Melissa Rogne is Taking Her Medical Aesthetic’s Business Nationwide

Written by: Brady Drake

Everyone’s entrepreneurial dream looks a little different. Of course, nearly everyone who starts a business hopes that their business makes a positive impact on the people it serves but the desire for scale of impact can vary greatly. In the world of retail, some are comfortable with a singular mom and pop shop, while others have their sights set higher.

Melissa Rogne has always had her sights set higher, and now she is achieving those heights. Her company, formally known as Rejuv, was acquired by Aspen Dental Management, Inc. in May to launch Chapter Aesthetic Studio, a new national brand of state-of-the-art medical aesthetic.

With the acquisition, Rogne now has the resources necessary to go big. In fact, by the end of 2022, Chapter Aesthetic Studio will have gone from one location to 13.

“I always used to joke that we were going to have 1 or 100 places,” said Rogne, who founded Rejuv in 2005. “I never wanted to stretch myself too thin by branching out and not having the resources to maintain the quality of the experience. That was always my big concern with expansion. This partnership allows us to maintain the quality of the experience.”

According to Rogne, that really was the deciding factor. She chose ADMI after years of turning down other franchising opportunities for her business, this was simply the right fit.

“I knew really soon, after meeting the CEO Bob Fontana, that we shared a common purpose, vision and values,” said Rogne. “I like to have fun and I don’t take myself too seriously. Fontana has a lot of fun and he’s a lot like me.”

However, the ability to maintain the quality of the Rejuv experience was really the most important thing for Rogne. Not much will change as the brand rolls over into Chapter Aesthetic Studio. Each of the new clinics will offer all of the same core services that are currently offered at the Fargo location and longtime employees will be helping train in the new clinics.

“I’m most excited about this because of the opportunities it allows me to give to my team members,” said Rogne. “I have team members that have been with me for 10, 12 and 14 years and they’ve stuck with me even though there is somewhat of a ceiling at a small company like the one we have. This now allows them to grow and achieve things that they never thought possible with our company. It makes me smile. These Fargo ladies are the ones that get to go out and take these new clinics under their wing and show them how to do it.”

The level of quality employees and services is what led Rejuv, one of the first medical aesthetic clinics in the region, to become the largest in the upper midwest. Rogne maintains that that quality wouldn’t be possible without an amazing team behind her. In order to ensure that she has had an amazing team behind her, Rogne has been very intentional with how and who she hires. At the core of her hiring process is Topgrading.

We use a method called Topgrading. Topgrading is really an interesting hiring method because it steps back and lets you get to know the person on a core competency basis,” said Rogne.

What is your favorite service you offer?

That’s like asking me to choose between my favorite child. But, I would have to say CoolSculpting. I was such a skeptic when CoolSculpting came on the market and it’s been on the market for over 10 years now, but the idea that you could permanently freeze fat off your body seems like a gimmick.

It really works though! It’s like liposuction without getting liposuction! It’s hands down a game changer. It works for that diet and exercise-resistant fat. It’s not for someone looking for a weight loss routine. It’s for those of us that bust our butts but can’t get rid of that last little bit of the fat.

-Melissa Rogne

A Couple Questions With ADMI CEO Bob Fontana

Bob Fontana Melissa Rogne

Why is Rejuv a great addition to the Aspen family?

We are very excited to form this partnership with Melissa Rogne, who has grown the largest medical aesthetic services clinic in the upper Midwest – one that’s largely acclaimed throughout the entire industry.

How will your customers benefit from having medical aesthetics available through the aspen model as opposed to what was previously available to them?

With Chapter Aesthetic Studio, we are poised to make state-of-the-art, non-invasive services and medical aesthetics care widely accessible throughout the U.S., so everyone has the means to feel good, from the inside out.

“However, it also really digs into who the person was. We ask about things like what their high school experience was like. We want to really know about the people that we are interviewing. We also do a competency interview about the things that apply to the job they are seeking.”

How did Rogne get to this point?

Rogne, a graduate in psychology and communications, will tell you that she was young and stupid when she first made her entrepreneurial leap. However, like many, it was passion that propelled her forward.

“I have always loved the skincare industry ever since I was a little kid, I just never thought it would turn into a career,” said Rogne.

But it did. In 2000, Rogne started side hustling as the first person in the state to be licensed for medical aesthetics. Shortly thereafter, she changed careers and was working full-time in medical aesthetics. Five years later, she opened her own practice.

However, that doesn’t fully explain how Rogne positioned herself to be acquired by a company that was sold for about $500 million in 2010.

“My husband used to own all of the Quiznos subs in Fargo. So, I already had an entrepreneur husband and he really encouraged me,” said Rogne. “I felt a certain sense of security with that support. One thing I learned from him with him being a franchisee is that systems are everything. In a franchise, everything is documented. With Quiznos, there was a big operating manual that would tell employees how to make every single sandwich. So, when I approached the business, that’s what I did. I ran it like it was a franchise because that’s what I knew from being with my husband and seeing what he did. We’ve always been poised for growth because I’ve always worked to ensure that the business would be able to function without me.“

Now, that Chapter Aesthetic Studio is under the ADMI umbrella, the sky really is the limit. We’ll just have to wait and see how big Melissa Rogne can go

To learn more, visit rejuv.com

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Brady is the Editorial Director at Spotlight Media in Fargo, ND.