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Congrats, you’ve completed your aesthetics training! Now what?
As a nurse you already have a highly sought after skill set, and maybe you’re feeling as though you haven’t been properly remunerated for it – we couldn’t agree more. Nurses are underpaid and undervalued.
One way around this is to think about opening your own aesthetic clinic, where you’ll use your skills to impact the lives of your clients while significantly increasing your earning potential.
If the idea of starting your own business has ever crossed your mind, consider this your sign to dive in and build the life you’ve always dreamed of! While starting your own business takes hard work, it always helps to have a supportive partner on your side. That’s why we’re building this guide to help you launch your business and take it from $0 to $100K.
Let’s get started with the first part in this series, meant to guide you through the initial steps of opening a medical spa.
How to Open a Med Spa As a Nurse
As a nurse, you’ve already got the bedside manner and most of the necessary skills to bring value to your med spa patients. There are a few specific considerations for cosmetic nurse jobs, so read on to understand what’s required of you!
Training For Cosmetic Nurse Jobs
Accreditation for cosmetic nurse jobs is available through the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board (PSNCB), but it’s not required in order to be a practicing aesthetic nurse.
Before opening a medical spa, you’ll need to undergo specialized nurse injector training in order to become certified to inject botox and dermal fillers, two of the most popular med spa procedures.
Luckily, there are tons of options for courses available to you. We recommend opting for the most in-depth and intensive training option available to you. Cosmetic nurse jobs comprise both art and science, and mastering the techniques involved takes years. This training is the first step towards establishing your business and starting the career of your dreams!
The state you live and operate your business in will also impact what training or certifications are required of you before opening a medical spa.
Check out our articles Aesthetic Injector Training Courses in California and Aesthetic Injector Training Courses in Texas to find an injector training course near you.
At Moxie, we ask that our clients have attended a training with live models. Nurses without any prior med spa experience are required to shadow a clinician for at least 30 hours. This ensures that you’re fully prepped and ready to confidently take on clients and help them with their aesthetic needs! We strongly believe that aesthetic shadowing is integral to the success of new cosmetic nurses, and those opening up their own med spas.
Finding a Medical Director for Your Aesthetic Clinic
Laws and regulations around med spa ownership vary from state to state, but typically require a licensed medical professional (physician or nurse practitioner) who can act as medical director.
To start, a medical director must be a licensed, certified physician in your state. They will act as your business partner while overseeing the aesthetic treatments performed at your med spa. While they may not be too involved in the day-to-day, the Medical Director is a safeguard to ensure nurses are adhering to medical standards and providing top-of-the-line treatments to patients.
For this reason, it’s essential that you choose your medical director carefully.
How much can you make as an aesthetic nurse?
While opening your first med spa might seem like a daunting process, your initial investments can really pay off in the long run. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average salary for RNs is $71,730, with the average salary for an aesthetic nurse sitting at $90,142. This figure can vary significantly depending on a number of factors including your location and years of experience.
How to select your service offerings and specialties
There are several procedures that you’ll likely want to offer at your aesthetic clinic, or maybe you want to specialize in a specific area. Below are some of the most popular med spa procedures to give you some food for thought.
Botox and Other Neuromodulators
- One of the most popular aesthetic procedures performed at a med spa. Opening a Botox clinic could be a good direction to go in, providing a steady stream of clientele and revenue.
- The US Botox market size was valued at $5.91 billion in 2021 and rose to $6.27 billion this year—and is projected to grow to $8.59 billion in 2029.
Dermal fillers
- An increasingly popular treatment option at med spas in recent years
- Fillers are safe with a minimal recovery time and can be a highly profitable service to offer your clients. The demand for these treatments is high, and clients are often willing to pay higher prices than they would for other aesthetic treatments
- Most fillers don’t last forever, so your clients will need to return for treatment to maintain their results, providing you with a consistent pipeline of returning clients!
Skin care
Help your clients resolve their skin concerns by offering one of many services, including:
- Microneedling: uses tiny sterilized needles to prick the skin, inducing the skin's natural healing process and promoting collagen production
- Laser skin resurfacing: uses a laser to remove the outer layers of the skin, stimulating the production of collagen and new skin cells
- Plasma fibroblast therapy: uses energy to create high temperature plasma to tighten and enhance the skin’s appearance.
Should You Offer a Membership Program at Your Aesthetic Clinic?
When opening a medical spa one of the first things you’ll need to think about is how you’re going to keep the lights on. It’s a great idea to have a variety of revenue streams to keep the cash flowing and your business in the black.
