Starting a successful medical practice requires more than just knowledge of the medical treatments themselves. It requires business acumen, financial planning, and marketing expertise. While medical practice startups are one of the most difficult and generally require significant investments, the banking industry is a key partner that can provide financing for equipment, materials and more. Opening a medical practice is an exciting and challenging venture and with the right business plan and marketing strategies, you can build a successful practice to provide high quality services to patients.
This month we are featuring Megan McKiver, owner of Restoration Room, who opened her practice in January with the drive to provide a more holistic approach to skincare and wellness. Restoration room focuses on lifestyle, nutrition, mental wellness, cellular health, and minimally invasive aesthetic skin treatments to help clients reach their skin goals.
What is your background and how did you initially get into healthcare?
My grounding question has always been “How can I best serve my community”. While it may have been less eloquently articulated in my younger years, it has remained the driving question as to how I make my decisions in life. I have my doctorate degree as a Nurse Practitioner, dual specialized in adult and geriatric medicine. I spent all my 8 nursing years working in critical care in Phoenix, AZ. I loved that time and gained so much knowledge regarding clinical experience as well as confidence, autonomy & setting the bar high for myself. I eventually got to a point in which I felt that I could offer more with an advanced degree. I attended the doctoral program at Arizona State University and became a Hospitalist at UNMC in 2016. I continued to have more professional growth than I ever imagined thanks to an amazing support system, however, once I had my second child, I realized the hospital schedule no longer worked for my family. I began working at a private clinic in town, which quickly led me into the world of aesthetics. I questioned whether this would offer the same sense of pride and fulfillment of service, and to my surprise, it offered so much more. I found that I was meeting people who were seeking help – often they weren’t even certain what exactly for – and it allowed me a platform to not only improve their confidence aesthetically but to delve deeper into their overall wellness. I knew early on in this change that this was how I was meant to serve others.
What interested you in starting your own practice?
As they say, when one door closes, another one opens. The owners of the clinic I was working in decided to close the doors and get out of the medical field entirely. I knew I wanted to continue practicing in the world of aesthetics, but I had a very particular subset of skills and passion that didn’t exactly fit with any other clinic. I had an extensive traditional medical background, training, and experience, a passion for lifestyle medicine, and an internal draw to help others gain confidence by optimizing the way they both look and feel. I knew that to practice in a way that felt authentic to me, without the pressure to sell, it would suit me best to be self-employed. So began the dreaming process of possibilities.
When did you open your practice and what services do you provide?
I just officially opened my practice, Restoration Room, in January 2023. My services are currently based on regenerative aesthetics, meaning treatments that utilize our body’s own capabilities to work towards our goals whether that be anti-aging (lines/wrinkles, skin laxity, pigmentation, dullness, etc.), healing (scarring, irritation, redness, etc.), acne or cellulite. I’m passionate about keeping a person looking like themselves, but a more optimized version of themselves, which is why I focus on these methods of treatment over heavy fillers. These goals are reached through several different avenues including laser therapy, skin resurfacing and tightening, body sculpting for cellulite, fat loss and skin tightening, hydrodermabrasion, botox and limited dermal fillers if indicated. I love incorporating topical exosomes (concentrated nanovesicles derived from stem cells) where able or indicated to further enhance results. While appointments are initially made with an aesthetic goal in mind, I do spend a significant amount of time focusing on lifestyle such as nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and sleep, as I firmly believe that these factors that determine our cellular health, are at the basis of our wellbeing and that includes our skin health.
What would you tell someone who is considering opening their own practice?
Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. If you have a grounding purpose, it makes decision-making much easier. If you think working for yourself will be less stressful, you are likely wrong, the stressors are just different. I thought I’d be my dream boss, but I can be surprisingly difficult.
What do you have envisioned for the future in terms of growth and expansion?
I have short-term and long-term growth plans. In the shorter term, likely 2 years or less, I would like to get a storefront and add some camaraderie with an aesthetician or massage therapist, and maybe even another advanced practice provider. During this time, I’d also like to incorporate more clinic-based care including a metabolic health and cellular optimization program that assists people in not only living longer but being vibrant and healthy during those long years. A part of being vibrant during those years of course includes optimizing our confidence as we age, and aesthetic services are an important part of that. In the longer term, I’d say 5-10 years, I envision creating a community of like-minded people who are enthusiastic about working towards a long and healthy life, supporting each other in the process, and serving the community through knowledge-sharing. I envision a spa-like setting that offers a wide variety of services – a meeting place for coffee or wine with friends in front of a fireplace – a small kitchen for healthy cooking classes – a shared fitness space hosting local instructors – a MedSpa for many of the services I currently offer, and those I will add in the future- a medical clinic with a focus on lifestyle management, preventative care and anti-aging treatments – the luxuries of a spa including jacuzzi, steam room, cold plunge, meditation space, etc. – hair and nail salon – retail space featuring local creative makers, high-end medical grade skincare and wellness products- and more. I have visited so many beautiful spas as it’s one of my favorite past-times and I want to echo the feeling of spending a full day in a spa but offer it in Omaha. I would hope this would not only serve the local community but entice visitors from out of town to come to spend a day at Restoration Room.
Why did you begin your relationship with Core Bank and what features do you like about the service and products?
After seeking advice from other entrepreneurs in the community, I was repeatedly directed to Core Bank for their open-mindedness and enthusiasm for working with startups. Coming to a bank and telling strangers about your dreams can be incredibly intimidating – I can honestly say I was immediately put at ease and felt like I was talking to supportive friends. I was asked the right questions to direct my path, given honest financing advice, was offered genuine enthusiasm for my ideas and was put into contact with numerous people in the community that might be able to offer me insight and advice into my specific business. While these may not be services or products that can be listed on a website, they are much more meaningful. With that being said, they have also filled the more obvious roles – seamlessly set me up with all of the banking accounts I will need and directed me through best practices along the way.
What makes you happiest about working with Core Bank?
It has to be the people – this is something that can make or break any business (and within minutes), and in my experience, the Core Bank family has nailed it. They recognize that people are often coming to them in a somewhat vulnerable state and rather than pouncing on that, they genuinely seem like they are joining your team. I simply don’t think that can be beat. Competitive rates, business money market accounts, a small-town feel, and a beautiful welcoming environment don’t hurt either.
So if you’re in the midst of or considering starting a new medical practice, you likely feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into it. At Core Bank, unique needs require unique solutions, and our Relationship Managers are here to advocate and advise because our business is your business.
Markie Lowry, CMPE
Assistant Vice President, Core Bank Healthcare Relationship Manager