Dr Andrew Greenland: 0:03

Welcome to another episode of Voices in Health and Wellness. This is where we spotlight the real stories behind the innovators, the innovations, the challenges and transformations in today's health and wellness landscape. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Tal Reza, the founder of Plasma MedSpa in Florida. Tal launched her practice just about a year ago and is already making waves in the aesthetic space, particularly with her thoughtful approach to patient education and client retention. In a landscape that's constantly evolving, tal brings a fresh and honest perspective about what it really looks like to build a med spa from the ground up. So, tal, thank you very much for joining us on the show this afternoon.

Tal Raizer: 0:38

Thank you for having me.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 0:40

You're very welcome, so maybe we could start at the top. Could you talk a little bit about how Plasma Med came to life and what pulled you into into aesthetics in the first place?

Tal Raizer: 0:50

Yeah, absolutely so. I am a nurse practitioner in the United States. My background I was a nurse, obviously, becoming a nurse practitioner. I was an ER and ICU nurse before I got my master's and my doctorate and then I worked actually in orthopedic surgery for nine years and so I used a lot of plasma and the practice that I worked at so for mostly for muscle, tendon, joint pain, ligament, tear, things like that. And so I was interested in aesthetics. Actually, one of my co workers kept telling me to open up a med spa and so when I decided that I was going to make the move to aesthetics, I decided that I wanted to bring basically the regenerative medicine aspect of plasma into aesthetics and so and that was going to be my focus so that's how plasma med spa came about.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 1:41

Very cool For those that don't know much about plasma and how it's used. Can you just give us a little kind of high level overview of how you use it and what it can help with?

Tal Raizer: 1:50

yeah, absolutely. Um so plasma, and again, the um studies. And when it did start, um to become widely used, it was mostly in wound healing and orthopedics. Um so plasma the way that I explain it to my patients is has basically the immune triggers right, so they trigger our system.

Tal Raizer: 2:12

Anytime we cut ourselves or, you know, have any sort of injury, our plasma is the one of the first things to trigger that response from our body for healing. So when we need to grow skin cells right. When we cut ourselves, when we need to go liver cells because of a liver injury right, like whatever cells, it's stimulating our bodies on stem cells. And so when they started using it in practice, again for wound healing and for orthopedics, they noticed right that when they were using plasma they were able to get better wound healing, they were able to get tendon repair, ligament repair, and so that is kind of the concept. So now they're applying it to a lot more uses. Obviously, there's ongoing studies and research in regards to other applications and it has crossed over into aesthetics as well, in the sense of regenerating collagen and elastin, um, hair regrowth, sexual dysfunction, um, and then still, you know, being used for orthopedics, wound healing, things like that amazing, sounding like a bit of a panacea.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 3:15

It sounds like yes, exactly it's.

Tal Raizer: 3:19

It's the windex.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 3:21

Yes, indeed so, as the founder, how do you split your time at the moment? Are you mostly in treatment, or business ops, or client engagement, or all of the above, or none of the above? How does it work out for you?

Tal Raizer: 3:31

Yeah, I'm my sole employee as a new business, so I do it all. I clean the bathrooms and the floors, I do the bookkeeping and the accounting. I do, you know the community engagement and the interaction you know with local businesses in the community. I literally just last week hired just a part time admin to help me just with patient follow up and things like that. But I mostly do everything and you know I realized that I am the best person to sell myself, right? I know my business better than anyone else. So I think, as a new business owner and this is my first business right Like learning how to let go of some of those aspects is very difficult and I'm sure other people can identify with that. But yeah, I think I probably spend like 50% of my time doing actual patient care and then the rest of the time doing, you know, the administrative aspect of running a business and trying to grow a business, and then I'm also a professor part time, so I also do that on the side. That's amazing.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 4:39

So you're wearing all the hats and you've got the academic one as well.

Tal Raizer: 4:42

Yes, I try.

Tal Raizer: 4:45

So what was something that you didn't expect about running a clinic that surprised you, because this is all fairly new for you, I guess yes, um, I think I assumed, because I was good at my job, that people would just come, um, but that that doesn't happen at all, not even close. So I literally have to convince people to come. So, yeah, I think I think I underestimated the marketing aspect of healthcare. And then also I think what I struggle with as a healthcare provider is right, like I'm running a business. This is a business that the point of it is to make money, right, and so kind of that dichotomy between being a healthcare provider before separating myself from the actual financial right, like before it was like this is the problem, this is what you need, yes, this is what it costs.

