We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gregory Andonian, Md a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gregory thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

Approximately 2 years after I had graduated residency and was working as a hospitalist I decided to follow my true passion of aesthetic medicine and get trained and become board certified in aesthetic medicine so I sought out to find the best training and experience I can get which I found at the American Board of Aesthetic Medicine. I had always wanted to become an aesthetic physician and after becoming board certified I immediately started to look for an office that I could work out of and establish my practice. It was at this time that I found my primary location for Andon Aesthetics and started on the journey of opening my practice. This was not an easy undertaking as the office needed a lot of remodeling as well as all the factors involved with an aesthetic practice like opening accounts with various companies and obtaining products as well as lasers in order to provide everything a patient could need or ask for in one location. This required a lot of capital as well as time that was limited as at that time I was still working as a hospitalist. After a lot of hard work and investment I was able to remodel my office to what it looks like today as well as set up everything I need to provide all the services we offer today. After I was able to open my practice the biggest challenge was getting patients to come in and develop a name for myself in the industry. I worked diligently in getting the word out about Andon Aesthetics and a lot of my patients at first were fellow hospital employees that after many discussions finally came to get the procedures they were getting done elsewhere and after developing a rapport with them and providing them with great results as well as trust in my knowledge and skills I was able to slowly build my practice to where more and more people started to come in not only from my job at that time but also from outside my circle of fellow hospital colleagues, friends and staff. Knowing what I know now the things that I would do differently and the advice I would give young professionals looking to get into the field would be to consider joining an existing practice to help build their patient base prior to investing large amounts into their own practice and having to start from scratch as well as doing a lot of research and due diligence when considering to open up their own practice to offer services and products that are in high demand in the area they are considering in order to have the most return on investment possible in order to succeed. The other advice I would give and probably the most important one is to be open and honest with their patients on what type of results they can expect and the services they can provide as developing that rapport with patients is the most important thing you can do with them and it’s what will keep them coming back.

Gregory , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Since I was a child, I had always wanted to become a physician, and after finishing medical school and getting into residency, I became interested in aesthetic medicine and how it can impact people’s lives, especially how it makes them feel on the inside and not just the outside. Aesthetics was a field that attracted me because of its detail-oriented and hands-on nature with people and procedures, as well as the connections it makes with them on a personal level and the rapport and journey you have with people. It was then that I decided to get into the field of aesthetics, learning all that I can during my residency. After finishing my residency, I began my medical practice as a hospitalist; however, I never lost that interest in aesthetics, and after some time, I decided to become fully trained and board-certified in aesthetic medicine with the American Board of Aesthetic Medicine. It was this passion for transforming lives that was the main factor and thought process of opening up Andon Aesthetics after becoming board certified in aesthetic medicine in order to provide patients the best aesthetic procedures and results on the principle of honesty, ethics, and morality, always endeavoring to provide patients with what they need to look and feel younger without compromising or risking their well-being.
Through Andon Aesthetics I am able to provide and specialize in cutting edge as well as tried and true aesthetics procedures for patients to provide them with the best results in order to look and feel younger and refreshed. I am known for and specialize in facial analysis and balancing as well as a comprehensive approach that includes all areas of aging in order to provide the appropriate aesthetic procedures to obtain not only the results you’re looking for but also to look and feel younger on the inside and out. What sets me apart from others is my approach to patients, not only in developing a rapport with them but also recommending only what they need to look and feel younger while taking into consideration their desired results as they set out on their journey of looking and feeling younger. My motto is that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and your journey starts with choosing the best and right procedures to get you looking and feeling younger. I am most proud of how I can provide full facial balancing and rejuvenation using various products like fillers, biostimulators, PRP/PRF, exosomes, PDO threads, and neuromodulators, to name a few, as well as lasers, microneedling, and peels, in addition to other areas like the neck, chest and hands. I am also proud of the fact that your journey and visit does not just start and stop in the office but continues after you go home with skin care products that I provide and recommend in order to maintain that look. I pride myself in recommending only procedures and products that work and provide real results. I have tried and tested each product and procedure that I provide, which gives me better insight into recommending things for my patients as well as providing them with the best recommendations possible. I am also proud of providing real world results on my social media pages to show people what real results look like, I do not photoshop or enhance anything and all my patients before and after photographs are taken in the same setting, lighting and positions in order to show real world results for realistic expectations. I like to say that you should look enhanced, younger, and fresh, and the best compliments I get are when my patients tell me that their friends and family ask if they had something done because they look younger, but they can’t tell that anything was done. I would like your readers to know that I provide everything from simple to advanced aesthetic procedures that I tailor to each patient in order to achieve the best results possible.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Starting a business from scratch was a challenge. Everything from remodeling my office to represent the feeling of safety and an inviting feeling to make patients feel comfortable during their visits to making a name for myself in order to get patients was a challenge in the beginning, and as that struggle was improving, COVID-19 hit and affected us as it did many people and businesses. The pandemic was a large hurdle and struggle to get through, especially while maintaining a safe environment for patients with the mandates during the height of the pandemic, the business struggled to stay open with less patients wanting to have procedures done, understandably so, but now that we have luckily come out the other end of it we have had a resurgence of our loyal patients as well as new patients and are grateful for them and continue to maintain a safe and inviting environment for people in order to serve their needs.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

If I could go back I would absolutely choose the same profession and specialty as I have a passion for it and love what I can do for my patients and the self esteem I can provide them with looking and feeling younger and refreshed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.andonaesthetics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andonaesthetics
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AndonAesthetics
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AestheticsAndon
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/andon-aesthetics-los-angeles
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@andonaesthetics