Kelly Cronin: [00:00:00] If you think just a tiny bit outside the box, you can really utilize the thing that you love most, being a veterinary technician, to really get out there and do the things that really support your happiness.
Megan Sprinkle: How many times do you think or say, I can't afford it? What if you could transform your career? Yes, even a veterinary technician career into a gateway for financial possibilities Like world travel real estate investing and financial independence Today's guest proves it's possible meet kelly cronin a veterinary technician of 32 years who's shattered industry stereotypes. Kelly shares how she has turned what seems like Life and career setbacks into opportunities, becoming a VTS in emergency and critical care and international speaker and one of the co founders of a unique veterinary CE cruise program through the vet tech life organization.
Megan Sprinkle: Beyond her clinical experience, she's building a portfolio of vacation rentals from Puerto Rico to Alaska, all while working in [00:01:00] veterinary medicine, she is currently the vice president of operations for partner veterinary emergency and . Specialty center and making a huge impact in the living wages and financial possibilities for the entire veterinary staff in this episode you'll discover why contributing to your 401k may not impact your take home pay as much as you thought. How reframing we can't afford it mindset can transform your relationship with money. Creative solutions for making travel and continuing education more accessible. Practical strategies for building wealth on a veterinary technician's salary, and the surprising 50, 000 difference in earning potential between a vet assistant and a licensed veterinary technician over five years.
Megan Sprinkle: Whether you're just starting your veterinary career or looking to reimagine your future in the field, Kelly's journey shows that with strategic thinking and the courage to ask for what you want, you can create a life that exceeds your expectations. So let's get to the conversation with Kelly Cronin.
Megan Sprinkle: Welcome Kelly to Vet Life Reimagined. I'm [00:02:00] very excited to kind of go through your career journey and show people what's really possible because it's pretty exciting what you've done.
Megan Sprinkle: And you've been in Vet Med for 32 years. So you've broken the whole, what, five to seven year. You know, stereotype absolutely
Kelly Cronin: breaking molds is, is the best way to, you know, to change that is to show people that it's possible. And that's part of why I truly enjoy joining people on podcasts is to just talk about, Hey, there's other options.
Megan Sprinkle: Exactly. But let's go kind of back to the beginning, or at least I think it's the beginning. when did you know you were interested in maybe working with animals one day?
Kelly Cronin: so, it's incredibly cliche, but when I was five and started working with horses and my first horse vet, Bob, allowed me to do some, some horse work, right?
Kelly Cronin: And, and Lord knows, you know, it, it has been a slow burn ever since, and I really wanted to get into horses [00:03:00] and that's evolved. And, and it's definitely one of those situations where every evolution has kind of brought me a little bit closer to wanting X, Y, Z in veterinary medicine. But when I was five, I 1000 percent knew where I was going in life.
Kelly Cronin: And, I think that that's a true and incredible gift to, you know, to kind of early on, see what your path looks like.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. And also because Financial well being is such a big part of what you like to talk about and teach. I do know that a lot of people talk about our money mindset is often formed. In our young years as well.
Megan Sprinkle: Do you mind sharing just a little bit about growing up and maybe where your, your kind of money mindset has come from?
Kelly Cronin: I've gotten a, a little bit of a plus and a little bit of negative from my money and mindset growing up. My parents very much harped on the fact that I couldn't go into art and be a starving artist.
Kelly Cronin: [00:04:00] when I started exploring an art career because of the fact that, you know, they really saw that I needed to have something sustainable. So instead they were very, very much on board with me somehow joining veterinary medicine, which you know, we can have a good laugh about that, right? Because it's, it was just such a dichotomy of truth versus reality.
Kelly Cronin: And I think one of the biggest things to think about is that It's less about where we land and more about how we get there, right? And I think one of the things that has really done well in terms of forming my money mindset now, as I'm older is really seeing my parents who were so incredibly full of go to college, go to college, get a, uh, high paying career in medicine.
Kelly Cronin: and who didn't really do any of that for themselves. you know, I have a lot of respect for my parents. They were both professional humans. They had a medical billing firm and, [00:05:00] and in all rights, you know, they really helped a ton of different medical doctors gain their first million and really do well with their financial outcomes, but didn't really do that for themselves.
Kelly Cronin: Didn't really run a, a truly profitable business, didn't really, , put away money for any kind of savings. And it's been a situation where that has really informed what it looks like for me in terms of my saving and my work ethic. And then beyond that, starting very, very early on, in a middle income type of household, and doing a really high income sport like equine, You know, hunter jumpers.
Kelly Cronin: It really was a situation where I learned a really heavy work ethic from early, early on. I knew that if I wanted, you know, if I wanted a nice saddle, if I wanted to show, like those were things that I was gonna have to do a little bit of work the night before, braiding horses in order to afford to show, or [00:06:00] do some work in terms of, you know, working in the barn to pay for my lessons.
Kelly Cronin: I understood that that work ethic was necessary and I understood too how to gamify that a little bit, right? Instead of being at a higher level show barn, I would go take lessons at a higher level show barn and, put my horse at a medium show barn or at a retirement barn. And it was one of those situations where.
Kelly Cronin: That type of attitude, that doing more with less attitude has really been pervasive throughout my whole, my whole lifetime. and I think that it's a really incredible place to come from. And I like to tell a lot of people that if you sit in a lower income bracket and you're really making it work and living your best life even so, like you have a superpower.
