Medical Spa Insider

COVID-19 had a huge impact on medical aesthetic practices across the country, forcing business owners to overcome unprecedented circumstances. For some, however, quarantine was not the only catastrophe to strike. In part one of this two-part series on overcoming disasters, Marria Pooya of Greenwich Medical Spa talks about a fire that devastated her flagship location, how she was able to adapt and move forward, and the keys to building a foundation that can withstand enormous, unforeseen challenges. She covers:

• How the lockdown affected her four-location business;
• The ways it managed to survive, restructure and move forward from quarantine;
• The fire that completely destroyed the company’s flagship location;
• Recovering from the loss of equipment, property and server data;
• The importance of having dependable leadership team during crisis;
• Meeting sales goals across multiple locations while maintaining patient care;
• How sticking to core values plays into resiliency, longevity and success;
• Her plans for growth and outlook on the future; and
• The most essential KPIs she looks at every day.

As the Medical Spa Show 2021 inches closer, take a quick listen back at one of the fun and interactive events from last year. Join AmSpa for a “podcast roulette” recorded with special guests “Botox Josh” Davis, RN BSN, owner of Whisper Wood; Kelly Gibbs, RN, BSN, CANS, founder of Beauty Co.; Shelby Miller, DNP, FNP-C, founder of RUMA Aesthetics; and Anil Rajani, MD, owner of RajaniMD. In this completely raw and unedited recording, our guests open up and get real about some of the sexy and not-so-sexy things about their daily lives.

WARNING: This is NOT the podcast to listen to in the car with your kiddos!

This week Steve Blanner, VP of sales for Wynn Las Vegas, joins Medical Spa Insider to talk about how quarantine affected Las Vegas and the safety steps Wynn Las Vegas is taking as tourism, gaming and live conferences resume. Listen in to hear about:

• How Wynn is working to maintain the iconic Las Vegas experience while maximizing guest safety;
• The safety measures in place around the property, in general and specifically for large live events;
• What might be different this year for live events compared to past years;
• If there are vaccination requirements to participate in live events in Las Vegas;
• The new onsite COVID-19 testing lab at Wynn Las Vegas;
• The onsite vaccination center at Wynn Las Vegas;
• And more!

The Wynn Last Vegas is hosting this year's Medical Spa Show. Visit www.medicalspashow.com for more information.

Catherine Maley, MBA, has been a part of the explosive growth of medical aesthetics for decades. This week’s Medical Spa Insider dives into her extensive knowledge of marketing and practice management to pin down the best practices for attracting and retaining patients in the modern medical aesthetic marketplace. Listen in to hear about:

• Common misconceptions about medical aesthetic marketing;
• The most common business needs for plastic surgeons that approach her for help;
• The challenges of having to be everything in order to compete in today’s world;
• What modern patients are looking for when they search for aesthetic services;
• The importance of consistency for customer service and the patient experience;
• How to cultivate a patient for life;
• And more!

Terri Ross of Terri Ross consulting returns this week to talk about how quarantine and COVID-19 affected her consulting business and caused her to pivot into one of the greatest opportunities she’s ever had. Find out about the important metrics you need to track in your business and how her new Aesthetic Practice Accelerator (APX) platform puts all of that information within easy reach. Listen in to hear:

• Takeaways Terri has learned from aggregated benchmark data from her customers and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons;
• The differences between practices that thrived through quarantine and those that didn’t;
• The importance of knowing profit per treatment and revenue per hour per provider;
• The dangers of the “mentality of discounting”; and;
• Life lessons she learned in 2020.

Stay all the way to the end for a promo code to save on her new APX platform.

This week, we’re checking back in with the nurse practitioner duo Alexa Nicholls Costa, NP, and Alexandra Rogers, NP, of LexRx. They talk about managing their quarantine year, maintaining and building their hyper-focused injectables-based brand and the importance of keeping their brand identity as they grow. Listen in to hear about:

• How they surpassed their year-over-year numbers in 2020, despite a four-month quarantine closure;
• The key to the success of their private label skin care line;
• The benefits of organic media vs. advertising and sponsored content;
• The market research they considered when they began considering new locations;
• The rationale behind the LexRx “Team House” in Nantucket;
• What they look for during the hiring process;
• How to maintain brand identity while expanding to multiple locations; and
• What they’ve learned as business owners in the two years since the last time they were on the podcast.