Tal Raizer: 5:38

But I have no, you know, I have like no bearing on the cost. Or you know, I have no control over the cost and I'm like separated right from the financial aspect, whereas here, right like I'm recommending to patients oh, I think this is what you need, this is what it's going to cost, but also that's my livelihood now, right, like that's how I keep my lights on, that's how I pay for you know my supplies and you know, even though right now I'm not paying myself, right, like that's how I can help my business grow. So I think that part of it and I'm still struggling with that right, like when I do consultations, like how to speak to patients, in the sense that, like I'm not, I'm not like a salesperson, right, I'm a medical provider, but at the end of the day, I also have to sell myself in order to keep this business going. So I think that part has been very difficult for me.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 6:27

I'm still struggling. I completely get it. I come from a similar thing. So how do you define success right now? I mean, what does a good day look like for you in plasma med spa?

Tal Raizer: 6:48

having patience is nice, so, but I think and I don't remember where I read this or 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 exactly what but they talked about about Japanese culture and how, in Japanese culture, they basically revver failure, because that's how you learn, and so I'm trying to really apply that to myself as a business owner in the sense that like, ok, well, if this isn't working right, I'm basically learning, like I'm not looking at it as a failure or a lack of success, but rather as a learning opportunity to say, okay, well, what should I be doing different in order to, you 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 have to, you know, pay my malpractice insurance and all that good stuff.

Tal Raizer: 7:53

But I think a successful day for me is a day where I have patience and maybe I think overall, I look at the month and I was actually talking to my husband about it last night, because summers, and aesthetics at least, are very slow in the United States. People travel, you know, kids are in camp, all that stuff, and so he's like, well, don't look at, you know, like your goal, like hitting your goals for the month. Look at year over year, right, like what you're doing. So you know, this month I did better than last year this month, so I guess that's a success.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 8:21

Thank you. Are you seeing any shifts in the med spa world, whether it's around client demands, technology messaging or other things that you've noticed?

Tal Raizer: 8:31

Yeah, I mean, I think definitely aesthetics has shifted away from like the doing a lot type of aesthetic in the sense of like oh, let's, you know, do a lot of filler, a lot of Botox, and more like towards natural, like a more natural look right, like what I think people call like natural aesthetics or undetectable aesthetics. And that's when I came into the space, something that I made a goal like that's, that's like what I like to focus on. So obviously that's great. But also more in the sense of like anti-aging right, which also, you know, it goes hand in hand with functional medicine, right.

Tal Raizer: 9:17

So we're looking not just right like the health of our skin, for example, is not just because, you know, I do skincare and facials and microneedling and filler and all these other things.

Tal Raizer: 9:30

It's also because I exercise and I eat well and I sleep right, like all those things factor into aesthetics as well.

Tal Raizer: 9:37

Right, like if I have a smoker who's unhealthy, you know, like and I'm doing all these things to their face, right, like they're still not going to get, you know, the best result if they're not also taking care of their body. So I think that shift is happening and you know, and I'm sure for you it's also similar in functional medicine, where you have to have the patients buy in, right, because if they're like no, just like put filler 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 in the sense of anti-aging and really like protecting the health of your skin, you know your, whatever else we're talking about. So I think, slowly patients are coming to like understand that, and I don't know if you see that shift as well. But you know, having that buy-in from the patients is just really important because no matter 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 plan for them.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 10:38

So yeah, I think that shift is good. So it totally resonate with the holistic approach. And, yeah, patients that are coming for functional medicine kind of know that that's what we're going to be doing. So it kind of helps because it's not a very well understood term, certainly in the UK functional medicine a lot of people still go what's that? But the ones that know about it know that they're going to be getting that more holistic approach which is going to include sort of nutritional, dietary and lifestyle factors as well. So, completely resonate. So is there anything that clients are asking for now that they weren't six, twelve months ago 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, like people are asking a lot for exosomes and those types of of or stem cells, you know, treatments. Now I, I don't do anything that's not FDA approved. That's just my personal preference, you know I like to. Mostly it's to protect my license. Right, I worked really hard to get 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, like, I need to make sure that what I'm doing is evidence-based and that I am protecting my patient safety and stuff like that. So I don't know how how it works 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 more things like you know, regenerative medicine versus you know, like the, the, the Botox filler, things like that.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 12:30

Got it. Unfortunately, things like exosomes and stem cells we don't have in the UK, so we're much more limited in terms of our repertoire repertoire, but completely understand they need to stay within the guidelines and the law. Yeah, um, for all the reasons that you've said, yeah, so I guess, client education is pretty important. How do you educate your clients right now?

