We were lucky to catch up with Claire Obryan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Claire thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Helping start The Skin Clique is certainly the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. In 2019 my partner, Dr. Sarah Allen, and I decided to formally brand and turn our small concierge aesthetics practice into something bigger. We had other medical providers who wanted to join, all over the state of South Carolina. We quickly had interest in other states, and before we knew it we were in 7 states. Then it was 14. And now, The SkinClique is actively operating in over 30 states with over 200 injectors. We are the first national, organized practice of our kind. With a background in medicine, I had (or thought I had) zero entrepreneurial knowledge or drive but once I got into the weeds, I grew to love certain aspects. Not only were we starting a business, we were forming a unique practice model and truly changing the way aesthetic care is delivered to our patients. We were giving women the opportunity to be in charge of their own patients, schedule and make income they otherwise wouldn’t have had. So many things about The SkinClique were risky. In March of 2020, we thought we were doomed along with many others. The wild part was that our model became what everyone immediately pivoted towards. The concept of a waiting room is now obsolete and patients know they can seek care when and how is convenient for them. The risk was HUGE, but the reward has been as well.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a nurse practitioner, and spent the beginning years of my career predominantly in cancer care, head and neck specifically. By 2019 I had 2 young children, a husband who traveled all the time and knew I could needed something more flexible. When I left my job and started injecting for my business partner, Dr. Sarah Allen, my husband and I knew there was something very special about what she was developing. We asked if we could actually be part of the business, and the rest is history.

The SkinClique comes to you. We are all board certified NP’s, PA’s, or physicians who provide aesthetic services like Botox, dermal filler, chemical peels and skincare, all in the comfort of your home (or wherever you are) and all on your time and schedule! No more waiting rooms. No more taking half a day off, feeling guilty for spending time and money on yourself. We do all of that for you! We are meticulous about safety and that is at the forefront of everything we do.

Our injectors are so wonderful, they all care such a tremendous amount about outcomes and safety. Our patients see this and they know it, and that’s what keeps them coming back.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth has been more important than anything else for us. To date, we’ve honestly spend an embarrassingly low amount of money on advertising or marketing for new patients, and same with the injectors who work for us. We’re super proud of the fact that MOST people who come to work with us had heard of us in some way, typically through a colleague, and the culture is so supportive that they tell others to come join us. The same goes for our patients. Our injectors are just high quality, highly educated, caring women and patients catch on to that VERY quickly. We always tell our injectors “You just need ONE person to believe in you and then it spreads like wildfire” – because that’s what we’ve seen. We see so many become successful just based on their reputation and the quality of the service they provide.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

ATTITUDE! There are always going to be injectors who have more experience and training, but they know that, they act like it, and patients pick up on it. Experience and training doesn’t make someone “better” for their patients if they can’t take care of them in the way the patient needs. I can think of a particular incident with a highly trained plastic surgeon who had an extremely dangerous filler complication. Can that happen to anyone? Yes. And it does. However, there was simply no way for the patient to reach anyone for help and she ended up thankfully having intervention from a nurse practitioner injector in town. Without it she would have needed multiple reconstructive surgeries because of this complication. The surgeon simply didn’t care and he showed that before, during and after this procedure. Training and knowledge is only one piece of the puzzle when taking care of patients. Sometimes, my patients simply need someone to tell them they’re beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theskinclique.com
• Instagram: @dabbleco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-o-bryan-1217271a0
• Twitter: @cvobryan

Image Credits
Photo 1, Jessica Steddom Photo 2, Kim Graham Photo 3, Margaret Wright