First, we recommend charging per service. Once you’ve established a clientele, then it could be time to introduce a paid membership service as a way to establish a consistent stream of revenue while rewarding loyal customers. The reason for holding off on a membership program is that there is a fair amount of administrative overhead, and you want to make sure you have a broad enough service menu to entice clients.
Once established, many med spas boost revenue by offering a paid membership service for their clientele. Since procedures often require repeat visits for desired results, you may choose to offer clients a set monthly rate that encompasses certain services.
According to Dr. A. Jay Burns, senior partner at Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute, doctors who implemented a membership program saw their average patient visits rise from 1.44 per year to 2.9 times a year. Their patients also spent more than those without a membership program—35% more, to be specific.
Membership rates range from $75 - $200 per month, and include a wide array of benefits like:
- Reduced member-only pricing for certain services
- Free monthly services such as facials or laser hair removal
- Priority booking for appointments
This helps your clients to budget for their services, creates loyalty to your clinic, and also builds a consistent, reliable stream of revenue.
How to Find the Right Location for Your Med Spa
When it comes to opening your med spa, location is key. Clients see your office as a reflection of your business and the quality of your services, so it’s critical to research and plan carefully before making any commitments.
While the quality of your service is paramount to your success, the location of your med spa says a lot more about your business than you might realize.
When choosing the location of your office, you’ll want to consider who your ideal customer is, where they are likely to live, and how they might arrive at your location. Do you offer free parking? Is your office accessible by public transit?
Your office should be conveniently located for your ideal clientele, making it as easy as possible for them to visit you often!
Taking all factors into consideration, including geographic location, the type of space you’re looking for, size, cost and lease terms will help you make an informed decision - one that will benefit your business for years to come.
Checklist of Med Spa Office Furnishings And Supplies
When furnishing your office, your priority should be comfort and practicality. We recommend a clean, minimalist aesthetic that prioritizes your clients' needs.
Med Spa Furniture:
The following are must-have furnishings for your first med spa office:
- Magnifying lamp
- Medical fridge for drugs/compounds
- Chair or stool for you
- Treatment chair
- Coat rack or hooks for client’s belongings
- Tablet to check customers in and out, and take before and after photos
- First aid kit
- Sharps disposal
- Temperature regulated fridge for neurotoxin
- Smart thermometer for fridge
- Hand mirror
- Vial decapper for botox
- Trash can
Check out our blog post to find the full checklist of medspa office furnishings.
Med Spa Technology:
Investing in tech can help you to automate front-of-house business processes and save you time and money in the long run. We recommend the following tools to streamline your service offerings.
- Tablet: Check customers in and out, and take before and after photos
- Card-accepting payment systems: Evaluate options like Square, PayPal Zettle, Shopify, or Vend
Medical Supplies:
When running a med spa, it’s essential to make sure that you have the right supplies to ensure a safe and sterile environment.
- Trash can
- Sharps disposal
- Smart thermometer for fridge
- Hand mirror
- Injectable tools: needles or cannulas
- Vial Decapper Pliers for botox
- Face towels
- First aid kit: Benadryl, Claritin, Pepcid, Epipen, eye wash, band-aids
- Gloves
- Gauze 2X2
- Gauze 4X4
- Cotton pads
- Rubbing alcohol
- Alcohol swabs for botox
- Hibiclens for filler
- Wound cleaner
- Syringes (different sizes)
- Saline for botox reconstitution and dilution
- White eyeliner for marking injection sites
- Vaseline or Aquaphor for lips after injections
- Emergency kit: Filler dissolver (Hyaluronidase / Hylenex)
Pro Tip: Suppliers like McKesson, Henry Schein, and local compounding pharmacies sell filler dissolvers.
In Summary; TLDR
Opening a medical spa is a big undertaking, but as a nurse you’re no stranger to hard work. Combined with your background and experience in the medical field, this makes you an ideal candidate to open an aesthetic clinic, be your own boss and boost your income!
Once you’ve completed your nurse injector training, it’s time to start putting some business plans together, find a medical director, determine your service offerings, consider various streams of revenue and start scouting some locations!
After reading this article you’ll be in a much better position to make informed decisions and start your med spa off on the right foot.
Stay tuned for part two of this series where we discuss how to host a successful launch day and how to build on that momentum to effectively market your business.
Reach out to the team at Moxie today to learn more about opening a medical spa.
