June 20, 2025 • 31 mins
Ever wondered what it really takes to build a successful med spa from the ground up? Tal Reza's journey from ER nurse to award-winning med spa founder offers a refreshingly honest glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship in the aesthetic medicine world.
After nine years in orthopedic surgery where she utilized plasma treatments for joint and tissue healing, Tal recognized an opportunity to bring these regenerative techniques to aesthetics. Her Florida-based Plasma Med Spa has quickly gained recognition for its evidence-based approach and commitment to natural-looking results – winning "Best of City" after just one year in business.
The conversation dives deep into the shifting landscape of aesthetic medicine, where patients are increasingly seeking subtle, natural enhancements rather than dramatic transformations. "It's not like you brush your teeth once and have clean teeth for life," Tal explains, emphasizing how she educates clients about the ongoing nature of skin health and the importance of lifestyle factors alongside treatments.
What stands out most is Tal's candid discussion of the business realities facing healthcare providers in aesthetic medicine. From cleaning bathrooms to handling marketing, she wears all the hats while navigating the sometimes uncomfortable balance between providing medical care and running a profitable business. Her approach to patient education sets her apart in an industry where social media often creates unrealistic expectations. By thoroughly explaining treatment options and sometimes telling patients when they're not good candidates for certain procedures, she builds the trust that has fueled her growth through patient referrals.
For anyone contemplating their own entrepreneurial journey in healthcare or aesthetics, Tal's practical advice is gold: start small, keep overhead low, and seek meaningful mentorship. Her story reminds us that behind every successful business is someone who faced uncertainty daily but showed up anyway, building something meaningful one patient at a time.
📇 Guest Contact Information
- Name: Dr. Tal Raizer
- Business: Plasma Med Spa
- Location: Weston, Florida, USA
- Role: Founder & Nurse Practitioner
- Website: https://plasmamedspa.com
- Instagram: @plasmamedspa
- LinkedIn: Tal Raizer
- Email: contact@plasmamedspa.com
- Phone: 954‑719‑5634
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:03):
Welcome to another episode of Voices in
Health and Wellness.
This is where we spotlight thereal stories behind the
innovators, the innovations, thechallenges and transformations
in today's health and wellnesslandscape.
Today, I'm thrilled to welcomeTal Reza, the founder of Plasma
MedSpa in Florida.
Tal launched her practice justabout a year ago and is already
making waves in the aestheticspace, particularly with her
(00:24):
thoughtful approach to patienteducation and client retention.
In a landscape that'sconstantly evolving, tal brings
a fresh and honest perspectiveabout what it really looks like
to build a med spa from theground up.
So, tal, thank you very muchfor joining us on the show this
afternoon.
Tal Raizer (00:38):
Thank you for having me.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:40):
You're very welcome, so maybe we could
start at the top.
Could you talk a little bitabout how Plasma Med came to
life and what pulled you intointo aesthetics in the first
place?
Tal Raizer (00:50):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I am a nurse practitioner inthe United States.
My background I was a nurse,obviously, becoming a nurse
practitioner.
I was an ER and ICU nursebefore I got my master's and my
doctorate and then I workedactually in orthopedic surgery
for nine years and so I used alot of plasma and the practice
(01:11):
that I worked at so for mostlyfor muscle, tendon, joint pain,
ligament, tear, things like that.
And so I was interested inaesthetics.
Actually, one of my co workerskept telling me to open up a med
spa and so when I decided thatI was going to make the move to
(01:32):
aesthetics, I decided that Iwanted to bring basically the
regenerative medicine aspect ofplasma into aesthetics and so
and that was going to be myfocus so that's how plasma med
spa came about.
Dr Andrew Greenland (01:41):
Very cool For those that don't know much
about plasma and how it's used.
Can you just give us a littlekind of high level overview of
how you use it and what it canhelp with?
Tal Raizer (01:50):
yeah, absolutely.
Um so plasma, and again, the umstudies.
And when it did start, um tobecome widely used, it was
mostly in wound healing andorthopedics.
Um so plasma the way that Iexplain it to my patients is has
basically the immune triggersright, so they trigger our
(02:11):
system.
Anytime we cut ourselves or, youknow, have any sort of injury,
our plasma is the one of thefirst things to trigger that
response from our body forhealing.
So when we need to grow skincells right.
When we cut ourselves, when weneed to go liver cells because
of a liver injury right, likewhatever cells, it's stimulating
our bodies on stem cells.
(02:31):
And so when they started usingit in practice, again for wound
healing and for orthopedics,they noticed right that when
they were using plasma they wereable to get better wound
healing, they were able to gettendon repair, ligament repair,
and so that is kind of theconcept.
So now they're applying it to alot more uses.
(02:52):
Obviously, there's ongoingstudies and research in regards
to other applications and it hascrossed over into aesthetics as
well, in the sense ofregenerating collagen and
elastin, um, hair regrowth,sexual dysfunction, um, and then
still, you know, being used fororthopedics, wound healing,
things like that amazing,sounding like a bit of a panacea
(03:15):
.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:15):
It sounds like yes, exactly it's.
Tal Raizer (03:19):
It's the windex.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:21):
Yes, indeed so, as the founder, how do you
split your time at the moment?
Are you mostly in treatment, orbusiness ops, or client
engagement, or all of the above,or none of the above?
How does it work out for you?
Tal Raizer (03:31):
Yeah, I'm my sole employee as a new business, so I
do it all.
I clean the bathrooms and thefloors, I do the bookkeeping and
the accounting.
I do, you know the communityengagement and the interaction
you know with local businessesin the community.
I literally just last weekhired just a part time admin to
(03:53):
help me just with patient followup and things like that.
But I mostly do everything andyou know I realized that I am
the best person to sell myself,right?
I know my business better thananyone else.
So I think, as a new businessowner and this is my first
business right Like learning howto let go of some of those
(04:16):
aspects is very difficult andI'm sure other people can
identify with that.
But yeah, I think I probablyspend like 50% of my time doing
actual patient care and then therest of the time doing, you
know, the administrative aspectof running a business and trying
to grow a business, and thenI'm also a professor part time,
so I also do that on the side.
(04:37):
That's amazing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (04:39):
So you're wearing all the hats and you've
got the academic one as well.
Tal Raizer (04:42):
Yes, I try.
So what was something that youdidn't expect about running a
clinic that surprised you,because this is all fairly new
for you, I guess yes, um, Ithink I assumed, because I was
good at my job, that peoplewould just come, um, but that
that doesn't happen at all, noteven close.
So I literally have to convincepeople to come.
(05:04):
So, yeah, I think I think Iunderestimated the marketing
aspect of healthcare.
And then also I think what Istruggle with as a healthcare
provider is right, like I'mrunning a business.
This is a business that thepoint of it is to make money,
right, and so kind of thatdichotomy between being a
(05:27):
healthcare provider beforeseparating myself from the
actual financial right, likebefore it was like this is the
problem, this is what you need,yes, this is what it costs.
But I have no, you know, I havelike no bearing on the cost.
