We are excited to announce that VetShopAustralia’s very own Dr Mark starred in this month’s edition of Vet Practice Magazine. Dr Mark along with four other successful vets were interviewed on the lessons they have learnt and what they would tell their young self. Keep reading as Dr Mark reveals how VetShopAustralia all began and his tricks for success.

“Looking back, I’d say that starting VetShopAustralia was the best decision I made,” says Dr Mark Perissinotto. “At the time nobody else was doing what we were – the internet was new and online retail was in its infancy, yet, we believed it was here to stay and would be a game changer.” 

He started the online business in the back room of his Sunshine Coast veterinary clinic in 1999. “It was hard work and if I could offer advice to my start-up self I’d say ‘keep the faith – the long hours developing the website after hours and on the weekends will eventually pay off,’” hey says. “Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing and if I knew then what I know now, I would have expanded the business a lot quicker between 2003 and 2005 when we were growing by eight to 10 percent per month. Planning for rapid growth is sometimes just as difficult as planning for lean times.”

In 2009 VetShopAustralia won Australia’s Best Online Retailer award and then in 2011, a Telstra business award. There have been multiple other accolades along the way. “I would say perseverance and hard work are the trick to my success and I believe successful businesses are 10 per cent inspiration, 80 per cent hard work and the rest is luck.”

By Sarah Norris

Vet Practice Magazine

June 2016