00:00:04:06 – 00:00:58:12
Welcome to Shorr Solutions: The Podcast. I’m your host, Jay Shorr. I’m the CEO and founder of Shorr Solutions, a national and award-winning consulting firm, assisting aesthetic and surgical practices with their operational, administrative and financial success. I have an amazing team of practice management experts and clients across the U.S. and as an industry expert with firsthand experience owning a multi-million-dollar cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery practice.
Listen in as I lend you my expertise and best tips to successfully manage and grow your aesthetic practice. I will also be bringing in guests along the way, so get ready to be equipped to operate your aesthetic practice strategically and profitably. Welcome to Shorr Solutions: The Podcast.
00:00:58:13 – 00:02:13:02
Jay Shorr
Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Shorr Solutions: The Podcast.
I am your host, Jay Shorr. I am the founder and CEO of Shorr Solutions, an international practice management consulting firm specializing in the operational, administrative and financial health and guidance of your aesthetic and cosmetic practice. Today, I have the wonderful opportunity of speaking with three of our clients, and we’re going to discuss on when to choose a consultant for your aesthetic practice.
My guest today, I don’t know where they will be on your screen, so I will ask each one of you when I call your name, just to raise your hand and smile. Danielle Oyasu. All right. Danielle is a nurse practitioner from Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Caroline Vargason from Boise, Idaho. And Dr. Vargason is an oculofacial plastic surgeon.
And lastly, Shannon Synoracki, who is a physician assistant, physician associate. Depending upon where you are. And she is located in Ashburn, Virginia. So I would like to welcome you and thank you to my three clients here on the podcast today. We’re going to go through a series of questions and answers. So our topic is going to be when to choose a consultant for your aesthetic practice.
00:02:13:03 – 00:05:16:21
Jay Shorr
So the first question I have, and we’ll start with Danielle. When did you first think about using a consultant?
Danielle Oyasu
It’s funny, I really didn’t even know what a consultant did or what they were. I actually ran into Shannon at a conference and we started talking and I knew that I needed help desperately. I was approaching kind of making our first maybe million, and I knew that was a lot of money. And I knew that I had some decisions to make as far as purchasing and planning in general.
There was definitely a lack of plan going on with our organization, I should say. So Shannon and I started talking and she mentioned Shorr Solutions, and I just stopped her and I said, Wait back up. What are you talking about? Who is this? And she described what you did for her and how much it helped. And right that in there I was basically like, please give me the number immediately.
I’m calling them Monday. So that’s where that started. And it’s been wonderful.
Jay Shorr
All right. Thank you. So let’s flip over to Shannon and thank you for that. Shannon, how did you first go about finding a consultant?
Shannon Synoracki
So I have worked for several medspas in the past and I worked for some that had consultants and I worked for some that did not. And I felt that the ones that had consultants had a different level of organization and I have no background in business whatsoever. So when I even thought about wanting to start a practice, I had no idea where, and actually found Shorr Solutions through a podcast and reached out.
And I’d say about three months before I really opened doors is when we started to meet and started to get things going and I’ve just been working with them ever since.
Jay Shorr
Okay. Dr. Vargason
Dr. Caroline Vargason
So, I first set out to look for a consultant on Google about a year before I met you, Jay, and I had a colleague who had recently purchased and opened a plastic surgery practice locally here in Boise and had used a local consultancy. So I heard of that term, but they did not have what I was looking for at the time, which was a feasibility and productivity analysis and all that kind of project.
And I was working independently at a friend’s office at the time, aiming to open my own office, but not really knowing exactly how to go about that. And this was the summer of 2020 when things had just started opening back up from the pandemic. So I Googled ophthalmology consultancy and worked with a nationally known consulting firm that I had a great experience with.
They did a productivity feasibility analysis and then I got busy with my practice, was totally burnt out and went to the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery meeting where I heard Jay speak.
Jay Shorr
And the rest was history from there, right?
Dr. Caroline Vargason
The rest was history, yes.
Jay Shorr
I remember you were one of the students in one of my classes and you grabbed me outside of the room, which a lot of people do directly after your lecture. But then they have to go and get to the next lecture. So it’s very, very difficult sometimes to get a lot going.
