Why Strong Operational Systems Might Be the Hidden Key to Expansion

Dominique Waples is an Entrepreneurs’ Organization  member in Colorado and a co-founder and the CEO of RESTOR Medical Spa, a premier medical aesthetics brand with multiple locations in Colorado. Below, Waples explains the importance of prioritizing operational systems over scaling to build a strong business foundation.

During my company’s first year in business, I recall a coach asking about our goals. He casually suggested that perhaps running a single med spa location would be sufficient. It made me angry. 

“We are not doing this for one measly doctor’s office,” I said. While I didn’t appreciate his opinion, he had a point. I wasn’t ready. What I’ve discovered over 13 years of building a company in multiple locations is that you must pair ambitious vision with operational readiness.  

Today, the med spa industry is booming. It is projected to grow 15 to 20 percent year-over-year for at least the next seven years. In such a high-growth environment, you don’t need to be exceptional to experience revenue increases. Yet remarkably, 81 percent of medical spas operate as single-location businesses, a statistic that reveals the hidden scaling challenges many owners face. What separates thriving multilocation businesses from those that flatline is the foundation that prevents your wheels from flying off the bus when growth accelerates. 

Necessity: The real mother of systems  

When fellow entrepreneurs ask about the moment I decided to prioritize operational infrastructure over immediate expansion, they’re often surprised by my answer. The truth? It was a necessity. I had two young children and limited bandwidth. In fact, I gave birth to my first child the month we opened. My female co-founder and sister had two children in the same timeframe.  

It is different for women. The entrepreneurial vision remained ambitious, but my reality demanded efficiency. To put it simply: We had no choice. That constraint became my greatest advantage. My approach was driven by pain points. In the early days, cash flow volatility kept me up at night, particularly in a seasonal business like ours. That led to the first major system—memberships.  

We initially created a membership program to move away from constant promotions that trained clients to wait for sales. Quickly, I realized it was actually a cash flow management system that can stabilize finances in ways we hadn’t experienced before. This one system can transform your business model.  

Once that was established, new challenges emerged in rapid succession. Memberships became the marketing and sales engine, which quickly revealed the need for enhanced backend management systems. Then, we discovered our pricing structures needed refinement as sales increased. This pattern continued as each problem we solved revealed the next challenge we needed to address, from marketing to customer service to financial systems. 

People grow when you grow  

Throughout expansion, we anchored company culture around a core philosophy: “When RESTOR grows, you grow.” Beyond just a catchy phrase, it’s the foundation of how you must think about systems: They exist to elevate both the business and the individual.  

Creating effective systems requires authentic participation from those who use them daily. When developing processes, bring in frontline team members to identify problems and brainstorm solutions. This approach doesn’t just produce better systems. It creates champions who drive adoption.  

Stay in your lane but talk to each other

One key advantage is a clear delineation of roles. My sister, Flora Waples, and I each have strengths that complement the other’s perfectly. She focuses entirely on the medical side—evaluating treatments and clinical protocols—while I handle marketing and growth.  

This division creates a powerful alignment that keeps both of us from falling into the common entrepreneurial trap of trying to control everything. When considering new equipment, Flora tests various options and presents those that meet her clinical standards. From there, I negotiate terms and integrate the offering into the business model. Neither of us steps into the other’s domain, creating clarity that flows throughout the organization.  

We’ve extended this clarity across our operations through systems like daily huddles—five-minute Zoom calls each morning to connect locations during which the newest team member reads key metrics from the previous day as well as shout outs. This simple ritual creates visibility and alignment that’s critical as you grow.  

Even your physical expansion can follow systematic thinking. In recent conversations with architects about our newest location, I emphasized, “Anytime we can have the same thing across locations, we use it.” Standardization might seem mundane, but it creates enormous operational advantages as you scale. 

Lessons learned and looking forward  

Every entrepreneur carries a few battle scars from decisions they would make differently given another chance. For me, the most painful part was attempting to build and manage all operational systems by myself for too long. If I could go back, I would hire a director of operations with the right combination of bandwidth, skill, and passion for systems much earlier in our growth journey.  

When we finally found the right person for this role, the transformation was immediate and profound. Having someone who truly lives for operational efficiency freed me to focus on strategic growth and lifted a weight I hadn’t even realized I was carrying.  

As we prepare for the next phase of growth, we’re systematizing the launch process itself, creating playbooks for everything from site selection to grand opening. I can already visualize standing on the balcony of our future headquarters, looking out at the mountains, seeing the manifestation of a vision that began years ago.  

The entrepreneurial journey often feels like a never-ending sprint. You’re constantly chasing growth, putting out fires, and serving clients. However, building proper systems requires something counterintuitive: pausing that sprint temporarily to focus on infrastructure. Many problems can be solved within two or three focused weekends of work. Yet many entrepreneurs spend years running at full speed without taking those crucial weekends to build systems, unknowingly placing a ceiling on how much your business can ultimately grow.  

Systems aren’t constraints. They’re the scaffolding that supports your vision. By focusing on systems before scaling, you can build a foundation that allows growth far beyond what you could otherwise maintain. That, perhaps, is the ultimate freedom that systems provide—the ability to build something bigger than yourself. 

The extended deadline for the 2025 Inc. Best in Business Awards is this Friday, September 19, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.