07/26/2025
Love the trend going on right now and probably going to regret this but here we go….
The truth behind Pittsburgh Aesthetics
I started this company in my Strip District apartment during my fellowship year. Andy was in his last year of dental school in Buffalo so he was commuting back and forth on the weekends.
After work hours, I’d come home and spend countless hours planning with my bulldog, Otis.
I had a vision but didn’t know where to start. So I purchased 12 different domains and a printer. To realize many months later you only need one domain for a website.
I started reaching out to landlords with my extremely detailed “business” plan. I got more “no’s” and “it’s too early” than I could count.
There were times where I wanted to give up and stick to my original med school plan but somehow my vision was stronger than the “no’s” that I was getting.
I found a studio space and started marketing. I did countless happy hours and walked around to businesses with business cards.
I didn’t have the funds or any idea how to run a payroll so I did it on my own for the first year. Answering calls, texts, DMs, treating clients, and social media.
After work hours, I would walk to my studio space and treat clients. Whatever day clients wanted, I’d say yes (even on Sundays).
I kept telling myself - “treat the clients the way you’d want to be treated” and everything will be okay. I still believe and practice that mindset to this day.
After over a year of the studio life, I was able to build up some credibility and found a landlord that saw the potential. I started the leasing process and I kept trying to calm my mind by thinking “nothing is signed yet, you can always back out.”
But then 3 months later, I signed it and was not only ALL in but very scared. I wasn’t sure what I was doing or how I would cover overhead but I just kept moving forward.
Now it’s been 1 year since I opened our Mars location. I feel some sense of relief but I know now that this is only the beginning.
The vision I once had has grown and I’m now back at that scared place. Unsure about the future but excited to take on the challenge.
stay tuned.