Megan Sprinkle: . And I don't think that we are short of hard workers in the veterinary industry. So that's good to [00:07:00] know that you can be a hard worker and apply it to other things too. So that was good that you had kind of a combination there. Now, as you started to understand more about veterinary medicine and looking at a career there, how did you start to form exactly what you wanted your career to look like and maybe some of the things that you were recognizing to maybe apply these skills that you were learning to it?
Kelly Cronin: Well, I think the biggest thing that kind of got me to where I could really look at my, at my future goals and at where I wanted to be was actually having a door slammed in my face. when I was a little bit younger, you know, going into veterinary medicine for me meant doing a pre veterinary animal science degree, trying to get some diversity by doing some art degrees and a German degree, making sure that everything looked really, really good coming into the potential of vet school.
Kelly Cronin: And then I hit organic chemistry. [00:08:00] positional dyslexia. I could not figure out r and s rotations, couldn't pass organic chemistry, did great in biochemistry, but couldn't pass organic chemistry. And, uh, not for lack of trying a couple times. And I think one of the most impactful things that ever happened to me was that was the first time in my life that I really was told no.
Kelly Cronin: And when I, when I figured out, That being told no about being a veterinarian and being a very high level technician Was actually in my favor, right? so with being a high level technician a technician who went into multi site management or who Got their VTS in emergency and critical care who had an opportunity to speak nationally and internationally the moment that I realized that hey Having a door shut on you is actually the best thing that happened in your life.
Kelly Cronin: And beyond that, I'm sure there's a lot of technicians out [00:09:00] there who will agree with me, but I didn't want to do what veterinarians do. I really wanted to have the opportunity to have that patient care, to have the high level technical skills. I didn't want to write up records. you know, I wanted to know about physiology.
Kelly Cronin: I didn't want to spend my entire time on a floor, you know, researching that for every single case that came in, I really wanted to apply it in terms of really understanding what my nursing skills looked like. And the moment that I recognized that sometimes things happen in a way that actually behoove you, that actually help you and grow you and allow you to do bigger things.
Kelly Cronin: And the moment that I realized that if I just looked at the things that happened to me in a light of, Hey, What does this mean for me going forward? And how do I want to create my life now? How do I want to actually reflect on what happened and move forward? That was a really, really [00:10:00] impactful thing. And it really changed.
Kelly Cronin: It changed the way that I came into, you know, the quote unquote new year's resolutions. it definitely changed me from. Hey, I'm going to do this and I'm going to do this to what do I want my life to look like and how do I formulate my life in order to get where I wanted to go. And so that was a really truly life changing event for me.
Megan Sprinkle: . And you talked about high level technician and specializing and speaking. My guess is that didn't all come at once. Maybe you discovered it along the way. So how, how was that discovery path? Like you, this is great. You know, all right. This is going to be my mindset on where I am now. I'm planning for other things in the future.
Megan Sprinkle: What were kind of your steps to discover more and more what you're interested in and how you got there?
Kelly Cronin: One of the things that I, I think really formulated what things look like for me is the fact [00:11:00] that I very, very early on had technicians of such extreme scope and skill. And one of the things that.
Kelly Cronin: I'll take home for the rest of my life is the fact that I was told be the dumbest person in the room. And now, it's a little bit of a crass way of saying it, but it really means that you are going to be the level at which all of the people around you inflect on you, right? And so, if you want to go farther, if you want to grow better, if you want to make sure that, that you're constantly getting to that higher level, it really is one of those situations where you have to choose the, choose the team who helps take you there.
Kelly Cronin: And I think I was so incredibly blessed to have volunteered at a place where, , at the time it was Angel Rivera, who started the VTSCCC candidacy. It was a situation where seeing someone at that level was incredibly informative as to what I saw that I could do in a [00:12:00] role like veterinary technician. And I think, you know, if you are out there and you say, gosh, I don't see it.
Kelly Cronin: I don't have someone like that in my life. You know, here, here's your invitation. The world is small now because the internet exists. Reach out to me. Super, super happy to connect someone who is. You know in your wheelhouse no matter what that wheelhouse is or super happy to be that person if you know if I check the boxes for someone to to bounce things off of and to grow from but I think that honestly, it's a situation where Nothing happens really quickly if something happens really quickly, I don't think that you get the benefit of really working to get there one of the things that You know, just in light of what you just said, it took me five years to get a VTS ECC.
Kelly Cronin: It took me a long time to actually get past the different application processes and to pass the test. And not for lack of trying, but [00:13:00] every single time that I took that test or every single time that I prepared, it was an incredible gift. Because every single time it took me to the next level. And honestly, the fact that I got to be in a room and be the dumbest person in that room for, you know, five plus years was absolutely incredible in terms of my old growth.
Megan Sprinkle: Yes. And. Along the way here, because you're talking also to me, the word is mentorship that you're starting to develop as well. Now, on the financial side again, because you recognize this, I think early on that maybe veterinary technician isn't going to be the most lucrative job that maybe your parents thought it might be going forward.
Megan Sprinkle: and so having to Pull that into all that you're doing as well. how was that kind of coming along the road when it [00:14:00] came to, cause you're very good at, at showing like, what, what do I want in my future? And I think, you know, careers is a huge part of it. So you're talking about, you know, maybe specializing, but then I think there, there's other things in our life that we're interested in.
Megan Sprinkle: And I know travel is a big one for you. Were these also things that you were kind of thinking about and then putting into your plan, even along with your career plan?