This week, Dr. Robin Patel, professor of microbiology and director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, returns to answer questions about the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccines rolling out across the country. She covers:

• Putting the vaccine into perspective: How impressive was speed of research?;
• Whether the rush to market sacrificed safety and research into side-effects;
• Reasons to take the vaccine;
• What effectiveness rates mean with regard to the various vaccines;
• How worried should we be about COVID-19 variants;
• If you can still transmit COVID-19 once vaccinated;
• If you should still get vaccinated if you’ve already contracted COVID;
• Whether other allergies give you higher risks with this vaccine; and
• If people should try to choose one vaccine over another.

This week, entrepreneur and motivational speaker Felecia Hatcher talks about her path to success, ranging from starting her own small business to working with some of the biggest brands in the world. She covers:

• Having the vision and courage to build something from nothing;
• The motivation required of successful entrepreneurs ;
• Moving past the urge to quit in the face of adversity;
• Understanding your value proposition;
• The importance of value-based pricing;
• How to make the shift from being a hustler to being a CEO;
• The power of understanding your target market;
• What problems are you solving for your customer; and
• Setting and defining your business goals and intentions.

This week, Jessica Nunn of Skytale Group dives into the ins and outs of finances in the medical aesthetic space. In this wide-ranging discussion, she covers:

• How data can help predict the future of your practice;
• Knowing your numbers in order to be proactive instead of reactive;
• Things you need to think about when starting up a new medical aesthetic practice;
• What to focus on when growing and scaling your practice;
• Ways to improve practices that are already doing well;
• Common financial mistakes that business owners make;
• Basic financial reports business owners need to understand;
• And more!

On this week’s episode, Christopher Surek, DO, talks about how the Academy for Injection Anatomy goes above and beyond to hone injectors’ knowledge of anatomy, skill with injectable treatments and ability to manage complications. He covers:

• Developing his passion for head and neck anatomy;
• His perspective as an injector, plastic surgeon and anatomist;
• The benefits of cadaveric dissection injectable training;
• Developing new ways to view and understand anatomy;
• How the hands-on course helps to understand the three-dimensional anatomy of the face;
• A quick breakdown of facial layers and his approach to teaching; and
• How use of ultrasound can lead to better injectable results.

This week, George Baxter-Holder, ARNP, DNP, CANS, and chair of the AmSpa Aesthetic Safety Council (AASC), joins us in a wide-ranging talk. He covers:

• The AASC looking at the practice guidelines with fresh eyes;
• The priorities when fine-tuning the practice guidelines;
• Determining the intent of practice guidelines;
• Looking at the practice guidelines as a position statement rather than a policy statement;
• Coming to a consensus on minimum standards for medical aesthetic practices;
• Trying to define “medical director,” including training and qualifications;
• The resiliency of medical spa industry during COVID-19;
• His involvement with the Academy for Injection Anatomy; and
• The benefits of getting a hands-on, 3D view of anatomy for injectors.

See here for more information on the AmSpa Aesthetic Safety Council.

See here for more information on the Academy for Injection Anatomy.

This week, AmSpa legal coordinator Patrick Armstrong O’Brien talks about legal trends he’s seeing in proposed bills that would affect medical aesthetics across the country. These include:

• What independent practice means;
• States increasingly moving toward independent practice for APRNs;
• Some states that are considering allowing PAs more independence;
• Trends regarding “cosmetic practice licenses” for minimally invasive procedures; 
• The recent California LVN board investigation and what it may mean for aesthetic practices;
• And more!

This week, Cathy Christensen, COO of AmSpa, joins Alex to discuss the results of the AmSpa 2020 Medical Spa Industry Short Survey – COVID-19’s Impact. In this conversation they cover:

• The recent death of Dr. Paymon Simoni due to COVID-19;
• Medical aesthetic practices that had to permanently close;
• Medical aesthetic practices that had to permanently lay off team members;
• How federal aid impacted medical aesthetic practices;
• Revenues in 2020 compared to 2019;
• The relative resilience of the non-surgical medical aesthetics industry;
• How these numbers impact the outlook for the future;
• And more

View more information about the survey at americanmedspa.org.