Tal Raizer: 12:49

um, yeah, so I think that the best aspect of what I personally do is patient education, because, at the end of the day, when patients expect certain results, right, there's, there's, there's always a variability, 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 thorough consultation with the patient and letting them know, okay, this is what I think we can achieve. This is what I don't think we can achieve. Results are variable, right Like, and especially when we do regenerative medicine, when I use plasma, right Like, my plasma is different than yours, it is different than the next person's, so just kind of making sure that they know what the expectations are and then you know being realistic. So I think a patient education starts, right like, before I even start any treatment. Again, we need that buy in from the patient in order to make sure that they're following through with their treatment plan, that they're doing the things that they need to do at home, that it's not just a one and done right like, just like anything else, and probably less so in aesthetics, but I'm sure in functional medicine, right Like this is a lifelong journey.

Tal Raizer: 14:03

It's not and and same thing with aesthetics actually. I mean, like, even though you know you can have one and done procedures, I tell people it's not like you don't brush your teeth one day and then you have clean teeth for the rest of your life, and it's the same with aesthetics. It's the same with your health. It's the same with functional medicine, right Like. This is a lifelong journey.

Tal Raizer: 14:21

We're going to continue to age, so we need to do things pretty much every day, right to be able to not stop aging but age right in the best way that we possibly can. And that takes work. It's not something that comes naturally. So, yeah, so I think that's kind of the core and I do that in my consultations. I mean, obviously, after procedures, I, you know, talk to patients about aftercare and you know I also send them an email copy or print it out for them. But yeah, I mean, I think the patients that are most likely to comply with these types of things are the patients that really listen and kind of again, like I said, buy in from from the beginning, from the consultation, um, and then those are the patients that are usually the happiest and have the best results.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 15:08

So got it. I don't know what your patients are like, but do you think the average patient really understands some of the treatments they ask for? And that's not mean, that's not meaning to insult them, but I just wondered when you have that first meeting, do you really get an understanding, understands some of the treatments they ask for? And that's not meaning to insult them, but I just wondered when you have that first meeting, do you really get an? Understanding of some of the things 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 a marketing company to do my social media, so you know we all have it's all part of the marketing, you know field at this point. So I don't think it's a bad way, you know, to learn about things, but obviously the nuances of certain treatments are just not there in like a 30 second video. So, yeah, I do think you know and actually I spoke to like a marketing consultant one time, no-transcript they come to you because you're the expert. So if, if you are telling them you need this and this and this, right, like it's because you're the expert, that's why you're you're telling them that and so, right, they're like reading and seeing all this stuff on social media, thinking that they might need it. But you're the expert, you're the one who's like they come to you for that and so you know that.

Tal Raizer: 16:41

So so I think that part of it right is is part of the education, part of the consultation, right, like really telling patients, okay, yes, this, you saw this on social media, but you know, because of such and such and such of your anatomy or whatever, like I don'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 candidate for this. Like, look like, let me show you right. And so, yeah, I think that's where the patient education is really important, because I think if you do a good job and say hey, I don't think you're a good candidate for this treatment, right, they're not going to go seek out another provider to do that same treatment and then maybe do something detrimental, right? So yeah, so that's my take on it.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 17:28

Thank you. In terms of the aesthetic industry in general, do you think it's moving faster or is it just getting noisier?

Tal Raizer: 17:36

I think there is a lot of noise. I mean just just like anything else, right? Like there's always something that's exciting and but and you know, and that's why I kind of wait for, you know, evidence based studies and stuff like that, because there's always going to be something new and exciting, and I do I do think that there's so much in aesthetics.

