From sculpting art to sculpting people: Founders Story with Dr. Nadir Qazi

Nadir Qazi, DO, is a board-certified dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon, and founder of Qazi Cosmetic Clinic in Irvine, Calif., who took his love of sculpture art and turned it into a career sculpting facial features and body parts to remove barriers that keep people from seeing their own natural beauty. He is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and an instructor for advanced injections and laser techniques. Dr. Qazi is well-known for his stunning results with liposuction and his innovative facial contouring technique known as the HD Lift™. He completed his residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago Christ Medical Center where he worked with cutting-edge technology and world-renowned physicians. After years of dedicated training and research, he moved to Southern California to pursue his dream of opening the most compassionate and innovative aesthetic practice in the nation. In his spare time, Dr. Qazi enjoys sculpting, swimming, and eating copious amounts of gelato by the beach. https://qaziclinic.com/cosmetic-surgery-in-orange-county/

Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up?

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Qazi suffered severe acne as a teen and young adult. The scars bothered him. He sought help from dermatologists everywhere, yet no one could help him because the treatments for acne scar removal didn’t work well on people with darker skin. As he became obsessed with his love for sculpture art and recreating the image of the perfect human body, he also began studying pathology and all the things that go wrong. When he discovered cosmetic dermatology as a profession, he realized he could combine his love for sculpture art with his desire to help people experiencing severe skin disorders as he had. Today, he is one of less than a dozen professionals across the country who reduce acne scars for people with darker skin by manually breaking up the scar tissue underneath the skin rather than the typical hot lasers. He has also created nearly half a dozen proprietary treatments for underserved people with skin and body issues. Today, more men are getting treatments to reduce melasma, scars, and dry weathered skin, hair loss, and other barriers to their natural good looks. Women are getting facial and body treatments that enhance their natural look rather than the frozen faces, duck lips, and Kardashian-like booties of the past. As the only boy among a sea of four sisters, Dr. Qazi has a warm, caring demeanor that his clients love, and coming from a long line of successful professionals, he was excited to discover that he could use his talents in sculpting in a reputable profession that makes a big impact on the lives of others.

How did you get started as an entrepreneur?

“I like being the decision-maker, and I like being in charge, so entrepreneurship was the only route for me. The interesting part was that I was tired of the cold and the snow in Chicago and I craved the beach, the ocean, and the warmer California weather. So, I decided to open my practice in Orange County, California – the most competitive place in the nation for cosmetic surgery. Everyone thought I would fail. I didn’t have deep pockets for mass marketing or even for the expensive lasers and equipment that my competitors had. I never worried about that. I focused on services with the equipment I had to bring my clients life-changing results. We treat each client like they are the most important client in the world. Every patient sees the doctor. Every patient leaves with amazing results. That has built our brand and our business. Today, we have expensive equipment, but we still serve people like we did when we opened our doors. That focus on excellence in service, attention, and care has paid off.”

What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?

Don’t worry about your competition. Focus on you, your business, and the quality results you can deliver to your customers. Promote yourself at first through all the free opportunities available to you today via social media. We started our social media with just posts. Once we started advertising on social, our followers grew because we already knew what people liked.