:48)

I'm tired of for the I'm

tired of fornicating. I'm tired and I'm trying to hold out. I'm trying to hold out. So that definitely helped make it easier.

Sherrelle Milligan (18:57)

Yes, yes.

yeah. yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (19:05)

But I'm enjoying this. I'm so, I'm excited.

Sherrelle Milligan (19:08)

I'm enjoying

it too. I want to come back. I feel like I want to talk about more stuff, like if y'all have space, you know what I mean? But I'm just so excited that y'all are doing this and I'm just so grateful to like be a part of it, this history being made.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (19:16)

Yeah, absolutely.

I'm happy to have you. I mean, I feel like your story is unique and not just because I'm your friend. I feel like it's really interesting and it's multifaceted, you know, because people they'll see you now and some things just look like a straight shot. But right.

Sherrelle Milligan (19:30)

Thank

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Inflation. Right. Right.

Right.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (19:52)

you had to go through multiple, you know, personal situations, multiple avenues to get to the point where you are. And that's what I feel like is important to be able to share. You can definitely come back on anytime.

Sherrelle Milligan (20:07)

Thank you.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (20:12)

So moving right along. What were you doing prior to saying, I'm done with this, I'm starting my own thing? What was going on?

Sherrelle Milligan (20:24)

as we have all endured.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (20:29)

No names, no names.

Sherrelle Milligan (20:30)

No names.

We ain't saying no names. You know what I mean? But certain corporate practices will push you to that point where you're just like, I can do this better by myself.

Vetted in Vet Med (20:33)

Wait, wait, wait!

Dr. Daveeta Levy (20:40)

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (20:46)

I ain't no killer but don't push me. Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (20:47)

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (20:49)

There was one

day where I was the only vet. I had one tech, see I was gonna use the name, but then you'll know what I'm talking, like the name of the position. I had one tech, had one like vet assistant type person, but it was like a little bit lower than the vet assistant. Six surgeries in the morning, full afternoon. Because.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (21:02)

Yeah.

you

Vetted in Vet Med (21:14)

See these

3,000 pets and be quiet.

Sherrelle Milligan (21:17)

Okay, somebody that does not have a DVM making these choices about what my schedule is. Somebody that has no capacity to know how hard this is to do what's in front of me, but has the right to say yes or no to what I see and what I don't see. And I understand from a business perspective, needing to see cases and some of us do be lazy. I'm not gonna lie. We be lazy sometimes. I'm not gonna lie, you know?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (21:23)

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (21:45)

I have had my days as an associate. I remember, I'm just like, nope, not trying to see that, send it away, you know, but, right, please make it last.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (21:50)

I want to do this. Give me a light day, Lord. Make it a light day.

Vetted in Vet Med (21:52)

Okay. ⁓

Dr. Daveeta Levy (21:58)

I'm a very hard worker, every time I go, because I don't know what to expect when I go to these clinics. That's my prayer every time, Lord, make it a light day.

Sherrelle Milligan (22:07)

yeah, yeah,

Vetted in Vet Med (22:09)

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (22:09)

yeah, yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (22:11)

You're not not helping.

Sherrelle Milligan (22:13)

Right? But that's different than literally abusing your vets. You know what I mean? And I could do nothing about it. Nothing at all. You you complain about it, it still happens. You have no, um, you have no like say over what your quality of life is at work. That's what it was. I had no say of what my quality of life was going to be at work because

Dr. Daveeta Levy (22:18)

Yeah.

Yeah.

⁓

Mm-mm.

Sherrelle Milligan (22:43)

It was that, like the overbooking, not having any authority about what's acceptable versus not as far as how technicians are behaving, not being able to fire clients, which I understand you don't want to give somebody full because it could be their fault, it could be situational, there's some best money out the door. At the same time, if a client calls me the B word

Dr. Daveeta Levy (22:55)

Hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (23:13)

They need to get fired. Why are we still seeing this person? So, yeah, that made me leave. I was like, I can't do this anymore. I'm done. And literally I came, looked at the board, called Roderick. I said, I want to quit right now. I'm not going to because we don't have no other money. I mean, we had his salary and blah, blah, blah. I didn't have no other plans. You know what I mean? But I said, and he was pissed when I told him.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (23:20)

Thank

Right.