View and download an infographic summary of the results here.

This week, Jessica Wright, MD, of Rejuvenate Austin, stops by to talk about her journey from practicing medicine at a busy urban trauma center to life in medical aesthetics. She talks about:

• Succeeding during the pandemic;
• Why she got into medicine;
• Why she got into aesthetics;
• Going from hospital surgeon to business owner;
• Balancing work and personal life;
• Advice for people looking to get into aesthetics;
• And more!

Alex Thiersch, JD, founder and CEO of AmSpa, is joined by Christin Trujillo of Skytale Group and Patrick O’Brien, JD, AmSpa’s legal coordinator, to discuss the new round of federal stimulus and assistance for COVID-19 relief. They will look into the individual programs and measures found in the bill and how they might affect your medical aesthetic practice.

Brandon Robinson, owner of Skin Body Soul and investor in OrangeTwist, takes over the podcast this week to interview Alex Thiersch, JD, AmSpa’s founder and CEO. As we close out a tumultuous 2020 and head into a new year join us for a look back at the history of the American Med Spa Association as Alex reveals:

• How he first became interested in a legal career;
• The legal case that got him into medical aesthetics;
• The beginnings of AmSpa;
• The idea behind AmSpa’s Medical Spa & Aesthetic Boot Camps;
• How the Medical Spa Show came into being;
• How Covid-19 and lockdown changed the focus of the association;
• His outlook on the future of the industry post-pandemic.

This week, we’re back with Christie Hutchinson, RN, MBA, talking all about OSHA. She answers a number of compliance questions, including:

• What is OSHA?
• Where do majority of OSHA complaints come from?
• What are the most common OSHA violations?
• What are minimum compliance standards for light-emitting devices?
• What do you do in case of an OSHA investigation?

This week, Christie Hutchinson, RN, MBA, does a deep dive on the nursing scope of practice in aesthetic medicine. She discusses:

• The initial consult and what counts as the practice of medicine;
• How standing orders affects what RNs can and can’t do;
• The importance of protecting your nursing license;
• Standard operating procedures and their place in medical spas; and
• Where you can find information on “who can do what” in a medical practice.

This week, Brandon Robinson, owner of Skin Body Soul and investor in OrangeTwist, talks about the business outlook for the medical spa industry during and potentially after the COVID-19 pandemic. He covers how investment interest in the industry has actually increased over the past several months and reveals his thought process as he expanded his business over the course of 2020. He talks about:

• Ways the pandemic has proven the business model of medical aesthetics;
• How the “stickiness” of the industry has become apparent to investors;
• Why and how he managed to expand during pandemic;
• Where opportunities can come from during and after lockdown;
• The importance of knowing your numbers, knowing your model and sticking to your guns;
• Protections you can build into lease agreements to give yourself confidence to take risks;
• Predictions for when industry will get back to full capacity; and
• His reflections on 2020.

AmSpa CEO Alex Thiersch and COO Cathy Christensen sat down with Terri Ross of Terri Ross Consulting to talk about what it’s like being a female entrepreneur in the aesthetics industry, and how medical aesthetic practices can scale their business to seven figures with simple sales training tools. Terri shares her tips on the benefit of performing longer consults, how you can invest back into your business, role-playing tips for your front desk staff and much more!

Many states are re-imposing restrictions on businesses, as the COVID-19 pandemic has surged in many parts of the country. Join AmSpa Founder and CEO, Alex Thiersch, ByrdAdatto Partner, Renee Coover, JD, and AmSpa Legal Coordinator, Patrick O'Brien, JD, as they review and discuss the new restrictions in Illinois, California and elsewhere, and how they may impact your medical aesthetic practice.

As 2020 has gone on it seems stressors have only increased. This week we're reaching into the archives to help you manage an increasingly stressful world. Wendy Collier will offer things you can do each day to give you a break from feeling worried so you can be your more positive self. This includes a powerful daily practice you can do first thing each morning that will make a BIG difference in your entire day. 

This week, board-certified plastic surgeon Robert Whitfield, MD, talks about his journey overcoming both professional and personal hardships due to COVID-19. The pandemic has affected Dr. Whitfield in both his practice and in personal life, as he lost his father to the illness during the lockdown. He touches on several aspects of dealing with this reality, including:

• A medical professional’s perspective on losing a family member to COVID;
• The difficulties of losing a loved one during lockdown;
• How other team members have also lost close family members;
• Preparing to re-open while dealing with personal loss;
• Dealing with “COVID fatigue” among patients and community members;
• Lessons learned from months of virtual consults;
• And more.

This week, Hermine Warren, APRN, DNP, CANS, talks about some lessons she’s learned during the COVID-19 outbreak and gives a detailed analysis of AmSpa’s Guidelines for Non-surgical Medical Aesthetic Practices. Listen in to hear a discussion about:

• Processes and procedures learned during COVID-19 that will endure post-quarantine;
• Benefits of using cannulas for injectable procedures;
• The importance of standards and a standardization of rules;
• The need to clarify scope of practice for advanced licenses beyond just NP;
• The risks of publishing guidelines that may eventually become law;
• Whether the guidelines do enough to support RNs;
• The need for references and citations in the guidelines;
• And much more.

New York-based dermatologist Paul Frank, MD, caught COVID-19 in the early days of the outbreak. He joins AmSpa Founder Alex Thiersch, JD, to discuss his personal journey with the disease, how it affected his health, how it affected his practice and how he predicts it will affect the medical aesthetic industry. He talks about:

• How living through COVID-19 changed his perspective on business;
• The importance of focusing on the practice of medicine within the business of medicine;
• His outlook on the post-COVID-19 future of medical aesthetics;
• If millennials continue to drive growth as the economy slowly recovers; and
• Practicing profitably while maintaining legal compliance.

This week, Connie Brennan, RN, BSN, CANS, CPSN, CPC, talks about her lifetime journey of learning in medical aesthetics, focusing on her current goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. She talks about:

• The benefits of being an RN vs an NP;
• Reasons why and why not to take the leap;
• How to choose a school;
• Challenges of expanding aesthetic education;
• How to grow the ranks of aesthetic nurses;
• And more!

Heather Rypien, RN, CANS, was last on the podcast mere weeks before the nationwide COVID-19 shutdown. Check in on how the closure affected her practice, how she approached re-opening, and the lessons she learned from quarantine that she plans to implement in her practice going forward. Hear about:

• What patient flow has been like since re-opening;
• How customer behavior has changed;
• What precautions she is taking for her patients and her team; and

• Her outlook on the future.

This week, Paul Edwards stops by to demystify human resources (HR) and give you concrete examples of how building your practice with your team first can lead to success for your practice. Listen in to hear about:

• The COVID shutdown from an HR perspective;
• The strategies involved in growing employees into difference-makers;
• The importance of defining your company culture;
• How to approach revenue transparency as part of company culture;
• Interview questions to ask when finding a culture fit for your practice;
• Most common COVID-related HR questions; and
• The difference between law and rule-making, and caveats to many rules passed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, Kevin Harrington, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, talks about the ins and outs of injector training. He gives his views on how much training people should get before injecting for the first time, the value of manufacturer training courses, and things to look for when choosing a training course. Listen in to hear about:

• The importance of understanding the “why” behind medical procedures;
• How “certified” courses might not mean what you think;
• Why aesthetics should be considered its own medical specialty;
• What makes a good injector; and more!

On this week’s episode, listen in to gain some insight on the complex decisions that go into interpreting medical spa law. Alex welcomes Michael Byrd, JD, and Brad Adatto, JD, of the law firm ByrdAdatto to speak about:

• Challenges regarding regulators and legislators not fully understanding the industry;
• Challenges of laws being different in different states;
• Navigating “grey areas” in the law;
• Finding a balance between nursing board, medical board and legislature opinions;
• The most important aspects of compliance;
• Why it doesn’t matter if “everyone else is doing it”; and
• Why it’s less daunting than it seems to be legally compliant

This episode also includes a quick preview of Season 2 of the firm’s podcast, Legal 123s with ByrdAdatto.