Kelly Cronin: Absolutely. Absolutely. Specialty comes with a couple different things. Specializing comes with an opportunity to. to maybe break some of that imposter syndrome and actually feel like you belong on a top floor.
Kelly Cronin: gives you an opportunity to really refill your cup as someone's mentor. And specializing gives you an opportunity to potentially branch out your career in non traditional ways. So things like being an industry technician or things like being a speaker at national conventions and things like that.
Kelly Cronin: [00:15:00] And I think one of the things that I saw early on is I saw an opportunity, especially after having not gotten into vet school, to say, what do I really want out of this? And the things that I really wanted was I wanted to work life balance. I wanted something that would pay the bills.
Kelly Cronin: I wanted something that would allow me to not only pay the bills, but start saving forward. And I really wanted something that would allow me to have a voice bigger than just the voice that I'm broadcasting in the room. and I wanted to make sure that I had an opportunity to utilize that to actually get to travel.
Kelly Cronin: And one of the, the best things that I can say is that, you know, having gotten to that specialty point and having had an opportunity to, to speak at so many of these great conventions and to, you know, to even create a convention of my own now, , it's been a situation where I really look at that as the pinnacle of supportive of my life goals, right?
Kelly Cronin: Because travel [00:16:00] is so high on my life goals. And to be entirely frank with you, you know, on, on a technician's pay, that's tough. It's tough to find funds to travel. And a lot of times I hear about some of our team members using their credit cards and things like that instead of, you know, really planning forward for travel or really, you know, gamifying what that looks like or even utilizing their CE funds.
Kelly Cronin: that was kind of integral to, integral to certainly setting up Vet Tech Life CE on the Seas, our cruise, but also very integral to, hey, I really want to set this speaking allowances and things like that up for me. I mean, I've even gotten to spend some quality time about two months in Australia covering a maternity leave.
Kelly Cronin: Like there's just a lot of things out there that if you think just a tiny bit outside the box, you can really utilize the thing that you love most being a veterinary technician to really get out there and do the things that really [00:17:00] support your happiness.
Megan Sprinkle: Do you mind sharing a little bit more about how You were open to opportunities and some of the things you did that did allow you to, you know, create a veterinary conference and things like that.
Kelly Cronin: I think one of the biggest things that I'm going to tell everyone is just ask. You will never ever get something that you don't ask for. You'll never get growth into a bigger role if you don't ask for it. I mean, maybe. But it's, it's few and far between. It's much more likely to happen if you let the folks around you know what your goals are and really help them help you gather and grow into what you want to do.
Kelly Cronin: Becoming part of CE on the Sea was thinking, my gosh, it'd be amazing to go on a cruise. I've not been. And then thinking, wow. What if we had a veterinary technician cruise? What if people could use their CE funds to go to incredible destinations? And, you know, now we're on [00:18:00] cruise number seven coming up and it's definitely one of those situations where not only did I get connected with some like minded people who wanted to do this, but I also got to really help grow it.
Kelly Cronin: And now at this point, you know, they've since retired and I've, I've really gotten to kind of take it. Take it and continue it for a whole nother generation and I would have to say, you know Such a huge chunk of them are folks who've never been outside the state or who've never been outside of their city Who've never seen the ocean never seen a dolphin never seen a pelican that's incredibly impactful for me.
Kelly Cronin: Not only do I get to travel but also You know, I have an opportunity to really see people who maybe would never have that opportunity still doing what they love, you know, not having to leave veterinary medicine, but utilizing their CE funds in a way that actually supports their lifestyle in more than one way that really, it reignites their, their passion, gives them [00:19:00] really good continuing education, you know, really quality continuing education and gets them out of the state, out of the country.
Kelly Cronin: Yeah,
Megan Sprinkle: I think on one of the podcasts I heard you on, you talked about, you encourage people to share their first when they were on the cruise and that's where they, you know, I'd never seen a seagull before or something like that, which I think is also good to help people realize those moments along the way too.
Megan Sprinkle: Cause I think sometimes we just forget to stop and, you know, appreciate or, you know, take in these things. so I think that's awesome that you're doing that. And I think it also goes along with the financial piece as well as all these little tips and tricks that you have learned and how it can be, you can share with others and help them to achieve all these things.
Megan Sprinkle: Along with that, I know that you started to get into real estate and and I'm hoping maybe [00:20:00] or guessing that this is also where you were starting to learn more of these tips and tricks along the way, not only the real estate part, but the travel part. So do you mind sharing how you were learning? Where did you have mentors on that side of things as well?
Megan Sprinkle: And how did you kind of stumble into all of that?
Kelly Cronin: I stumbled into real estate because of the fact that we thought outside the box when I bought our house in New Mexico. you know, those of you who've lived in Santa Fe know that it's unaffordable. There's a two bedroom casita, you know, on Canyon Row for 2 million and there's not much in between.
Kelly Cronin: Right. And so it's one of those situations where I truly appreciated New Mexico for all that. It was like, it's great hiking. It's a wonderful place. I had such a growth pattern there in terms of, you know, just career growth and things like that. But man, was it tough living in a really tiny one bedroom apartment where we weren't allowed to have pets for [00:21:00] insane amounts of money.
Kelly Cronin: Thinking a little bit outside the box, we actually found a house on a land lease. So effectively the Pueblo that it was stationed on was leased to the person who owns that house. But what that does for you is that gives you a really, really affordable house, just a little bit of a drive outside of the city.
