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If your first medical spa location is thriving, you may be thinking about opening a second. That’s exciting news!
After all, more locations mean more clients, more revenue, and more growth opportunities – at least in theory. Right?
In reality, while the potential for success is high, opening a second location comes with its own set of challenges. How do you know you can replicate what you’ve done in your first spa? Is there a market demand? How do you find staff?
A new successful med spa location requires careful planning and strategy.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through all the stages to ensure your second location lives up to your expectations.
How to know if your med spa business is ready for a second location
Expanding to a second location is a big step.
It’s great to be excited about opening your new location, but don’t rush in.
Before taking the first steps, it’s essential to assess whether your med spa is truly ready for growth.
According to research on the medical spa industry by the American MedSpa Association, only 19% of med spas in the US have multiple locations. In other words, over four fifths are happy running their business from one location.
With that said, the ones that do have over NINE locations. Let’s look at the key signals your business is ready to open its doors in a new location.
Financial stability and capital availability
First, you must ensure you have the financial foundation to support growth.
A second location comes with significant costs, including:
- Leasing
- Renovations
- Equipment
- Staffing
- Marketing
Beyond these startup expenses, you’ll need enough capital to support your business operations until it becomes profitable.
A good rule of thumb? Make sure your first location has a strong cash flow, it’s consistently profitable, and you’ve enough financing or savings to cover unexpected expenses.
Operational efficiency
Are your day-to-day operations efficient? Or are you putting out fires all day long?
Having tried and tested processes for scheduling, inventory management, client communication, and staff workflows makes it much easier to replicate your hard-earned success in your new location and market.
If your med spa relies heavily on your personal input, a second location could stretch you thin. Manual processes aren’t efficient or replicable.
A better solution would be to invest in reliable systems, automated processes, and building a strong team that can help you scale – without compromising quality.
Market demand
Supply and demand are the first rules of business. Before opening a second location, it’s crucial to confirm that there is sufficient demand in the new area.
Just because your first med spa is thriving doesn’t guarantee success elsewhere.
Research in the target market should give you a clear idea if there’s consumer demand for med spa treatments. Are there a lot of similar businesses there already? Would you be able to compete and win a share of the market?
Do you homework. If there’s a strong demand with limited competition, your second location has a much better shot at success.
Scalable business model
Before expanding, you must make sure your medical spa business can scale.
This means standardized processes, consistent branding, and services that don’t rely entirely on you being really hands-on to run smoothly.
Ask yourself: Can your team members work efficiently without you being involved? Do you have documented policies for new members of staff to follow? Can you provide the same level of client experience and care across locations?
If not, what do you need to do to make it happen?
For a business to truly be scalable, you need a system that allows you to manage scheduling, inventory, and reporting for several locations at once.
How to select the right location for expansion
You might have high-quality medical spa service, the latest technology, and the best staff, but if you get the location wrong, it’ll all be for nothing.
Here are four important factors to consider when choosing a location.
Accessibility and visibility
When selecting a location for your second med spa, you want it to be easy for clients to find and access, not tucked away in a sleepy area of town.
High visibility and good accessibility are key factors in attracting new customers. A location near busy streets, shopping centers, or high-traffic areas ensures potential clients see your spa and find it convenient to visit.
Make sure it offers ample parking and is reachable by public transport. You should also have clear signage around your spa to let people know where it is.
Image source: Skin Cosmetics London Google Business
Target market and demographics
Not every neighborhood will be the right fit for a med spa.
Research your local target audience to determine their needs and preferences for aesthetic treatments and whether they align with what your med spa offers.
Look at factors like:
- Age
- Income level
- Lifestyle
- Beauty and wellness preferences
Are there enough potential clients who can afford and are interested in medical aesthetic treatments like Botox, dermal fillers, laser hair removal, or injectables?
To get answers, research local trends, survey potential clients and explore similar med spa businesses. Or work with an MSO (management service organization).
Competition analysis
A little competition is healthy — but too much can make it harder to stand out.
The number of med spas in the US grew from just under 9k in 2022 to 10.5k in 2023, which shows a growing demand for aesthetic treatments at a national level. But you need to investigate the market at a local level, too.
Are there well-established med spas that offer similar services in your target location? If the market is oversaturated, you may struggle to gain traction.
