The Foundation of Success
Dr. G built something remarkable over two decades: a thriving cosmetic and plastic surgery practice that became a cornerstone of her community. She invested in state-of-the-art surgical equipment, developed strong revenue metrics, and assembled a dedicated team of employees. Her practice represented the culmination of years of careful planning and clinical excellence. However, with her surgical skills at their peak and her practice financially thriving, Dr. G confronted an unexpected challenge: ensuring her life’s work would continue without her direct involvement.
Strategic foresight, not financial necessity, drove the decision to explore partnership options. With her children pursuing medical careers outside of surgery, succession planning became paramount. “Neither one of them wants to be surgeons,” Dr. G explained. “At first we thought they were, but neither one of them wants to do surgery.” Dr. G recognized that her practice’s value extended far beyond personal income. It represented the livelihoods of dedicated employees and the ongoing care needs of her patient community.
The Challenge of Strategic Transition
Dr. G’s situation presented unique complexities that made a traditional practice sale impractical. As her husband noted from his banking background, an individual surgeon would find purchasing the practice prohibitively expensive, particularly given the specialized nature of the practice and its substantial equipment investments. “It’s too expensive for them to take that on what they don’t make,” Dr. G observed about potential individual buyers.
The couple also grappled with concerns about maintaining practice culture and operational autonomy. Having witnessed various private equity transactions through her husband’s banking career, they understood the potential tensions between growth objectives and day-to-day practice management. “It’s one thing when I’m helping the customer,” her husband reflected. “But it’s one thing when it’s actually happening to yourself, that’s a totally different deal.”
The challenge involved finding a partner who could provide succession planning and growth capital while respecting the practice’s established systems and relationships.
PTG’s Partnership-Focused Approach
Practice Transitions Group, led by Lauren Wheeler, recognized that Dr. G’s situation required a nuanced understanding of both the practice’s intrinsic value and the couple’s long-term objectives. Rather than pushing for quick closure with any interested buyer, PTG took time to understand the practice’s operational dynamics and the importance of cultural fit.
Lauren’s approach emphasized patience and selectivity, understanding that Dr. G and her husband needed a partner who could appreciate the practice’s unique position in their community. The process involved extensive due diligence, not just on financial metrics, but on operational philosophy and growth strategies. “Lauren did a great job,” Dr. G’s husband noted. “When we were first going down this path, we ran into a couple of people whom we interviewed. She never pushed us to go with those people. She understood that we needed something a bit more solid than what that was.”
Strategic Considerations Before Partnership
During the evaluation process, Dr. G and her husband carefully considered what they wanted to preserve from their existing operations. They operated their practice with a unique culture, managing their small team with personal attention that came from being an owner-operated business. The husband explained their primary motivation: “What we really didn’t want to happen is if she got hurt in a car wreck tomorrow, we have people working whose livelihoods depend on her. We needed to make sure that we had succession planning.”
PTG helped them identify the right type of partner who could understand both the financial opportunity and the cultural importance of what Dr. G had built. The team worked to present the practice’s strengths while ensuring potential partners understood the operational dynamics that made it successful.
Finding the Right Partnership Structure
The transaction process revealed the importance of aligning expectations early. PTG facilitated discussions that went beyond simple financial terms to address operational philosophy and growth strategies. The couple needed a partner who would respect their established relationships while providing the infrastructure for future growth.
Dr. G’s husband leveraged his banking experience to evaluate the financial structure and long-term implications of different partnership models. This background helped them ask the right questions and understand the various options available to them.
The Successful Partnership Agreement
After careful evaluation of multiple options, Dr. G and her husband selected a partner that aligned with their vision for the practice’s future. The transaction provided the succession planning security they sought while allowing Dr. G to continue her clinical work at the level she preferred.
The partnership structure delivered significant value beyond Dr. G’s expectations. PTG’s competitive process resulted in a substantial price improvement over initial market interest, demonstrating the importance of professional representation in complex aesthetic practice transactions. The partnership structure addressed their key concerns about maintaining practice culture while providing the growth capital and operational support needed to expand services.
Results and New Opportunities
The completed transaction delivered on the couple’s primary objectives. Dr. G secured her practice’s future while maintaining her role as the lead clinician. Her husband could step back from day-to-day operations, knowing that professional management systems would handle the administrative aspects he had managed for years.
The transaction structure balanced immediate liquidity with long-term growth participation through equity rollover, allowing Dr. G to benefit from future value creation while securing present financial objectives. The deal terms reflected the practice’s strong fundamentals and growth potential in the aesthetic medicine market. Through PTG’s structured approach, Dr. G achieved a result that significantly exceeded what individual buyer discussions had suggested possible, validating the decision to work with experienced advisors who understood the aesthetic practice market.
Most importantly, the couple achieved their succession planning goals, ensuring that their staff and patients would have continuity regardless of future circumstances.
Note: Details have been anonymized to protect client confidentiality.