Many doctors and spa professionals have partnered to start their own profitable med spas. But learning how to start a med spa business is more than just having a nice clinic with IV infusions and lip injections. It’s about branding, quality, services offered, generating quality med spa leads, and so much more. At the moment, medical spas are becoming more mainstream. However, for this type of business model, your time and money must be well managed when you are developing a medspa.
If not done correctly, even the smallest errors could cause financial disasters.
A medical spa can be a great way to make money, provide patient satisfaction, and avoid sending them to other installations.
But before you decide to start it, are you completely familiar with what a med spa is and how you can work with one?
We must cover a lot to ensure you are going in the right direction with this business. Thus, focus on the basics yet vital parts.
Before Anything, What Is a Medical Spa?
A medical spa, also known as medi-spa and med spa, is a combination of traditional spas and medical clinics.
This spa is open to both men and women, and its purpose is to offer treatments that relax and treat patients’ medical conditions. Med spas are operated by licensed professionals in both health care and medicine.
Although the idea of a medical spa is still in its infancy, many people are interested in becoming spa therapists.
This is causing positive growth and allowing people to pursue a career in the spa industry.
One of the main benefits is that patients can visit them to have a relaxing day and be treated by actual professionals and not only random people calling themselves experts.
If you wonder what makes this med spa concept different from the rest, there are a few things to keep in mind.
The spa industry is large, so there are many spas on the market. It is difficult for new medical spa owners to comprehend the differences between spas and how they can differ from others.
A med spa business plan is different from traditional spas because it has professionals overseeing it. Only medical ones can be managed and owned by licensed professionals, while traditional spas are open to massage therapists and cosmetologists.
When comparing med spas to traditional spas, there is a big difference.
Med spas are more focused on medical therapies, while traditional spas offer services such as massages and facials.
Move on with the Essentials
Before you make any major decisions, draw a plan of what you need to do in order to open a medical spa. This will be easy if you’ve owned any type of business before. Start by breaking down the requirements into key groups such as:
- Services: Which services will you provide? What regulations will you apply to each treatment? What are the rates you will charge? What rates will you charge? Does medical insurance cover them?
- Persons: Who will be performing treatments in your Medspa? A med spa must be overseen and managed by a physician. However, not all treatments will need to be performed by a doctor.
- Back-office services: Once you have identified patient-focused services, personnel and staff, consider who will be managing your back office. In-clinic HR or financial managers can be assigned to the clinic, and staff will take care of maintaining it clean. These tasks can also be outsourced to outside accounting, payroll, or cleaning services.
- List of assets for your business: You can also include any items that you have and are willing to donate to the company, such as office and medical equipment. Record the cost of any equipment you purchase for your business.
- Legal and Insurance: Create a list of business licenses you require to operate. To legally run your business, you will likely require a business license.
- Location: If your office is not available, you can estimate the lease cost for the area you wish to establish your practice.
Focus on Where You Will Be Located
Many people will travel great distances to see their preferred caregivers. It is not as important to consider the surrounding area but the quality of the care and the professionalism of the staff at the clinic.
Although the spa’s activities are more important than those of its surroundings, they also have an aesthetic value. High-quality spas might be more successful with a view overlooking the oceanfront rather than a skyscraper.
Conduct market research to fully evaluate your options when you decide how to open a Medspa and where it should be located. These are the key elements to consider:
- Client demographics: Can they drive to your place? Is there parking available? If they can’t afford the higher-priced treatment, will they be able to set up shop in a commercial area that is more expensive?
- Legal regulations: Find out what types of businesses can operate in your chosen location by consulting your city’s by-laws. It might surprise you to learn that you are not allowed to operate in a particular area due to zoning.
- Equipment and professional consultation space: You need to balance the ability of your clients to reach your clinic with your own ability to do so. Before you sign a lease, plan all activities in the space. This will help you to know if you have enough.
While it is reasonable to expect that you will move to a different location as your medical spa grows, it can be difficult to relocate.
It can be costly, inconvenient for clients, and it can be difficult for people to find your business. It’s better to secure the right space at the beginning, as long as you have the budget.
But Above Anything Else, Are You Qualified?
