Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Weyler.
Jennifer, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a family practice M.D. who worked for 18 years doing primary care and urgent care. Originally from CT, I trained and have lived in the Worcester area since 1992. I loved my career, which included obstetrics, pediatrics, adult medicine, and everything in between, all the way to end of life care.
Over time, however, primary care became more stressful. I was missing the connection with patients in the 15-minute visits required to sustain a primary care practice. I trained to practice Botox injections on a whim, and I fell in love with medical aesthetics. I opened my own medical practice in Worcester in 2011, and we transitioned to doing exclusively aesthetic treatments in 2014. Over time I expanded and added a wonderful all-female group of office staff, nurse & PA injectors, and aestheticians.
I was surprised to learn that helping people with their appearance can really help them with their mental health. Aesthetics also allows me the time to get to know my clients, hear their stories, and learn about their lives, which was one of the reasons I loved Family Practice in the first place. My group of employees are bright, dedicated and supportive. We all love what we do here and love each other like family, which makes it a joy to come to work.
I am a total science geek about aesthetic medicine and love the pathophysiology aspect of my job as much as the personal. I attend conferences and training sessions several times a year to stay updated on new products and techniques.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was a challenge to bring the business to profitability at first. As a physician, I never trained to run a business, so I did not always make the best financial choices. Aesthetic medicine uses expensive equipment so the loans and product costs can be hard to afford.
It is always tempting to buy more cool “toys”, and the salespeople are, of course, very talented at persuading you that you absolutely need this latest gadget! It is also challenging for me to charge enough for everything I do. I want everyone to have access to these great products, so I err on the side of being too generous to customers and my practice manager works hard to temper this tendency.
I love these treatments so much that if it were up to me, I would give it all away so everyone could enjoy it, but in the end, my employees need to get a paycheck, and the bills need to get paid!
Please tell us about Aponi Aesthetics.
Aponi is a Native American word for Butterfly (pronounced Uh-pahn’-ee), and we chose the name to reflect the end result of a transformation to beauty. We offer injectable aesthetic treatments (Botox/Dysport, and a wide variety of dermal fillers), body contouring, facials, aesthetic laser treatments, PRP, and permanent makeup.
We have a PA injector, a nurse injector, and four certified aestheticians. I am not a plastic surgeon, so we do non-surgical rejuvenation only (sometimes called minimally-invasive). The advantage I offer is that I am a physician whose time and expertise is specifically in these office procedures, whereas some aesthetic doctors spend more time with their patients under anesthesia. I do everything I can to make patients comfortable during treatments. I love what I do and I use all of these products myself so I can explain the effects, pros, and cons from a personal perspective.
I am always open to new ideas and treatments if I am sure they are effective. We recently added Thermiva vaginal rejuvenation, and scalp micro-pigmentation to our treatment options here, and are always happy to have more confidence-boosting treatments for our clients. We are always open to new ideas that will make our patients’ lives better.
Our office is a little jewel in the midst of Worcester’s recently renovated Hamilton Street. My office staff is a fabulous group of talented, knowledgeable, friendly women. The office is decorated with beautiful oil paintings that were provided by a talented local artist, who I met incidentally when I opened because he lived right across the street from us. We have a saltwater reef tank which gives the waiting room a relaxing vibe, and the fish are like pets to us. Some of them have been with me since I opened the office! We have a wonderful acupuncturist who shares our space with us one or two days a week.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have been slower to add office staff. It has been a challenge to fill schedules of new providers and I jumped too soon to hire people that I loved before it was financially a good idea. That said, they are all well worth it, and have been valuable in every way to me.
Pricing:
- Our dermal fillers run from $600/syringe to $800/syringe depending on product
- Dysport injections cost from $260 to $600 depending on how many areas you treat
- Laser hair removal can be affordable: from $75-250 per session depending on the area size treated
Contact Info:
- Address: 73 Hamilton Street
Worcester, MA 01604 - Website: aponiaesthetics.com
- Phone: 508-791-2900
- Email: info@aponiaesthetics.com
- Instagram: @aponiaesthetics
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dr.Weyler/
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