Tal Raizer: 18:01

There is a lot of noise in aesthetics. I do think that that's true and I say that just as, like a business owner, my practice on evidence-based practice, like I will go and read studies, like you know, to make sure that I'm doing what's best for my patients and not to say that these new treatments aren't good, right, I just want to make sure that I'm easily able to apply it to my patient population with safety and, you know, being able to get good results. Because, at the end of the day, in the United States, aesthetics is very expensive. You know, people invest a lot of money in it and so if I'm not giving them good products, good services, 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 for you in the last year that you're sort of proud of um, yeah, I won best of my city, so that was exciting congratulations after a year.

Tal Raizer: 19:23

Thank you, yes, um, so I, yeah, I think that, um, the customer service that I'm able to give, um, you know, again, right now it's me. So I'm the one answering the phones, I'm the one texting the patients back, I'm the one, you know, when my patients tell me that you know they're getting engaged or going on a vacation and I'm like, hey, how was your vacation? Congratulations Right, like it's me, it's me. And I'm like, hey, how was your vacation? Congratulations Right, like it'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 time if my business is able to grow, but I do want to set that standard right for customer service.

Tal Raizer: 20:07

I do believe that customer service starts before the patient even comes in the door, right, so being engaging and trustworthy and honesty, right Like all that stuff, is really important to me. So trying to set that as a brand, I think, is what has helped me. You know, most of the people that come to me are from patient referrals. So I see that as a good thing, right Like, people are happy they're referring their friends. And you know, again, most of the people that come to me are not from Google or social media. So, yeah, I see that as a positive. Obviously, it's a slower growth, right? Patient referrals are slower than, you know, some of the other marketing opportunities. But again, I think building a luxury brand that is really trustworthy and really getting that brand awareness takes time, and so I'm prepared to put in the work for that.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 21:04

Nice, and on the other side of the equation, is there anything that's been particularly frustrating or challenging, or part 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 owners but, like you know, looking at other similar businesses in my area that are maybe not doing it the right way or doing it illegally, and seeing them succeed is sometimes really frustrating for me.

Tal Raizer: 21:33

And it's funny because I have friends who are a dentist and an orthodontist and they opened up their own practice a few years ago and I told them I was like wouldn't it be really nice if there was like a yellow brick road to like all the honest businesses and you know people could just like take that road right there. That would be nice. Um, so yeah, I think that part is really frustrating. And then also, um, I'm gonna say like motivation right, so, so right, like I have a good day and then I have like two bad weeks in the sense of like patient volume, and then I'm like, oh, my god, you know this is like what am I doing? I'm not doing any right, so so kind 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 to be a good day, um, and maintaining the motivation every day 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 where you've thought you're not sure this is sustainable, whether it be the summer lull or when you're uncertain about how many people are coming through the door?

Tal Raizer: 22:41

oh, yes, absolutely, I mean I would say daily, I will say so.

Tal Raizer: 22:46

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 this about me, but when I opened my business, one of the reasons I was able to quit my job and do this was because my husband was the financial provider for the family and he got laid off from his job a month after I opened my business, yeah, and it took him a very long time to find work.

Tal Raizer: 23:08

So that part, you know, was very stressful and pretty much every day I was like you know what I'm just gonna try to like get out of the business, go get a full time job. And he, you know, said Absolutely not, like you're not going to do that, you know you're building something great. And so, yeah, I mean I guess having the faith of my family, my friends, has been very helpful, but still, on a daily basis, I think that I mean it doesn't so far has not affected like my willingness to come and work hard and do what I need to do. But yeah, I do think it pretty much everything.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 23:47

All right. Are there any sort of tools or tactics that have helped you to stay organized or manage that uncertainty at all?

Tal Raizer: 23:55

um, yeah, I mean.

Tal Raizer: 23:57

So I think I'm here every day, whether I have patients or not. Um, so I also try I've made it so setting goals for myself, like small goals, not like financial goals. So, for example, one of my goals is to do some sort of in-person marketing once a week, whether it be like go meet with another business owner, go pass out flyers, and those are things that make me very uncomfortable, so it's something that I really have to push myself to do. Um, because I'm not a sales, so it's really hard for me to go and be like hey, come, come to my business.

