Have you been pondering on how to start a medical spa? If your answer is in the affirmative, you are at the right place. Medical spas are gaining traction across the social divide as the wellness industry grows relevant. Want to make a career in this industry? Consider starting a medical spa in a few simple steps that we will show you.
To start a successful medical spa business, you need to understand how the wellness industry works. Have a business plan spelling out all the essential aspects of your business. Determine the capital required, raise funds, look for a business location, hire your staff, and, if possible, hire a business development team. Decide which treatments to offer and install POS software to facilitate client scheduling.
Article Contents
What Is a Medical Spa?
A medical spa typically works by relaxing the customer while treating a health condition. It combines aspects found in the traditional spa and a medical clinic. Unlike traditional spas, medical spas, or Medi-spa as they are popularly known, are run by licensed health care professionals.
How to Start a Medical Spa
Now that you know the difference between traditional and medical spas, it’s time to delve deeper into how to get started. Granted, starting a medical spa is not complicated. However, as with any start-up, you need to brace yourself for some real work.
The following are some of the things you need to consider.
- Business Plan
- Location
- Determining your capital
- Raising Funds for your business
- Hiring Staff
- Hiring Development team
- Types of treatment to offer
Business Plan
A business plan is probably the most important thing you need to have when starting a business. It defines what your business is all about, key activities, projected cash flows, and growth prospects, among others. It is a communication tool that enables you to tell different audiences about your business.
A business plan will help you determine the amount of capital your business needs. And it can also be an essential tool for raising capital.
Despite its significance, a business plan need not be complicated or technical. You can find simple templates online that provide quality guidance. The most important thing is determining where you want to be in 5 years and articulating how to get there.
Location
When determining the location for your business, you need to look out for the following;
- Potential customers- Go for a location where your target customers can easily access your business.
- Legal requirements and tax obligations – some locations or states have very prohibitive legal requirements and taxes, which can be untenable in the long run.
- Skills base – are the skills you are looking for readily available in your location?
- Competition – how many medical spas are located within your vicinity?
- Minimum noise- relaxation and noise don’t go together.
- Confirm that authorities in your area are conversant with the medical spa business because some of them still don’t understand it.
Determining Your Capital
To get a rough idea of how much you need, find out what services you will offer and the equipment needed. Consider the number of employees, cost of rent, insurance rates, licensing requirements, etc., then sum them up. A properly done business plan should provide that kind of information.
Raising Funds for Your Business
After determining the amount of capital required, it’s time to consider your sources of funding. You can borrow from financial institutions or seek support from angel investors. Go for banks that offer competitive rates. In most cases, equipment will constitute the most significant portion of your capital outlay.
If you have inadequate funds, it’s advisable to start with services that do not require heavy investment in equipment. Treatments such as Cool Sculpting and Laser hair removal can be included later when you are well established.
Hiring Staff
You need to get the right people for the job; otherwise, you will be out of business before you know it. Your business culture and core values must be clear from the onset. This will help you find people who align with your culture and vision. You need people passionate about your business goals and are willing to put in the work to achieve them.
You will need to hire a physician to purchase prescription injections, medical equipment, and supplies only available to doctors. Apart from hiring licensed staff, you need to have experienced supervisors who are good with people and can address issues quickly.
It’s important to note that hiring qualified staff will allow you to focus more on the business aspect of things. Be warned that this is a high turnover industry, so treat your talent with respect and dignity. Create an environment of trust and make them feel valued.
Hire a Development Team
To get it right the first time, you might need to hire a development team. The team will help you put the bits and pieces together. These should be experts who understand the technical aspects of your business and can design the facility for greater efficiency.
Staff Insurance
This line of business involves dealing with clients and equipment, and sometimes things can go wrong. As such, you need to ensure that all your staff members are insured. Regulations differ from state to state, so be sure to find an agent to create a plan that works for you.
Types of Treatments to Offer
There are many treatments that a medical spa can offer. These might include treatments offered by traditional spas such as facials, massages, etc. But above these, there are certain services you would expect a medical spa to offer. These include laser hair removal, photo-rejuvenation, botox and fillers, natural dermal fillers, wrinkle correction, cosmetic tattooing, and body sculpting.
The above list is long, but that doesn’t mean you must become a jack of all trades. Your menu should include only the services you can do well. After all, you want to give your customers value for money. But don’t go so lean that people will be forced to go to other practitioners after visiting your medical spa.
Also, go for products that have been proven to be effective and integrate them into your offering. Work closely with pharmaceutical companies with a good range of products and are highly regarded.
Conclusion
Starting a medical spa is not complicated if you know what is required. As we mentioned earlier, a business plan is the best place to start because it will guide and channel your actions.
For greater efficiency, have POS software to help you manage scheduling and customer relationship. A basic POS should do check-ins and check-outs and run credit cards.
You can consider working as part of a franchise instead of going it alone. The franchise you enroll with must be in line with the vision of your business.
Running a medical spa is hard work, so you need to be passionate about wellness to make it. Don’t go for the money alone because you might not get very far.