Or you know, I have no controlover the cost and I'm like
separated right from thefinancial aspect, whereas here,
(05:49):
right like I'm recommending topatients oh, I think this is
what you need, this is what it'sgoing to cost, but also that's
my livelihood now, right, likethat's how I keep my lights on,
that's how I pay for you know mysupplies and you know, even
though right now I'm not payingmyself, right, like that's how I
(06:11):
can help my business grow.
So I think that part of it andI'm still struggling with that
right, like when I doconsultations, like how to speak
to patients, in the sense that,like I'm not, I'm not like a
salesperson, right, I'm amedical provider, but at the end
of the day, I also have to sellmyself in order to keep this
business going.
So I think that part has beenvery difficult for me.
Dr Andrew Greenland (06:27):
I'm still struggling.
I completely get it.
I come from a similar thing.
So how do you define successright now?
I mean, what does a good daylook like for you in plasma med
spa?
Tal Raizer (06:48):
having patience is nice, so, but I think and I
don't remember where I read thisor I think maybe I listened to
it in a podcast or an audio book, but trying, I tried to define
success not just financially,right, like.
So I tried to look at and again, I don't remember it was a book
, but I don't remember exactlywhat but they talked about about
Japanese culture and how, inJapanese culture, they basically
(07:08):
revver failure, because that'show you learn, and so I'm trying
to really apply that to myselfas a business owner in the sense
that like, ok, well, if thisisn't working right, I'm
basically learning, like I'm notlooking at it as a failure or a
lack of success, but rather asa learning opportunity to say,
okay, well, what should I bedoing different in order to, you
(07:32):
know, grow my business right?
So I mean, yes, I do.
I do look at financial numbers.
Obviously, everyone does.
I have to pay my bills, I haveto, you know, pay my malpractice
insurance and all that goodstuff.
(07:53):
But I think a successful day forme is a day where I have
patience and maybe I thinkoverall, I look at the month and
I was actually talking to myhusband about it last night,
because summers, and aestheticsat least, are very slow in the
United States.
People travel, you know, kidsare in camp, all that stuff, and
so he's like, well, don't lookat, you know, like your goal,
like hitting your goals for themonth.
(08:13):
Look at year over year, right,like what you're doing.
So you know, this month I didbetter than last year this month
, so I guess that's a success.
Dr Andrew Greenland (08:21):
Thank you.
Are you seeing any shifts inthe med spa world, whether it's
around client demands,technology messaging or other
things that you've noticed?
Tal Raizer (08:31):
Yeah, I mean, I think definitely aesthetics has
shifted away from like the doinga lot type of aesthetic in the
sense of like oh, let's, youknow, do a lot of filler, a lot
of Botox, and more like towardsnatural, like a more natural
look right, like what I thinkpeople call like natural
(08:54):
aesthetics or undetectableaesthetics.
And that's when I came into thespace, something that I made a
goal like that's, that's likewhat I like to focus on.
So obviously that's great.
But also more in the sense oflike anti-aging right, which
also, you know, it goes hand inhand with functional medicine,
(09:16):
right.
So we're looking not just rightlike the health of our skin, for
example, is not just because,you know, I do skincare and
facials and microneedling andfiller and all these other
things.
It's also because I exercise andI eat well and I sleep right,
like all those things factorinto aesthetics as well.
(09:37):
Right, like if I have a smokerwho's unhealthy, you know, like
and I'm doing all these thingsto their face, right, like
they're still not going to get,you know, the best result if
they're not also taking care oftheir body.
So I think that shift ishappening and you know, and I'm
sure for you it's also similarin functional medicine, where
(09:58):
you have to have the patientsbuy in, right, because if
they're like no, just like putfiller in my face, you know
which, like fine, I can do that,but at the end of the day, like
, what are you truly doing inthe sense of anti-aging and
really like protecting thehealth of your skin, you know
your, whatever else we'retalking about.
So I think, slowly patients arecoming to like understand that,
(10:23):
and I don't know if you seethat shift as well.
But you know, having thatbuy-in from the patients is just
really important because nomatter what I tell the patients,
if they're not willing to do it, then it's not really going to
be a good plant care care planfor them.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:38):
So yeah, I think that shift is good.
So it totally resonate with theholistic approach.
And, yeah, patients that arecoming for functional medicine
kind of know that that's whatwe're going to be doing.
So it kind of helps becauseit's not a very well understood
term, certainly in the UKfunctional medicine a lot of
people still go what's that?
But the ones that know about itknow that they're going to be
getting that more holisticapproach which is going to
(10:58):
include sort of nutritional,dietary and lifestyle factors as
well.
So, completely resonate.
So is there anything thatclients are asking for now that
they weren't six, twelve monthsago or, you know, before you
were setting up your clinic,that you've noticed?
Tal Raizer (11:14):
um, yeah, I mean, I think so in the united states.
Um, you know, we have the fda,which takes a long time to
approve, like certain things.
So now, for example, likepeople are asking a lot for
exosomes and those types of ofor stem cells, you know,
treatments.
Now I, I don't do anythingthat's not FDA approved.
(11:39):
That's just my personalpreference, you know I like to.
Mostly it's to protect mylicense.
Right, I worked really hard toget it, so I want to keep it.
But yeah, so I think a lot of.
So people are asking for that.
I don't offer, for example,exosomes just because, right,
(12:00):
like, I need to make sure thatwhat I'm doing is evidence-based
and that I am protecting mypatient safety and stuff like
that.
So I don't know how how itworks in the UK, but I wait for,
you know, the people to say,okay, this is okay to do before
I do it.
Dr Andrew Greenland (12:17):
So yeah, but I do?
Tal Raizer (12:18):
I do notice a shift, right?
People are asking for morethings like you know,
regenerative medicine versus youknow, like the, the, the Botox
filler, things like that.
Dr Andrew Greenland (12:30):
Got it.
Unfortunately, things likeexosomes and stem cells we don't
have in the UK, so we're muchmore limited in terms of our
repertoire repertoire, butcompletely understand they need
to stay within the guidelinesand the law.
Yeah, um, for all the reasonsthat you've said, yeah, so I
guess, client education ispretty important.
How do you educate your clientsright now?
Tal Raizer (12:49):
um, yeah, so I think that the best aspect of what I
personally do is patienteducation, because, at the end
of the day, when patients expectcertain results, right, there's
, there's, there's always avariability, right and same,
probably in functional medicine,right Like, not everyone is
going to have the same result,and so I think, doing like a
(13:13):
thorough consultation with thepatient and letting them know,
okay, this is what I think wecan achieve.
This is what I don't think wecan achieve.
Results are variable, rightLike, and especially when we do
regenerative medicine, when Iuse plasma, right Like, my
plasma is different than yours,it is different than the next
person's, so just kind of makingsure that they know what the
(13:35):
expectations are and then youknow being realistic.
So I think a patient educationstarts, right like, before I
even start any treatment.
Again, we need that buy in fromthe patient in order to make
sure that they're followingthrough with their treatment
plan, that they're doing thethings that they need to do at
home, that it's not just a oneand done right like, just like
(13:57):
anything else, and probably lessso in aesthetics, but I'm sure
in functional medicine, rightLike this is a lifelong journey.
It's not and and same thing withaesthetics actually.
I mean, like, even though youknow you can have one and done
procedures, I tell people it'snot like you don't brush your
teeth one day and then you haveclean teeth for the rest of your
life, and it's the same withaesthetics.
It's the same with your health.
(14:18):
It's the same with functionalmedicine, right Like.
This is a lifelong journey.
We're going to continue to age,so we need to do things pretty
much every day, right to be ableto not stop aging but age right
in the best way that wepossibly can.
And that takes work.
It's not something that comesnaturally.
So, yeah, so I think that'skind of the core and I do that
(14:40):
in my consultations.
I mean, obviously, afterprocedures, I, you know, talk to
patients about aftercare andyou know I also send them an
email copy or print it out forthem.
But yeah, I mean, I think thepatients that are most likely to
comply with these types ofthings are the patients that
really listen and kind of again,like I said, buy in from from
(15:02):
the beginning, from theconsultation, um, and then those
are the patients that areusually the happiest and have
the best results.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:08):
So got it.
I don't know what your patientsare like, but do you think the
average patient reallyunderstands some of the
treatments they ask for?
And that's not mean, that's notmeaning to insult them, but I
just wondered when you have thatfirst meeting, do you really
get an understanding,understands some of the
treatments they ask for?
And that's not meaning toinsult them, but I just wondered
when you have that firstmeeting, do you really get an?
Understanding of some of thethings they might be asking for.
Tal Raizer (15:24):
Yeah, I think most people nowadays get their
information from social media,which is great.
I mean, like you know, I pay amarketing company to do my
social media, so you know we allhave it's all part of the
marketing, you know field atthis point.
So I don't think it's a bad way, you know, to learn about
things, but obviously thenuances of certain treatments
(15:47):
are just not there in like a 30second video.
So, yeah, I do think you knowand actually I spoke to like a
marketing consultant one time,no-transcript they come to you
(16:20):
because you're the expert.
So if, if you are telling themyou need this and this and this,
right, like it's because you'rethe expert, that's why you're
you're telling them that and so,right, they're like reading and
seeing all this stuff on socialmedia, thinking that they might
need it.
But you're the expert, you'rethe one who's like they come to
you for that and so you knowthat.
(16:41):
So so I think that part of itright is is part of the
education, part of theconsultation, right, like really
telling patients, okay, yes,this, you saw this on social
media, but you know, because ofsuch and such and such of your
anatomy or whatever, like Idon't think that this is a good
option for you.
And I even show them on myself,right, like, oh, I'm not a good
(17:04):
candidate for this.
Like, look like, let me showyou right.
And so, yeah, I think that'swhere the patient education is
really important, because Ithink if you do a good job and
say hey, I don't think you're agood candidate for this
treatment, right, they're notgoing to go seek out another
provider to do that sametreatment and then maybe do
something detrimental, right?
So yeah, so that's my take onit.
Dr Andrew Greenland (17:28):
Thank you.
In terms of the aestheticindustry in general, do you
think it's moving faster or isit just getting noisier?
Tal Raizer (17:36):
I think there is a lot of noise.
I mean just just like anythingelse, right?
Like there's always somethingthat's exciting and but and you
know, and that's why I kind ofwait for, you know, evidence
based studies and stuff likethat, because there's always
going to be something new andexciting, and I do I do think
(17:58):
that there's so much inaesthetics.
There is a lot of noise inaesthetics.
I do think that that's true andI say that just as, like a
(18:29):
business owner, my practice onevidence-based practice, like I
will go and read studies, likeyou know, to make sure that I'm
doing what's best for mypatients and not to say that
these new treatments aren't good, right, I just want to make
sure that I'm easily able toapply it to my patient
population with safety and, youknow, being able to get good
(18:52):
results.
Because, at the end of the day,in the United States,
aesthetics is very expensive.
You know, people invest a lotof money in it and so if I'm not
giving them good products, goodservices, right, then that's my
name that's on the line.
So yeah, Of course.
Dr Andrew Greenland (19:11):
so you're a year in, or just over a year in
, what's been working well foryou in the last year that you're
sort of proud of um, yeah, Iwon best of my city, so that was
exciting congratulations aftera year.
Tal Raizer (19:23):
Thank you, yes, um, so I, yeah, I think that, um,
the customer service that I'mable to give, um, you know,
again, right now it's me.
So I'm the one answering thephones, I'm the one texting the
patients back, I'm the one, youknow, when my patients tell me
that you know they're gettingengaged or going on a vacation
(19:46):
and I'm like, hey, how was yourvacation?
Congratulations Right, likeit's me, it's me.
And I'm like, hey, how was yourvacation?
Congratulations Right, likeit's me, it's me.
So, and I know that, you know,hopefully, you know, I won't be
the one doing that all the timeif my business is able to grow,
but I do want to set thatstandard right for customer
service.
(20:07):
I do believe that customerservice starts before the
patient even comes in the door,right, so being engaging and
trustworthy and honesty, rightLike all that stuff, is really
important to me.
So trying to set that as abrand, I think, is what has
helped me.
You know, most of the peoplethat come to me are from patient
(20:29):
referrals.
So I see that as a good thing,right Like, people are happy
they're referring their friends.
And you know, again, most ofthe people that come to me are
not from Google or social media.
So, yeah, I see that as apositive.
Obviously, it's a slower growth, right?
Patient referrals are slowerthan, you know, some of the
(20:53):
other marketing opportunities.
But again, I think building aluxury brand that is really
trustworthy and really gettingthat brand awareness takes time,
and so I'm prepared to put inthe work for that.
Dr Andrew Greenland (21:04):
Nice, and on the other side of the
equation, is there anythingthat's been particularly
frustrating or challenging, orpart of the business that you're
kind of still figuring out?
Tal Raizer (21:14):
I think sometimes and I don't know if that happens
to a lot of new business ownersbut, like you know, looking at
other similar businesses in myarea that are maybe not doing it
the right way or doing itillegally, and seeing them
succeed is sometimes reallyfrustrating for me.
And it's funny because I havefriends who are a dentist and an
(21:39):
orthodontist and they opened uptheir own practice a few years
ago and I told them I was likewouldn't it be really nice if
there was like a yellow brickroad to like all the honest
businesses and you know peoplecould just like take that road
right there.
That would be nice.
Um, so yeah, I think that partis really frustrating.
And then also, um, I'm gonnasay like motivation right, so,
(22:02):
so right, like I have a good dayand then I have like two bad
weeks in the sense of likepatient volume, and then I'm
like, oh, my god, you know thisis like what am I doing?
I'm not doing any right, so sokind of like the, the self, um
talk in the sense of you know,getting up every day and being
like you know today's going tobe a good day, um, and
(22:23):
maintaining the motivation everyday as a business owner when
you're wearing so many hats um.
Dr Andrew Greenland (22:29):
I think that part has been hard for me
have you had any moments whereyou've thought you're not sure
this is sustainable, whether itbe the summer lull or when
you're uncertain about how manypeople are coming through the
door?
Tal Raizer (22:41):
oh, yes, absolutely, I mean I would say daily, I
will say so.
When I opened my business, um,and a lot of my patients know
this about my, about me but, um,when I opened my business and a
lot of my patients know thisabout me, but when I opened my
business, one of the reasons Iwas able to quit my job and do
this was because my husband wasthe financial provider for the
family and he got laid off fromhis job a month after I opened
(23:03):
my business, yeah, and it tookhim a very long time to find
work.
So that part, you know, was verystressful and pretty much every
day I was like you know whatI'm just gonna try to like get
out of the business, go get afull time job.
And he, you know, saidAbsolutely not, like you're not
going to do that, you knowyou're building something great.
(23:23):
And so, yeah, I mean I guesshaving the faith of my family,
my friends, has been veryhelpful, but still, on a daily
basis, I think that I mean itdoesn't so far has not affected
like my willingness to come andwork hard and do what I need to
do.
But yeah, I do think it prettymuch everything.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:47):
All right.
Are there any sort of tools ortactics that have helped you to
stay organized or manage thatuncertainty at all?
Tal Raizer (23:55):
um, yeah, I mean.
So I think I'm here every day,whether I have patients or not.
Um, so I also try I've made itso setting goals for myself,
like small goals, not likefinancial goals.
So, for example, one of mygoals is to do some sort of
in-person marketing once a week,whether it be like go meet with
(24:18):
another business owner, go passout flyers, and those are
things that make me veryuncomfortable, so it's something
that I really have to pushmyself to do.
Um, because I'm not a sales, soit's really hard for me to go
and be like hey, come, come tomy business.
Um, so, yeah, I think settinglike small goals, or or even
just like you know, oh, like,let me think today about what I
(24:40):
can do to grow my business Right.
So so those types of again,goal setting has has helped me
to stay organized.
Um, I'm an organized person tobegin with, like I'm good with
deadlines and timelines and thatpart which I think is helpful,
and I have a good memory.
So, for example, even if I knowthat I'm supposed to follow up
(25:02):
with a certain patient, like Ijust know and I'll do it, but
sometimes, if I forget, I'llthink about it at two o'clock in
the morning, which is then Iwrite myself notes at two
o'clock in the morning.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:16):
So yeah, in terms of larger goals.
What are your bigger goals forthe next six to twelve months,
as you kind of going throughyour second year?
Tal Raizer (25:27):
um, yeah, I obviously I want to grow month
over month.
I want to be able to hiresomeone full time for admin to
be able to support that.
Ultimately, my ultimate goal isto hire someone to do the you
know, the medical provideraspect.
(25:50):
For me to to focus on growingthe business um I I don't really
have a realistic timeline forthat um, but I also want to at
some point like train um.
Again, I'm a professor so Ireally like teaching um, so I
think that that would be anaspect of my business that I
(26:11):
would really enjoy and I wouldlike to develop lovely, and if
you could wave a magic wand andsolve one big challenge, what
would that be?
Dr Andrew Greenland (26:20):
that's a good question in my business, or
just yes or yeah, you've metwhich has been a challenge or
difficult in the last year andyou just like to be able to wave
a wand and it would go away.
What would it be?
Tal Raizer (26:32):
yeah, marketing is is my hardest aspect.
So I mean, if I could wave amagic wand and just have, like
you know, 10 to 15 patients aday, that would be great.
Um, yeah, that that's what Iwould do.
Okay, because it all, again, itall, I think just right like it
all feeds itself.
Right.
So like if I patients, I havemoney to grow my business, I
(26:54):
have time to hire someone, rightLike.
So I think it all feeds itself.
And you know, again like thegoal of my business is not just
to make money but to make thecommunity happy, right Like to
make them well.
And I really do think that itall feeds itself right Like you
have a happy community.
(27:14):
You know good schools, rightlike good nutrition.
I do think that it all feedsitself.
And you know, I'm not sayingthat aesthetics is like the
thing that's going to solveeveryone's problem, but I do
think that it does right Likethere's so many studies out
there that showing thatconfidence about the way that
you look and feel right Likematter in the sense of how you
(27:36):
perform in your job and yourfamily, you know, in your
day-to-day life.
So I do think that if I'm ableto achieve that here in my
community that that would begreat.
Dr Andrew Greenland (27:46):
Amazing.
Do you think sort of scalingwhat you do is about getting
more clients, more bettersystems, or probably a bit of
both.
But how do you kind of ratethose two areas of growth in
terms of what you think?
Tal Raizer (28:00):
Yeah, I do think it's both.
And, funny enough, I last week,because I was hiring this part
time admin, I was like, ok, Igot to work on my systems, so I
put in a bunch of SOPs andonboarding and I wrote you know,
basically like a handbook,employee conduct stuff like that
emergency plans.
So and when I was training my,my new employee, she told me
(28:27):
that she worked at another medspa and she was like, oh, that
other med spa has been aroundfor like 10 years and they have
none of that.
And I was like, oh, okay, good,so that means when I grow I
will be set.
But obviously it's an evolvingsystem, right, like you're
always going to have to updateand, you know, bring on new SOPs
, policies, procedures.
I finally did all my likemedical policy and procedures,
(28:52):
you know, for in case I get likean inspection or something.
So, um, yeah, so I'm, I'mworking on on both amazing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (29:01):
Yeah, and finally, if you, if someone's
listening, who's about to startor open their first med spa,
what advice would you give?
Tal Raizer (29:07):
them.
Um, so when I opened my med spa, I rented out a commercial
space the one behind me here andI had to do a build out.
And I knew nothing about any ofthis.
I acted as my own projectmanager.
I showed up every day, I metwith the contractors, I hired
the subcontractors, I met theinspectors, I went to the city
(29:30):
and you know cry to get mypermits.
So I learned a lot and I alwaysjoke that after this process,
if my med spot doesn't work out,I'm going to go into
construction management, justbecause I learned so much.
But I wouldn't, I would not dothat again.
Like if I was to start outagain, I would rent a little
salon suite and grow my businessfrom there and then, you know,
(29:51):
move on to bigger things.
Because if anything, like whenyou're starting out, you want
your overhead to be as low aspossible.
You want to take out as fewloans as possible, like just the
bare minimum to be able tostart.
You want to keep your productinventory really low, like I was
literally at the beginningbuying like one bottle, like two
bottles of Botox right, like ata time, just to keep my
overhead really low.
Like I was literally at thebeginning, buying like one
(30:11):
bottle, like two bottles ofBotox right Like at a time, just
to keep my overhead really low.
And still to this day.
You know, I consider that and Itry to keep my overhead pretty
low again because you know, younever know right.
Summer is slow, you know winters, you know pick up.
So, yeah, that's therecommendation.
And then the other thing that Iwould say is I had the
(30:32):
privilege of mentoring withsomeone for a year who owned her
own business, her own med spa,and that was a huge privilege,
because in the United States,aesthetics is not very open when
it comes to like shadowing andmentoring, like it's very
competitive, and so a lot ofpeople are like no, you know, I
(30:53):
won't take on.
You know, students or evenother practitioners who are like
trying to learn in the field,which in my opinion, is a shame,
because how do you train thenext generation of people who
want to do this if you're notwilling to train them?
So anyone who asks me is alwayswelcome to come and hang out
with me and I'm happy to teachthem.
But that's something that Iwould recommend because you know
(31:14):
you can take the trainingcourses, you can go work
somewhere, but until you learnfrom someone who's actually
doing it every day, right likeit's, it's very different.
Dr Andrew Greenland (31:25):
Tal, thank you so much for your time this
afternoon.
I've really enjoyed thisconversation.
Thank you for your valuable,honest and deep insights into
what you do and your ethos.
It's been really, reallyinteresting and I'm sure this is
going to resonate with ourlisteners.
So thank you so much forjoining me this afternoon.
Tal Raizer (31:41):
Thank you for having me.
It was a pleasure.
Welcome to another episode of Voices in
Health and Wellness.
This is where we spotlight thereal stories behind the
innovators, the innovations, thechallenges and transformations
in today's health and wellnesslandscape.
Today, I'm thrilled to welcomeTal Reza, the founder of Plasma
MedSpa in Florida.
Tal launched her practice justabout a year ago and is already
making waves in the aestheticspace, particularly with her
(00:24):
thoughtful approach to patienteducation and client retention.
In a landscape that'sconstantly evolving, tal brings
a fresh and honest perspectiveabout what it really looks like
to build a med spa from theground up.
So, tal, thank you very muchfor joining us on the show this
afternoon.
Tal Raizer (00:38):
Thank you for having me.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:40):
You're very welcome, so maybe we could
start at the top.
Could you talk a little bitabout how Plasma Med came to
life and what pulled you intointo aesthetics in the first
place?
Tal Raizer (00:50):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I am a nurse practitioner inthe United States.
My background I was a nurse,obviously, becoming a nurse
practitioner.
I was an ER and ICU nursebefore I got my master's and my
doctorate and then I workedactually in orthopedic surgery
for nine years and so I used alot of plasma and the practice
(01:11):
that I worked at so for mostlyfor muscle, tendon, joint pain,
ligament, tear, things like that.
And so I was interested inaesthetics.
Actually, one of my co workerskept telling me to open up a med
spa and so when I decided thatI was going to make the move to
(01:32):
aesthetics, I decided that Iwanted to bring basically the
regenerative medicine aspect ofplasma into aesthetics and so
and that was going to be myfocus so that's how plasma med
spa came about.
Dr Andrew Greenland (01:41):
Very cool For those that don't know much
about plasma and how it's used.
Can you just give us a littlekind of high level overview of
how you use it and what it canhelp with?
Tal Raizer (01:50):
yeah, absolutely.
Um so plasma, and again, the umstudies.
And when it did start, um tobecome widely used, it was
mostly in wound healing andorthopedics.
Um so plasma the way that Iexplain it to my patients is has
basically the immune triggersright, so they trigger our
(02:11):
system.
Anytime we cut ourselves or, youknow, have any sort of injury,
our plasma is the one of thefirst things to trigger that
response from our body forhealing.
So when we need to grow skincells right.
When we cut ourselves, when weneed to go liver cells because
of a liver injury right, likewhatever cells, it's stimulating
our bodies on stem cells.
(02:31):
And so when they started usingit in practice, again for wound
healing and for orthopedics,they noticed right that when
they were using plasma they wereable to get better wound
healing, they were able to gettendon repair, ligament repair,
and so that is kind of theconcept.
So now they're applying it to alot more uses.
(02:52):
Obviously, there's ongoingstudies and research in regards
to other applications and it hascrossed over into aesthetics as
well, in the sense ofregenerating collagen and
elastin, um, hair regrowth,sexual dysfunction, um, and then
still, you know, being used fororthopedics, wound healing,
things like that amazing,sounding like a bit of a panacea
(03:15):
.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:15):
It sounds like yes, exactly it's.
Tal Raizer (03:19):
It's the windex.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:21):
Yes, indeed so, as the founder, how do you
split your time at the moment?
Are you mostly in treatment, orbusiness ops, or client
engagement, or all of the above,or none of the above?
How does it work out for you?
Tal Raizer (03:31):
Yeah, I'm my sole employee as a new business, so I
do it all.
I clean the bathrooms and thefloors, I do the bookkeeping and
the accounting.
I do, you know the communityengagement and the interaction
you know with local businessesin the community.
I literally just last weekhired just a part time admin to
(03:53):
help me just with patient followup and things like that.
But I mostly do everything andyou know I realized that I am
the best person to sell myself,right?
I know my business better thananyone else.
So I think, as a new businessowner and this is my first
business right Like learning howto let go of some of those
(04:16):
aspects is very difficult andI'm sure other people can
identify with that.
But yeah, I think I probablyspend like 50% of my time doing
actual patient care and then therest of the time doing, you
know, the administrative aspectof running a business and trying
to grow a business, and thenI'm also a professor part time,
so I also do that on the side.
(04:37):
That's amazing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (04:39):
So you're wearing all the hats and you've
got the academic one as well.
Tal Raizer (04:42):
Yes, I try.
So what was something that youdidn't expect about running a
clinic that surprised you,because this is all fairly new
for you, I guess yes, um, Ithink I assumed, because I was
good at my job, that peoplewould just come, um, but that
that doesn't happen at all, noteven close.
So I literally have to convincepeople to come.
(05:04):
So, yeah, I think I think Iunderestimated the marketing
aspect of healthcare.
And then also I think what Istruggle with as a healthcare
provider is right, like I'mrunning a business.
This is a business that thepoint of it is to make money,
right, and so kind of thatdichotomy between being a
(05:27):
healthcare provider beforeseparating myself from the
actual financial right, likebefore it was like this is the
problem, this is what you need,yes, this is what it costs.
But I have no, you know, I havelike no bearing on the cost.
Or you know, I have no controlover the cost and I'm like
separated right from thefinancial aspect, whereas here,
(05:49):
right like I'm recommending topatients oh, I think this is
what you need, this is what it'sgoing to cost, but also that's
my livelihood now, right, likethat's how I keep my lights on,
that's how I pay for you know mysupplies and you know, even
though right now I'm not payingmyself, right, like that's how I
(06:11):
can help my business grow.
So I think that part of it andI'm still struggling with that
right, like when I doconsultations, like how to speak
to patients, in the sense that,like I'm not, I'm not like a
salesperson, right, I'm amedical provider, but at the end
of the day, I also have to sellmyself in order to keep this
business going.
So I think that part has beenvery difficult for me.
Dr Andrew Greenland (06:27):
I'm still struggling.
I completely get it.
I come from a similar thing.
So how do you define successright now?
I mean, what does a good daylook like for you in plasma med
spa?
Tal Raizer (06:48):
having patience is nice, so, but I think and I
don't remember where I read thisor I think maybe I listened to
it in a podcast or an audio book, but trying, I tried to define
success not just financially,right, like.
So I tried to look at and again, I don't remember it was a book
, but I don't remember exactlywhat but they talked about about
Japanese culture and how, inJapanese culture, they basically
(07:08):
revver failure, because that'show you learn, and so I'm trying
to really apply that to myselfas a business owner in the sense
that like, ok, well, if thisisn't working right, I'm
basically learning, like I'm notlooking at it as a failure or a
lack of success, but rather asa learning opportunity to say,
okay, well, what should I bedoing different in order to, you
(07:32):
know, grow my business right?
So I mean, yes, I do.
I do look at financial numbers.
Obviously, everyone does.
I have to pay my bills, I haveto, you know, pay my malpractice
insurance and all that goodstuff.
(07:53):
But I think a successful day forme is a day where I have
patience and maybe I thinkoverall, I look at the month and
I was actually talking to myhusband about it last night,
because summers, and aestheticsat least, are very slow in the
United States.
People travel, you know, kidsare in camp, all that stuff, and
so he's like, well, don't lookat, you know, like your goal,
like hitting your goals for themonth.
(08:13):
Look at year over year, right,like what you're doing.
So you know, this month I didbetter than last year this month
, so I guess that's a success.
Dr Andrew Greenland (08:21):
Thank you.
Are you seeing any shifts inthe med spa world, whether it's
around client demands,technology messaging or other
things that you've noticed?
Tal Raizer (08:31):
Yeah, I mean, I think definitely aesthetics has
shifted away from like the doinga lot type of aesthetic in the
sense of like oh, let's, youknow, do a lot of filler, a lot
of Botox, and more like towardsnatural, like a more natural
look right, like what I thinkpeople call like natural
(08:54):
aesthetics or undetectableaesthetics.
And that's when I came into thespace, something that I made a
goal like that's, that's likewhat I like to focus on.
So obviously that's great.
But also more in the sense oflike anti-aging right, which
also, you know, it goes hand inhand with functional medicine,
(09:16):
right.
So we're looking not just rightlike the health of our skin, for
example, is not just because,you know, I do skincare and
facials and microneedling andfiller and all these other
things.
It's also because I exercise andI eat well and I sleep right,
like all those things factorinto aesthetics as well.
(09:37):
Right, like if I have a smokerwho's unhealthy, you know, like
and I'm doing all these thingsto their face, right, like
they're still not going to get,you know, the best result if
they're not also taking care oftheir body.
So I think that shift ishappening and you know, and I'm
sure for you it's also similarin functional medicine, where
(09:58):
you have to have the patientsbuy in, right, because if
they're like no, just like putfiller in my face, you know
which, like fine, I can do that,but at the end of the day, like
, what are you truly doing inthe sense of anti-aging and
really like protecting thehealth of your skin, you know
your, whatever else we'retalking about.
So I think, slowly patients arecoming to like understand that,
(10:23):
and I don't know if you seethat shift as well.
But you know, having thatbuy-in from the patients is just
really important because nomatter what I tell the patients,
if they're not willing to do it, then it's not really going to
be a good plant care care planfor them.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:38):
So yeah, I think that shift is good.
So it totally resonate with theholistic approach.
And, yeah, patients that arecoming for functional medicine
kind of know that that's whatwe're going to be doing.
So it kind of helps becauseit's not a very well understood
term, certainly in the UKfunctional medicine a lot of
people still go what's that?
But the ones that know about itknow that they're going to be
getting that more holisticapproach which is going to
(10:58):
include sort of nutritional,dietary and lifestyle factors as
well.
So, completely resonate.
So is there anything thatclients are asking for now that
they weren't six, twelve monthsago or, you know, before you
were setting up your clinic,that you've noticed?
Tal Raizer (11:14):
um, yeah, I mean, I think so in the united states.
Um, you know, we have the fda,which takes a long time to
approve, like certain things.
So now, for example, likepeople are asking a lot for
exosomes and those types of ofor stem cells, you know,
treatments.
Now I, I don't do anythingthat's not FDA approved.
(11:39):
That's just my personalpreference, you know I like to.
Mostly it's to protect mylicense.
Right, I worked really hard toget it, so I want to keep it.
But yeah, so I think a lot of.
So people are asking for that.
I don't offer, for example,exosomes just because, right,
(12:00):
like, I need to make sure thatwhat I'm doing is evidence-based
and that I am protecting mypatient safety and stuff like
that.
So I don't know how how itworks in the UK, but I wait for,
you know, the people to say,okay, this is okay to do before
I do it.
Dr Andrew Greenland (12:17):
So yeah, but I do?
Tal Raizer (12:18):
I do notice a shift, right?
People are asking for morethings like you know,
regenerative medicine versus youknow, like the, the, the Botox
filler, things like that.
Dr Andrew Greenland (12:30):
Got it.
Unfortunately, things likeexosomes and stem cells we don't
have in the UK, so we're muchmore limited in terms of our
repertoire repertoire, butcompletely understand they need
to stay within the guidelinesand the law.
Yeah, um, for all the reasonsthat you've said, yeah, so I
guess, client education ispretty important.
How do you educate your clientsright now?
Tal Raizer (12:49):
um, yeah, so I think that the best aspect of what I
personally do is patienteducation, because, at the end
of the day, when patients expectcertain results, right, there's
, there's, there's always avariability, right and same,
probably in functional medicine,right Like, not everyone is
going to have the same result,and so I think, doing like a
(13:13):
thorough consultation with thepatient and letting them know,
okay, this is what I think wecan achieve.
This is what I don't think wecan achieve.
Results are variable, rightLike, and especially when we do
regenerative medicine, when Iuse plasma, right Like, my
plasma is different than yours,it is different than the next
person's, so just kind of makingsure that they know what the
(13:35):
expectations are and then youknow being realistic.
So I think a patient educationstarts, right like, before I
even start any treatment.
Again, we need that buy in fromthe patient in order to make
sure that they're followingthrough with their treatment
plan, that they're doing thethings that they need to do at
home, that it's not just a oneand done right like, just like
(13:57):
anything else, and probably lessso in aesthetics, but I'm sure
in functional medicine, rightLike this is a lifelong journey.
It's not and and same thing withaesthetics actually.
I mean, like, even though youknow you can have one and done
procedures, I tell people it'snot like you don't brush your
teeth one day and then you haveclean teeth for the rest of your
life, and it's the same withaesthetics.
It's the same with your health.
(14:18):
It's the same with functionalmedicine, right Like.
This is a lifelong journey.
We're going to continue to age,so we need to do things pretty
much every day, right to be ableto not stop aging but age right
in the best way that wepossibly can.
And that takes work.
It's not something that comesnaturally.
So, yeah, so I think that'skind of the core and I do that
(14:40):
in my consultations.
I mean, obviously, afterprocedures, I, you know, talk to
patients about aftercare andyou know I also send them an
email copy or print it out forthem.