Tal Raizer: 24:32

Um, so, yeah, I think setting like small goals, or or even just like you know, oh, like, let me think today about what I 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 to begin with, like I'm good with deadlines and timelines and that part which I think is helpful, and I have a good memory. So, for example, even if I know that I'm supposed to follow up with a certain patient, like I just know and I'll do it, but sometimes, if I forget, I'll think about it at two o'clock in the morning, which is then I write 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 for the next six to twelve months, as you kind of going through your second year?

Tal Raizer: 25:27

um, yeah, I obviously I want to grow month over month. I want to be able to hire someone full time for admin to be able to support that. Ultimately, my ultimate goal is to hire someone to do the you know, the medical provider aspect. For me to to focus on growing the business um I I don't really have a realistic timeline for that um, but I also want to at some point like train um. Again, I'm a professor so I really like teaching um, so I think that that would be an aspect of my business that I would really enjoy and I would like to develop lovely, and if you could wave a magic wand and solve 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 met which has been a challenge or difficult in the last year and you 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 a magic wand and just have, like you know, 10 to 15 patients a day, that would be great. Um, yeah, that that's what I would do. Okay, because it all, again, it all, I think just right like it all feeds itself. Right. So like if I patients, I have money to grow my business, I have time to hire someone, right Like. So I think it all feeds itself.

Tal Raizer: 27:00

And you know, again like the goal of my business is not just to make money but to make the community happy, right Like to make them well. And I really do think that it all feeds itself right Like you have a happy community. You know good schools, right like good nutrition. I do think that it all feeds itself. And you know, I'm not saying that aesthetics is like the thing that's going to solve everyone's problem, but I do think that it does right Like there's so many studies out there that showing that confidence about the way that you look and feel right Like matter in the sense of how you perform in your job and your family, you know, in your day-to-day life. So I do think that if I'm able to achieve that here in my community that that would be great.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 27:46

Amazing. Do you think sort of scaling what you do is about getting more clients, more better systems, or probably a bit of both. But how do you kind of rate those 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, I got to work on my systems, so I put in a bunch of SOPs and onboarding 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 that she worked at another med spa and she was like, oh, that other med spa has been around for 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 evolving system, right, like you're always going to have to update and, you know, bring on new SOPs, policies, procedures. I finally did all my like medical policy and procedures, you know, for in case I get like an inspection or something. So, um, yeah, so I'm, I'm working on on both amazing.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 29:01

Yeah, and finally, if you, if someone's listening, who's about to start or 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 and I had to do a build out. And I knew nothing about any of this. I acted as my own project manager. I showed up every day, I met with the contractors, I hired the subcontractors, I met the inspectors, I went to the city and you know cry to get my permits. So I learned a lot and I always joke that after this process, if my med spot doesn't work out, I'm going to go into construction management, just because I learned so much.

Tal Raizer: 29:42

But I wouldn't, I would not do that again. Like if I was to start out again, I would rent a little salon suite and grow my business from there and then, you know, move on to bigger things. Because if anything, like when you're starting out, you want your overhead to be as low as possible. You want to take out as few loans as possible, like just the bare minimum to be able to start. You want to keep your product inventory really low, like I was literally at the beginning buying like one bottle, like two bottles of Botox right, like at a time, just to keep my overhead really low. Like I was literally at the beginning, buying like one bottle, like two bottles of Botox right Like at a time, just to keep my overhead really low. And still to this day. You know, I consider that and I try to keep my overhead pretty low again because you know, you never know right.

Tal Raizer: 30:24

Summer is slow, you know winters, you know pick up. So, yeah, that's the recommendation. And then the other thing that I would say is I had the privilege of mentoring with someone 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 and mentoring, like it's very competitive, and so a lot of people are like no, you know, I won't take on. You know, students or even other practitioners who are like trying to learn in the field, which in my opinion, is a shame, because how do you train the next generation of people who want to do this if you're not willing to train them? So anyone who asks me is always welcome to come and hang out with me and I'm happy to teach them. But that's something that I would recommend because you know you can take the training courses, you can go work somewhere, but until you learn from someone who's actually doing it every day, right like it's, it's very different.

Dr Andrew Greenland: 31:25

Tal, thank you so much for your time this afternoon. I've really enjoyed this conversation. Thank you for your valuable, honest and deep insights into what you do and your ethos. It's been really, really interesting and I'm sure this is going to resonate with our listeners. So thank you so much for joining me this afternoon.

Tal Raizer: 31:41

Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure.