Why Medical Spas Fail Reason # 9: Buying the Laser Before You Have a Business Plan

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In the film, Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner, the ghost would whisper, “Build it and they will come.” Meaning all Kevin Costner needed to do was build the baseball stadium and the ghostly baseball players would come to play ball and people from all over would visit his farm and pay to watch them play. Doctors often have the same mentality when it comes to buying laser equipment. The idea, “Buy it and they will come,” is derivative of the Field of Dreams concept, that all you need to do is buy the laser and patients will ask for the treatment and you will make a lot of money with this device.

The reason most doctors don’t think about this is because they have not had to traditionally.  Most practices receive the great majority of their revenue from insurance companies, not from advertising their services.  The idea that they would need to spend a lot of money on advertising to bring patients through their door is a foreign concept in most cases for a lot of medical specialties.  This all changes when trying to generate aesthetic revenue because these procedures are not covered by insurance and the doctor needs to spend money on advertising to bring cosmetic clients through their door.

The smooth talking, good-looking, laser sales rep will show you some impressive numbers about the revenue you can generate with his/her laser, however they fail to mention exactly how you will get your telephone to ring, how your receptionist will effectively book those aesthetic consultations, and how you will close your consultations and sell thousands of dollars worth of aesthetic treatments.

The successful operation of an aesthetic practice does not happen by chance.  It requires careful planning, marketing, training and resource allocation.  Quite frankly, it requires a lot more work than most doctors are willing to put forth if they only knew of the work involved before they began the process.

Careful thought needs to be taken in creating a basic business plan and a realistic cash flow proforma of the first 12 months of operation.  You should project ultra-conservative numbers and determine if your investment will pay you the Return on Investment that you are expecting.  After you have done this, the LAST step in setting up an aesthetic practice is buying the laser equipment.

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Vin Wells

Vin Wells, MHSA,  is the President and Founder of RockBottomLasers.com and has over 11 years experience in the aesthetic laser industry. Mr. Wells started his own chain of aesthetic clinics under the brand name Skinovative and opened his first medical spa in Boise, Idaho in February 2001. Mr. Wells continued to grow and operate aesthetic clinics for over 8 years.  Since 2008, Mr. Wells has focused on selling used aesthetic equipment to physicians and medical spas.

Mr. Wells received a masters degree in Health Services Administration from Arizona State University (1995) and has extensive practice management experience, working with a number of different hospital and outpatient care systems.

Mr. Wells has developed a number of business operations systems that help aesthetic clinics to maximize their profitability, including: Aesthetic Consultation Training, Medspa Management Training, Medspa Business Plans, Medspa Operations Manuals, and Front Desk Operations Training.  These products can be found at: SkinSalesTools.com

Mr. Wells completed received his bachelors of Science degree at Brigham Young University in 1991 and continued his education at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, receiving a Masters in Health Services Administration in 1994.  He has worked for a number of different health care organizations including as a Program Director for group of primary care clinics (Arizona Association of Community Health Centers), a Health Care Manager for a hospital network group (Arizona Healthcare Federation), and as Associate Director for the Arizona Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Mr. Wells has devoted considerable time in research the latest cosmetic trends and treatment modalities. He stays current on the cutting edge of such research and uses this information to make strategic decisions for the company.  He has a broad understanding of lasers and has been certified in laser biophysics and theory.

Mr. Wells was successful in developing a Laser Certification Program that was approved by the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency, the agency that oversees the use of medical lasers in Arizona. The program involves 40 hours of laser didactic curriculum as well as hands-on laser training.