00:05:16:21 – 00:09:30:02
Jay Shorr
So what was the reason, you know, when you first went about it? What were the compelling reasons that you hired your consultant? Danielle
Danielle Oyasu
Based a lot of financial decisions, regulatory compliance, processs. After our first meeting, I knew that you were the person that I needed in my life because you mentioned all of those things and basically asked me, you know, what is your plan? Do you have these things in place? What purchases are you prepared to make? Have you negotiated those purchases, things like that, that the answers to all of those questions were no.
So I knew you were the right person for me. You know, you described your experience with running a very, very successful plastic surgery clinic. And all of those things kind of came into play as far as what my decision was going with Shorr Solutions. So for me, the decision was pretty easy because I was so lost and just felt alone out on an island and I knew that I needed someone in my corner that was going to go to bat for me on multiple levels.
Jay Shorr
Now, you already had a practice, though. Okay. Differently. We’re going to get to this about a new practice with Shannon and Dr. Vargason. So how already having a practice, What did you think you were missing?
Danielle Oyasu
I kind of had an accidental success. Basically, I started treating friends and family, and it just snowballed from there. And I was completely not prepared for what was coming down the pipe. And like I said, dealing with a lot more money coming in and did not know how to manage any of it. So I knew that I was lacking in all of those things.
I wish I would have started from the beginning with a consultant, but like I said, I hadn’t planned on opening my own practice per se. But as things got more successful and I found that I loved doing what I was doing, you know, that’s how that decision was made for me somewhat. So, you know, I wish I would have started from the beginning the right way.
Jay shorr
All right, Dr. Vargason, you had already been out as a practicing surgeon already. You were already working with another group. Let’s explain why you felt you needed the consultant when it came time to open your own practice.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
I echo Danielle in saying I felt at that point that I met you, lost and alone on an island. And I attended this business series of lectures where I heard a group of lecturers talk about the practice and the vision that I wanted. I had no idea how to go about that. And the lecture that you gave that made me go up and talk to you, which is actually very out of my character.
I don’t really go up and talk to lectures much. It was Ten Horror Stories to Avoid in Practice, and I said, Oh, insert your four letter word of choice. Three of those have happened to me already Three years into practice, I need that person to help me. He knows what he’s talking about. And so I was not sure how to open the practice I wanted, but I knew I had a vision to take care of patients well, and all these things that were ideas that were being presented in lectures. I just had no idea how to do that.
Jay Shorr
All right. And Shannon, let’s hear your story. I know that we took this from the very beginning day one. So let’s hear what led up to that.
Shannon Synoracki
I think just knowing that I have no business background whatsoever, you know, I went to school for medicine and that’s one thing to be working for another practice. And they have everything taking care of, you know, on the back end of things. But when you’re branching out on your own, that’s a very different story and it’s scary. And so I wanted that support and guidance, but I actually didn’t realize how much I didn’t know until starting to talk with Jay.
And like Danielle mentioned, all the questions you had asked, what did you think about this? Do you have this set up? What happens if your employee does this or he always does give the worst case scenarios, but because he has also experienced many of these horror stories, as he likes to say. So he provided a lot of guidance for me and it was more to make sure I’m doing things correctly, that I have all the systems in place that I am compliant.
And just to have someone that’s in your corner to help with negotiations and just to give you some guidance. Your experience has been very helpful.
00:09:30:03 – 00:11:22:16
Jay Shorr
Now, was price a factor when it came to hiring a consultant? knowing that you felt lost, you felt alone, you’re saying. So, did you have a budget in place that was important to you Shannon?
Shannon Synoracki
At first, when you’re looking to hire a consultant, I had no idea how much that might cost. And so I was a little shocked at first. But then when you factor in all of the benefits of it, it’s well worth the money.
Jay Shorr
All right. Dr. Vargason, was price a factor to you?
Dr. Caroline Vargason
To put it plainly, no. I knew that I had worked with several professionals, the other consultancy attorneys, accountants, and that level of service provided me with education growth and the services that I needed for my business. And I had been in a business situation where we didn’t share the same long term visions. It didn’t end well. It ended in a legal dispute and that was a lot of money.
And so I thought if there was somebody that could provide value and teaching to me for that money, that would be well worth my education to avoid future issues and set things up correctly in my business. So I also didn’t have a budget that was something I don’t have a background in business. It was something I’ve had to learn along the way.
