How I Digitalized an Aesthetic Medicine Business with Free Tools

In March 2024, a family friend asked me to help reorganize her aesthetic medicine business. The business, successful in its aesthetic offering, faced a major technological challenge. Everything was managed manually: physical records, handwritten logs, and a filing cabinet that was on the verge of collapse due to the accumulated information. For the staff, it was difficult to attend new patients while receiving returning ones, generating frequent complaints and delays in service.

The situation was unsustainable. The records filled a complete and overflowing cabinet, and keeping them organized was a constant challenge. Moreover, important information like address changes or patient health updates wasn’t recorded in a timely manner. The business owner even considered buying another filing cabinet, but it would hardly fit in the premises. This situation, according to her, was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” She tried to find digital solutions but only found expensive options, like custom apps that worked offline and only on a single platform.

I decided to get involved because I wanted to learn more about tech tools applied to small businesses. This would help me teach my business students about accessible solutions and, personally, I wanted to support my sister, who was planning to start her own business but had no budget for digitalization. This project was a great opportunity to learn, help, and share knowledge.

The Challenge: Reorganizing a Business with a Limited Budget

The business faced major challenges, and the limited budget was the biggest one. My task was to find a tech solution that could digitalize key processes without generating significant extra costs. The options I initially evaluated, such as off-the-shelf patient management systems, didn’t offer the customized modules the owner needed. In my experience, customization and low budget are a combination rarely found in commercial solutions.

The team, which included my sister, was enthusiastic yet cautious. My sister was especially receptive, while her colleague had reasonable doubts but wasn’t resistant to change. In the end, they called me in to implement something since I had already been advising them on potential solutions. This openness was key to moving forward quickly.

I decided to use Google AppSheet, a free platform for creating custom apps that works with tools like Google Sheets and Google Forms. I chose AppSheet because the team was already familiar with the Google ecosystem, which they were partially using with tools like Google Calendar. The customization AppSheet offered was ideal, allowing the business to meet its needs without significant extra costs.

Initial Assessment: Identifying the Business Needs

Before implementing any solution, I conducted a thorough evaluation of the daily operations. Here are some of the most important findings:

• The physical file management was at its limit, and the difficulty in organizing them increased with each new patient.
• Storing images in a single folder made it hard to show patients their progress. Finding photos required remembering specific dates or asking the patient for details from past visits.
• The business used Google Calendar and Google Sheets in a limited way, without systematic integration of these tools.

One of the biggest challenges was ensuring the solution would be practical and useful for the team. When I shared my ideas with them, they showed enthusiasm and actively participated in the design. This collaborative process was crucial to ensure the solution fit their specific needs.