We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Tarina Desai a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Tarina , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I didn’t know anything about opening a business and they definitely didn’t teach you that in medical school, so it was all new to me! I was also pregnant with my son when I met with my mentors from score. We came up with an initial plan to work on and present to landlords and banks to secure a loan. Once my son was born, I started working long hours on the business plan.

We got a loan pretty quickly and then found the perfect location. Meanwhile I had been traveling all over the US to take different training courses on all the procedures I wanted to offer. This was something I had done while pregnant and continued on for the next couple of years until my buildout was completed.

The biggest challenges I have had is being able to balance it all- the needs of the staff, my patients, the business and my family. It is always a struggle and you never know if your decisions are fair and beneficial to all- it almost never is and that’s always hard. Delegating tasks is always something that can make that easier and that is probably something I would say would be what I would do differently.

I have lots of advice for a young professional starting their own practice! It is very individualized depending on the type of business, location, demographics, etc but my number one would be to do purely for the joy of performing the treatments and making people happy. You will never be satisfied or likely even successful if you do not have a natural passion for the work that you do.

Dr. Tarina , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It all started as a small thought in my head when I was in residency and did an elective in aesthetic medicine. I realized it was a combination of my profession and my personal interests. I mentioned the thought in passing to my husband and he was the one that pushed me to actually act on it.

I had to take many more courses and trainings after that and still continue to do so in order to advance my techniques and knowledge on the latest treatments.

Our office provides services to help our patients feel good about the way they look and age gracefully. We have something to treat every type of skin concern for any age or skin color. The best skin comes from treating it in multiple different ways such as lasers, Botox and fillers and of course, medical grade skincare. We only strive for natural results and in order to do that, you have to have an understanding of the aging process and make use of different modalities. We provide everything from Botox to laser skin treatments and microneedling to body contouring. What sets us apart is we work hard to educate our patients so they can be motivated to make their own decisions. We treat them exactly how we ourselves would want to be treated if we were a patient. All treatments are recommended with that in mind- purely in the interest of the patient. There are no commissions or tips in our clinic as the patient’s needs are always our priority.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As far as resilience, I would have to say it started when I was about 8 months pregnant with my daughter (my second child). I was preparing things at the clinic for maternity leave and my front office staff quit. At the time I was also training an aesthetician and so I had to scramble to find another front desk person and train them prior to leaving, hoping that I didn’t deliver any earlier than planned. I took 3 weeks off after the baby and came back to see a few patients a day and mostly worked part time to pay the bills and my staff. I was able to return to full time again a few months later in February 2020 and then of course we all know what happened that March.
I still had not gotten the clinic back on it’s feet yet to recover all the losses from being on maternity leave and we had to close. Moreover, I had not been paying myself so i didn’t have much to show in applying for a PPP loan. It was scary but I was just eager to get back to work to see my patients and do what I love.

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

Definitely some type of business sense is needed. An understanding of the numbers and the potential of your staff. However, above all, it is a love for what you do and the services you provide that makes the most difference. People can see that and it’s not something you can force.

Contact Info:

• Website: artavimedspa.com
• Instagram: @artavimedspa
• Facebook: Artavi Med Spa
• Yelp: Artavi Med Spa

Image Credits
Artavi Med Spa Dr. Tarina Desai