And so I just said I need help. And how much does it cost?
Jay Shorr
Danielle was price a consideration?
Danielle Oyasu
I mean, price is always going to be a consideration and any decision that you make, obviously. But in discussing with my husband, I remember him saying, you can’t afford not to do this at this point. You’re about to embark on a lot of costly mistakes. I had already made some costly mistakes, so I knew that more were going to be coming my way if I did not take this step.
So for me, it was kind of a no brainer because at that point I knew it was going to save me much more money in the long run.
00:11:22:16 – 00:13:06:11
Jay Shorr
So was hiring a consultant that had run a large practice in the past a consideration for you in hiring a consultant, Danielle?
Danielle Oyasu
Yes, absolutely. And when you described your experience to me, I knew that like you said, you had made mistakes yourself. You had struggled through some of the same things that I was going through. You had hired multiple people in your organization, and I knew that that was going to be very helpful for sure.
Jay shorr
Dr. Vargason, same question.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
Yes. That was one of the most important factors, I think, in my decision. Thinking back, even as tired and burnt out as I was, I think I understood your experience that was conveyed clearly both from the lectures and our consultation, where you asked a lot of questions, which I enjoy that style of putting together the facts and coming up with decisions.
And so, yes, your experience was the main reason I wanted to bring you on board and learn from you.
Jay Shorr
All right. How about you, Shannon? Was it a difference in an opinion to you for someone that had run a very large, successful surgical practice, which included a medspa versus someone that comes out and does marketing, a lot of my colleagues or marketing consultants or just were in a med spa was a better consideration coming from a surgical and medical practice versus just a medspa.
Shannon Synoracki
Yes. I think you had the most experience out of any of the consultants that I looked into and researched. And just knowing that you had that extensive background in multiple practices over the years and just your expertise within the industry was definitely a large factor in me choosing to go with Shorr Solutions.
00:13:06:12 – 00:15:16:03
Jay shorr
All right. So another question, which is very, very important, was being a national award-winning consultant a factor in hiring a consultant? We have won the National Practice Management of the Year award in 2018, 2019. They didn’t award it in 2020, then again in 2021, and then through 2023 with another organization. And I’m proud to say that I was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award through Informa Market, The Aesthetic Show, Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Show in 2021.
Was that an important factor, knowing that you were hiring a company that had been nationally recognized in the organization, Dr. Vargason?
Dr. Caroline Vargason
I think it was the icing on the cake. It wasn’t. I think you had already credentialed yourself and Shorr Solutions as being experienced. And some time after my consultation and before we officially started working together, there was a vote that I received, being on your email list. And I said, Oh, I’m going to vote for them. I think that they do know what they’re doing, and Shorr Solutions deserves this award, but it wasn’t part of my initial decision. I’d have to say.
Jay Shorr
How about you, Shannon? Was it an important decision for you hiring a nationally award-winning consulting team recognized in the industry?
Shannon Synoracki
It wasn’t a deciding factor in going with Shorr Solutions, but it definitely gave me a lot of peace of mind knowing that and after I think I was already working with you when you did win the Lifetime Achievement Award. So I wasn’t surprised by that at all. And again, it just reiterated everything that I was experiencing and definitely made me happy with my decision.
Jay Shorr
How about you, Danielle?
Danielle Oyasu
I think reputation is always going to come into play when making these kinds of decisions. And I knew, you know, obviously I’d asked around, looked up some of your accolades as well, and obviously it wasn’t the only factor, but it didn’t hurt and it definitely lends to your credentials. So I think more so, your reputation in the business and your longevity in the business was what ultimately made the decision for me.
00:15:16:04 – 00:18:24:10
Jay Shorr
All right. So my next question to each one of you is what items do you use most in your consulting engagement? We’ll start with Dr. Vargason.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
I would say the management of risk of people or human resources management hands down.
Jay Shorr
And secondly, to that.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
Business planning. They’re equal, but the HR seems to always take over.
Jay Shorr
All right, Shannon.
Shannon Synoracki
I extensively take advantage of the financial advice and guidance with the business, whether that’s creating business plans, growth of the practice with profitability and feasibility studies. Actually the payroll, Jay takes care of my payroll, which is a huge weight off of my shoulders. I also use the HR quite a bit. I’ve had the help of their team with hiring some members for my practice and negotiating, I’d say, with vendors has been a big portion that i’ve taken advantage of as well.
