By Alex R. Thiersch, JD, CEO of the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa)

Starting tomorrow, AmSpa will host its Chicago Medical Spa & Aesthetic Boot Camp at the Chicago Marriott Southwest at Burr Ridge, and we're extremely excited for the opportunity to help medical aesthetic professionals develop their practices. There's still time to register for the event—just click here to sign up. Here's a quick overview of the program:

Saturday, May 4

The Boot Camp begins at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast, followed at 8:30 a.m. with my opening keynote. From there, we will move into the main program:

• 9 – 10:30 a.m.: The Plan, presented by Bryan Durocher (Durocher Enterprises)—What are the most effective ways to develop a business plan for your medical spa? Medical Spa Consultant Bryan Durocher discusses the ins and outs of the planning process and helps determine how long it realistically takes to open a practice.
• 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.: The Marketing Plan and Social Media, presented by Brandon and Jenny Robinson (Skin Body Soul MedSpa)—This session will help you determine how to most effectively market your medical aesthetic practice using both traditional methods and cutting-edge techniques.
• 1 – 1:30 p.m.: Medical Aesthetic Hot Topics Panel, featuring Tim Sawyer (Crystal Clear Digital Marketing) and Nealy Skeldon (Environ Skincare)—This panel, moderated by yours truly, will feature a spirited discussion of the current issues and events that concern medical spa owners and operators.
• 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.: The Law, presented by Alex Thiersch (AmSpa) and Renee E. Coover (ByrdAdatto)—In this presentation, we'll discuss the long-standing and emerging legal issues that every medical spa owner needs to know about. As you can imagine, there is a lot to cover here, since new concerns seem to be arising daily lately.
• 4:15 – 5 p.m.: The Treatments, presented by Terri Ross (Terri Ross Consulting)—Learn about the most profitable and popular treatments available to your practice, and find out how to best determine which treatments are right for you based on the state of your practice.
• 5 – 6 p.m.: The Digital Marketing Ecosystem, presented by Tim Sawyer (Crystal Clear Digital Marketing)—Find out how to effectively spread the word about your medical aesthetic practice and how best to determine what's working and what's not. Your practice's digital presence is more important than ever before, and curating it should be a top priority.

Saturday will wrap up with a cocktail reception from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 5

Once again, the Boot Camp begins at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast.

• 8:30 – 9 a.m.: Anatomy of a $5-Million Med Spa, presented by Alex Thiersch (AmSpa)—Have you ever wondered what the difference is between your medical spa and one that's mega-successful? It might be less significant than you think. This presentation will show what a $5-million med spa is doing right—and what you might be doing wrong.
• 9 – 10 a.m.: The Financials, presented by Bryan Durocher (Durocher Enterprises)—At the end of the day, the money you're bringing in is the most important measure of your practice's success. This presentation will, among other things, demonstrate how to properly develop a budget and use metrics to determine your med spa's strengths and weaknesses.
• 10:45 – 11:15 a.m.: The Long-term Revenue, presented by Brandon and Jenny Robinson (Skin Body Soul MedSpa)—Simply being successful isn't enough for a medical aesthetic practice; you have to know how to maintain and grow your success. In this session, the Robinsons will show you how to build patient loyalty and move your business forward.
• 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: The Consultation, presented by Terri Ross (Terri Ross Consulting)—As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Learn how to put your best foot forward with effective patient consultations—and how to turn them into consistent business.
• 1 – 2 p.m.: The Lessons, presented by Louis Frisina—Every medical spa is different, but the successful ones share several common traits. In this session, Business Strategy Consultant Louis Frisina discusses the qualities that are typically found in practices that bring in a significant amount of revenue.
• 2 – 3 p.m.: The Team, presented by Bryan Durocher (Durocher Enterprises)—A medical spa is only as good as its personnel, so it's important to make sure that you hire a staff that can do everything you want it to—and more. In this session, you'll learn about recruiting, hiring and retaining employees who can make your medical spa dreams come true.

Also, you'll have the chance to visit with a number of exceptional vendors throughout this event. Attend the Chicago Medical Spa Boot Camp to check out the latest and greatest from the following companies:

• Care Credit (exclusive financing sponsor)
• Crystal Clear Digital Marketing (exclusive digital marketing sponsor)
• Cartessa Corp. (exclusive reception sponsor)
• Sciton (Saturday lunch sponsor)
• Epionce (Sunday lunch sponsor)
• Canfield Imaging
• Cynosure
• DefenAge Skincare
• Environ Skincare/Dermaconcepts
• MD Ware Software
• Oxygenetix
• PatientNow
• RD Management
• RegenLab USA
• Touch MD
• Venus Concept
• Weave

We hope you can join us in Chicago this weekend. This AmSpa Boot Camp is a tremendous opportunity to get your medical aesthetic business headed in the right direction and learn some tips and tricks that can take it to the next level. Click here to register!