Sherrelle Milligan (23:41)

what my schedule was like. He supported me in that moment. It was like, no, that's not acceptable. And it was during that time that I said, yeah, I really want to, I can do this way better by myself. Yeah. Exactly. that's also why I'm passionate about us.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (23:43)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (23:55)

That part right there.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (23:57)

And I can do bad by myself.

Sherrelle Milligan (24:06)

pursuing the multiple practices, we should have our third practice by the end of, it was gonna be by the end of June. We have to wait for a surveyor and all that stuff, but it should be by the end of July. It's gonna be a very, what's that? Yes, ma'am, yes ma'am. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (24:18)

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (24:20)

That's okay fancy pants. Congrats.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (24:21)

Yay!

Sherrelle Milligan (24:32)

I can't take credit, you know, I just, I'm so grateful to God. I'm grateful for everyone that's around us that supports us.

Vetted in Vet Med (24:35)

Okay.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (24:37)

You definitely, yeah, I'm

Vetted in Vet Med (24:38)

You clean

Dr. Daveeta Levy (24:38)

like,

you definitely can credit, but yes, God is definitely right. Not all the credit.

Vetted in Vet Med (24:39)

your vessel.

Sherrelle Milligan (24:41)

I won't take all the credit.

Vetted in Vet Med (24:45)

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (24:46)

Yes. And then, you know, just things happen in a way that you just like, wow. Yes, you just, just in awe of how it happened, you know? But I have this like passion to like keep the soul in veterinary medicine right now. And that means creating like non-toxic workplaces. It means if I can buy a practice, it's like, not going to, I think we're, we're good for right now, to be honest with the three.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (24:54)

⁓ God.

Vetted in Vet Med (24:55)

Only news.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (25:06)

Mmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (25:16)

But being able to buy another practice and keep a corporation from buying it, you know, so that we have that's our passion. That's our goal. that, family-owned practice, even though it's multiple, it's a family of practices owned by, you know, mom and pop, me and Roderick The soul is still there, you know, it's not just the bottom line. It's, you know, the quality of care, the quality of the workplace, the

Dr. Daveeta Levy (25:16)

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (25:20)

That. That. That.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (25:20)

I'm here for you. I'm here

for

It's still a family arm, yeah.

No.

You know what I right?

Sherrelle Milligan (25:45)

know, interactions and making sure people feel seen and loved and heard, you know what I mean? That they're not just a number, you know, going through that kind of thing, continuity of care, you know what I mean? All the things that, you know, we believe in, ⁓ this like goal of having this strong family of businesses.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (25:52)

Yes. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (26:12)

It really does fulfill that need to do something about this thing that's happening where, you know, the, and I'm not anti-corporate, don't get me wrong, but I, you know, there's a place for everybody and like, I can't do this forever. Like I can't, you know, I'm gonna be old one day. I'm gonna have to sell somebody, you know what I mean? But with the strength that we have,

Dr. Daveeta Levy (26:23)

Yeah, yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (26:26)

Thank

Dr. Daveeta Levy (26:29)

Yeah. ⁓

Right.

Vetted in Vet Med (26:35)

Yeah

Sherrelle Milligan (26:39)

what we can do, we just want to keep the soul in veterinary medicine a little bit longer, you know, as long as we can. ⁓

Dr. Daveeta Levy (26:43)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's powerful.

Vetted in Vet Med (26:45)

Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (26:47)

And I mean, y'all are really the example of being the change that you want to see. And so that does sometimes mean venturing off to do your own thing, especially. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (26:56)

Yeah, thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (27:06)

Yeah,

and it once seems extreme, but it's necessary. Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (27:10)

And. ⁓

Dr. Daveeta Levy (27:13)

And I mean, it does

go to pave the way for incoming veterinarians and provides opportunities as well for guidance and mentorship too opportunities that they may not have necessarily had in that location.

Sherrelle Milligan (27:23)

Yeah.

Yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (27:28)

Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (27:35)

Okay, so now we need to, because you have the multiple practices, but you you acquired them in two fashions, you know. So that I feel like is important as well. And that could be a separate episode to go in greater detail, but.

Sherrelle Milligan (27:49)

Yeah.

Good.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (28:03)

I think it's important to know,

just to talk about how you acquired both practices.

