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April 22, 2022
The PatientNow Team
Demand for aesthetic treatments has rarely looked stronger, yet practice owners are navigating a thicket of uncertainty: rising inflation, federal rate hikes, a stubborn labor shortage, and the lingering aftershocks of the pandemic. In this episode of True to Form, host Tim Sawyer reconnects with returning guest Warren Danforth, owner of the successful Idaho-based medical spa Spot 35 and a business leader who has weathered multiple economic cycles. Together they unpack what the current macroeconomic moment means for medical spas, and how owners can stay optimistic while keeping their eyes wide open.
Danforth describes the present climate with a phrase that resonates across the industry: busy and nervous at the same time. Practices are full, but the headlines tell a more complicated story. Interest rates are climbing, inflation is elevated, and a worker shortage persists even as the housing market stays hot. The result is a market that is genuinely difficult to forecast.
At the center of the conversation is a single question many owners are quietly asking themselves: are we living through a temporary post-pandemic normal, or the early signs of a downturn?
One of the most durable effects of the pandemic has been what the industry nicknamed the Zoom boom: the surge of interest in cosmetic treatments that came from people staring at their own faces on video calls all day. According to Danforth, demand from this group remains strong, and it has done something more lasting than create a temporary spike.
Government stimulus had a complicated effect on aesthetic practices. On one hand, clients who were already financially stable treated stimulus checks as discretionary money and spent freely on treatments like Botox, laser resurfacing, and body contouring. On the other hand, the same programs made hiring harder, as some workers chose to step out of the labor pool entirely for a period of time.
If there is one theme the conversation returns to again and again, it is staffing. Danforth and Sawyer agree that workforce development may be the single most pressing issue for the industry heading into the future.
The picture is uneven across roles:
A generational shift in expectations around work-life balance is reshaping how practices staff themselves. Younger team members increasingly expect flexibility, including four-day work weeks, and the rise of remote work has only intensified those demands. For an industry that needs more people simply to keep pace with growing demand, the prospect of a shrinking standard work week compounds the challenge.
Sawyer notes one advantage aesthetics holds over corporate roles: when a provider leaves the practice, their time is genuinely their own. There is no endless stream of after-hours emails and pings, which can make the field attractive to talent weighing their options, though the most productive providers often still invest after-hours time in follow-up and preparation.
Danforth shares the practical tactics he uses to keep Spot 35 staffed with strong people:
Sawyer recounts a recent first-hand experience as a patient at a thriving three-location practice, where every step of the visit was executed flawlessly: a warm welcome from a patient coordinator, a digital intake and aesthetic questionnaire on an iPad, and standardized before photos taken with a clever sundial-and-dot system that captured every angle.
The lesson, Danforth explains, is about scalability. A great individual provider does not automatically make a great business. Building something larger requires systematizing what your best provider would do so that every team member delivers the same experience.
It might be the tenth Botox patient you have seen today, but for that patient it is their first time. Great practices design every process around that truth.
This connects directly back to the staffing conversation: if practices will be operating with more people working fewer hours, then well-documented, repeatable business processes become even more critical. You cannot rely solely on the instincts of any individual team member; you have to rely on the systems of the practice.
Most med spa owners operating today have never managed through a true recession. Danforth, who ran a practice through the 2008 financial crisis, offers a sober reminder that conditions can change overnight: one day the business is booming, the next the phone simply stops ringing. His recommendations focus on core business fundamentals.
No matter how strong your revenue looks, having cash reserves in the bank is the single best protection against a sudden slowdown. If consumer confidence drops even for a few weeks, practices need a cushion to absorb the shock.
During the last recession, Danforth watched an entire client segment, tied to real estate and home construction, evaporate almost overnight. The takeaway is to understand who your clients are, which industries they work in, and how exposed those industries are to economic shocks. If too much of your revenue is concentrated in volatile sectors, it may be time to pursue new segments.
A period of uncertainty is the right time to tighten your budget, clarify your unique selling proposition, and solidify which customers you are built to serve.
Financing plans, pay-as-you-go arrangements, and layaway-style options can help clients who hit short-term cash constraints keep moving forward with treatment. Putting these in place before they are needed is a smart operational hedge.
The overarching message from Danforth and Sawyer is one of measured confidence. The aesthetics industry has powerful tailwinds, but the practices that thrive through whatever comes next will be the ones that pair their optimism with disciplined fundamentals: cash in the bank, clear processes, and a relentless focus on attracting talent and delighting every patient as if it were their first visit.
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