How To Start A MedSpa Business with Haley Wood

Catch Haley Wood’s talk, What to Think About Before Starting Your Own Business at Modern Beauty Con on May 6, 2023, at 3:00 pm.

Nurses who are talented injectors don’t necessarily possess the business skills to start their own practices. Few nursing programs have curriculums that teach the skill sets needed to manage a business, making it challenging for nurses to break off into their own practice.

Haley Wood NP, MSN, WHNP, CANS has trained more than 5,000 providers across the country and is doing her part to change this.

Haley is one of the cofounders of the Aesthetic Mastermind faculty and the Aesthetic Mastermind Summit, an exclusive business conference for nurses, nurse practitioners and physicians who own their own medical aesthetic practices to share best practices for success.

She is also the founder of The Look Aesthetics in Franklin, TN, and is a nationally renowned speaker.

In our interview with Hayley, she talks about why business skills are a must when starting your own practice, and the complications nurses need to look out for.

Are we seeing more nurses start their own businesses?

Haley Wood: I don’t have hard numbers, but we’ve learned over the past 10 years that nurses probably inject more than doctors. Many nurses are thinking they can start their own businesses instead of giving earnings over to physicians.

Why are business skills just as important as knowing how to inject to start a practice? 

Haley Wood: Over the last 10 years, nurse entrepreneurship has skyrocketed. When it comes to nurses’ core curriculum it is rare to see business courses. I didn’t take one business course in college. Our skillset is all clinical-based.

Aesthetics has allowed nurses to be entrepreneurs. There are also hurdles. For example, regulations vary state-by-state as to whether you can own a business. You also need to understand what it takes to run a business before going into it blindly because it is an expensive proposition. When I started out, I didn’t know the difference between net and gross [revenue]. Also, it can be hard for nurses to get loans to start a business.

You need to know how to operate safely and compliant. If you are considering opening a business, you need to know what to consider before you put in dollar one.  Are you ready and are you cut out for this? That will be the purpose of my talk.

What are some issues?

Haley Wood: For instance, in Alabama, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants can’t even inject Botox or fillers. Knowing the legal aspects is important and compliance is crucial. And what if you have a complication? You have to know how to deal with any technique complications that could come your way.

Why is teaching so important to you?

Haley Wood: Teaching gave me confidence. I realized I was teaching and giving other nurses the skillset to be financially independent. I want my team members to be women who can take care of themselves and to be financially independent. I also want to provide safe patient outcomes. So, my mission is twofold, patient safety and creating a platform for women to be financially independent in their skillsets. I want to be able to provide an opportunity either with the staff on my team or those that I teach to be able to be successful and great at what they do.

I love teaching and sharing knowledge. At the end of the day, I love sitting back and seeing those that I taught years ago and hearing them say ‘you taught my first Botox or filler course,’ and seeing now how successful they are—it brings me so much joy.

What do you want to talk to your colleagues about at Modern Beauty Con?

Haley Wood: It is all about networking and I want to find out what others are doing about the new Daxi [Daxibotulinumtoxin]. I love to find out what people are doing with it. We are experimenting to find the right recipe. 

Catch Haley Wood’s talk, What to Think About Before Starting Your Own Business at Modern Beauty Con on May 6, 2023, at 3:00 pm.