Sherrelle Milligan (28:09)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So the first one was a new build from the ground up. in, so we're renting a building, but the building was just a shell of a building. had nothing in it. I mean, has a, while we were, you know, getting this building, this part of the building outfitted for, to be a vet clinic, we also have a space next door that is being rented by Starbucks. So there's a Starbucks next door.

And then the other part of the building is us. So that's why we chose this location. And it's a brand new practice, which means you have to build clientele. Not a lot of people know about you, slow at first kind of thing. The second practice was an acquisition meaning We bought it from somebody that already owned it. And he had the practice for like,

Vetted in Vet Med (28:51)

Okay.

Sherrelle Milligan (29:05)

know, decades before selling.

And so like I was saying earlier, that one comes with its own, community of clients that you just serve. There were a lot of things that we did to change it. We still haven't done our major renovations because we've only been there for like five months. But we went from, you know, paper records to electronic medical records.

We went from paper records to now using AI to do our notes. So it's like a whole, it's a whole 360 like.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (29:34)

They are just shook. They

are just shook up in there

Vetted in Vet Med (29:37)

Yeah, yeah, I'll tune right here. The robot ladies.

Sherrelle Milligan (29:39)

Yes. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (29:41)

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (29:43)

Changed my life.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (29:44)

I remember when she first told me about it, said, girl, there's this new thing called chat GPT.

Sherrelle Milligan (29:50)

Girl, I have to tell y'all, I don't know if y'all know about the other, like the newest app that's just for notes, like in veterinary Medicine. I don't know if I can talk about it on here.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (30:01)

I know that there are some that are specific.

Sherrelle Milligan (30:07)

Yes,

yes. So now both practices are using that platform to do notes, like period. Like we're not, we ain't even going back to typing and stuff, like not doing it. ⁓ So that was a big change. ⁓ know, lots of like things like offering three year vaccines instead of just one year vaccines. You know, we had to change the price because ⁓ you know, the previous prices

Dr. Daveeta Levy (30:14)

here we go.

Mm-mm.

Vetted in Vet Med (30:20)

So.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (30:29)

Mmmmm

Sherrelle Milligan (30:35)

uh, didn't reflect current market value. I'll say it like that. Um, we would have went bankrupt if we were charging, you know, what the other was charging, you know, that was just so that that helped us a lot to with making that choice to, um, increase the prices to be fair. You know, that was, that was it. And the, you know, most of the community, like 95%, because the quality of care reflects what we're charging.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (30:45)

in

Sherrelle Milligan (31:03)

they're happy with it. We're not raising the price, but treating you crappy and not practicing good medicine and stuff. And then the third practice is going to be an acquisition as well. It'll be like a doctor that's owned it for even longer than that, wanting to retire and wanting to sell it to us. And there's different ways of financing. The first two we went with the bank.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (31:04)

Yeah.

So, thank

Hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (31:31)

The first was a conventional loan. The second was an SBA loan. And then this one is a seller finance because we were blessed enough, like I said, things just for him to cover 100 % of it. ⁓ We put 10 % down rather. And then he's pretty much the bank for the rest of it, which is not very common. Like most of the time they might do 50 % financing with them. You've got to go to the bank for the other 50%. But to be able to just go straight to him and he loans us what we need to.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (31:49)

Hmm

Right.

Sherrelle Milligan (32:02)

buy the practice. It's incredible. And he's a good person to do that with. He's just ready to throw in the towel. He's been serving the community for so long and he's very well known. It's time for him to enjoy the rest of his life. We're going to let him do that. Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (32:05)

Mmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (32:05)

Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (32:12)

Yeah.

Yes, ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (32:22)

Yeah. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (32:28)

And

when he tried to sell it to corporate like four years ago, you know.

It wasn't very nice the way they were treating him. You know what I mean? You know, every cotton ball in your practice is owned by me now. Like that's... Okay. No, not okay. So we would never treat anybody like that ever. So yeah, there's all different kinds of way to, you know, get it done. And it's hard. It really is hard, but it's rewarding. It's really rewarding and it's really

Dr. Daveeta Levy (32:41)

Yeah, I'm glad he didn't settle.

Right. Right.

