Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Tabiza. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

Scaling a business rarely happens overnight, even though it can look that way from the outside. What people usually see is the moment something starts gaining momentum. What they don’t see are the years spent experimenting, refining, making mistakes, and slowly building the foundation that eventually allows the business to grow.

For me, scaling started with identifying my zone of genius. Both personally and within the business itself, you have to become very clear about what you do exceptionally well. When you focus your time and energy on the area where you bring the most value, growth becomes much more natural. It’s very difficult to scale something you’re mediocre at, but it’s much easier to scale something you are deeply skilled in and passionate about.

Once you understand that core strength, the next step is building around it. That may mean bringing in team members who have specialized skills that complement your own. Businesses scale when they develop a clear identity and expertise that people recognize and trust.

In a world where customers have endless choices, standing out is essential. Every successful business has something that makes it memorable. Maybe it’s the most beautiful and thoughtfully designed space. Maybe it’s exceptional technical expertise. Maybe it’s a unique offering that no one else provides. Sometimes it’s a combination of all of these. But the common thread is that people talk about businesses that feel different. When you create something distinctive, your customers naturally become your advocates.

Another critical piece of scaling is learning how to market yourself and your business. Even the best product or service cannot grow if people don’t know it exists. Many entrepreneurs underestimate how important marketing strategy is. Understanding how to communicate your value, tell your story, and consistently put your business in front of the right audience is one of the most powerful growth tools available.

The middle phase of building a business is often messy. There are pivots, experiments, failures, and constant learning. But over time, if you remain focused on your strengths, surround yourself with the right people, create a brand that stands out, and commit to learning how to promote your work, the growth begins to compound.

What looks like “overnight success” is usually the result of years spent refining the vision, strengthening the systems, and steadily building something worth talking about.

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?

My professional path began in healthcare as an optometrist, but my entrepreneurial journey expanded naturally into aesthetics, wellness, and technology. Throughout my career I’ve been deeply interested in building businesses that sit at the intersection of medicine, innovation, and personal transformation.

Long before aesthetics became a business for me, beauty rituals were simply a part of my life. From a young age, I paid close attention to caring for my skin, my health, and my body. I’ve always been fascinated by the details of how people maintain vitality and confidence over time. What started as personal curiosity eventually turned into a much deeper exploration of aesthetics, wellness, and longevity.

As I began learning more about the science and technology behind modern aesthetic treatments, I became increasingly fascinated by the tools and devices being developed to help people look and feel their best. The deeper I went into the field, the more I realized that this wasn’t just a personal interest — it was something I felt compelled to build a business around.

Today my work spans several businesses across healthcare, technology, and aesthetics. I founded a luxury aesthetics and wellness practice focused on treatments that support longevity, skin health, and body confidence. In parallel, I co-founded Dr. Contact Lens, a technology platform that helps eye care practices automate contact lens ordering, improve patient retention, and generate significant revenue through better systems and data insights.

Across all of my ventures, the common thread is building systems that solve real problems. In aesthetics, that means helping patients access advanced treatments that improve their confidence and well-being. In healthcare technology, it means creating tools that help doctors run more efficient and profitable practices.

What sets my work apart is that it comes from the perspective of someone who has been both the practitioner and the builder. I understand the clinical side of medicine, but I also think deeply about systems, branding, and how businesses scale. That combination allows me to approach industries differently and identify opportunities where traditional models may have overlooked innovation.

What I’m most proud of is building businesses that create real value — whether that’s helping a patient feel more confident in their own skin, helping a doctor run a more successful practice, or building platforms that reshape how services are delivered in an industry.

For anyone discovering my work for the first time, the most important thing to know is that I believe modern beauty, health, and business are all connected. Confidence, innovation, and thoughtful design can transform both how people feel about themselves and how industries evolve. My goal has always been to build companies that operate at that intersection.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.

Yes, I did purchase my first business early in my career. I was still in my twenties at the time, but I already knew one thing very clearly: I wanted to work for myself. Instead of starting completely from scratch, I decided to look for an established practice owned by someone who was preparing to retire.

My goal wasn’t to find something perfect or fully modernized. In fact, I expected to reshape the business into my own vision. What mattered more was that the practice had strong fundamentals: a good reputation, years of community presence, and a loyal patient base. I was looking for a business with good bones that I could build upon.

The acquisition process itself was both exciting and humbling. Taking over an established business means inheriting not only the systems and infrastructure, but also the expectations of long-time clients. When I stepped in and began modernizing the practice, it created a noticeable shift. The clinic transitioned from a traditional, old-school family style practice into something much more modern and boutique. We introduced new services, elevated the aesthetic environment, and focused on creating a luxury patient experience.

That transition wasn’t entirely smooth. In the first phase after the acquisition, we lost about 30% of the existing patient base. Some long-time patients simply preferred the way the practice had operated before, and a change in leadership and style can feel disruptive.

However, what happened next is something many entrepreneurs experience during transformation: while some people leave, new people begin to arrive who are aligned with the new vision. As we refined the practice and clarified our positioning, we began attracting a different type of patient who was specifically looking for the elevated, modern approach we were creating.

Throughout that period, I never doubted the long-term outcome. I believed strongly in the level of care I was providing and trusted that word of mouth would eventually build momentum. Over time, that belief proved correct as the practice stabilized and continued to grow.

Looking back, purchasing an existing business was one of the best decisions I could have made early in my career. It provided a foundation of revenue and infrastructure while still allowing me to reshape the business into something uniquely my own. For entrepreneurs

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When it comes to building an audience on social media, there is always an early phase that I call the “study period.” Before trying to grow quickly, it’s important to observe what people in your industry are responding to. I spent time looking closely at how information was being shared, what formats people engaged with, and what audiences were actually looking for from aesthetic providers.

One of the biggest things I noticed is that every platform behaves very differently, and your content has to adapt to that.

For example, TikTok is a platform that thrives on personal storytelling and authenticity. People want to feel like they are connecting with a real person. My approach there became much more personal. I would bring people along with me when I tried treatments, talk about my own experiences with skincare and wellness, or sit in my car and break down the differences between trending treatments. That more intimate, conversational style worked well because TikTok is designed for one-to-one connection.

Instagram and Facebook function differently. They are much more visual platforms where people are scrolling quickly and deciding within seconds whether something catches their attention. For those channels, we focused more on strong visuals like before-and-after images, clean educational graphics, and short text overlays that communicate a clear idea quickly. The goal there is to stop the scroll and make the information easy to understand.

Another important piece is showing the personality of your brand. Highlighting your team, your office environment, your aesthetic style, and the overall feel of your practice helps people understand who you are and what makes your business unique.

The biggest piece of advice I give to businesses starting out is this: marketing is one of the most important investments you can make. I see many businesses underestimate the power of the platforms available to them. Social media gives you direct access to your audience, but it requires consistency, experimentation, and patience. Building an audience doesn’t happen overnight, but if you dedicate time to understanding the platforms and sharing meaningful content, it can become one of the most powerful growth tools for your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www,totalbodyaesthetics.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/totalbodyaestheticsla
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalbodyaestheticslosangeles
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/jenntabiza

Image Credits

From total body aesthetics, my medical spa