Board certified San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Katerina Gallus of RestoreSD Plastic Surgery recently sat down with CanvasRebel, a digital magazine that shares stories and insights from small business owners, artists, and creatives from across the country. In the interview, Dr. Gallus reflected on what it was like to leave her career as a successful Navy plastic surgeon to open her very own plastic surgery center.
Dr. Gallus began by explaining how she made the transition from the Navy to setting up her own practice, offering advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own business. She acknowledges how difficult starting a practice from scratch can be for doctors, as most have little to no experience in the business world, and business management is not part of a typical medical school curriculum.
“When starting your own practice, there are so many things to consider—from renting or building out the physical space, managing employees, inventory and accounting—the list goes on and on,” Dr. Gallus says. “It is best to give yourself plenty of time to get educated. This can mean reading everything on the subject, speaking with those who are already established, and asking lots of questions. I think that networking and being involved with your professional societies is an undervalued resource.”
Dr. Gallus recalls how during her transition from the Navy to private practice, she became involved with the Women Plastic Surgeons group for her national society. She encourages anyone starting out to make those kinds of connections, as they are an essential asset. “You will gain knowledge from those that are more experienced and share experiences with peers,” she says. “This is important because you will make mistakes, you will doubt your decisions—the wisdom and encouragement of others will help you through the challenges.”
“Networking and being involved with your professional societies is an undervalued resource.”
Dr. Gallus went on to describe one of the challenges that she herself had to overcome when first getting started. “I originally started the practice with a longtime colleague that I thought I knew well,” she recalls. “After 18 months he informed me he needed to leave the practice and look for an employed position—the lean years of startup were not for him.” By the end of 2019, Dr. Gallus was on her own and exploring options for owning a practice that had been initially built for two physicians. She used the time to regroup and had the opportunity to spend time with peers at a women’s plastic surgery conference for advice and encouragement.
But just as Gallus was overcoming that obstacle, the entire world shifted to cope with another: COVID. Right when she returned to San Diego ready to start anew, the pandemic arrived, and Gallus was required to close the office for six weeks. “My only comfort was that I was not alone in facing this unprecedented challenge—everyone was figuring it out with no blueprint for the future. The pandemic was a lesson in how to pivot—trying to figure out a new way of doing business when all the rules have changed, and the future is unknown.”
Dr. Gallus maintains that being flexible and creative during challenging times is paramount to success. During pandemic downtime, she chose to collaborate with others, learn about newer cosmetic medicine techniques and modalities, as well as develop new relationships. By the time she was able to safely reopen the practice, concerns about running her practice, RestoreSD, on her own seemed to her a distant memory. “I had tackled that challenge in the absolute worst circumstances and grown stronger—now it was about building my future.”
“You will make mistakes, you will doubt your decisions–the wisdom and encouragement of others will help you through the challenges.”
Fast forward to today, where Dr. Gallus’s resilience has paid off. She now manages an entire team of highly-trained aesthetic providers and patient care coordinators, and RestoreSD Plastic Surgery serves numerous happy patients every day at their San Diego plastic surgery office. Dr. Gallus also recently opened her own private, accredited surgical suite, in which she can perform a full range of procedures to meet the growing demand of patients.
Dr. Gallus closed the interview with some insightful words about leading a team. “It is so important to create an environment that allows for collaboration. If you are unwilling to hear feedback, you will miss out on important perspectives. Everyone needs to feel valued and respected.” She acknowledges that one of the most challenging parts of managing a team is making sure that not only does the team feel comfortable with you, but also that they are comfortable working with each other. “Finding a group of people that genuinely get along and support each other is super challenging and I appreciate the awesome group of women that work with me now.”
Read the full interview here >>
About Restore SD & Dr. Katerina Gallus
The Director of Restore SD Plastic Surgery, board certified female plastic surgeon Dr. Katerina Gallus has over 15 years of experience helping patients enjoy head to toe rejuvenation with face, breast and body procedures. After a successful career as a Navy plastic surgeon, Dr. Gallus founded Restore SD Plastic Surgery with the intention of creating a welcoming space for anyone seeking cosmetic enhancement.
Restore SD Plastic Surgery offers popular facial rejuvenation procedures including facelift & neck lift, facial fat grafting, and eyelid lift; breast enhancement including breast augmentation with implants, breast lift, or breast reduction; body contouring procedures such as tummy tuck, liposuction, mommy makeover, and Brazilian butt lift (BBL), as well as aesthetician services like BOTOX, injectable fillers, and laser treatments.
Dr. Gallus and her highly-experienced aesthetics team are here to help you look and feel your best! To schedule a personal consultation, please contact us online or call our San Diego office at (858) 224-2281 today.
Areas served:
Leave a Reply