Sherrelle Milligan (33:02)

Like I said, just that aspect of knowing I'm in control of what the culture is. You know, I'm in charge of the culture and I can say you have to leave because you are making the culture bad, you know, or I'm going to hire you because I think you can make the culture great. I have that choice. So, you know, and it's not that black and white because sometimes you got to keep people because if you don't, you don't have people to help you. You know what I mean? So there's also

Dr. Daveeta Levy (33:07)

Mm-hmm. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (33:16)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (33:20)

Yeah.

Thanks.

Right.

Sherrelle Milligan (33:31)

You know, lot of, we tell people like, if you're work for The Pet Space you gonna grow. You know what I mean? Like you will grow. Like I grow, it hurts to grow, you're gonna grow too. And Roderick and I all about like making sure our employees grow. Like we don't want you staying in one spot. We don't want you being stagnant. We want you to continuously get better and better and better. And if that means you're so great that you move on and do bigger and better things, I will write your letter of recommendation for you.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (33:38)

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

you

Sherrelle Milligan (34:01)

I will. I just want you to be your best, you know?

Vetted in Vet Med (34:01)

Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (34:05)

Yeah.

So, I mean,

that kind of leads to the segue into, because we're gonna kind of wrap it up a little bit, but I did just want to see if you did have any advice for any other vets, especially women and women of color as well, but particularly women who may feel like overwhelmed or stuck in their careers.

Sherrelle Milligan (34:28)

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (34:37)

What advice would you have for them?

Sherrelle Milligan (34:39)

Download ChatGPT. ⁓

Vetted in Vet Med (34:41)

for.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (34:42)

Ha ha

ha ha!

Sherrelle Milligan (34:43)

But when I tell you, Shaji can see.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (34:44)

I'm telling you, I'm telling you. Ayanna

Vetted in Vet Med (34:45)

Stay

Dr. Daveeta Levy (34:47)

girl, I mean, she jokes, she kids, but I mean, it is really helpful.

Sherrelle Milligan (34:54)

There's a lot that we would not have been able to do, especially with acquiring the practices and stuff like that. Like, ChatGPT made it so much easier for us. When you feel like you don't have the information that you need to make something happen, you have ChatGPT to tell you, like, no, this is what your contract should look like. should upload your contract into ChatGPT. What should I be looking out for? What are some red flags? ⁓ this is not good. You need to ask them about this. You need to ask these questions. You need to, you know, that kind of thing.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (35:22)

Hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (35:24)

It's just, but on the real, someone that feels like they're stuck in their career, take time to step back and figure out what it is that you really want, you know? And don't let fear of the unknown cripple you from putting your first foot out there and dipping your toe in the water, you know, at the same time. ⁓

Life is like this crazy dynamic thing where it just changes so much. Like 10 years ago, I would have never thought I'd be here right now doing this, talking about this. No idea. I would have never even imagined, you know what I mean? But that's the thing about life is that, that's the guaranteed thing about life is that it's always gonna change, you know? And feeling like you're stuck, it's just part of life. It's just part of like...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (36:01)

So, see you.

Sherrelle Milligan (36:18)

that you're self-changing and growing and a message that you're trying to give yourself of, okay, I feel like I'm stuck. What does this mean? Does this mean I need to do something totally different? Or does it mean I need to think about how I'm doing this, and if I can do this in a better way? Where I'm doing this, if I can do this in a better way? What's influencing me to feel stuck? Is it the kind of practice I'm working at? Is it the people that I'm working with? Is it my...

Vetted in Vet Med (36:36)

And then.

Sherrelle Milligan (36:47)

boss, is it me feeling like, you know, I can't go anywhere. And nobody's holding you back, you know, nobody's holding you back. You are the, you're the captain of your own soul and your own life. And so if you feel stuck, like you've got to do something about it. You know what I mean? You got to move forward. Other thing is therapy.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (36:55)

Mm. Mm. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (37:12)

Mm.

Sherrelle Milligan (37:13)

Like therapy is so good. I saw a therapy, I mean, I am not currently in therapy.

