Key Considerations for Successful Med Spa Expansion

Expanding your medical aesthetics practice can be a pivotal step toward taking your dream to the next level. It can also be a great leadership and entrepreneurial challenge.  It is only with the second location that you will likely double the workload, as well as the stress that comes with owning a business.  We liken it to having two children in diapers and car seats.  One was manageable. Successfully raising two becomes a greater challenge. Two requires more time, energy, resources, and awareness. It also requires strengthening your leadership and management skills, especially when it comes to delegation. 

No longer can you cover for team members that may not be carrying their full load.  No longer is good, good enough. No longer is acceptable, acceptable.  To be a successful multi-unit practice owner you must be the best version of your entrepreneurial self that you can be. While it can be scary. Done right, multi-unit ownership can be personally and professionally rewarding.

Deciding to expand and committing to multi-unit growth is one thing.  Knowing when, where, and how to expand effectively is another. If it were easy, everyone would do it.  If it were easy, so many that try wouldn’t fail as often as they do.  So, how is it done successfully? Here are some thoughts to consider and suggestions for easing your way into it.

Before expanding into multi-unit ownership, consider expanding services and growing your current practice.  Look at your product and service mix, determine what services you could offer that your clients demand and need.  Prioritize those that will get you the greatest return and are most in demand.  Look at current product and service offerings and decide which are delivering the appropriate return and which may need to either be eliminated or replaced.  Look at your team and determine who is performing and underperforming. 

Start running by numbers if you haven’t already done so.  Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) that are the true vital signs for the practice and each team member.  Hold the team accountable to their numbers.  Look into implementing an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).  Not familiar with EOS? Pick up the book Traction.  That is as good a place to start as any. 

By first expanding services and growing your current practice, you’ll allow yourself time to test your leadership and management skills with a larger team, juggle more services, handle more clients, and deal with more issues before you step out of the comfort of your home location. You’ll be able to practice managing by the numbers and refine your delegation and accountability skills before stepping away to do the same elsewhere.  You’ll also identify the real leaders within the practice that you can lean on as you step away to launch location number two.  

Below are some considerations that are aligned to those discussed above and designed to help guide you as you consider expanding inside the four walls of your current practice. These are designed to get you to think, gather information, and plan. They will also help you position yourself to strategically implement the expansion and subsequent change process.

Evaluate the practice’s capacity to grow by determining the following:

How effectively does the practice utilize current resources (human, technology, financial, etc.)?

• How productive is the current team (revenue per hour, average ticket, lead management/conversion, referrals, retail as a percent of revenue, etc.)?

• How efficiency do you currently operate (schedule utilization, labor as a percent of revenue, prebook percent, cost-of-goods-sold, etc.)?

• What are our most in demand services?

• What are our most in demand retail products?

• How effective are we at asking for client referrals?

• How effective are we at our consultation process? Does it lead to client lifetime value growth?

Below are some questions to ask yourself after you have gathered and reviewed some operational performance data (aka: KPIs):

• Is provider time utilized effectively and efficiently?

• Are providers being utilized to their full capacity?

• Do we know what clients demand/need?

• Do we meet those client service and treatment needs?  

• Are we too routine and comfortable? Do we lack energy and passion?

• Are we a growth minded team?

• Do we cross promote effectively?
  Do clients rave about us?

• Is every square foot available for revenue generation used effectively?
  
  By first maximizing the effectiveness of your current practice you can begin to build the case for expansion. You also mitigate the risk involved with multi-unit expansion by testing you and your team’s ability to handle the rigor and accountability that is necessary for successful multi-unit expansion. Your goal is not expansion for expansion’s sake.  Your goal is to build a thriving and growing practice. In the end, I’d rather own one great practice than two average ones. However, once the first one becomes great, number two becomes a no brainer.

💌 Are you ready to take on an investment partner to help you grow your medical aesthetics practice? If so, we are here to partner with you every step of the way. Fill out the contact form or send us an email at info@baraesthetics.com and we will schedule a call to discuss the possibilities.

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