But yeah, I mean, I think thepatients that are most likely to
comply with these types ofthings are the patients that
really listen and kind of again,like I said, buy in from from
(15:02):
the beginning, from theconsultation, um, and then those
are the patients that areusually the happiest and have
the best results.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:08):
So got it.
I don't know what your patientsare like, but do you think the
average patient reallyunderstands some of the
treatments they ask for?
And that's not mean, that's notmeaning to insult them, but I
just wondered when you have thatfirst meeting, do you really
get an understanding,understands some of the
treatments they ask for?
And that's not meaning toinsult them, but I just wondered
when you have that firstmeeting, do you really get an?
Understanding of some of thethings they might be asking for.
Tal Raizer (15:24):
Yeah, I think most people nowadays get their
information from social media,which is great.
I mean, like you know, I pay amarketing company to do my
social media, so you know we allhave it's all part of the
marketing, you know field atthis point.
So I don't think it's a bad way, you know, to learn about
things, but obviously thenuances of certain treatments
(15:47):
are just not there in like a 30second video.
So, yeah, I do think you knowand actually I spoke to like a
marketing consultant one time,no-transcript they come to you
(16:20):
because you're the expert.
So if, if you are telling themyou need this and this and this,
right, like it's because you'rethe expert, that's why you're
you're telling them that and so,right, they're like reading and
seeing all this stuff on socialmedia, thinking that they might
need it.
But you're the expert, you'rethe one who's like they come to
you for that and so you knowthat.
(16:41):
So so I think that part of itright is is part of the
education, part of theconsultation, right, like really
telling patients, okay, yes,this, you saw this on social
media, but you know, because ofsuch and such and such of your
anatomy or whatever, like Idon't think that this is a good
option for you.
And I even show them on myself,right, like, oh, I'm not a good
(17:04):
candidate for this.
Like, look like, let me showyou right.
And so, yeah, I think that'swhere the patient education is
really important, because Ithink if you do a good job and
say hey, I don't think you're agood candidate for this
treatment, right, they're notgoing to go seek out another
provider to do that sametreatment and then maybe do
something detrimental, right?
So yeah, so that's my take onit.
Dr Andrew Greenland (17:28):
Thank you.
In terms of the aestheticindustry in general, do you
think it's moving faster or isit just getting noisier?
Tal Raizer (17:36):
I think there is a lot of noise.
I mean just just like anythingelse, right?
Like there's always somethingthat's exciting and but and you
know, and that's why I kind ofwait for, you know, evidence
based studies and stuff likethat, because there's always
going to be something new andexciting, and I do I do think
(17:58):
that there's so much inaesthetics.
There is a lot of noise inaesthetics.
I do think that that's true andI say that just as, like a
(18:29):
business owner, my practice onevidence-based practice, like I
will go and read studies, likeyou know, to make sure that I'm
doing what's best for mypatients and not to say that
these new treatments aren't good, right, I just want to make
sure that I'm easily able toapply it to my patient
population with safety and, youknow, being able to get good
(18:52):
results.
Because, at the end of the day,in the United States,
aesthetics is very expensive.
You know, people invest a lotof money in it and so if I'm not
giving them good products, goodservices, right, then that's my
name that's on the line.
So yeah, Of course.
Dr Andrew Greenland (19:11):
so you're a year in, or just over a year in
, what's been working well foryou in the last year that you're
sort of proud of um, yeah, Iwon best of my city, so that was
exciting congratulations aftera year.
Tal Raizer (19:23):
Thank you, yes, um, so I, yeah, I think that, um,
the customer service that I'mable to give, um, you know,
again, right now it's me.
So I'm the one answering thephones, I'm the one texting the
patients back, I'm the one, youknow, when my patients tell me
that you know they're gettingengaged or going on a vacation
(19:46):
and I'm like, hey, how was yourvacation?
Congratulations Right, likeit's me, it's me.
And I'm like, hey, how was yourvacation?
Congratulations Right, likeit's me, it's me.
So, and I know that, you know,hopefully, you know, I won't be
the one doing that all the timeif my business is able to grow,
but I do want to set thatstandard right for customer
service.
(20:07):
I do believe that customerservice starts before the
patient even comes in the door,right, so being engaging and
trustworthy and honesty, rightLike all that stuff, is really
important to me.
So trying to set that as abrand, I think, is what has
helped me.
You know, most of the peoplethat come to me are from patient
(20:29):
referrals.
So I see that as a good thing,right Like, people are happy
they're referring their friends.
And you know, again, most ofthe people that come to me are
not from Google or social media.
So, yeah, I see that as apositive.
Obviously, it's a slower growth, right?
Patient referrals are slowerthan, you know, some of the
(20:53):
other marketing opportunities.
But again, I think building aluxury brand that is really
trustworthy and really gettingthat brand awareness takes time,
and so I'm prepared to put inthe work for that.
Dr Andrew Greenland (21:04):
Nice, and on the other side of the
equation, is there anythingthat's been particularly
frustrating or challenging, orpart of the business that you're
kind of still figuring out?
Tal Raizer (21:14):
I think sometimes and I don't know if that happens
to a lot of new business ownersbut, like you know, looking at
other similar businesses in myarea that are maybe not doing it
the right way or doing itillegally, and seeing them
succeed is sometimes reallyfrustrating for me.
And it's funny because I havefriends who are a dentist and an
(21:39):
orthodontist and they opened uptheir own practice a few years
ago and I told them I was likewouldn't it be really nice if
there was like a yellow brickroad to like all the honest
businesses and you know peoplecould just like take that road
right there.
That would be nice.
Um, so yeah, I think that partis really frustrating.
And then also, um, I'm gonnasay like motivation right, so,
(22:02):
so right, like I have a good dayand then I have like two bad
weeks in the sense of likepatient volume, and then I'm
like, oh, my god, you know thisis like what am I doing?
I'm not doing any right, so sokind of like the, the self, um
talk in the sense of you know,getting up every day and being
like you know today's going tobe a good day, um, and
(22:23):
maintaining the motivation everyday as a business owner when
you're wearing so many hats um.
Dr Andrew Greenland (22:29):
I think that part has been hard for me
have you had any moments whereyou've thought you're not sure
this is sustainable, whether itbe the summer lull or when
you're uncertain about how manypeople are coming through the
door?
Tal Raizer (22:41):
oh, yes, absolutely, I mean I would say daily, I
will say so.
When I opened my business, um,and a lot of my patients know
this about my, about me but, um,when I opened my business and a
lot of my patients know thisabout me, but when I opened my
business, one of the reasons Iwas able to quit my job and do
this was because my husband wasthe financial provider for the
family and he got laid off fromhis job a month after I opened
(23:03):
my business, yeah, and it tookhim a very long time to find
work.
So that part, you know, was verystressful and pretty much every
day I was like you know whatI'm just gonna try to like get
out of the business, go get afull time job.
And he, you know, saidAbsolutely not, like you're not
going to do that, you knowyou're building something great.
(23:23):
And so, yeah, I mean I guesshaving the faith of my family,
my friends, has been veryhelpful, but still, on a daily
basis, I think that I mean itdoesn't so far has not affected
like my willingness to come andwork hard and do what I need to
do.
