How Alyssa Mages stays happy, confident, and energized
In the veterinary industry, a high standard of care together with a team of devoted, engaged, and skilled veterinary professionals are always going to remain the key ingredients of successful practices. Veterinary technician, Alyssa Mages, has devoted her career to training team members to ensure that success.
Just a few weeks ago, she walked away from a career in working in a practice to pursue her dream of starting her own company, Empowering Veterinary Teams (EVT.)
EVT provides comprehensive, multi-disciplinary training for practices. Unlike other training services, EVT create unique programs and helps streamline their training and protocols.
The future looks bright for Alyssa, since she can now do what she loves most, which is helping others achieve success.
We found out more about this amazing mom of two:
Why I left practice life:
I have had six knee surgeries, three on each leg. The final procedures were full reconstructions of each joint with ligament & cartilage grafts, fracture repairs, realignment of tibias & femurs and lots of hardware to hold it all together. Physically, I cannot do the lifting, pivoting, on-your-feet-for-12-hours anymore.
Mentally I reached a crossroads of only being able to help a relatively small amount of people and I knew if given the opportunity I could reach & empower so many more.
Why the veterinary world needs EVT:
I have heard countless times from so many people the phrase “But what can I do, I’m just a vet tech or vet assistant, etc.” To me, no one is “just” anything, and when someone is given the opportunity to see their talents recognized, be able to build them, and in turn teach others, this will then empower them to pay it forward and continue to grow & develop the veterinary industry from the inside, out.
What I hope we achieve with EVT:
Our goal at EVP is two-fold.
One, to change the training/coaching approach to one from the inner workings up, instead of a top down approach, enabling those unidentified leaders within veterinary teams to hone their skills, grow their teams, support their practice, and ultimately improve the veterinary industry as a whole.
Two, to provide veterinary solutions teams (labs, supply companies, etc.) with relatable and dynamic training materials to reach the ever-evolving veterinary audience to continue to provide relevant information to facilitate inner growth within their sector, and translate/transfer that back into the veterinary practice.
Overall we’re looking to refocus & revamp the training process and the subsequent content/materials into something attainable, relatable & sustainable.
Best career advice I received:
From my mentor when I received my acceptance letter into veterinary school one week, and a positive pregnancy test the following…” Focus on your family before it starts. You can always come back to and change your career, but you won’t get a second chance with the ones who will always matter the most.” I turned down veterinary school but my family and I are very glad I listened 😉
Most agonizing career decision I ever made:
Declining my acceptance into Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University to slow down, focus on my family & rethink my path. It ended up being the best decision I would ever make, but at the time it was extremely difficult.
How it feels being the boss:
Like I’ve finally arrived at the destination that I was meant to in my career path. It’s invigorating, exciting, terrifying, and empowering all at once.
Advice for my younger self
You don’t have to fit the mold, blend in with the crowd, nor make everyone happy. You don’t have to be happy all the time either. Feel. Be. Live. You are enough.
Why finding purpose in life is important:
For me having a purpose driven life goes hand-in-hand with another concept that I’ve recently discovered – that of a growth mindset. It’s akin to being planted in unfertile soil; without a purpose there is a lack of grounding which makes it all that more challenging for us to take root and grow. This is not analogous to being stuck in place, quite the opposite. By finding out what the meaning or purpose to our life is – and this is not something that happens overnight, it’s a lifelong journey & one that is an evolutionary process – we give our minds the ability to flourish, opening up more and more possibilities and in turn giving us the ability to share with others to help them find their grounding, their purpose. It’s cyclical. Changing. A dynamic process that starts with each of us.
Change I would like to see in the world and how we can get there:
Believing in everyone’s inner power. Start by believing in our own and shining our light onto others.
Follow Alyssa on her journey on Linked in