Kelly Cronin: Now, the only problem with that is that land leases are . Typically incredibly hard to sell as well. And so when we, um, when we moved back up to Wisconsin, part of the issue that we ran into is that we couldn't sell it. And I went down the path of renting it and really discovered how amazing it was to have a piece of property that was gaining in terms of what equity I had myself as well as being able to make just a little bit of extra profit on top of that from that house and not having to sell at a loss.
Kelly Cronin: And so all of those things really combined together to really teach me a little bit about the power of [00:22:00] equity growth in a rental and and it was not easy like it was probably one of the hardest rentals. because of the fact that it's out on a Pueblo, it's, it's typically very difficult to get someone out there to fix things.
Kelly Cronin: It was typically, you know, tougher renters and things like that, but it also was an incredible learning situation. And it was also just something that was like a gateway drug. I really understood, Hey, this is a way. To really multiply what I'm able to do. And it really stretched me down a path of looking at, Hey, all of these podcasts that are out there for rental income, all of these different financial resources that exist out there.
Kelly Cronin: And now. I will tell you that it's hard to say that you have financial mentorship because a lot of times what that looks like is you go to a financial advisor and they probably charge you quite a bit or if they don't charge you a flat fee, they, they charge you in terms [00:23:00] of the percentage coming off of your financial investments.
Kelly Cronin: And I'm going to say something and I'm going to feel bad instantly, but the vast majority of financial advisors that I've had conversations with Have not done as well as I have in terms of saving, have not necessarily come from lower income and don't understand what that looks like or who don't have that great of growth on the financial investments that they advise.
Kelly Cronin: And I really do feel like there's a lot of education that you can do on your own and or there's a lot of kind of. Low barrier to entry type of financial investments that really do make a lot of sense to think about just because of the fact that if you have that low barrier to entry, , in terms of You know, your financial investments and things like that.
Kelly Cronin: You have an opportunity to do that without having the cost of investment charges and [00:24:00] things like that. And it's just a situation where when you're putting away hard-earned money, it's more about letting the market grow it than about, you know, really fast gains and things like that.
Kelly Cronin: And so I, I tend to think that in terms of mentorship, you know, I really look for those free resources. You mentioned a, a podcast that I was on that one was called Choose Fi or Choose Financial Independence. There's a ton of those type of podcasts out there. There's a ton of, you know, just straightforward information on those websites.
Kelly Cronin: There's a ton of books out there. Quit like a millionaire is a fantastic book for people who want to, you know, stretch their legs a little bit in terms of investment. And I honestly think that it's a situation where, again, you have to be the dumbest one in the room. You have to be willing to come into a room and say, gosh, I don't know what this is, I'm going to do a little bit of research and a little bit of work, or I'm going to trust that someone else has done this research and work and really listen to some of their, you know, step by step pieces.
Kelly Cronin: [00:25:00] And I will say too that, you know, I really credit that financial education that was available on places like ChooseFI for free. With really helping me to actually grow it. I've always been incredibly frugal. I've always tried to save 50 percent or so of my income. Choose if I just allowed me to actually start really investing it so that I could start to see some real gains from it.
Megan Sprinkle: so to maybe help people, because even I can start to do feel overwhelmed. It's like, okay, I see you're saying it's possible, but where in the world do I start? Where are some of the low barrier to entry type of things that you maybe you've experienced or that you've seen other people? Maybe just like one that people started and kind of got their feet wet and that helped him to feel a little bit more comfortable to keep going.
Kelly Cronin: So the lowest barrier to entry out there is a 401k. Now there are some of you out there that do not have access to a 401k. I totally understand, but you can open one online. You do [00:26:00] not have to have this through your employer. You can open your own 401k or a simple IRA. The nice thing about it is if your employer is doing that, and if you are.
Kelly Cronin: Contributing a little bit, and then maybe increasing it 1 percent every year or so. You can actually defer up to 19, 500 right now. I'd have to check on that for after, you know, after the year end. But, with that, the biggest thing to think about is for a lot of us in the technician size income. Um, and even for fairly many veterinarians as well, when you take that money out, you're taking that pre tax and you're taking it out of the side of things that would normally go to the government.
Kelly Cronin: And so use a payroll calculator. Most of those payroll calculators actually exist on your payroll app, whatever payroll system that you're using. I, I think some of the bigger ones all have a payroll calculator and just test it [00:27:00] out. Say, hey, if I defer 1 percent to my 401k, how does that actually change my take home pay?
Kelly Cronin: A fair number of times, putting 1 percent or 2 percent into a 401k does not change your take home pay. So the only thing that that's doing is reducing how much money you're paying taxes on at the end of the year. That's incredibly impactful. It's an incredibly low barrier to entry. The other thing with that is I know it's really daunting to sign up for a 401k.
Kelly Cronin: But they have advisors that are actually all part of the package deal. You can call them and they can walk you through what to invest in or they have investments that are targeted to your age and to how long you're going to be putting money in and things like that. And the other thing with that is I have a ton of folks who, when I talk about 401k, say, gosh, I just, I need that.
Kelly Cronin: I need every dime for emergencies and things like that. There is no better, no better emergency fund than having something that you could take a [00:28:00] loan off of that actually pays you back interest into your 401k. So even if you take a loan, instead of paying some bank astronomical amounts of interest for a short term loan or a land shark loan or something like that, you're taking it off of a 401k where there's a bunch of different life, life events that potentially could allow you to utilize that.