But yeah, I do think it prettymuch everything.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:47):
All right.
Are there any sort of tools ortactics that have helped you to
stay organized or manage thatuncertainty at all?
Tal Raizer (23:55):
um, yeah, I mean.
So I think I'm here every day,whether I have patients or not.
Um, so I also try I've made itso setting goals for myself,
like small goals, not likefinancial goals.
So, for example, one of mygoals is to do some sort of
in-person marketing once a week,whether it be like go meet with
(24:18):
another business owner, go passout flyers, and those are
things that make me veryuncomfortable, so it's something
that I really have to pushmyself to do.
Um, because I'm not a sales, soit's really hard for me to go
and be like hey, come, come tomy business.
Um, so, yeah, I think settinglike small goals, or or even
just like you know, oh, like,let me think today about what I
(24:40):
can do to grow my business Right.
So so those types of again,goal setting has has helped me
to stay organized.
Um, I'm an organized person tobegin with, like I'm good with
deadlines and timelines and thatpart which I think is helpful,
and I have a good memory.
So, for example, even if I knowthat I'm supposed to follow up
(25:02):
with a certain patient, like Ijust know and I'll do it, but
sometimes, if I forget, I'llthink about it at two o'clock in
the morning, which is then Iwrite myself notes at two
o'clock in the morning.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:16):
So yeah, in terms of larger goals.
What are your bigger goals forthe next six to twelve months,
as you kind of going throughyour second year?
Tal Raizer (25:27):
um, yeah, I obviously I want to grow month
over month.
I want to be able to hiresomeone full time for admin to
be able to support that.
Ultimately, my ultimate goal isto hire someone to do the you
know, the medical provideraspect.
(25:50):
For me to to focus on growingthe business um I I don't really
have a realistic timeline forthat um, but I also want to at
some point like train um.
Again, I'm a professor so Ireally like teaching um, so I
think that that would be anaspect of my business that I
(26:11):
would really enjoy and I wouldlike to develop lovely, and if
you could wave a magic wand andsolve one big challenge, what
would that be?
Dr Andrew Greenland (26:20):
that's a good question in my business, or
just yes or yeah, you've metwhich has been a challenge or
difficult in the last year andyou just like to be able to wave
a wand and it would go away.
What would it be?
Tal Raizer (26:32):
yeah, marketing is is my hardest aspect.
So I mean, if I could wave amagic wand and just have, like
you know, 10 to 15 patients aday, that would be great.
Um, yeah, that that's what Iwould do.
Okay, because it all, again, itall, I think just right like it
all feeds itself.
Right.
So like if I patients, I havemoney to grow my business, I
(26:54):
have time to hire someone, rightLike.
So I think it all feeds itself.
And you know, again like thegoal of my business is not just
to make money but to make thecommunity happy, right Like to
make them well.
And I really do think that itall feeds itself right Like you
have a happy community.
(27:14):
You know good schools, rightlike good nutrition.
I do think that it all feedsitself.
And you know, I'm not sayingthat aesthetics is like the
thing that's going to solveeveryone's problem, but I do
think that it does right Likethere's so many studies out
there that showing thatconfidence about the way that
you look and feel right Likematter in the sense of how you
(27:36):
perform in your job and yourfamily, you know, in your
day-to-day life.
So I do think that if I'm ableto achieve that here in my
community that that would begreat.
Dr Andrew Greenland (27:46):
Amazing.
Do you think sort of scalingwhat you do is about getting
more clients, more bettersystems, or probably a bit of
both.
But how do you kind of ratethose two areas of growth in
terms of what you think?
Tal Raizer (28:00):
Yeah, I do think it's both.
And, funny enough, I last week,because I was hiring this part
time admin, I was like, ok, Igot to work on my systems, so I
put in a bunch of SOPs andonboarding and I wrote you know,
basically like a handbook,employee conduct stuff like that
emergency plans.
So and when I was training my,my new employee, she told me
(28:27):
that she worked at another medspa and she was like, oh, that
other med spa has been aroundfor like 10 years and they have
none of that.
And I was like, oh, okay, good,so that means when I grow I
will be set.
But obviously it's an evolvingsystem, right, like you're
always going to have to updateand, you know, bring on new SOPs
, policies, procedures.
I finally did all my likemedical policy and procedures,
(28:52):
you know, for in case I get likean inspection or something.
So, um, yeah, so I'm, I'mworking on on both amazing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (29:01):
Yeah, and finally, if you, if someone's
listening, who's about to startor open their first med spa,
what advice would you give?
Tal Raizer (29:07):
them.
Um, so when I opened my med spa, I rented out a commercial
space the one behind me here andI had to do a build out.
And I knew nothing about any ofthis.
I acted as my own projectmanager.
I showed up every day, I metwith the contractors, I hired
the subcontractors, I met theinspectors, I went to the city
(29:30):
and you know cry to get mypermits.
So I learned a lot and I alwaysjoke that after this process,
if my med spot doesn't work out,I'm going to go into
construction management, justbecause I learned so much.
But I wouldn't, I would not dothat again.
Like if I was to start outagain, I would rent a little
salon suite and grow my businessfrom there and then, you know,
(29:51):
move on to bigger things.
Because if anything, like whenyou're starting out, you want
your overhead to be as low aspossible.
You want to take out as fewloans as possible, like just the
bare minimum to be able tostart.
You want to keep your productinventory really low, like I was
literally at the beginningbuying like one bottle, like two
bottles of Botox right, like ata time, just to keep my
overhead really low.
Like I was literally at thebeginning, buying like one
(30:11):
bottle, like two bottles ofBotox right Like at a time, just
to keep my overhead really low.
And still to this day.
You know, I consider that and Itry to keep my overhead pretty
low again because you know, younever know right.
Summer is slow, you know winters, you know pick up.
So, yeah, that's therecommendation.
And then the other thing that Iwould say is I had the
(30:32):
privilege of mentoring withsomeone for a year who owned her
own business, her own med spa,and that was a huge privilege,
because in the United States,aesthetics is not very open when
it comes to like shadowing andmentoring, like it's very
competitive, and so a lot ofpeople are like no, you know, I
(30:53):
won't take on.
You know, students or evenother practitioners who are like
trying to learn in the field,which in my opinion, is a shame,
because how do you train thenext generation of people who
want to do this if you're notwilling to train them?
So anyone who asks me is alwayswelcome to come and hang out
with me and I'm happy to teachthem.
But that's something that Iwould recommend because you know
(31:14):
you can take the trainingcourses, you can go work
somewhere, but until you learnfrom someone who's actually
doing it every day, right likeit's, it's very different.
Dr Andrew Greenland (31:25):
Tal, thank you so much for your time this
afternoon.
I've really enjoyed thisconversation.
Thank you for your valuable,honest and deep insights into
what you do and your ethos.
It's been really, reallyinteresting and I'm sure this is
going to resonate with ourlisteners.
So thank you so much forjoining me this afternoon.
Tal Raizer (31:41):
Thank you for having me.
It was a pleasure.
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