Jay Shorr
All right. And, Danielle, how about you?
Danielle Oyasu
All of the above extending offer letters to potential new hires? Onboarding definitely has helped a lot. All of the financial components that Shannon and Caroline mentioned are all the same, not only negotiating with vendors, but negotiating with lenders and explaining the terms of these loans to me, which came as a huge surprise. So, you know, not all loans are created equal, so definitely needed that explanation extensively.
And just what you’re signing up for, you really, really need to look at every single detail of that contract. And coming from no business acumen, I was just ready to sign on the dotted line. Sure, that sounds great. Percentage rate perfect. Let’s do it. And Jay sits down with you and he’s like, Wait a minute, what? Back it up.
What questions you need to be asking are these. And it saved me enormously.
Jay Shorr
How about you, Dr. Vargason? it’s interesting because Shannon mentioned that we do their payroll. Actually, I didn’t choose my team today based on that, but I process payroll for all of you, for all three of the practices that are on this call today. And quite frankly, you can’t get a lesser expense than what we do because we have a very, very big deal with ADP where we get the maximum discount.
And I know you all come from different payrolls. And, you know, the idea is that all you have to do is just submit your hours to me and consider it done. If there are any questions, I won’t process it until I call you back and say something doesn’t look right. Are you sure you want to go with this?
And we discuss how much PTO they’re accruing and how much they’ve taken? Have they already used it? And yes, we do offer the hiring services within. And what was very interesting is that we had taken Shannon from prior to having a location and Dr. Vargason as well in hiring us to negotiate a location. Let’s talk about that for a second.
00:18:24:10 – 00:23:40:08
Jay Shorr
How has it gone opening a practice and then finding a location? How did you find the location? and then how did you find the lease negotiation going? This is going to be a very interesting conversation because I know the details behind that. Shannon, why don’t you start.
Shannon Synoracki
The story, as I could tell about finding a location for a practice. It has been probably the most exhausting part of my journey so far. I think with Jay. I originally had a vision in my mind of where I was going to go, and I had a realtor that I found from a friend and things were just moving so slowly and Jay know, was really good about looking through the contract, trying to negotiate and being realistic and saying, you know, we’re a year in and there’s no negotiations and just really helping me to walk away from a situation that would not have been a good place or a good fit for me.
And so he actually found me a new realtor because he has quite an extensive network and he found me a wonderful team to work with that found my new location. And actually through the lease negotiations with this new location, he really fought back and helped me to get a lot of clarity in the services that I would be able to offer and to make sure that I knew what I was getting into.
But it was also fair in terms of non-competes and just services offered in general, he really was able to work with the landlords and their attorneys and we could all come up with a compromising solution together. So he was really the reason that I got this new location and was able to negotiate a contract that was favorable for myself.
Jay Shorr
You have a similar story, Dr. Vargason, let’s hear that.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
Yeah, So very similar to Shannon. I think in my initial consultation with Jay, we made the plan to find a small office and have me get that office up and running, learn how to run it, and then move on to the next bigger office. When I figured out how to run the office and what I wanted. So that’s what we set out to do.
And since I had been in the Boise area for about three years, I had a good idea without going into detail geographically, where I wanted this office to be and Jay within, I think, 24 hours connected me with a local commercial real estate broker. We looked at the very few available properties and the office I’m in now is one of these properties we looked at, but I remember going through the photos of the office with Jay and he said, Dr. Vargason, what is it that you like about this office? because I don’t like anything. And I said, Jay, this is Boise, Idaho. You can’t be picky. I like the location we can make it look much better. I know somebody. And Jay, one of the things in that negotiation, Jay also taught me very similar steps to what Shannon described, speaking with landlord’s, attorneys and looking at the contract, making sure the terms were favorable.
I think Jay taught me that it would be okay if this office didn’t work out. We would find something else. And I think that was an important part of the negotiation and the learning. So it worked out, but it took, I think, eight months to sign a lease. There was another tenant in the office and then we renovated.
So I learned quite a bit in the process and had a lot of guidance. Additionally, in planning, it was existing office that needed to be renovated. So planning what to put in each room, the office layout. There were long conversations about that and then the build out. So each step there was a lot of guidance based on experience from Shorr Solutions and the team.