Kelly Cronin: that pays you back the interest opposed to a nameless, faceless bank.
Megan Sprinkle: I bet a lot of people don't think about that about using the 401k in that capacity because that is an asset. And so that's what you that's what you need for a loan is an asset and so, huge tip. And I remember you had shared that with me about contributing up to 2 percent to your 401k, like, rarely actually touches your take home, which to me just blew my mind.
Megan Sprinkle: I'm like, oh, my goodness. That's like, I mean, if that's the biggest. You [00:29:00] know, pushback people have is like, I'm living paycheck to paycheck and I need every dime and it doesn't impact that part of it and it goes towards, you know, this, building wealth as an asset. I mean, to me, I, I, again, I was just like, mind blown.
Megan Sprinkle: So,
Kelly Cronin: well, nothing's bigger than the power of time. Yeah. So did you know that every 10 years, if you have a whole market investment, roughly every 10 years, you're going to see your money double. In an investment account, you know, if it's truly whole market, if it's truly growing at its 8%, double, that's incredibly impactful.
Kelly Cronin: Now think about it in 20 years, it doesn't double again, it doubles the amount that it doubled to. So now you've got an exponential growth. And honestly, it's It's such a huge part of, of where I am financially is the fact that I've had a lot of setbacks, you know, I've had a divorce where I had to, you know, effectively lose half of my net income.
Kelly Cronin: I've had, um, you know, I've had tough things happen, [00:30:00] but the reality is, is that I've been putting money in so long that that outweighs all of the tough things that I have had happen.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. And, and you, I think you have a daughter, is that right?
Kelly Cronin: Correct. A 14 year old.
Megan Sprinkle: Oh, okay. Yeah, I have a 14 year old stepdaughter who, you know, is getting to probably witness this along the way, and we talked about developing these money mindsets at a young age, and actually I've asked some people before, it's like, because I also have a four month old, and it's how do we start speaking about money?
Megan Sprinkle: Even now, because I think children are very observant and they start to see that and they develop those mindsets. Has that been something you've thought about, uh, around your daughter? And what do you recommend or what has worked for you?
Kelly Cronin: I think one of the biggest things that has worked for me is actually changing some of the rhetoric.
Kelly Cronin: So I think early on, I started saying, oh, we [00:31:00] can't afford that. And the reality is, is that I don't want her to have a scarcity mindset, I really want her to think about how to have a money mindset that is incredibly healthy, right? It's not that we can't afford that, it's that we choose not to afford that because we'd prefer to put our money towards something that speaks to our morals or our values, right?
Kelly Cronin: So instead of, hey, we can't afford a house on the beach in Maui, it's, hey, We choose not to buy incredibly expensive real estate because of the fact that we can have real estate in multiple places that are actually assets making us money or we You know, at this point, I don't have a car. We choose not to have a second vehicle because of the fact that when we've done the cost analysis between the occasional Uber ride versus, um, you know, having an actual vehicle with all of the liability insurance and all of the upkeep, that doesn't make [00:32:00] financial sense for us.
Kelly Cronin: And when you change that mindset, when she goes into a store, it's, I think I would like this. I've thought about it for a little while. I fully feel like investing my money in this way. And I really appreciate that.
Megan Sprinkle: Yes. And I just think that's good, you know, only as adults, but also being very careful about the language we use around other people, because it does impact those around us, whether it's your spouse, which I could probably ask you tons of questions about, like, Um, if you and your spouse have different mindsets, how do you, you, uh, work with that?
Megan Sprinkle: , but I won't do that to you maybe another time if you're interested. But, but yeah, I think that's really important. And then again, you know, thanking you for bringing that into the veterinary industry side of things, some of the things that you mentioned that you've been able to do, or just, again. I think it's someone who is just asking [00:33:00] questions and looking and seeing what's possible.
Megan Sprinkle: You had told me about the stipend in Virginia and changing some of like the wage brackets. Do you mind sharing that a little bit? Because I think that's also very empowering.
Kelly Cronin: Absolutely. I think one of the, the biggest things that, you know, that I really focus on is just making sure that we're constantly looking at Especially as employers, right?
Kelly Cronin: As, as those in management constantly looking at how do we do just a little bit better in terms of making sure that our teams are fairly compensated and making sure that being able to do more skills, being able to do more things on the floor, get compensated better and making sure that we give our team members A ladder and, you know, when you think about all of the things that you might face as a veterinary assistant, like trying to become a veterinary technician, I look back on, hours and hours and hours of studying for the VTS and I think to myself, well, there are a [00:34:00] million different things that I could have said, Hey, here is the deal breaker for me.
Kelly Cronin: Here are the things that I just can't get past in order to do this. But we have to really make choices and we have to really look at what does that look like overall. So one of the biggest things that I've tried to do every time I've come into a managerial role, , or a leadership role in a company is look at the wage bracket.
Kelly Cronin: So make sure that when we see the market, you know that everyone who's on our team. Is classified into where they are skills wise, where they are license wise, and where they are in terms of the market. And I think one of the proudest moments that I've had working for partner has been just having that opportunity to say, Hey, we just looked at the wage brackets.
Kelly Cronin: I totally recognize that. I pull all the departmental labor standards. I know that we stand in a right place, but when we look at those wage brackets against market, the problem is, is that they just [00:35:00] published a living wage for Virginia and for Maryland and both of those things means that our lowest wage brackets are outstripped by living wage.
