Spotlight on aesthetics maven Amy Knoetze who’s growing her all-female business against the odds
Amy Knoetze is the owner of Pulse Dermatology & Laser. While many businesses have experienced a pandemic-related dip, Amy has made hers grow. Her popular medical aesthetics clinic in Tygervalley now has a sister branch in Cape Town’s trendy Kloof Street and plans to become a franchise kicked off this month.
Like any business owner, Amy knows ensuring your business thrives during a recession is no mean feat. It requires persistent hard work and passion, but she’s short of neither as well as willing to share her top three tips.
1. Invest in yourself
Amy was just 15 when she won her local grocery store’s “win a car” competition. While most teens would be thrilled with a new set of wheels, Amy chose the cash and used it to pay for her education. This saw her complete an intensive, highly-specialised three-year course in advanced holistic health, skincare and business studies so she could stride into the medical aesthetics industry with confidence.
“I’m constantly searching for new developments and going on courses in medical aesthetics and business management,” says Amy. “Whatever I can get my hands on that makes my ears prick up, you can bet I’ll be there!”
2. Invest in what you believe in
After working locally as a head therapist at an advanced laser clinic, Amy moved to London where she continued to develop her skills in a top clinic – training and working alongside world-renowned dermatologists and pioneering plastic surgeons with a celebrity clientele. Watching her clients’ skin literally transform with every session motivated her to save enough money to buy her very own laser machine and return to Cape Town.
Interestingly, many of her friends thought she’d poured her money into a bad idea. At the time, laser treatment, in South Africa, was mostly considered an expensive way to blitz unwanted hair – but Amy knew otherwise. Today, Pulse Dermatology & Laser is celebrating its 9th year in business with an all-female team using LED light and cutting-edge lasers to treat everything from spider veins to sagging skin.
“I love combining these treatments with AQ Skin Solutions as it really speeds up the results and reduces downtime, making it a favorite with my patients”, she says. AQ Skin Solutions is an award-winning cosmeceutical brand specialising in growth factors. Amy is the international trainer and sole distributor of the brand in South Africa. “I have the privilege of working with and providing training for over 145 clinics – including medi-spas, gynecologists, hair transplant clinics, GPs, nurses, plastic surgeons and dermatologists – that have all fallen in love with this brand as much as I have.”
3. Invest in your customers
When you’re working in aesthetics, the connection you’ll have with your customers will always be intimate. “Pulse Dermatology is not only about changing aesthetics, it’s about building confidence and creating a caring and safe environment where my patients know they’re getting the best possible treatment,” says Amy. She also takes great pride in educating her patients on all the options available to them so that, together, they can find a plan that suits their budget and lifestyle while serving up great results and excellent value. “I insist on only using the highest grade of product that does exactly what it says on the tin – after all, the most expensive treatment or product is the one that doesn’t work.”