Hi everyone! I’m Charlotte McKay, VMG’s senior economist and I am excited to introduce my new blog segment, Getting Geospatial with Charlotte.
Who am I? I am an economist, a geographer, and a data scientist. I often say I was a geographer first. Not only was it my first degree, but I used it all the time at work and still do. Whether taking a canoe ride to GPS a duck blind, creating a map for military officials, joining a meeting at the Pentagon on geospatial standardization, providing geospatial data analysis for small business owners, or spatially analyzing veterinary trends, I’ve been up to my elbows in geography.
Wherever life took me I always saw data through a geospatial lens, even after I received my degree in Economics. Whatever I do I try to sprinkle, and sometimes douse, geography all over it, using the data I have at hand…kind of like my hot sauces! And that is what I want to bring here. No, not hot sauces, but geospatial insights about the veterinary industry, including veterinary practice. I want to share the importance of geography and geospatial data when it comes to policy making, whether in government or in veterinary practice.
Geography influences everything we do. In deciding where to go out to eat for lunch, I am influenced by the people and businesses nearby, which are affected by the demographics in my neighborhood. My recreational activities are influenced by physical geography too. I live in a prairie state. I love hiking in the mountains, but I can’t just open my front door and hike a mountain. I have to settle for the flat land around me, the prairie and forests. Just when I think I have escaped the suburban life, I hear trucks on a highway in the distance. Geography again! On another note, but in a similar vein, I think there are too many mattress shops at one nearby intersection. I often wonder, ‘Did they even do a competitor analysis?’ (Hint, hint, one has already closed down.) Just like me, veterinary practice owners have to make decisions based on geography for their businesses to thrive. Do they understand their target market well enough to make informed decisions about their business? Who, what, and where are their competitors? Is there a burning question that needs to be answered by knowing the spending pattern behavior in a geographic area?
This monthly blog segment will highlight all things geographical in the veterinary profession. And while I will focus on microeconomics, meaning you, the practice owner making business decisions, I will also zoom out to the macroeconomic level, looking at the whole economy. A post might highlight a beautiful map that I create, or I might share a cool map that I found. Other posts will walk you through ways to utilize geography to make better business decisions. Whatever it is, I want you to walk away from reading these posts with a new perspective. Let’s start thinking spatially!
Charlotte
