Smoothing wrinkles of starting a business

By ELLEN READ

Douglas Adams said in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that the answer to life, the universe and everything was 42.

Auckland doctor Joanna Romanowska's Clinic42 is not so all-encompassing, but it has been her answer to a more balanced career and lifestyle.

Dr Romanowska, feeling hemmed in by her full-time job as a general practitioner in South Auckland, decided to cut down her GP work and start a part-time business.

Having the two part-time jobs gives her the variety and freedom she needs.

Clinic42 opened in July and specialises in "appearance medicine" for the professional business person.

"I wanted to do things my way but it was really scary at the beginning," she says. "As a doctor, I'm not trained to run a business, so it was a very steep learning curve."

Her advice to others: try to keep overheads as low as possible, especially in the early days.

"It's easy to spend money but when you're building up a clientele the money is slow to come in," she says.

As part of her efforts to keep costs down, Clinic42 does not have a receptionist. Dr Romanowska is the first point of contact for clients.

Although not a lot of expensive equipment is required for the procedures she performs - botox and restylane injections to reduce facial lines or enhance the shape of lips - the products are costly and she had to find premises to present them in a professional manner.

She chose part of a building on Manukau Rd in Epsom, a location which is discreet, near the city and has plenty of parking.

Clients pay from $300 a treatment.

Dr Romanowska, one of a handful of women working in this area, says there seems limited public understanding of the appearance-medicine industry, what to consider before taking treatments and confusion with expensive cosmetic surgery.

Because the treatments are non-invasive and quick, business people overseas often include appearance medicine in their bi-monthly health/beauty treatments.

Dr Romanowska's professional clients want to look their best, but can be inhibited by a stigma of vanity associated with the treatments.

Her typical clients are professionals aged between 30 and 60, but she also has many clients in their early 20s and some into their 80s.

She is also seeing a growing number of men as they become more aware of their appearance. They demand treatments with minimal time out of busy schedules.

Dr Romanowska, who is in her mid-30s, gained her medical degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 1990.

She served her internship at Edendale, a large teaching hospital in Pietermaritzburg.

Dr Romanowska has considerable experience working in different parts of the world as a GP. She did locum work as a doctor in the surgical department in Coleraine Hospital, Northern Ireland, and worked in remote rural Saskatchewan, Canada, as the only doctor in the town.

She settled in New Zealand in 1993.

For six years, she has been a partner in Mangere Family Doctors, which sees many patients from lower socio-economic groups.

Her move into appearance medicine provided an area for her to be more creative and work with her hands.

Away from work, Dr Romanowska's interests include yacht racing (she has competed in international regattas overseas), skiing, snowboarding and tramping. In 1998 she trekked up to the base of Mt Everest in Nepal.

Juggling her Mangere practice work and her time at Clinic42 is her latest challenge.