MedEsthetics magazines offers business education and in-depth coverage of the latest noninvasive cosmetic procedures for physicians and practice managers working in the medical aesthetics industry.
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THE PERFECT FIT Customized Care After obtaining her medical degree at Louisiana State Medical School and completing her residency at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Dr. Guanche worked in a dermatology office in Thousand Oaks, California, for three years. The desire for more freedom and a location closer to her home and two children led Dr. Guanche to launch her own practice in Calabasas, California. "It's sort of like growing up," she says. "You go through a bit of being a kid, and then you get growing pains and decide you have to do your own thing." Ten years later, she is the owner of the Bella Skin Institute, a dermatology practice that specializes in medical dermatology, noninvasive cosmetic procedures and esthetic facial treatments. She credits the practice's success to its focus on creating customized treatment options. "Each face is different and each person's goals and budgets are different. I have a lot of different devices so I can create the right treatment for each person," says Dr. Guanche. Some of her most popular noninvasive procedures include IPL, CoolSculpting (Zeltiq, coolsculpting.com), Velashape cellulite treatments (Syneron, syneron.com), Fraxel skin resurfacing (Solta Medical, fraxel.com), laser hair removal, the VBeam laser for vascular concerns (Syneron-Candela, syneron-candela.com), Thermage Dr. Guanche prides herself on providing customized treatment options. 30 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 | MedEsthetics "I always make a ake connection with my patients. I want to know them, and they feel it." radiofrequency skin tightening (Solta Medical, thermage. com), and Ultherapy ultrasound-based skin tightening (Ulthera, ultherapy.com). "Eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty and mini-facelifts, along with skin cancer surgery are the most invasive procedures we do," says Dr. Guanche. "We have celebrity clients, moms, families and kids. It's a varied patient population, so we try to have a procedure for everyone. My favorites are fillers and Botox because they have minimal down time, are high yield, and the patients look so much different afterwards, they are so excited about it." Building a Business Dr. Guanche describes her current staff as her "dream team," but points out that mastering practice management did entail acquiring a new skill set. While doctors spend many years learning how to care for patients, starting your own practice requires an entirely different type of training to address topics such as: How will you set up your business; how will you market it; how will you put protocols in place; and how will you hire and train the right people who will treat patients the way you want them to be treated? "I think, in general, the staff follows the leader," says Dr. Guanche. "If the leader is good to her patients, then that flows through the staff." She based many of her business strategies on the book Book Yourself Solid, which she discovered early on in her career. "It helped me realize that you must implement policies with clients, and stick to them," she says. "It also helped me to garner my and my staff's efforts in pleasing and pampering the clients. Clients need your best efforts, and they will bring their friends." The book also helped Dr. Guanche fine-tune her practice-building strategies. Rather than casting a wide net, she focused on building the patient base that she wanted. "It's a directed way of working," she says. "You focus your efforts on the clients you want to attract. I shifted my practice, and now we're there. The people I see every day are people I would hang out with. Coming to work feels like fun." Dr. Guanche believes that taking this type of a personal approach with patients is the best way to build and maintain a healthy business. "I always make a connection with my patients. I am interested in them because they are interesting people," she says. "I want to know about