How to kick start your career in aesthetic medicine?

With the start of each New Year, a majority of people decide that they will bring about a change in their personal and professional lives. If you too have thought about making a change in your professional medical practice, then the aesthetic industry offers numerous opportunities to kick start a brand new business.

Entering into a new sector can be daunting, but by proper planning you can overcome the difficulties and give a successful start to your business. You must consider the available options and do a thorough research to know the workings of the industry you are looking to enter.

Here is a guide that will help you set up your own aesthetic business:

1. Do your research well

 Researching about the current and expected market is the first and most important step in setting up a new business. You need to ensure that the service you are offering has a demand, else its a case of jumping from the pan into the fire. You must study about the market for the services you are planning to offer and collect data in order to create an effective business strategy. At this initial stage, it is a good idea to see how many similar businesses exist in your target market and what services they are offering, at what prices, etc.

2. Get aesthetics training in the right field

After doing thorough research you will learn which aesthetic treatments are high in demand. You should get enrolled and registered for an appropriate aesthetic training course to get adequate hands-on training before starting your business. You might be already aware that Botox and dermal fillers are treatments with the most demand among injectable anti-ageing treatments today. It is recommended that you start with the Basic Botox and Dermal Fillers Training Course . Once you have mastered these, you can then opt for aesthetic training courses available for skin rejuvenation treatments such as chemical skin peels, dermaroller, microdermabrasion, etc. After completing these non-surgical cosmetic training courses, you should try and get as much practice as you can to improve your skills as well as your portfolio.

3. Formulate a business structure

With all that training and experience, thorough awareness of the competition and market for your services, you are now ready to start your own business. At this juncture, you need to decide whether you will work as an independent aesthetic practitioner or in partnership or as a Limited Company. Each business structure has its own pros and cons. It is up to you to decide which business structure will help you to take your business forward in the most profitable way with minimal hiccups. This is a good time to hire the services of an accountant and decide which will be the best option for your business.

4. Develop a concrete business plan

It is vital to create a business plan/model before starting your business as it will enable you to secure the investment. Include your business objectives in your business plan to have a clear direction of what exactly you want to achieve through your business. Also include the time frame during which you wish to reach your business goals. By having such a module in place, you will be able to foresee any unexpected situations and worst case scenarios and will be able to prepare a contingency strategy for such situations beforehand.

5. Give a name to your business and make a logo

Having an attractive name and a compelling logo are essential for the development of your business identity and branding. You need to carefully create a business logo and choose a name both of which cleverly portray what your business is about. They should  make your brand distinct from your competitors. If you are unable to decide yourself, get the services of an expert professional graphic designer and discuss what exactly you want for your business logo. This will ensure that you get the best for your business. You know what’s said about a strong start- Well begun is half done.

6. Ways of funding your business

There are different ways in which you can get funding for your business. Many people make use of their own savings for this purpose while others may raise the funds by registering as a limited company or by taking a loan from bank. You can also approach someone looking to invest in a new business. Choose the way which fits best with your business needs.

7. Decide a location

The success of your business also depends on the location you choose for it. How approachable  is it by the clients? Does it have parking space? Is it large enough to meet your requirements? Can you expand your clinic in the near future? Is the cost of the place within your budget range? When you go looking out for a location, always take a colleague, a friend or family member along as it will help you in deciding and visualising the spot better . You may choose to hire an estate agent to help pick out a thriving locality for your business.

8. Register your business

When you are starting a new business, it is a legal requirement to register it with the relevant authorities. According to your business structure, the necessary documentation will be needed for registration. There are certain requirements, paper work and deadlines which you have to meet to complete your registration process. You can get all this information at government business websites for your city/state.

9. Deciding a domain name and creating your website

A majority of your potential clients are online; therefore it is essential to create a solid virtual presence. It is one of the key resources which leads to enquiries from future clients.  Get your website created with the help of experts with all the relevant information about your business, aesthetic treatments you offer, employees and prices. You need to get your domain name and website registered and then have to pay a small yearly fee for it.

10. Marketing to your target audience

Simply having an online presence is not enough. It is important that your target audience is aware of your presence and that you interact with them in ways that boosts your brand value and create trust and confidence. Content marketing addressing potential customer concerns is a sure-fire method of building a brand image. Content that is relevant and useful to the costumer is known to generate three times as many leads than traditional marketing tools. On the other hand, simply bombarding your potential customers with irrelevant and unnecessary content may backfire making your potential customers exit from your website faster than you can blink.

11. Blog Blog Blog

Write blogs and articles on topics that your potential clients are interested in. Writing interesting and informative articles for your target audience will get them to visit your website when they search for relevant topics. The basic idea is to create pages on your website that a search-engine will direct to. Well-written informative blogs will encourage people to spend more time on your website, which will eventually lead them to try your products.

12. Use interactive Marketing Tools:

Simply a presence on the social media is not enough. Develop a strong presence on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and always remember that the goal of social media is to market your brand. Social media can be a powerful marketing tool if used correctly or can be a complete waste of time. There are powerful marketing tools available that reduce the time spent on social media and increase engagement levels. Scout around and identify those that seem the best for you. BulkBuffer, Post Planner, Bundle Post are some of the better social marketing tools that help schedule posts and tweets while KingSumo helps identify the best headlines for your blogs.

13. Getting the right insurance

In order to practice aesthetic medicine, you should have public liability insurance, medical indemnity insurance as well as building and contents insurance. If you do not get the right insurance and start you practice, you are likely to end up with claims which will result in imposition of heavy fines which means your business may run into loses even before it has begun to make any profit.

If you follow an aesthetic medicine business plan after in depth research, fulfilling its legal requirements, you can achieve success in your venture with time, patience and hard work.