I need to go back so it's because it's a continual process. You know what I mean? But I remember when I lost the second pregnancy, the second child, like therapy, I forgot to mention that before. I don't know how, like I saw a therapist during that time. And that helped me tremendously with like getting to the point of saying, okay, we're gonna try again. We're gonna get this surgery. We're gonna.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (37:23)

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Sherrelle Milligan (37:43)

You know what I mean? Like I had to, the therapy helped me heal from the trauma that I went through. It was so phenomenal, so impactful. ⁓ Just being able to talk to somebody that you trust ⁓ to kind of hash out your thoughts and figure out, you know, what you're feeling and why you're feeling like that. Because it could be anything, you know, and you know, and you might find that it's something health wise that's making you feel bad.

Vetted in Vet Med (37:43)

you

Dr. Daveeta Levy (38:03)

to one.

Sherrelle Milligan (38:11)

So go, you know, get a checkup. Just take care of yourself. Just take time to step back, take care of yourself, get your mental health together, get your physical health together, and also realize, like, you're not stuck. Nobody's holding you back. Just keep moving forward. You know, moving forward means getting help. Moving forward means talking to somebody. You know, that could be the first step, so.

Vetted in Vet Med (38:11)

Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (38:11)

Mmm.

Blah.

Why nobody but you? Nobody. ⁓

We have to move here.

Sherrelle Milligan (38:38)

That's what I got.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (38:40)

And we thank you for that. We appreciate it. You're preaching to the choir. So, yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (38:44)

I know that's right. It's profound. You're doing great, sweetie.

Sherrelle Milligan (38:45)

Yeah.

Thank you! So are you guys!

That was so beautiful!

Vetted in Vet Med (38:55)

Oh, thank you. You do too.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (38:56)

Thank you,

We got all dolled up for you today, Sherelle.

Vetted in Vet Med (39:02)

Yeah, I'm saying I wasn't looking

Sherrelle Milligan (39:02)

Okay.

Vetted in Vet Med (39:03)

like this when I dropped that dog off this morning. I was not. I was not.

Sherrelle Milligan (39:10)

I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you guys.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (39:11)

Neither

was that. Okay. ⁓

So, it's two more things. So, a piece of advice to young Black girls that are dreaming of becoming veterinarians.

Sherrelle Milligan (39:29)

It's expensive, so figure out how you gonna pay for it. It is hard, you know, ain't no I'm playing around with cats and dogs kind of thing. It is competitive, like get your experience, get your hours, take it seriously.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (39:33)

Mm-hmm. There.

Sherrelle Milligan (39:45)

You know, it's not something, you know you can do it. Like, you know, like your black skin is not keeping you from being able to like be smart enough to get into that school. There's other factors that might be contributing, you know what I mean? Societal and things like that, that you have to consider because of how you were born and the country that we live in, the society that we live in. it's not this like little simple like play, like, you know what I mean? Like when people will say, oh yeah, I...

Vetted in Vet Med (40:13)

me.

Sherrelle Milligan (40:15)

I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid. Yes, I know you did. I know you did. And you decided not to.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:17)

You guys? ⁓

Ehh...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (40:27)

Right.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:28)

You're so...

Dr. Daveeta Levy (40:28)

⁓ And so did I. Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (40:30)

Not trying to throw shade, you know what

Vetted in Vet Med (40:33)

⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (40:33)

I mean?

Dr. Daveeta Levy (40:36)

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:36)

my goodness.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (40:37)

The last thing, we gonna have to bring you back on, Sherrelle The last thing, where do you see yourself and your practice in the next five to 10 years?

Sherrelle Milligan (40:40)

yes, yes.

Vetted in Vet Med (40:41)

Recurring

role.

Sherrelle Milligan (40:51)

So we may own 10 practices in 10 years if things keep going the way we want them to go. Five years, at least four, I'm thinking. Right now, with this, the three, we really want to start making a solid foundation, ⁓ getting them all connected to the same EMR.

Vetted in Vet Med (41:08)

you

Sherrelle Milligan (41:13)

you know, just branding, rebranding everything to match. Because right now the second practice still has the original name and that kind of thing. So in a few weeks, we're going to get a new sign. And it didn't have a website before. So we have a website being developed. And just getting everything connected right now. But five to 10 years, you know, we should have a lot more Pet Spaces Possibly, you know, we might stop and say we're done with this because it's hard. it's a good chance we might have more.

In 10 years, my seven year old will be 17. He's going to be about to graduate and go to college. hopefully I have this thing running on its own so I can travel and see him and ⁓ travel other places and just be more administrative. not practicing, not definitely not, but definitely practicing less for sure.