Jay Shorr
Thank you. Danielle, we didn’t have to work with any real estate yet, but I know that if you do that, it’ll give you a little bit of comfort knowing that our role is to take away as much of the angst as possible. What services do you use most as with a consultant?
Danielle Oyasu
So what we use most with you is again, the financial component is going over my P&L and finding out why are we spending this much on certain things that probably can be discussed as a negotiation. Just recently I think you had said my workman’s comp policy seemed a little high and you asked me had I opted out, my husband and myself, from the policy and I had no idea what you were talking about because the insurance agency isn’t going to suggest that to you.
So that saved me thousands of dollars. I think every conversation that I have with you saves me money. So it’s like there really is like I said, it’s a no brainer. So we use your payroll services again, just making sure and you’re very fair with our employees, too. You want to make sure they’re taken care of because in the long run that’s going to do everyone a service.
So just making sure that we have their PTO correct, that we’re offering PTO, we’re offering you what our state requires. That was another new nuance for me. I had no idea what the state regulations were as far as that goes. So we also have our office manager meet with Tiffany frequently just to go over different aspects of what’s going on in the office as far as employees, different situations that we have come up. So we use that a lot as well.
00:23:40:09 – 00:24:54:07
Jay Shorr
Okay. Now another question that I have for you is do you feel that having a dedicated client success manager along with me is a benefit to you? Danielle, I’ll start with you because you mentioned Tiffany. Tiffany is one of our Client Success Managers that handles multiple accounts. We have Ana, we have myself, and then we have Denise, who is our Project Manager now, Cristian, who is our Business Analyst. Do you like having a dedicated manager to you along with me, Danielle?
Danielle Oyasu
Yes, I absolutely love working with Tiffany and she has had experience in the business as well. So she’s gone through a lot of these struggles that we’ve gone through also. So we talked to her about inventory management, different ways to control injectables and how we’re keeping track of who’s using what. Different situations as far as how we should use our clinical rooms.
We just consult with Tiffany very often and she has a very good relationship with our office manager as well. So it’s great. And like I said, I had both of your Calendly links, so I can just basically either text you if I need to meet with you or click a link and schedule a meeting. So it’s very, very easy also. The process is easy to get a hold of anyone when I need to.
00:24:54:08 – 00:26:35:07
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00:26:36:08 – 00:28:32:17
Jay Shorr
So. Dr. Vargason, do you feel that having a dedicated client success manager, along with our personal cell phones to call us, to text us at any time. Day, night, weekends, holidays. Does the client success manager dedicated to you, now you actually had two in the history because you’ve had one, Ana, for all the HR and tiffany. So does having a dedicated client success manager. Is that an important factor to you?
Dr. Caroline Vargason
Yes. I think that just generally speaking, the more input, the better. But I think having a dedicated point of contact is very helpful in streamlining communications, scheduling meetings and the scheduling process, as Danielle mentioned, is very easy. We have access to calendars and if there really is something that I need, I do email or text and I get a response and that’s how I run my practice too.
So I think that really aligns with how I like to communicate. And I know just over time that the Shorr Solutions team communicates with each other weekly and so something that I’m communicating to Ana, for example, is conveyed to the whole team.
Jay Shorr
How about you, Shannon?
Shannon Synoracki
Absolutely. I work with Tiffany, and I think just having a different perspective in the industry is really helpful as well. She has been very beneficial and also helping me stay on track in terms of we talked about this, make sure you follow up with Jay, or if she doesn’t know an answer about something, she’ll say, I’ll check with Jay and get back to you.
So it’s good to have at least two points of contact within the team, but to really know that they are working together, you are getting the best of both worlds and that you are supported tremendously is a huge factor in the benefits of working with your team.
Jay Shorr
Many times you will hire a marketing company, for example EMR, website or even a consultant and you are assigned somebody but never have access to the actual head of the company. Is it important to you to always and I mean always have access to me personally, so that if you have any questions that you feel comfortable that you are reaching somebody that’s going to make that final decision versus somebody that has to be asked all the time. Dr. Vargason, let me ask you that.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
Absolutely, Jay. I think that’s very important because I have been in situations of poor communication where, with vendors, for example, there are different transitions and roles and you can’t get ahold of who you need to to make a decision. So the opposite of that is always having access to the communication and information that’s needed.