Kelly Cronin: And I think one of the proudest moments that I've, I've had working for them is when I went to my boss about that, the real conversation was. What does that look like as a whole for our company? What does that look like fiscally? How do we make sure that we can financially do that while still being honoring and being good to the, you know, the financial outcome of our business?
Kelly Cronin: And once I was able to answer those questions and really say, hey, here's the whole plan. This is how much it's going to cost. This is how we're going to pay for it. Just not having any pushback, having them wholeheartedly say, absolutely, let's, let's adjust the wage brackets in the way that that needs to be.
Kelly Cronin: And then the same thing when I went asking for a stipend or asking for a larger stipend and making sure that our whole team is talked to about that, right? So anyone [00:36:00] who has interest in going into veterinary technician school. I want them to be supported. And, you know, we're always kind of looking at how can we support them even more, but things like we pay for a VT& E study program, we do have that stipend towards their tech school, you know, we're still looking for them to put in some, so they've got a little skin in the game, and just making sure that we have a T& L team that's really supportive of their growth too.
Kelly Cronin: One of the toughest conversations that we have is, Hey, I just, I need to work more, so I have to work a second job, I don't have time for tech school. And I, I very much understand where they're coming from. I very, very much do. And so one of the things that I, I really wanted to do was just take a look at those, those industry standard, market standard wage brackets and compare them.
Kelly Cronin: Hey, if you go to tech school for two years and then become a technician and have your wage change to that [00:37:00] technical wage, What is the overall impact on you? Like, one of the things that we have to do when we're planning forward as, as team members, is really think about, for our career, how do we get to a better place tomorrow than we are at today?
Kelly Cronin: And I wanted to make sure that they really understood what the difference was if they started today versus starting tomorrow.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, and I think also a little bit of that to you, even, even though the phrase you were saying is how do I get better tomorrow is that sometimes you have to think beyond tomorrow, meaning, so, so instead of the, but I need, you know, every dime to get to tomorrow.
Megan Sprinkle: It's like, Yes, I hear you. What could you do today and tomorrow that could get you to where you want to be in a couple of years where you're not having to feel, like you're living paycheck to paycheck. And I think that's the part [00:38:00] that, I think your team is so lucky that they have you to help them do that as well.
Megan Sprinkle: And that it sounds like you have, and you mentioned this earlier, intentionally surrounding yourself. By the people that you want to be around. And it sounds like the leadership team at this veterinary hospital is that is it partner veterinary emergency and specialty hospitals? Yes. It is part of that as well.
Megan Sprinkle: It sounds like they are supportive. They, they probably love that you are actively looking for these opportunities as well. And, um, I know that you, again, you've made job changes to stay with those personal values that you have with them. Um, any other things you wanted to share about that as well?
Kelly Cronin: I do want to kind of drop a little truth bomb on that.
Kelly Cronin: So I talked a little bit about the difference between if you stay a veterinary assistant versus if you get that license and move forward. And I'll tell you that every market's just a little bit [00:39:00] different, right? This is just me doing some research based on our wage brackets in our market for Virginia.
Kelly Cronin: But the difference with investment of the difference is 50, 000 in five years. Wow. And there's a ton of times where I have conversations with team members that say gosh at this point I am I'm living paycheck to paycheck so much so that I have an increasing credit card bill and so what I'd say to that is Let's really take a look at that Let's make sure that there's not things that shouldn't be there that you're paying for that are increasing that Let's make sure that we live a little bit frugaler Frugally that's not a word more.
Megan Sprinkle: I like me to
Kelly Cronin: get out of that hole, but also let's think about what that interest rate that you're paying on. That is constantly doing in terms of that growth as well. And let's think about how to get forward out of that, right? If you have that [00:40:00] opportunity for 401k, you know, maybe growing that amount so that you could effectively take that off at some point in time.
Kelly Cronin: you know, taking a second job for a short time period, not every fix is going to fix everything for everyone. I've had conversations where, and I'm sure you have too, where every solution that you come up with is something that someone can say no to. And here's the reality. If it's not a solution that you come up with yourself or that you pluck out of the sky and say, Hey, this is going to work for me.
Kelly Cronin: You might be very, very apt to say no to a solution. And the reality is, is if you say no to the 20 different solutions that I offer, I don't know how to help you. But if you say maybe to 10 of those solutions, and if you think on the ones that, hey, are maybes, and then use those maybes to then help you forward to a solution that really fits you, That's a really impactful thing.
Kelly Cronin: You know, and there's so [00:41:00] many out there. There's so many ways to think outside the box. I've worked with teams where they swap childcare. Where everybody works four days a week, and on the You know, the three days that you're not working, you take other people's child care and you swap between the team members.
Kelly Cronin: Or I've had, you know, situations where a team member doesn't necessarily want, say, a roommate or something along those lines, but they get a duplex. That duplex is actually usually appraised significantly lower. Generally, duplexes are something that you can get an FHA loan. You can actually utilize the potential of income to actually help qualify for that loan.
Kelly Cronin: As a first time homebuyer, that can be an incredibly affordable loan, and you have someone who's now paying your mortgage effectively. Like a lot of times when you look at the overall mortgage for a duplex, having those two sections of rent, or even that one section of rent, can sometimes pay the very best.