When you are making this decision, it is a good idea to go over one of your first questions before moving on, “Who can open a medical Spa?”
Another common question is whether you are qualified to offer the full range of treatments offered by one. It is important to consider how much it costs to open a Medspa but also if you have the qualifications for it.
Below are some essential points to keep in mind when starting your own business in this niche:
- Vision and sustainable concept.
- Modest budget.
- Licenses.
- Perfect location.
- Partnerships and sponsorship.
- Marketing and sales plan.
- Protocol handbook.
Also, have you gotten all the education and experience required? People are bound to visit you and choose you over others as long as you show your qualities.
Otherwise, you will fall behind in a niche that depends a lot on qualifications and how professional you are.
Start Creating Your Business Plan
It takes a lot of work to start a medical spa. Because many stakeholders are involved, the amount of background work required is enormous.
From deciding on your mission and vision for your spa to actually implementing the marketing plan, you have created for the business. This is all-important to ensure a successful spa business.
Knowing your market is the most important thing to remember when creating a plan. It is important to be familiar with all trends and tactics in your niche. This will help you to shape your services more effectively.
Your target audience is another important aspect to consider when starting a medical spa. It will help you market your services more effectively and ensure a better return on investment.
The sales and marketing strategy are next for your medical spa company. This plan of action will allow you to choose the best marketing mediums, be active on social media, and make the most of the digital space.
A business plan that matches your competitors’ is a great way to create a profitable spa business.
You can consider the tricks of your competitors and keep up-to-date with their activities to ensure that you include every aspect of your business.
For those wondering if a plan is worth their time, remember this: You must create a business plan, regardless of whether you are financing the project or looking for investors.
This is the document that all potential investors must review before investing in your venture. Even if you are not looking to find investors, this plan will put everyone on the same page.
Your architect and designer will review the plan to get a visual representation of your goals. Your consultant will also read the plan to understand how to market and program your project.
Finally, your spa manager will look at it to determine whom they should hire and how to manage them. It can be used as a reference during development and as a guideline for your business.
How Good Is Your Concept?
Do not try to be all things to everyone.
You should choose what area you are going to specialize in and then do it well.
If you want a good example to guide yourself, not to copy, Cultura Dermatology and Laser Center (Washington, D.C.) focuses on treating skin of ethnic origin. In contrast, Spa On the Green (Longmeadow, MA) focuses exclusively on organic skincare products and treatments that enhance plastic surgery.
A common error is not offering enough or too little information about your practice. There is a fine line between a medical spa and sharing office space.
Before you join with another practitioner, ask yourself these questions:
- How will this practitioner complement your practice?
- What can you do to bundle these services?
These treatments will help you improve your practice. The ultimate goal of your practice is to create a solid idea that will complement your business and not compromise your integrity.
Consult With an Accountant/Financial Planner
Many people who start businesses don’t understand how to read financial reports. This is something we struggled with when we first started our business. Thus, don’t feel down because of it.
However, don’t miss the chance to work on it as it is important to understand what reports imply.
To put it simply, it is vital to understand the meaning of a profit and loss statement (a P&L), a balance sheet, and how to create a budget.
If you ask us what to do, our opinion is that entrepreneurs tend to just go with the flow. Sometimes that’s fine, but it can often lead to disaster.
It’s important to understand this aspect of your business by consulting someone with specialized training in finance. A financial planner or accountant can certainly help.
Talk to A Local Attorney for Health Care Corporations
An attorney who specializes in health care will be able to help you understand the regulatory issues that medical spas face.
This may seem self-serving to you as a lawyer. But the fact is that more medical spas are being regulated than ever before.
If you don’t hire a knowledgeable lawyer about the law, you’ll spend far more money trying to fix the problems you created.
You can expect to pay $15.000 to $20.000 for legal and accounting fees in your first year of medical spa operation. This will be used to create the company, ensure compliance, create consent forms, establish standard operating procedures, and so on.
Hire Your Development Team
The build-out phase is usually the most time-consuming and expensive part of your project. It also tends to be the area where you have the least knowledge.
Your development team is crucial. If the facility is not designed correctly, even the most brilliant ideas can go wrong.