Jay shorr
All right. How about you, Shannon?
Shannon Synoracki
Absolutely. There’s been a number of times where I’ve had to reach you. And even if you need to reach me, I love that you are quick with communication. And that’s just very reassuring to know that there’s always access.
Jay Shorr
And Danielle.
Danielle Oyasu
Yes. And I would absolutely suggest anyone who’s about to hire a consulting group or a consultant to ask that question. I had worked with a consultant prior to signing up with Shorr Solutions for a short period of time, and I was immediately transferred on to someone I had never met before. And it just wasn’t the type of relationship that I was expecting.
So I know that when you and I first discussed our relationship, that was one of my first questions is who am I going to be meeting with and am I going to have access to you? And I was almost thinking to myself, should I even mention that? Because is this always going to be the same as you grow?
Or does Jay want me to say that I can text him at any time? But that is the truth. Like I can text him at any time and we don’t abuse it, but if there is something that comes up urgently, you know, something with payroll or an HR issue, that needs to be handled immediately, I know that I have that backing.
I will just say this. You are part of their team and you are treated as such. So you’re not being passed on to someone who you’ve never met before. You can have the confidence and knowing that you’re always going to have access to whom you need to, and that’s huge.
Jay Shorr
Is that a benefit to you? You know, and this is nothing against accounting or law firms, but you know that when you have multiple people in a law firm, for example, that you’re dealing with, that you’re being charged for each one of the times of their work or other vendors. Show your feeling, if you would, that when you’re dealing with a consultant like Shorr Solutions that if there are two people on the call, three people on the call it is billed as one person.
It doesn’t matter. You are hiring a team, you’re not hiring a person. Is that a benefit to you as well, Danielle?
Danielle Oyasu
Yes, absolutely. And I like the fact that you all bring different perspectives. So it is very interesting. I know exactly who to go to for which issue. I know that when I’ve got a financial issue or I have to deal with the vendor or loans or anything like that, I know exactly who to ask.
That would be Jay and if I have, you know, anything relationship wise, as far as, like I said, things that come up in the practice, usually that’s Tiffany. Again, if we need to involve Jay, we will. So I love the fact that there’s a team I can text, email Denise at any time if I need a form or, you know, any kind of administrative help.
So, I really do feel like it’s the value is amazing, to be honest, quite honest with you, because, you know, I probably would be dealing with lawyers, accountants, a multitude of people to make this practice work when I can, you know, just kind of go to Shorr Solutions for most of my questions.
00:32:22:01 – 00:35:34:21
Jay Shorr
All right, Dr. Vargason and Shannon, I’ll come to you about having a consultant that will take the heat off of you dealing with third party vendors. All right. If you can share your experience with dealing with third party vendors, that takes the heat off of you.
Dr. Caroline Vargason
I had not dealt with third party vendors until I started to open my practice. So Jay guiding me through that process with his team was very useful. I had worked with Tiffany at the time in looking first at a medical record, something you can do before you open or have a location. And what I learned was from each of the team members of Shorr Solutions, how to speak to these vendors and what information to get out of them.
And the line of questioning mostly came from Shorr Solutions. So it was taking the heat off of me negotiating and asking questions that I learned were very typical. So, for example, what is the exit plan from this vendor? I would not have asked that, just trying to choose a medical record and that and every vendor that we’ve dealt with, there are similar types of lines of questioning. So that was very useful educational.
Jay Shorr
All right. Shannon.
Shannon Synoracki
There’s a difference when you’re meeting with a vendor and they don’t know that you’re working with a consulting team, So they’ll give you a contract and say this is the best price and try to really make it sound like you’re getting such a deal. And I always tell them I’m not signing anything until I meet with my advisors and have them review the contract.
And you can tell immediately that they know that they’re not taking advantage of me, that I have support there. And Jay is very good at saying you can get a better pricing. I have a connection with this team or just, No, that’s a terrible deal. Don’t go with it. Just asking all the questions to make sure, one, that you know what you’re getting into, but two, that you are paying a fair price. With his experience in the industry, he knows these different third party vendors and the reputation that some of these companies have. And so I won’t sign a contract unless Jay reviews it.
