Business planning, personnel management, marketing and plan implementation are a few of the topics that will be discussed at the “Shaping Your Veterinary Future” conference this year.

The seminar is offered in three two-day conferences and is designed for graduates who have been in the business world for a few years, said Judi Nielsen, program coordinator for the Iowa Small Business Development Center.

Nielsen said the conference will teach participants about the business side of veterinary practice and will take a look at changes in the industry and its future.

“Veterinarians are taught to be veterinarians, not business people,” Nielsen said. “This allows us to help them become a better business person.”

During the seminar, participants will take part in a case study that involves taking a close look at each aspect of a particular business.

“It is an intense program,” Nielsen said.

She said the conference is set up in three parts, and participants should sign up for all three because each part builds on the others. The first part of the conference will be held this Wednesday and Thursday.

“Right now we are having better luck filling the second session than the first,” Nielsen said.

The program will include 15 hours of on-site mentoring assistance, which is provided to help the participants implement things they have learned at the conference, she said.

This is the first year the conference is being offered, and if it is successful, it will be offered again, Nieslen said.

November speakers include Donald Draper, professor of biomedical sciences at ISU; William Kearly, senior partner at The Futures Corporation in Boise, Idaho; and Max Wortman, professor of business and Pioneer Hi-Bred chairman in agribusiness.

Kearly will discuss practice management, and Wortman will talk about the “Nuts & Bolts” of the strategic planning process.

Diane Johnson, Cynthia Wutchiett, Jerry Manning and Michael Thompson will speak next semester.

The conference is co-sponsored by the College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Business, the Iowa Small Business Development Center and the ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. The other two parts of the conference will be held Jan. 6-7 and March 10-11.

The registration fee is $2,500, and attendance is limited to 20.