Kelly Cronin: chunk of the mortgage. In fact, we have [00:42:00] a midterm rental off of, a portion of our house here in Wisconsin. And that midterm rental pays more than half of the mortgage on a 5, 000 square foot historical mansion that we got on foreclosure. Like, there's just a lot of ways to really think about, hey, how do you kind of think outside the box to make things work a little bit smarter for you.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, and I think you gave a tip also, and for me, the reason why I think this tip is coming to mind is it's January when we're recording, this is the last day of January, but a lot of people do their year goals around this time. And you mentioned doing them in June, like half, yes, in the middle of the year.
Megan Sprinkle: And I liked that because. It's like it allows you to have that little bit of time at the end of the year to say, okay, these are my goals kind of check in and put those steps in place so that you can think about these possibilities and be like, okay, let me try this one and see how it [00:43:00] goes And so I thought that was a really good tip that I don't really hear a lot of people talking about.
Megan Sprinkle: Um, have you seen that help too in this kind of situation?
Kelly Cronin: I have. Yeah. No, I really, truly love the idea of writing out my goals and just reevaluating my priorities. So one of the things that I do in June prior to writing those goals is I just write down the three big priorities in my life, you know, whether that be family or work or, or travel or, you know, whatever that might be.
Kelly Cronin: I, I write them down, and then I write the things that are supportive of them. And I write the things that aren't, you know, and the things that maybe I need to take out of that. Health has been one that has been pretty high on my priority list. , I have something that is preventing me effectively from running, which, running, I, I love, like I've always really, really enjoyed it.
Kelly Cronin: And seeing my health kind of decline and being not able to run and, and really having that, you know, in the way of, that goal has really put a lot of things in [00:44:00] perspective. And when I sat down in June and said, Hey, how am I going to get past this? The first step to that was make sure that I had really rock solid health insurance.
Kelly Cronin: Make sure that I was actually following through on, you know, trying to get to a diagnosis. Trying to make sure that I figured out ways around it that would not lead me to like passing out in a gym and things like that and And I'll say that it was, it was really nice to have a mid year check in, but then use that January as, okay, now it's time to reset and realign on the goal that I set back in June.
Kelly Cronin: Well, that goal is to get back to my pre, you know, pre POTS, weight and, and be really healthy and feel really good and maybe even get back to the point of running. Well, in January, you know, part of checking in on that goal was a friend of mine and I really sitting down and saying, Hey, you know, what is our running slash [00:45:00] walking goal for the year so that we can start up Jan one and really support this thing that I decided to do in June.
Kelly Cronin: And it's just been a really impactful thing to kind of have that twice a year set point and that January renewal really hits a little bit differently when you already know what your goals are coming into it.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, I love that. And I know we're starting to run out of time. So do you mind sharing just a little bit?
Megan Sprinkle: You've got so much going on. I do know, I think you said you were going to be at, Western veterinary conference in March, teaching there. And so if anybody wants to connect, , what else do you have? You mentioned there's a cruise. If you want to mention, I know you have, Okay. You have several different rentals that you have all around the country, which I think is really cool as a person who also likes to travel, , being able to, I mean, and they're like all sorts of places like Alaska and, and all over.
Megan Sprinkle: So, do you want to share kind of where you are now, what you have going on and anything else you'd want to share? [00:46:00]
Kelly Cronin: So the rental company or the midterm rental, short term rental company is called Cronin's Castles. , and we don't have a ton of places in operation yet, but we've been working on a lot of them.
Kelly Cronin: There have been an awful lot of fun putting them together. I've actually, I've had so much fun putting them together that I've also put together kind of a short course on how to do it. So if anyone has interest in that, certainly message me, I can get you set up with that. And I tend to do it. Very veterinary technician style, very bootstrapped, and, uh, no money in.
Kelly Cronin: So, our current place that's renting is in Vieques, Puerto Rico. If you guys haven't ever heard of Vieques, Puerto Rico, it is a 21 by 14 mile, tiny little island off the coast of Puerto Rico with a $2 ferry ride to get there. We're the horses outnumber the people and there's just no more epic place on this planet to be, you know, a very crowded beach is one that has a horse on it and you might have to go a mile down the, down [00:47:00] the walk to get to a beach without anything on it.
Kelly Cronin: The, snorkeling there is incredible. It's the brightest bio bay in the world. It's just a really, really magical place that very few people have ever heard of the people who have heard of it. Can't wait to get back. It's just incredible. And our little place is, a little roundhouse in the middle of the island.
Kelly Cronin: Very, very affordable to rent and tons of a lot of fun. And we work with the Humane Society and the Hooved Animal Humane Society down there. So lots of opportunities if you're coming down from a, from a veterinary standpoint. our other place that hopefully we'll be ready to go come, come summer is in Kasilof, Alaska next to one of the number one and number three salmon fishing rivers in, in the world.
Kelly Cronin: really, really incredible place. You know, sit in your kitchen and make dinner and watch our mama moose and her two babies like wander through the yard. It's, it's pretty incredible. Or lay in bed up in the loft and watch the Northern [00:48:00] Lights. You just, you cannot beat the location. It's really incredible.
Kelly Cronin: And then, uh, we are currently working on an 80 acre glamp ground, which will be tree houses and vintage trailers and buses and things like that. in Ladysmith, Wisconsin. So that'll be fun as well. And if none of that floats your boat, the other option is that we have a cruise. We have the next cruise coming up in January.
Kelly Cronin: We are going to the Dominican Republic and to the Bahamas and come learn from some of the best veterinary technician educators known to man. The RACE applies to both veterinary technicians and veterinarians. So come, come join us veterinarians. We, we don't judge. It's tons of fun. We always have some pretty incredible topics.
