Part 2 – Adding Semaglutide Weight Loss Injections into Your Aesthetics Business: Everything You Need to Know
“I wish I would have started offering Semaglutide Weight Loss Injections a year ago when I first found out about it!” Have you had thoughts like this? Maybe you’re feeling frustrated, like you may have missed the semaglutide boat. Well, I’ve got good news for you. IMHO (in my humble opinion), this ship is just getting started, and it’s a cruise ship! Ok, the boat analogy is made, haha.
Read on for a candid look into the current landscape in the weight loss industry that can help you decide if you want to enter.
I want to take this opportunity to point out this article is for prescribers and is my opinion, personal experience, and not legal or medical advice. This is a highly political field that is changing daily.
And if you’d like to learn more about semaglutide before diving into the business components of offering it to your clients, you may want to start by reading Part 1: Demystifying Semaglutide Peptide: Your Ultimate Q&A Guide first.
How much does it cost to offer Semaglutide Weight Loss Injections to my clients?
Let’s get down, let’s get down to business (meant to be sung as in the song by Tiësto). The overhead of this business is quite low. I recommend having an office to meet clients at. The person-to-person connection in all this is invaluable and builds trust. Having a space lends legitimacy to your practice. Another pro of having a space is that a lot of patients are not comfortable injecting themselves from day 1. They want to be able to receive the shot in your office. Even consider subleasing from a complimentary business or renting a room in an established business that might have a good referral for clientele. This doesn’t have to be an expensive rent!
Weight loss medicine can currently be done via telemedicine exclusively as well. However, the legality of telemedicine-only prescribing seems to be getting stricter and varies state-by-state. And as I mentioned before, I believe offering a more full-service program is something that will set your business apart and increase your clients’ success. We all know the most important part of many weight loss programs is the accountability aspect. You can also include nutrition counseling, wellness coaching, vitamin shots, exercise and meal prep help.
You will need an electronic charting system and some basic medical supplies. This costs less than $50 per month.
If you want the full breakdown of the cost of goods and profit, check out my online class, Semaglutide Cash-Based Start-Up!
How much money can I make by offering Semaglutide Weight Loss Injections? And how can I get started?!
I would 100% love to share with you how to make this business succeed financially while bringing a life-changing medication to your clients. A wise friend pointed out to me that we can both do good (help our patients) and do well (support our families). The weight loss field is becoming more commoditized just like any popular service. You don’t want to be in a race to the bottom for pricing. I’ve got an entire course that teaches you all the clinical points about starting a semaglutide practice along with the business side. It’s about setting your program apart from competitors and bringing value. The Injectables EDU Cash-Based Semaglutide Start-Up Course costs $799. You will make more than that with your first client. So I recommend you get started now, so you aren’t saying “I wish” a year from now!
I have a successful semaglutide clinic that is coming up on a year and has sky-rocketed my aesthetics practice financially. I’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way, and I share all that info in my course with you!
Is there still a demand for offering Semaglutide Weight Loss Injections? Is my city oversaturated with providers?
The demand for semaglutide is increasing every day. It’s only gaining popularity and becoming more mainstream. We are still in the phase of early adopters. You know what is next….everyone else! If anything, there are not enough quality providers of semaglutide to meet the demand. Patients are smart, and they do their research. They want to find a provider who is local, they can trust and will support them. People connect with other people, not a big online prescription mill. Weight loss is also about accountability, education, and support. The demand for that business is still here!
Should I take insurance as a part of my Semaglutide Weight Loss Injections business?
Insurance is always a confusing topic. That holds true when it comes to weight loss services as well. In order for weight loss visits to be covered by your patient’s insurance, their employer will have needed to opt in to a weight loss rider. This is not dictated by the insurance company as much as it is the specific plan selected by their employer.
Here is a little clarity on how insurance can be a part of your practice. You have two options for working with your patient’s insurance company.
Option 1 is to get credentialed with insurance companies as a provider and to get reimbursed by insurance for in-office visits for obesity and nutritional counseling. This is definitely the complex route that comes with headaches of delays and lack of payment. It comes with complicated billing and lots of paperwork. It is a viable option, especially at a larger scale. You will attract patients who want to minimize out-of-pocket payments, but you will be beholden completely to their insurance coverage. There are also legalities and restrictions that are not in the scope of this article.
Option 2 is to not credential with insurance and simply prescribe Wegovy through the patient’s prescription insurance plan. Remember, Ozempic is for diabetes, not for obesity. This will require sending off prior authorizations, which is also a hassle. But definitely more manageable than option 1! I have personally gone this route, and I charge a cash-pay fee to be a part of my weight loss program, which includes prescribing through their insurance.
I will say in my experience, for every ten patients who meet the criteria of having a BMI over 27 plus comorbidity or just a BMI over 30, only about 2 of them will be able to qualify to fill the prescription through their insurance and be able to get it at a reasonable price (say less than $1000/month). And for anyone who doesn’t meet the BMI criteria or cannot get cost-effective coverage through prescription insurance, I offer them my compounded semaglutide cash-pay option.
Will compounded semaglutide go away, and will cash-based businesses shut down?
I don’t have a crystal ball, but my personal answer is…probably. It might be more of a matter of “when” instead of “if”. You can either take that to mean, “Well it won’t be forever, so why bother?!” Or you can say, “how many patients could I help, and how can I support my own family?”
Offering semaglutide is a relatively low-hanging fruit. We don’t know when semaglutide will come off the FDA Shortage list, or what will happen when it does. We do know that as prescribers, we have the background and knowledge to be experts in this field. And we do know there is a great market now.
If you want to learn the nitty-gritty of how to launch a semaglutide cash-based business, check out our Semaglutide Course HERE, and remember: I’m always here to support you along your journey!
Ready to see how we can help even more?
- Book a FREE MENTORING call with us!
- Sign Up for our FREE Aesthetic Business Secrets email course.
- Download our Semaglutide Pharmacy Comparison Chart for an at-a-glance look at potential suppliers!
