Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Smith.
Danielle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I came down to Miami to go to UM for undergrad. I graduated with a bachelor’s in nursing science and started to work at UM Hospital on a critical care floor. I realized the hospital setting was not for me.
So I switched into plastic surgery. I got lucky and ended up working with a plastic surgeon who had a very large and successful practice doing his pre-op, intra-op and post op nursing care. I loved it, I learned a ton about plastic surgery and aesthetics. I expressed interest in doing procedural work, so he set me up with training for injectables and I got started. From my very first botox injection, I knew this what I was meant to do. This was it. I had found my calling.
Shortly after the laws in Florida changed. An RN could no longer inject, you now have to be an NP, PA, MD, DO, or DMD. So I went back to grad school full time at Georgetown University where I received my Masters as a Family Nurse Practitioner. There is no formal Aesthetics track, so I made my own. During my time in grad school, I worked closely with a mentor Dr. Mariano Busso and studied everything I could about injecting, facial aesthetics, and building a brand. When I graduated, I had seven different job offers from local plastic surgeons. I chose to go with one that was willing to give me the autonomy to build a brand within his practice and run my own company . I am a stickler for compliance and protocols and I had a very specific idea of the type of care I wanted to deliver. I did not feel that the traditional practice setting would enable me to do that.
So I built company #1 which was an injectables only practice based out of a plastic surgeons office. I built the company from start to finish from scratch. The brand, all the marketing channels, the website, the protocols, all of the ad images, the entire operating system and operating protocols. The model was brilliant, the brand was catching on, and things were going great. Then the surgeon and I had some issues related to contract negotiations and I left. I started over, company #2 was born with an even better name, more efficient business plan. My fiancé immediately saw the potential to scale the company to a national level. He encouraged me to go big. So I did. I partnered with a public company to provide the capital and leadership to take us to the next level. The company was very successful, the model worked, and we were growing. However, the public company and I had different priorities and as things progressed, that became increasingly unreconcilable. So I left and opened company #3 my current practice smith & co and I couldn’t be happier.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Well…both company #1 and company #2 were not happy I left. The companies were my brain babies, I had been the one to manage the ins and outs of the business as well as I was the one physically performing the services; so when I left, I left a hole in my wake. By company #2 I had built in enough safeguards to the operational protocols and financial viability that they were able to continue on even after I left. Either way, they were not happy I had opened a competing business. They sued me. Their case was weak so they went and recruited company #1 and then they both sued me.
There was a point where I was over leverage by 70k in legal bills, totaling 150k so far, as we were coming to the table for arbitration and I was a mess. I was hopeless despite having some of the best people in my corner who would stand by me through anything. I felt like I had nothing more to give. So I sought out advice from the most powerful businessman I know. I asked him “how do you know when to stick it or fold?” and he told me, “You can’t win the fight if you don’t have the energy, and you Danielle, you’re tapped out. You have to go into that arbitration and tell them you have nothing else to give. They either decide to walk away or your filing for bankruptcy. That’s it, you’re done.”
I realize that seems like odd advice, but it was the best thing he could have said to me. Because that is exactly what I did. And they backed off. They saw there was no master move up my sleeve, I just simply wanted to go on with my life, do what I love and take care of my patients. We reached resolution and I somehow came out on the other side still standing and relatively in one piece. I would have never survived such an attack so young in my career without the endless support of my fiancé, my amazing plastic surgeons Dr. Chris Low and Dr. Michael Cheung, and my superstar of a lawyer Shahram Siddiqui.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Smith & Co – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am aesthetic nurse practitioner and I specialize in injectables, specifically botox and filler. My practice is called smith & co. I have a boutique office that provides a comfortable environment to see patients. My business model has always been to optimize patient value. To do that, I run a very lean overhead and optimize skill, product, safety, experience and results. My model creates a very close relationship with my patients, increasing accessibility and convenience. I believe that my success is related to my ability to take my time with patients and listen. Everyone is different, their topography, their aesthetic preference and the results they are looking for. I tailor make every single treatment plan for each patient, and I adjust it each visit depending on feedback and our goals.
I am most proud of being one of the first nurse practitioners to own her own practice in Miami. I am proud of being one of the most successful practices nationally to exclusively offer injectables. I am also proud that I have become the second largest solo injector in Miami. I am very proud of this, especially as a 30 years old female, and a Nurse Practitioner on top of it. My next 20 peers are all MDs.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My ultimate goal is to help empower other nurse practitioners own their own practice. I have built a second company doing just that. I build practices for Nurse Practitioners looking to branch out on their own.
I have also developed a training program designed to take a novice injector and turn them into a master injector over the course of 6 months. It is the first of its kind. The base of the program is built and my first training is going through it now and passing with flying colors. She will for sure come out of it and open her own practice right off the bat. I am so excited to see it work, and better than expected.
Pricing:
- Botox is $12/unit
- Filler is $600/ syringe
Contact Info:
- Address: 1410 20th Street, Suite 210, Miami Beach FL 33139
- Website: smithandco.co
- Phone: 3053932311
- Email: smith@smithandco.co
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