For information only. Not meant as advice in any form. Please consult your medical professional or lawyer.
Opening a medical spa business comes with the need to invest a large amount of capital and a lot of guts to take the leap. Medical aesthetics has grown to be a lucrative industry. But it also has unique hurdles with all the needed certifications and equipment since it also operates similar to medical practice. Clearing the path towards starting your med spa might be a huge financial ordeal, but it isn’t impossible once you’ve learned the numbers you need.
So how much does it cost to open a med spa? The amount you’ll need to prepare for opening your medical spa depends on different factors, like its location, size of business, range of services, and more. You may need a minimum cost of $62, which only covers your business license, to a maximum of $35,923, giving you an average amount of $19,267. It may even reach $700,000 to $1,000,000 for luxurious med spa services.
How Much Do You Need to Start Your Medical Spa?
The medical spa or med spa industry is on the rise today as more people are becoming confident in undergoing different aesthetic treatments, from laser treatments to cosmetic injectables like dermal filler and Botox procedures. Because of this, many healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs are considering a business venture involving these in-demand aesthetic treatments.
But unlike other businesses, the medical spa industry offers more hurdles for an aspiring spa owner, with its nuances of traditional spas and medical services. You’d have to clear permits, certifications, and standards of services not only in legalities and business but also clinically — you’d need a decent investment for that.
The average cost of opening a medical spa business is $19,267, with a minimum of $62 and a maximum of $35,923. Those with big luxurious medical spa treatments and broader services may even reach $700,000 and $1,000,000.
The capital you’re going to prepare must be enough for start-up costs to secure your license and permit you to operate as a business, both in legal and clinical aspects. You must also prepare funds for maintenance costs to keep your medical spa business running. These essential elements must be indicated in your business plan.
Start-Up Costs
You’d need to secure your investment for starting your med spa business and settle the requirements, permits, equipment, and construction. You need enough funds to declare your business, consult a lawyer, establish your website, and build your clinic.
1. Declaring Your Business
Before you can operate your medical spa as a business that offers different aesthetic treatments, you must first declare your business as an entity. This means you must secure your permits from the federal and state laws.
Declaring your business as an LLC or corporation can cost $5 to $500. Securing optional permits and licenses range from $50 to $700. You might also include in your business plan the insurance fees to protect your medical spa, amounting from $500 to $2000.
2. Consulting a Lawyer
The medical spa industry has more specific laws and policies than other businesses, so you should consult a lawyer adept with these regulations. You may expect lawyer fees to cost up to $1500.
3. Building a Website
Some med spa businesses overlook their online presence. But it might actually be their best shot at attracting clients and driving growth into their medical spa, especially when most processes are done online. Here’s how building a website may cost:
- Domain name: $12 to $200
- Website hosting: $0 to $300
- Business email hosting services: $1 to $15
- Website builder: $10 to $500
- Web designer: $200 to $6000
4. Building Your Clinic
Your clinic is where all your med spa services happen. If you’ve reviewed the concept in your business plan, you’d find that medical spas aren’t just about providing aesthetic treatments — it’s an experience, like a traditional day spa. But you also need to be strict with its design to accommodate your equipment safely since your business has similarities to a medical practice. You might want to prepare the following costs:
- Construction (per square foot): $90 to $130
- Signage: $75 to $2,486
5. Securing Equipment
It’s one thing to have highly-trained healthcare professionals to conduct med spa services, but investing in high-quality equipment will secure your business. The medical spa industry offers a wealth of equipment, from laser treatments and laser hair removal to dermal filler and body contouring solutions.
Equipment, like facial machines, trolleys, supplies, furniture, and other essential elements may cost an average of $30 per square foot. This may even go higher if you’re planning to offer a more expensive medical spa service with more advanced and higher quality tools and machines for your beauty treatments and procedures.
Maintenance Costs
Aside from securing your start-up costs, you should also allot a budget for recurring or maintenance costs — these are the expenses you need to settle continuously or the costs that operate your medical spa service. These include rent, salary, and utilities. You might also need software subscriptions, marketing fees, operation, and training.
1. Rent
An aspiring spa owner must also include rent in their business plan. For medical spas, choosing the best location is key for a thriving business, but it might come with a hefty price. You might find multiple locations in your area that might also be beneficial if you search more thoroughly.
Rent for businesses may go as high as $80,000, like in New York, or $1,000, like in Florida.
2. Salary
To establish your spa’s credibility, you might also want to hire highly-trained healthcare professionals to perform your medical spa treatments. Make sure the physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or any other medical professional you’re going to hire is experienced in conducting cosmetic procedures. Every medical spa is also required to have a medical director or a licensed physician to supervise the clinic.
The salary for medical aestheticians may go from $10 to $26 per hour, depending on location, experience, and more. A nurse practitioner has an hourly rate of around $27 to $47 in the med spa industry, while a massage therapist has $14 to $34 compensation.
You may allot an average of $20 per hour for a spa manager, with a range of $14 to $29. When listing your budget, you should consider the size of your business and employees and gauge how much you’ll spend for compensation.
3. Software Subscriptions
Like many businesses today, your med spa will need to invest in software subscriptions to make your processes faster, more organized, and convenient. This involves CRM services, payroll, IT support, and more. Here’s the cost to expect for each month:
- Payroll: $200
- CRM: $300
- IT support: $2000
- Account and invoicing: $0 to $50
- Internal communications: $0 to $20
4. Marketing Fees
Aside from building your domain, you might want to allot a considerable budget for monthly marketing fees to establish brand awareness and attract more customers. It might not be time and cost-efficient to set up your marketing team when you’re just about to open your med spa. You might want to seek an expert marketing team, costing around $2000 to $10,000 per month.
5. Training
You should also invest in training staff and professionals performing medical spa treatments. Whether you’re training them upon hiring or to become updated on the tools and techniques in the med spa industry, this is a worthy investment to drive growth in your clinic. You may invest around $581 for training per medical professional.
Browse Our Catalog Today at FACE Med Store for Medical Aesthetic Supplies and Training Packages
The expenses for opening a medical spa business are costly. But it’s not impossible once you’ve estimated how much you need and do the necessary steps to set the opening of your medical spa in motion. When opening a medical spa, thoroughly weighing your options is crucial, down to the smallest yet just as essential elements, like with your supplies.
Investing in high-quality yet competitively-priced beauty and health supplies is a must for med spas to thrive in the industry. FACE Med Store offers everything you’ll need in your beauty business. We’re a trusted partner of many practices for delivering supplies for their aesthetic and medical services. You may browse our catalog today to check out more items.