A combination of the services and expertise of a plastic surgeon and an oncologist in a tranquil spa setting is a great way to help a patient with breast cancer who recently had a mastectomy.
She can get reconstructive surgery, scar management, energy work, and even a wig fitted under one roof. This scenario can change if she must walk through the main lobby to reach the area where she can try on wigs or undress in a private locker room.
You can anticipate these issues and create an exit or waiting area for patients with a strong development team. A skilled development team will create a facility that complements your idea, not destroys it.
Set Your Services & Work with the Top Products
The success of your medical spa depends on the support of your doctor for all spa products and services.
It is difficult to create a menu that doesn’t compromise the integrity of your doctor and still be a viable product. Many doctors are divided on the benefits of spa services.
One option is to purchase a proven spa skincare line. Many pharmaceutical companies have also expanded their product lines to meet the needs of medical spas.
You can create spa-like treatments by working with a pharmaceutical company.
However, you need to take this beyond.
The whole concept of determining your services and working with the right products is about what you will offer to your patients or clients and how you are going to guarantee the best results.
Just think about the professionals you need and the right lines of products you should use. With this in mind, you can start building your list and determine the best options you can give.
Create and Implement Business Infrastructure
A medical spa’s main objective is to provide a relaxing environment. If the operation isn’t well-oiled, your staff can’t focus on selling products or patient care.
The foundation is where form and function merge. Your business systems are the most crucial step in your project. This is before your staff joins.
In spa settings, 75% of complaints are about what happens outside the spa. Your spa’s reputation and potential income will plummet if you don’t have policies and procedures.
Integrate Both the SPA and Medical Sides of Your Business
A medical spa’s backbone is the seamless merging of the spa and doctor’s offices. Programming and communication are key to this.
There are many options available to integrate your business. One option is to establish a panel of experts that includes both spa and medical professionals.
The panel discusses the client’s diagnosis to create a complete treatment plan.
A second method is to meet with each client one-on-one. This allows time for the client to talk about their goals and educate them about available medical services.
The third method, which is more tailored to spas that are cosmetically focused, allows the client to choose the services that best suit his or her needs.
Choose Your Insurance & Staff Wisely
All therapies and practices are available under one roof in a medical spa. Everyone needs to be protected, regardless of whether they act independently or work with clients.
You will still need to have the basic protections, such as malpractice, general liability, and property.
To create a specific plan for your facility, you will need to consult an insurance agent. Each state has its own regulations, so it is important that you research the best insurance for your needs.
On the other hand, medical spas that are successful employ professionals with prior experience in medical settings. They also have the ability to offer a healing touch. This is a high-turnover field.
Other than treating your staff with respect and creating a positive, friendly environment, there are many other ways to retain your staff. These include continued learning and fair compensation.
Besides Staff, You Need Equipment
With the principles of needing your staff and your insurance, you need to move on with the next part: Your employees will be able to offer a variety of therapies and treatments through spa equipment.
Each type of treatment that a medical spa offers requires a set of equipment best suited for that particular treatment. This makes it easier for your staff to provide high-quality services.
Multiple sellers are available when trying to purchase equipment for your business alone.
Finding these sellers is one thing, but procuring the right equipment is another. There are many places that can source spa equipment, as the spa industry is growing at an incredible pace. High-quality equipment will allow you to offer the best services and grow your business.
Below is a list of essential equipment you need to have in your medical spa for the best treatment.
- Spa massage & facial tables.
- Multifunctional unites.
- Combinations and facial steamers.
- Trolleys and carts.
- Sterilizers and hot towel cabinets.
- Beauty technician stool.
- Microdermabrasion machines.
- Magnifying lamps.
- Laser and intense pulse light.
- Electrocardiogram.
- Digital imaging.
- Ultraviolet sterilized cab.
Start Your Marketing & Revenue Tactics
Many doctors think old marketing strategies where they invite people out of nowhere are still helpful.
However, they are missing a concept: a medical spa is not an office.
Forward-thinking marketing plans take a proactive approach to generate client traffic. You have the best tool for marketing, unlike other small businesses. This is a list of your spa clients’ names, addresses, and phone numbers.
Communication, follow-up, and commitment are the three key steps in marketing spa services. Use your mailing list to communicate with clients. Send them postcards to inform them about upcoming promotions. To schedule a visit, follow up by calling.
Flyers and signage in the house will keep walk-ins and passersby informed about your promotions.
The Local Lead Generation Process for Your Med Spa Business
All right! So, everything is about building properties and generating leads. But how does the process actually take place? Are there other steps I need to know?
The steps I mention below are what students from our local lead generation program follow to generate leads for businesses like yourself. So I’ll help you see what we do. And how if you join our program, you can simply generate leads for your own business (unless you want to start a side hustle and build a laptop lifestyle business).
Essentially, our lead generation can be divided into four steps:
The first is prospecting. You need to take the time to do market research on a niche (industry) and determine how many phone-driven businesses are there.
Keep in mind that this is local research as you need to know how many companies need leads. For example, you may search for “plumbing services Youngstown OH.”
You will find dozens or even hundreds of businesses trying to get themselves in front of the customers by ranking on Map Listings, organic results, and even Ad.
The second step, building. When you find a niche (plumbing, tree services, a software company, real estate…), you will need to start building your digital properties. You don’t need to be an expert in HTML or coding. It can be easy with the right tools.
The third step is now taking time to rank your lead gen website. With the site done, you need to work on SEO strategies and start dominating those Google search results. If you’re new to SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.
To keep it simple, it consists of the entire process of growing a company’s visibility on search engines like Google and generating organic traffic. And remember this, local lead generation is part of the strategies.
Moving on to step four, once you rank the site, you will start getting your ROI and profits. You only need to rent it out to a local business interested in the leads the site generates. You can offer a couple of free leads to their move on with the actual pay per lead.
To review steps 1-4 above, I described it to a normal student who is building a lead gen business to help local service providers generate more calls. But replace the student with you as the business owner. And replace sending the leads to a business to simply siphoning the leads to your personal business.
By the way, fun fact, about 20% of our students in our local lead gen program are actually business owners who went through the program. And they use the skillsets we teach to generate leads for their own business.
An Example of Lead Generation: Home Advisor
You must be thinking, “if lead generation sounds so good so far, how come I haven’t seen any company?” That’s the thing; there are many out there. You just don’t know they are dedicated to it.
HomeAdvisor is one of the best examples you can find on the Internet as it is a top lead generation company that has spent millions building its brand but also earned even more zeros for this same reason.
They started small as everyone else but invested in building their brand awareness to make people who are looking for home services go to their website and find what they need. They are over 75% of people’s first choice when they need those services.
If you don’t get HomeAdvisor that much or need a refresh, users need to submit their information to request a service and get a professional or expert who can provide it.
HomeAdvisor’s job is to share your information, which makes you a lead, with local companies so they can contact you and offer the service you’re requesting. For sharing this lead information, HomeAdvisor gets paid by the companies. This happens for every single lead they send to multiple businesses.
Business owners who don’t have marketing skills or don’t even know how to have any online presence will always rely on those pages to list their services. They will save time and effort, but companies like HomeAdvisor can make them spend lots of money as leads aren’t exclusive (one lead is sent to multiple companies after all).
Using Facebook Ads aka Paid Ad Platforms: Do They Generate Leads?
They DO generate leads. If not, no one would use them.
However, you need to remember two facts:
- Paid ads or platforms can be expensive.
- They don’t generate “natural” leads.
Whenever someone sees or clicks in one of those ads, over 80% of them did it by accident or are trying to close/report it.
Why? Because they aren’t looking for those services. At least not at the moment.
What those ads do instead is interrupt their time on the platforms. Users aren’t there to find companies or businesses unless they are searching for a specific company’s user, and for that, there’s a search bar. This is why it is hard to convert them to actual customers who will show interest in the companies’ services. Also, you’re limited by a budget.
When using lead generation, everything is organic. You aren’t forcing others to pay attention to your business but rather being there when they need you. This is why Google’s organic traffic will always beat paid ads, and the reason companies continue investing in it, which is a lot cheaper as well.
What Is Local SEO?
Don’t worry… I didn’t get it at first either. Following the short explanation, local SEO focuses on scaling businesses’ visibility on search engines. However, this is only for those who serve their communities face-to-face.
What does this mean?
Experts and professionals like painters, plumbers, and dentists (but not only them) offer their services to their local customers. Why? Because they can’t deliver them unless they are located in the same area of their customers.
To make sure those businesses get more leads, you need to rank them locally by claiming the business listing on Google to place them on Map Listings. Local SEO also involves online reviews, citation management, and how you manage your entire online presence in the local area.
If you are going to bet on lead gen, you need to adapt yourself to today’s world: The Internet.
Keep in mind that although traditional channels and methods like billboards, warm calls, and pamphlets still work, they aren’t part of your tools. Whenever someone needs a service, they go to Google and search for it.
“Dentist in Miami” or “plumbing services in Orlando,” etc. And you can keep coming up with services or professionals people need and look for. Thus, you need to make sure you’re using Google to get the companies in front of their clients.
Users will always click on the first search results (those near the top), and many of them will be either Ad links (people paid to place their websites there), Map Listing, and then you get websites. Almost all of them are your goal and where you should always aim to place yourself.
Can My Med Spa Business Utilize a Local Lead Generation Strategy?
If you want customers, you better know you need it. Following the previous explanation, lead gen is all about placing businesses in front of their customers, choosing them over their competitors.
Put it simply – it’s all about closing deals and having clients for those companies to make money. The main difference with the usual methods companies use for this is how lead generation approaches different channels to get them in the right place of the market to get customers.
Those channels are all focused on the Internet as most people are searching for products but also services across the net. The issue is that the Internet is way too broad, and businesses don’t know how to place themselves. They usually try, but they get one common result: losing money and time.
How Powerful Are Organic Med Spa Leads from Google?
For companies looking for customers, it’s everything. For you? Pretty much the same. When you build a business with digital properties, you get to make thousands of dollars a month.
This isn’t a “get started today and get rich tomorrow” thing, but it is HIGHLY scalable, and ROI + positive results are guaranteed. Learning a fairly decent and very needed set of skills to create your digital properties and start ranking them on Google is required.
I have invested in several online businesses over the years, and if there’s something uncertain, whether you will get your ROI or not, even more than the actual profit.
However, this business moved my earnings from five figures a year to a month in ONLY passive income while sitting comfortably at home.
On my laptop. Anywhere. Anytime.
You can look at one of the first sites I built back in 2016, and it continues making me over $1.000+ every month. The best part is that I don’t need to touch it or the rest I’ve built over the years, just like this digital property.
What Makes Lead Generation SO Alluring?
Here it goes: you can work from home.
The main issue with regular business opportunities is how much you need to invest in staff, equipment, or rent to have a place to sell your products or offer your services.
We all know the hassles of traditional businesses that involve regular expenses, which are extremely high. Can you afford it? I don’t think so, and even if you can, is it worth it? Now, it isn’t only about the money. You also need to put in a lot of work, and it isn’t only during the first couple of months or years. Usually, it is as long as you continue running it.
You can save yourself those headaches and bone-breaking tasks and expenses with lead gen since it is more about generating leads with digital channels—mainly websites.
Websites can be VERY cheap to build, and with many tools online, you get to do it in a couple of hours instead of days. Any virtual or digital business is scalable and won’t need constant maintenance.
So, let’s summarize this:
- You save money in regular expenses with traditional and most online businesses as what you need is yourself and digital properties (websites).
- You can bet on passive income.
- There’s no need to hire more people to get started.
- You can generate leads in multiple industries, which allows you to work on any niche you want.
How Can I Get Started in the Local Lead Generation Program?
Anyone can start and learn. That’s the beauty of this business model. I knew nothing about SEO, Map Listing, and everything I’ve mentioned so far. It is all about learning the skills, gaining experience, and deciding to take the step.
Remember that this business model will never get old as business owners are always looking for leads. They need to do business and scale their companies. Why not do the same while helping others and still making money?
You can start with this local lead generation course highly recommended for anyone wanting to grow in the business. It is a close training that will take you through each step and make sure you are able to get your ROI, profits and take control of your life.
You will be added to an incredible lead generation family ready to help you 24/7 when asking questions on the group. Anyone is welcome who’s willing to put in the work. Click here to watch the lead gen webinar.