This week we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes in the archive. Shelby Miller, DNP, FNP-C, founder of RUMA Aesthetics, known on Instagram as @Aesthetic_Injector, explains how you can replicate her journey by having the right intentions, finding the right mentor, and immersing yourself in education, training and networking with your peers. "The second you become overconfident, you become dangerous." 

This week, Danielle Smith, NP,-C of smith & co gives us a glimpse under the hood of her business as a solo practitioner who focuses solely on injectables. She gives an in-depth description of how she bucks many business rules of thumb in order to maximize her efficiency and create a plan customized for her particular business model. Listen in to learn the answers to the following questions:

• How do you maximize the efficiency of your time?
• Why should you potentially say No to new business opportunities?
• How vital is administrative support, really?
• Do you really need to answer the phone immediately?

This week, Alex Blinski, MD, busts the myth that you can’t make money on injectables and talks about how his brand, Plump, was built with injectables at the center—not as a loss-leader. He also talks about business coming out of the COVID-19 closure, whether he thinks the spike in interest is sustainable, and lessons he’s learning from the pandemic that will inform his business going forward.

This week, Nicole Norris, MD, gives a soup-to-nuts rundown of how she built her practice from serving a town of 20,000 people to drawing patients from 50 miles away or more. She talks about the importance of knowing her demographics, and understanding the marketing channels that are most successful in her area. Key conversation points include:

• Making the jump from family medicine to medical aesthetics;
• Building personal relationships with patients;
• Advice to new medical spa owners;
• Small market success during COVID-19 and beyond;
• …and much more!

Though many medical spas were not able to survive the shutdowns due to COVID-19, other practices that were able to re-open experienced a spike in business due to pent-up demand. As we move forward, how can the industry build upon that interest? Glenn Morley and Elizabeth Holloway of BSM Consulting talk about how to best make use of data in a medical aesthetic practice and the numbers they’re seeing from practices around the world. They also dive into what the best leaders are doing to see their practices through these uncertain times, and how transparency with employees can be a key to success.

This week, triple-board-certified dermatopathologist Gretchen Frieling, MD, talks about her journey into medical aesthetics. In this wide-ranging conversation, she delves into the importance of trusting your gut when deciding your next move and how cohesive community can benefit everyone in the industry.

George Baxter-Holder, ARNP, DNP, CANS, joins us this week to talk about his unconventional path toward a career in medical aesthetics. He also discusses how aesthetic treatments are about much more than what’s on the surface and answers some important questions about his interactions with his patients:

• How can you build a real, long-term relationship with your patients?
• How does understanding how your patients view themselves help you treat them?
• How can you help patients beyond the treatment room?
• How can all of this lead to better outcomes in your practice?

Listen in to find out.

Jackie Spagnuolo, RN, BSN, and Kelsey Spector, LE, chat with AmSpa’s social media team about what it takes to build a devoted following online. Aly Boeckh and Michela Bailey, AmSpa’s marketing gurus, join AmSpa Founder and CEO Alex Thiersch in asking these young influencers to share their insights on Instagram, TikTok, and being authentic and approachable in a digital world.

Rob and Carol Trow, co-founders of DermaConcepts, exclusive U.S. distributor of Environ Skin Care, talk about how they built their business with sustainable growth while fostering a family-like company culture. They offer advice on how they built their company over the last 25 years to both new and established entrepreneurs. 

This episode covers:

• How they build and retain a high-performing team;
• How those philosophies improve customer loyalty; and
• The importance of long-term planning for the growth and success of a business.

Candela’s CCO, Mary Trout, and medical director, Konika Patel Schallen, MD, join us on this episode of Medical Spa Insider for a wide-ranging discussion. They cover how Candela has weathered the COVID-19 storm and touch on worldwide data they're collecting as practices return to business operations. They also cover general medical spa best-practices regarding treating patients and bringing devices into a medical spa.

• What has consumer demand been as practices re-open?
• How are medical spas practicing safely?
• What are common business mistakes that medical practitioners make when opening?
• How do you choose a device for your practice?
• What is "consultative selling" and how can it benefit your practice, both when choosing a vendor and when interacting with patients?