Kelly Cronin: We've had an anesthesia escape room. We've had, behavior work. We have had anesthesia, emergency surgery, dental, neuro. I mean, honestly, like you name it, we've had it [00:49:00] represented. So really, really incredible topics, really incredible speakers and really cool destinations. And generally it is as affordable as going to, you know, any of the big conferences.
Kelly Cronin: So.
Megan Sprinkle: You said January. Do you mean, is that 2026?
Kelly Cronin: Correct.
Megan Sprinkle: Okay. Good. Just want to make sure. I was like, Oh no, I missed it. No, you didn't. It's still there. We
Kelly Cronin: just went on one actually. We just got back from Mexico from one and we had just an amazing time. Took 85, uh, veterinary technicians to Cozumel and Costa Maya and just got tons and tons of feedback that it was the best thing anyone's done.
Kelly Cronin: So lots and lots of fun.
Megan Sprinkle: And I think I heard you say this again. The other thing that I like about their cruise style is that you are together. Like you can't escape, which sounds like, I'm not, it's like you're stuck. No,
Kelly Cronin: but we will let you escape if you want to, you
Megan Sprinkle: can always go to your room if you need to recharge, but what I meant was that you, [00:50:00] you have this opportunity to really spend quality time with your colleagues, including the ones.
Megan Sprinkle: That are giving these sessions. So instead of having to feel like you have to rush off to the next CE, you get to go eat with them or really connect on a different level. And what I have also heard people say is at events, at CE events, a lot of times the stuff you remember afterwards are the conversations on the bus on the way there or in the hallway, and so you have set it up where that happens.
Megan Sprinkle: A lot, so you're able to have this kind of magical connection. So I just wanted to highlight that because I think that's something that's really different about that.
Kelly Cronin: I think that it's, it's kind of a, it's a lot about the fun extras too. You know, 1 of 1 of the things that we did on this last cruise was we went and met some stingrays and we, we went to actually a stingray conservation place [00:51:00] to, to meet these stingrays.
Kelly Cronin: And just about everyone on that stingray tour was from Vet Tech Life CE on the Sea. So it was really, really incredible and impactful because we all got to have just this incredible moment of learning that had nothing to do with our moments of learning. And it was just a truly impactful timeframe to really see all of these folks who, you know, day to day where dogs and cats really, really light up because here's an opportunity to have this one on one relationship with this, just this.
Kelly Cronin: of stingray taco joy that is, you know, flapping around and hanging out with you for five seconds. And just the amount of, you know, the amount of care that those caretakers had and the amount of, education that we had in terms of like, this is how we, globally can take some responsibility on how to make these things more safe in the environment.
Kelly Cronin: Like it was just, [00:52:00] It was a piece of, uh, a piece of education that you're not going to get anywhere else.
Megan Sprinkle: Very good point. Yeah. And as we kind of do the last final questions, is there another piece of wisdom we didn't get to touch or anything that you want to leave as well today?
Kelly Cronin: there's a woman named Paula Pant.
Kelly Cronin: And if you haven't. If you haven't read her stuff, if you haven't seen her online, she's really active in the financial independence community. Really, really incredible human being too. Just listening to her talk, I've never met her, but someday, someday. She says, you can't afford everything, but you can afford anything.
Kelly Cronin: And one of the biggest things that I really want people to think about is just the fact that being where we're at in an industry that we love It doesn't mean that we have to give up on bigger dreams. It doesn't mean that we can never own a house. It doesn't mean that we can never own a car. It doesn't mean, [00:53:00] you know, that we can never go on a vacation.
Kelly Cronin: It means that we have to be a little bit smarter about how we do it. And that's not a terrible thing.
Megan Sprinkle: I, I think that's an extremely empowering message that we have is that You, you can make these things possible. And again, thank you for coming and sharing a little bit of how to make that possible. I do want to refer people over to the veterinary financial podcast, cause you did a great episode there.
Megan Sprinkle: And honestly, any, any podcasts you've been on so far that I've listened to, you have provided so many tips and wonderful things. And just lastly, I really like to leave here. Is, you know, as you're just thinking, what is something that you're just really grateful for at this time?
Kelly Cronin: I think the thing that I'm the most grateful for is just the fact that I've, I've had so many opportunities and I really want everyone to understand that it's not some lightning bolt that brings opportunities. It's [00:54:00] the fact that people have said yes to things that I've asked, and that clearly I haven't had enough people say no to me in my life to not keep asking.
Kelly Cronin: So here's the thing. I think that the thing that I'm grateful for are the opportunities. The things that you should be grateful for are the opportunities. Please guys, if you want something to happen in your life, figure out the steps to do it and ask the question.
Megan Sprinkle: I hope you enjoyed this fascinating veterinary story. We can make an impact in so many places. Check out the show notes for lots of resources. Please make sure you are subscribed on your podcast app, subscribe on the YouTube channel and follow me on LinkedIn, where I hang out the most. You can contact me on LinkedIn on the website at vetlifereimagined.
Megan Sprinkle: com. And brand new is that you can text me to send me a text message. Find the link at the top of the show notes below that says, send us a text message. I want to thank our longtime sponsors, fire [00:55:00] consulting, and we'll use who support the podcast over on our hosting platform. Buzzsprout. You can support the podcast to just check out the show notes for a link.
Megan Sprinkle: And I hope to see you next time on that life. Re imagined.
