By Madilyn Moeller

When you own a small business, finding the right team members can make a huge impact in your everyday life—and in theirs. Cameron Moskos, PA-C, and her team members at Cameo Facial Aesthetics in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, have formed a bond that spills over into their personal Instagrams and entices new patients with the lure of camaraderie and mutual respect.

Founding Cameo

Moskos graduated with her Master of Science of Physician Assistant Studies in 2010, then moved out west to start a career in women’s health. After four years, she followed her passion for skin health and took on a new role at a family medicine practice, where she was asked to perform neurotoxin injections. Moskos quickly fell in love with aesthetics. 

In 2018, she moved with her family to Seattle and worked for a medical spa, dabbling in lasers and learning about medical-grade skin care. When she moved back home to South Carolina the following year and started working for a plastic surgery center, the practice leaned on her for non-surgical aesthetic services. Just a few months later, COVID-19 closed the surgery practice. In six weeks at home and despite not seeing patients, she grew her social media presence. With her marketing savvy and the industry boost after shutdowns, her career flourished. 

“I pinch myself because I can’t believe that’s how it happened and I feel so grateful,” Moskos says. 

She started basically running her own practice within the plastic surgery office, paying for social media marketing, paying her own assistant and using her own cell number. According to Moskos, she thought, “I can do this on my own in my own space.” 

It took about six months before Cameo Facial Aesthetics opened on January 4, 2022 with Moskos and her assistant, Hannah Lee. Then, M.J. Juergens joined the team, followed quickly by Rachael Fedarovich, DNP, FNP-BC, then Clayne Slaven. 

“I can’t explain to you just how perfectly every single person fits into the mold,” Moskos says.

Friend energy

It’s clear that the patient experience at Cameo benefits from the bond the five key employees share. Moskos describes the energy. 

“It’s just such an organic friendship and mutual respect when we’re in the workplace,” Moskos says. “There’s not a lot of micromanaging happening, everyone just kind of knows what to do and how to support each other, inside and outside the office. Also, when we’re spending our time away from our personal lives and our families and spending most of our waking hours here at the office, it is so important that they feel like they’re having fun, that they’re all an asset, and that they’re all valued and respected. I wanted to make it the kind of environment where you don’t dread going to work on Mondays—you look forward to it.” 

They’re already thinking about what it will look like to hire another injector. How will they add to the team? Moskos says it’s not just about experience level or skill, though that’s very important—the fit has to be cohesive, and she feels strongly that when they hire, the team will be part of that decision. 

“Cameo’s not Cameron,” Moskos says. “Cameo is all of us.”

Attracting patients

Cameo ads aren’t on the radio or on billboards; the team focuses on social media marketing. If you do that right, Moskos says, that can be all you need. Each team member has their unique personality and quirkiness, and patients appreciate seeing it online. They feel like they know each one of the Cameo team—and they say so.

“I think that people relate more to people and not businesses,” Moskos says. “It’s all about them feeling like they know us. And when they come in, they’re like ‘I’ve been following you for a while, and I know this and that, and how’s your daughter, I saw you just went on this trip to Orlando together’—they relate to that and they form a connection, and I think that’s been a huge part of our success.” 

The team’s Instagram is a mix of before-andafters, education, treatment videos and staff highlights, with a healthy dose of personality. They attract the type of patients who like their expressiveness, Lee says. Usually, patients will have done their research and know what results they can expect when they come in.

“Patients come in because of the vibe that we put out, but we keep them because of our work,” Fedarovich says.

Learning the business

Three weeks after opening Cameo, Moskos attended Medical Spa Show 2022 in Las Vegas. Her husband, who doesn’t work in the industry but who helped her get the business open, even went to several sessions with her. 

“I thought the conference was so informative and educational that for 2023, I brought the team because, I thought, ‘Gosh, they’re going to learn a lot, too, which will help all of us be a better office,’” says Moskos. 

Going to conferences has been eye-opening to the team. They’ve taken note of what other offices are doing, how they’re practicing, what they’re doing for specific procedures, how they order supplies and more. Slaven relishes the opportunity to learn from other practices in person and ask questions. 

“We see all these people on social media, but we don’t really get to hear from them or talk to them, so seeing a comparison of where we stand versus someone who’s been injecting for longer, their kind of patient retention and things like that, that was very interesting,” he says.

Time and testing

Over time, the team has matured and is constantly getting more efficient. They’ve tried a few different services with mixed success and have learned what they can do better on their own. 

“I did have somebody who was like a business consultant who helped me in the beginning to get my basics right—helped me find my space, helped me with my website, helped me get my EMR set up, helped me find my medical director, and helped me with my malpractice insurance,” Moskos says. “She guided me with advice about what we have to do to get open, and then, eventually, once we were running on our own, we figured it out. Now we know what we’re doing. But, in the beginning, that was a huge help.” 

The young business has already gained recognition in the community. It was recently named one of the top 10 Allergan Aesthetics practices in South Carolina for 2023 and received Allergan’s Top Growth Achievement for 2023 among South Carolina aesthetic practices. 

“I think it is so important that you find the right people,” Moskos advises new owners. “That’s just key to it. Patients want to feel like they’re in a happy environment, and so do employees—everybody wants to feel that way. So, finding the right people is key.”

Roles to fill

Moskos and Fedarovich have talked about opening a Cameo Academy to train injectors. Moskos is a preceptor for the regional medical university, introducing PA students to aesthetics. She gets asked all the time where to go for training, and unless students have mentors willing to take them in, Moskos says, they’re not going to find people who are willing to train for free, because it requires a lot of time and effort. 

“There’s a need in our state for good injectors, and there are a lot of markets that are lacking. I think a part of it is that the nurse practitioners, nurses, PAs and even MDs don’t know where to go to get training. So, having a resource with Rachael and I being here in town—I think it would really take off,” Moskos says. 

The team would love to see Cameo expand as well. Hannah Lee and Clayne Slaven both have plans to become PAs and come back to the team as injectors. Whether the team could split up for separate Cameo locations is a question for a later date. 

“I think we’re only just getting started,” Moskos says. “We’re small but mighty.”

No looking back

Aesthetics seems to be an unexpected fit for Moskos. 

“I never thought of myself as an artist. You should see my handwriting—it’s terrible. I can’t draw, I can’t sing—I’m not artsy at all,” Moskos says. “But this is my way of being creative and yet still scienceminded. So, I love the combination of the two.” 

Fedarovich had a more complex transition to aesthetics, but she is here to stay, too. 

“I cannot tell you why I got into aesthetics,” Fedarovich says. “I had a friend of a friend that was hiring, I got hired and I will never look back. This is the best thing I ever did. I was in the hospital before, did a lot of critical care, and had a lot of ER experience—it is just the complete opposite of this world, and I will never go back. This is a dream.”

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