We got to know each other at university, although we were a few years apart. After that we worked together in the same practice, which is not that far from Bury.

I think it had been assumed that we would be the successors in our previous practice. That might sound good, but we were the driving force there, so the harder we worked, the more expensive it became for us to buy-in. In effect, the finish line kept moving away from us. That suited the existing partners, but didn't make much sense from our point of view.

To buy into an existing practice, you're talking of raising upwards of £100,000 and so you need good backing from a bank. But you can never afford to forget that this is a business and you need to look at what you'll get in return. Despite the big financial outlay to get into an existing practice, the returns aren't always there. Your share of the profits keeps shrinking as more partners buy-in, and, when you sell, you're unlikely to see a substantial increase on your initial investment.

The beauty of the Vets4Pets model is that the financial input needed to set up is totally realistic. We put in £15,000 each - the sort of money that you can blow on a car. It's a very attractice and accessible way to launch your own business.

The Vets4Pets model also addresses another worry we shared: how do you sell the practice once it's profitable. Who's waiting around the corner with £600,000? While Vets4Pets retain their interest, we benefit from the growth in practice value, so what we are building up here, really is ours. When we decide to sell the business, Vets4Pets will find another partner to buy into the practice to start building their own business and we walk away with our share of the business value and all of the goodwill.

The Vets4Pets model is quite clear; the first five years are hard work, with no returns above what you may expect as an employed vet. But then it all happens. That's exactly what we've experienced and it's been really satifsying to see the fruits of our hard work.

We each received our intial £15,000 investment back in October 2008, followed by a good dividend in April 2009. Dividends are now arriving each quarter which is wonderful when you have mortgages and young families. Plus we're enjoying the sense of achievement that comes from having built this business. We're now looking forward to entering the next growth phase now we're into our fifth year. The business model shows that from five years onwards, the profits are really significant.

There have been times, of course, when you question your decision. That's when we consulted other JVPs through the network, who've been in this for longer, and they assured us that they had experienced the same doubts and urged us to keep going. It all worked, just as they said, and no doubt we'll pass on the same encouragement to those who follow us.

We're focussed on growth and have now taken on a fourth vet. Fortunately, we have some unused space in the building and are budgeting to create two more consulting rooms to increase capacity. We're lucky that we can pick up the phone and consult other partners and the Vets4Pets business advisors, who've done all this before, and just pick their brains.

Growth is now the challenge but we're confident that we have everything we need to achieve that and to push the business forward.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a Joint Venture Partner with Vets4Pets, get in touch.