Jay Shorr
I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle in person for the first time. We’ve been speaking for a year and a half on different types of Zoom and Teams meetings and things like that. With the team and everything. And you know, I don’t always get to meet people that, you know, we deal with. Everything is remote. But one thing I said to her last week at The Aesthetics Show and she’s looking at a piece of equipment, I’m not going to name the equipment she was looking at, but I kept saying to her, Danielle, remember, where are your handcuffs?
All right. She look like what? I said. Remember, I put handcuffs on all of my clients that, like Shannon just said, you’re not allowed to buy anything until we review the contract. I did a wonderful lecture on negotiating skills, and one of the things I say is don’t ever be afraid to walk away from the deal. Don’t get caught up in a lot of these show specials.
I do a dozen shows a year, so there’s always going to be another special that I can get you.
00:35:34:22 – 00:39:19:12
Jay Shorr
My last question, similar to what we’re doing right now, Podcasts, do you find that podcasts that we do, you know and send to you and that are on all the different podcast episodes? Are they of value to you, Danielle, and if so, why? And what topics are there that excite you about it?
Danielle Oyasu
I actually love the podcasts. I kind of use them in the morning while I’m getting ready to just get myself excited for my day. There’s so many topics. How do I pick one that I’ve loved that you’ve done. Employee relationships and HR Issues? There’s just always something you can brush up on. I’ll go through if i’m sitting on an airplane, you know, I’ll just go back a year ago and kind of just start brushing up on some of the older episodes. I really do utilize those and it’s a huge value to me.
Jay Shorr
Dr. Vargason, I know you do because you quote my lines right back to me every time we meet. All right. So it’s so funny. What excites you about the podcast and what are the topics that you choose to listen to?
Dr. Caroline Vargason
I’ve listened to most of the podcasts and I find all of the topics helpful, but I think the most engaging to me are the guests interviews. So hearing another perspective and just listening to what others in the industry have to say, I think that the Shorr Solutions podcast is very generalizable to other businesses, even outside of the aesthetic and plastic surgery industry.
And so I’ve learned a lot from all of the topics, from the boringness of compliance and HR to how to motivate your team.
Jay Shorr
So a lot of them aren’t sexy. I will tell you. But what they are is informative about real life situations and how to protect you, from you, In spite of you. And lastly, Shannon.
Shannon Synoracki
I am a big fan of podcasts and I do listen to yours quite regularly. I think it gives your perspective on the industry and your expertise and you talk about a wide variety of topics. It’s not just HR It’s not just financials. And I think any business owner, especially within our industry, it’s important to stay up to date and to listen to these resources that we have, especially because they’re free, but because you really do have extensive knowledge and have been through it yourself. So it’s very helpful.
Jay Shorr
Yeah. The fact that they’re free. My point is to educate the community and if it happens to engage in somebody’s hiring because they like what we have to say, then that’s fine. You know, I’m on faculty at Florida Atlantic University. I teach in the College of Executive Education on medical business management. And as Danielle said, it’s more than just a topic, you know, and Dr. Vargason touched on it, it’s not just medical.
You can really use these topics in anything you do. The idea, this is actually the first time that I’ve had three clients on there to share their experience about hiring a consultant. It’s not a sales pitch, but I really want people to be engaged and understanding that this relates to any business. We just happen to be in the medical business.
But a consultant, whether you hire a specialist, which I really urge you to do, I urge everybody, if you’re going to hire a consultant, don’t hire a generalist. It’s like I wouldn’t have my family practice doctor doing my knee replacement or, you know, I wouldn’t have my cardiologist doing my knee. But I was going to say, doing my Botox, but everybody’s doing Botox today. So that’s a really bad example.
00:39:19:12 – 00:41:49:15
Jay shorr
So in conclusion, Danielle, what would you like to tell anybody listening about, you know, your experiences and the saving of the money and having a virtual executive management team, you know, at your disposal.
Danielle Oyasu
The experience has been invaluable. Honestly, it has saved me so much money. It’s made me more profitable. And that’s one thing that Jay will say, you are in the business to make money and that you there’s no shame in this. That is why we are here. So every decision you make needs to be focused around that. And I think that was hard for me to wrap my mind around.
I’m a health care provider and I don’t think we’re trained to think that way. So through my work with Shorr Solutions, I have developed an entirely new mindset of how to make this practice successful. So I can’t recommend it enough. Honestly.