If there is a gap, such as a lack of high-end spas offering more premium services, there may be an opportunity to differentiate your own med spa. The risk is that people in the area aren’t as solvent, and that’s why they don’t exist.
Space and infrastructure
The inside space and infrastructure can make as much difference as the location itself.
The new facility should have a convenient layout, enough treatment rooms and the right infrastructure to support your aesthetic and medical treatments.
The layout should enable clients and aestheticians to flow smoothly through the area.
Consider it from a client’s perspective — when they walk in, they should step into a comfortable reception area and be able to navigate the space easily.
Steps for opening a second med spa location
Once you’ve determined you’re ready to expand and you’ve chosen a location, it’s time to focus on the logistics.
Creating a business plan, hiring the right medical professionals and estheticians, developing a well-rounded marketing strategy… there’s a lot to do. Each step is crucial for replicating the success of your first med spa.
Here’s how to get everything ready to open the doors to your second location.
1. Develop a business plan for expansion
Your second location is not an extension of your first — it’s a new business with its own unique challenges and opportunities. Therefore, it needs a separate business plan to help you set clear goals, map out financial projections, and create a strategy for sustainable growth.
It should include your startup costs, revenue projections, marketing plan and staffing needs.
Also, factor in the local-specific details, such as rent, local competition, and client demand.
2. Establish and standardize operational systems
You want clients to receive the same high-quality care and overall customer experience in your med spa — no matter which location they visit.
Having rock-solid operational systems and clear protocols helps achieve this.
You can use tools to ensure booking, client management, patient communication, staff training, and inventory tracking, are consistent across all locations.
The key thing to think about here is a centralized practice management system. This is what yours truly, Pabau, can offer. It helps you:
- Keep staff on the same page
- Avoid scheduling complications
- Store important client information in one place
- Clear administrative headaches before they even happen.
3. Ensure compliance and licensing
A new location means a new set of regulatory and legal requirements to navigate.
Each state has specific licensing, ownership, and safety regulations for med spas.
For example, many states consider med spas medical practices and mandate that they be set up as professional corporations, such as California.
Other states, including Kansas, California, and Texas, only allow licensed physicians to own a medical spa. While New York also allows nurse practitioners with the required certification to own a medical spa.
Another key regulation is the scope of practice and oversight. If you’re expanding to a new state, carefully review the compliance and licensing requirements — you may need to adapt to entirely different regulations.
4. Invest in equipment and tools
Invest in high-quality devices that align with your treatment offerings and allow you to maintain only the top-notch service your clients expect.
New equipment might be expensive, so consider whether to purchase or lease equipment based on your budget and long-term needs.
In any case, make sure to have standardized tools across your locations to deliver consistent results.
Also, consider investing in software to streamline appointment scheduling, client records, and everything else you need.
5. Hire and train staff
A strong team is the key to opening a second successful med spa location.
Look for professionals with a background in medical procedures and medical aesthetics and strong customer service skills. You’ll need licensed professionals, estheticians, nurses, medical assistants, front-desk staff, and a medical director.
After hiring, provide onboarding and set up protocols for treatments, client interactions, and software usage to ensure consistency.
6. Launch marketing campaigns
Finally, you need to let people know you’re there! Start by building buzz before the grand opening with targeted social media ads and email campaigns.
Pre-launch campaigns are a great tool for creating excitement. You can create special offers such as discounted treatments or early-bird VIP memberships.
If your new location isn’t too far away, you could even leverage your existing clients as promoters by offering referrals and cross-promoting services between locations.
Keep your med spa running smoothly across all locations with Pabau
Expanding to a second location is an exciting milestone for your med spa business.🔑
However, it won’t necessarily all be smooth sailing. It depends on several factors, such as careful planning, financial stability, and strong operational systems.
In this guide, we’ve covered the important steps for seamless expansion. But the key to scaling successfully lies in mastering multi-location management.
Pabau is an all-in-one practice management system that makes running your med spa easy and hassle-free, regardless of the number of locations you have.
- Several locations — one platform. Switch between them with a click
- No booking confusion. Manage all appointments from one system
- Allow clients to choose the nearest location in the online booking portal
- Customize the services and pricing specific to the location
- No scheduling hassle. Coordinate with employees across all locations
- Create a consistent, on-brand client experience
Enjoy growing your med spa business while Pabau keeps everything running smoothly. 🚀 Book a demo today!