Vetted in Vet Med (41:46)

Cooch.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (42:09)

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (42:09)

I love it.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (42:09)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I love it. I love it. This has been great. I've enjoyed this thoroughly. Like I said, we here.

Sherrelle Milligan (42:13)

That's it.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Vetted in Vet Med (42:17)

I'll say I will

say this. know I have my punch lines and that you're doing great sweetie. You really are a vision in itself like what my family say for sure is our ancestors dreams. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (42:26)

Yes.

Mm.

Thank you.

Thank you. That means a lot. That means a lot. Yes. Thank you.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (42:46)

Yes.

Sherrelle Milligan (42:46)

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. You know, you got to do it for the team. You got to, you know what I mean? Like there's this thing instilled in us that's like black people of like just bringing home the bacon, like bringing home the pride, you know? And I keep that with me a lot too of like, just like, because when I get black clients that are proud of me.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (42:51)

Mm-hmm

Right.

Vetted in Vet Med (43:00)

Yeah.

Sherrelle Milligan (43:07)

You know, those old black people that just got tears in their eyes when you walk in the room, they're like, wow. Like, they have a whole big old, they just, know what they're thinking.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (43:07)

Yeah.

Vetted in Vet Med (43:09)

Yeah.

This is our kind of field.

Okay.

Sherrelle Milligan (43:22)

Yes.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (43:22)

Yeah,

no, you truly are an inspiration. I'm congratulating you on the two. Well, I've already congratulated on the two and I'm congratulating you in advance for the third one. So I'm right.

Sherrelle Milligan (43:36)

Yeah

Vetted in Vet Med (43:36)

Never. And the fourth and the fifth. Whatever

you want.

Sherrelle Milligan (43:41)

But

for the last, I have to say before I have to hop off is if y'all know a vet that wants to work for somebody pretty cool, because we're looking even like a new grad would be amazing. Anybody listening, thinking about moving to South Carolina, we live, we work in the Columbia area. it's not a small town. It's a small city, but there's a lot to do and a great quality of life here.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (43:48)

He is.

Vetted in Vet Med (43:56)

I'm sorry.

Sherrelle Milligan (44:11)

You know, I'm really passionate about paying you what you're worth and also, like I said, creating good workplaces. So I'm, please, I'm looking for somebody. I'll take another vet Yeah.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (44:20)

Mm-hmm.

Vetted in Vet Med (44:23)

Keep my eyes out.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (44:24)

Okay, look,

yeah, like I will definitely put the referral in Yeah, ears to the street.

Vetted in Vet Med (44:27)

Ears to the streets

Sherrelle Milligan (44:29)

You

Vetted in Vet Med (44:31)

Thank

Sherrelle Milligan (44:32)

Thank

you.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (44:33)

And

then hopefully, I mean, yeah, this will be put out. But hopefully also that'll bring in some other South Carolina listeners so that they all know to, you know, to go to The Pet Space as well. ⁓

Sherrelle Milligan (44:45)

Yeah.

Yes.

It's a space for pets.

Vetted in Vet Med (45:00)

⁓

Dr. Daveeta Levy (45:02)

well, I love you, girl. You go have a good rest of your day. All right, go be the boss.

Sherrelle Milligan (45:04)

Love you guys. Thank you.

Vetted in Vet Med (45:05)

I'll be back. Go be bossy.

Sherrelle Milligan (45:11)

Let me try.

Vetted in Vet Med (45:13)

You doing, you doing.

Sherrelle Milligan (45:15)

Yes, yes,

yes, yes. Thank you. I'm happy that y'all have me. I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation. And, you know, I'm just so excited for what you guys are doing too, because I think it's so important to share this like very small experience of being a black female vet. It's just such a unique thing to be, you know, definitely a unique perspective. So just happy to be part of it.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (45:41)

So.

Vetted in Vet Med (45:45)

Yes ma'am, I appreciate you.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (45:45)

Thank you.

Sherrelle Milligan (45:47)

Alright, love you guys!

Vetted in Vet Med (45:49)

Bye.

Dr. Daveeta Levy (45:50)

Love you. Bye.

Well safe travels on the road. And we will see y'all next time. Bye.

Vetted in Vet Med (45:54)

Alrighty. Thank you, thank you.

Bye!