Jay Shorr
Dr. Vargason
Dr. Caroline Vargason
I agree with everything Danielle has said that we’re in the business to make money, but we can also help people and the framework of how to learn that is something I have found invaluable. Jay and Shorr Solutions has both saved and made me money. So far, we’re not even a year into my new office and I think the advice I would give anybody looking into a consultant is to think of them as somebody that’s coming into your practice like another person or team, and to really think about values and your long term goals.
And if they align, then it will be a good working relationship. And if you’re somebody that wants to learn and grow and set a business up correctly, then it would be a good fit.
Jay Shorr
All right, and Shannon.
Shannon Synoracki
I think that working with you specifically has been invaluable. I have learned so much that it’s really made me a better business owner in general. I have really gained so much knowledge and understanding because you do take the time to sit down and answer questions and explain things because you love teaching and you want us to know what we’re doing as well.
You don’t want us to just hand things over. You want us to understand the back end of things. So I think just having that wealth of knowledge with you, that relationship and knowing that you have the best interest in my practice, but also in me as a provider and an individual is amazing. So I can’t say enough good things.
00:41:49:16 – 00:44:10:14
Jay Shorr
My last question is, we’re going to speak to Dr. Vargason and Shannon about business plans because Danielle had already been an existing business, but we created a major business plan for Dr. Vargason when she was opening and as well with Shannon and we’re in the secondary stages of a second feasibility study with Shannon as you embark into a brand new, amazing location.
All right, Shannon, what can you say about creating of a business plan and having a third party consultant do it for you or with you?
Shannon Synoracki
A business plan is a big undertaking and it can be very overwhelming. And it was very tedious and I was happy to have the support and staff really help me through it and to really take on a majority of that and to be able to research information and create this really nicely written, not only business plan but the whole extensive feasibility study to really know what I’m getting myself into, I think is really what I’ve taken away from working with you for the business plan, because that’s a whole different ballgame. Starting to create those.
Jay Shorr
Is it somewhat depressing, though, when you look at all the numbers and saying, When am I going to finally make a lot of money versus because the business plan feasibility study on the financials has a three year plan? All right. The next one we’re going to do with you is going to be a lot more profitable because in the very beginning you didn’t have any of the revenue and it was mostly expense.
Now you’ve got revenue. All right. To offset that expense. Right. So hopefully that’s going to take a lot of that angst away from you because the second time we’re doing this is going to be much different than the original. Dr. Vargason, in conclusion, how about you with the business plan?
Dr. Caroline Vargason
It was immensely helpful for me to have you, Jay and the Shorr Solutions Team create my business plan with me. I would say you did a lot of the heavy lifting in creating the document, but I was taught all of the components that went into a business plan and that was the value that I got besides saving my time.
Also learning the process and being better prepared for the next time around, we’ll have to do this.
00:44:10:15 – 00:46:04:01
Jay Shorr
Well, in conclusion, what I’d like to share is that the hiring of a consultant generally does two things. First, it gives you an internal executive management team that is remote. All right. Because it can take and assist you in the practice administrator role, a financial advisor role, and a lot of the vendor relation management role. And our goal secondly is the amount of money that you pay for a consultant.
Hopefully net net is close to zero because the amount of money that we can save you either in negotiations or what it might cost you outside of that is kind of minimal to help you run your business profitably operationally, administratively and financially. And most importantly, we’re working with every one of you in your HR. Which is a very difficult and tedious thing to let you do what you do best, and that’s practice medicine.
So with that, i’d love to say Danielle is our nurse practitioner. Dr. vargason is our oculofacial plastic surgeon, and shannon is our PA. I actually made sure that I got one from each that we didn’t duplicate what each professional license role is. Please allow me to thank you for taking an hour out of your day to work with us, hopefully to share your knowledge and your pearls and your excitement of why you hired a consultant.
So thank you very much. I appreciate it. And to all those listening out there, thank you for taking an hour of your time to listen to Shorr Solutions: The Podcast. Thank you all and have a great day.
00:46:04:02 – 00:47:38:18
So that wraps up today’s episode of Shorr Solutions: The podcast. If we mentioned any website links, you can find them in our show notes to work directly with me and our award winning team of consultants to increase efficiency, increase revenue and decrease costs in your aesthetic practice, schedule a free consult with us today.
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