Robin Patel, MD, director of infectious disease research at the Mayo Clinic, returns to speak about the current state of COVID-19 in the U.S. She covers transmission risk and how we can mitigate the spread of the disease, and outlines what the medical landscape might look like in the months to come.  

Additionally, Paul Edwards, CEO and cofounder of CEDR HR Solutions, talks about some of the practical realities of re-opening during COVID-19, such as:

• Protocols and procedures he sees in practices that maximize the health and safety of team members and patients;
• Where small business employees are commonly catching COVID-19;
• If employers can and should test employees for COVID-19;
• What to do if an employee tests positive;
• What to do if an employee doesn’t want to return to work;
• And more.

This week Steven Dayan, MD, FACS, speaks on the early days of medical aesthetic marketing and how he was able to pioneer many of the techniques that are commonplace today including establishing a web presence and authority marketing to the consumer. He also goes over his research regarding The Subliminal Difference – explaining how subtle changes can create dramatic results – and he talks about the nature of beauty vs attraction, and which one aesthetic providers should be most concerned about addressing.

Dr. Dayan is a professor and researcher has published over 130 articles in medical journals and 5 books. He is a NY Times and USA TODAY Best Selling Author. His accolades include the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s Leadership Award and “Top Doc” recognition by numerous organizations including Castle Connolly and U.S News & World Report.

He is a member of American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS), American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery (AAPFRS), American Society of Dermatologic Surgeons (ASDS) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Facial Plastic Surgery society as well as on the board of multiple medical journals including, Facial Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic Surgery Journal (ASJ), Cosmetic Dermatology and New Beauty Magazine. He is the current Co-editor of Modern Aesthetic Magazine and Web Editor of Facial Plastic Surgery Aesthetic Medicine.

He has authored 5 books, and is currently filming a 10 episode pilot series with Dr. Paul Nassif that is scheduled to air summer 2020. But it is in his role as an adjunct professor —teaching a popular undergraduate course: The Science of Beauty and Its Impact on Culture and Business – that his NYTimes Best Selling book Subliminally Exposed is based.

This week, Lori Robertson, MSN, FNP-C, talks about staking the success of her practice on the outcomes of her patients first. She goes over her focus on treatment efficacy and patient satisfaction over profits, and how she uses a team-based incentive structure to show appreciation without relying on commission for individual providers. She also talks about steps she’s taking to ensure the safety of her patients and her team as the country re-opens after COVID-19 shutdown, and how her patients have responded.

This week our panelists discuss new information about the PPP loan forgiveness application, and new interim rules introduced in the PPP Flexibility Act.

Panelists include:

• Alex Thiersch, JD, Founder and CEO, AmSpa
• Michael Byrd, JD, Partner, ByrdAdatto
• Ben Hernandez, Partner, Skytale Group
• Patrick O'Brien, Legal Coordinator, AmSpa

In this episode, Cameron Hemphill, CEO of Growth99, talks about techniques he sees that are allowing medical spa practices to both survive and thrive in the current climate. He talks about the importance of recurring revenue services and online sales, as well as how the innovative use of digital marketing can create market leaders today and in the future.

This episode’s guest is Mitra Silva, founder of medical interior design firm Simour Design. She covers how she takes ​patient experience, safety and comfort into account when designing medical aesthetic practices. Her specialized team of designers create intentional healing spaces within medical spas, surgical centers and all areas of health care.

Reunited and it feels so good! Join the incredible women from Medical Spa Show 2020’s All-Star Medical Spa Owners panel as they discuss their lessons learned and experiences during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as their thoughts, methods and tactics for re-opening. Hosted by AmSpa founder and CEO, Alex Thiersch, JD, and featuring:

• Shawna Chrisman, ACNP, MS, BC, FCCS, Destination Aesthetics;
• Anna Churchill, Synergy Face & Body;
• Lynn Heublein, Skin Spirit;
• Melissa Rogne, Rejuv Medical Aesthetic Clinic.    

Gabe Lubin, founder and CEO of Cartessa Aesthetics, speaks about his motivations for building Cartessa and his philosophy on creating devices for medical spas. He talks about what to consider when buying capital equipment and how to make careful decisions about adding treatments to your practice to achieve long-term success.