Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Daniel Preston Ward.
Hi Dr. Ward, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my practice in 2010 as an assistant professor at the University of Utah. I loved my time at the university and loved the faculty there. In 2016, after a couple of years of discussion with my chairman and others, I left the university to start my own practice. Along the way and since that time, we have started a chain of medical spas as well as a skincare line. As a facial plastic surgeon, my practice focuses on rhinoplasty, facelifts, neck lifts, eyelids, and more. However, a lot of my patients are interested in nonsurgical treatments and in skincare. The interest of my patients is what prompted me to start these other entities.
As you might imagine, it has not been easy. Going from being a physician to a business owner presents many challenges. In medicine, we are not trained in many of the aspects that help make one successful in the business world. I wish I could say that I naturally possessed the traits that would make me successful in business, but I, unfortunately, don’t! I have had to learn them along the way. Some of these traits were easy to learn and some were very difficult (and expensive). Regardless, I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn and improve myself.
We are now in a position where I feel that we can really grow our business, which is fun in and of itself, but the thing that I have found that I really enjoy is helping our team members grow. I love the opportunity to work with our team on personal and professional development. As I have gone through the changes in myself as a leader, manager, entrepreneur, and person, my life has improved in all aspects. I love sharing the things that I have learned and coaching our team members.
We have a great team that works very hard to promote the vision that I set out to create. Our mission is to “Improve Lives by Inspiring Confidence through Exceptional Experiences and Outstanding Results” and our motto is “Improving Lives by Inspiring Confidence.” These words are easy to say but can sometimes be difficult to achieve. Our team does an incredible job creating that experience and is always looking for ways to improve the lives of our patients. It is inspiring!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think that I have probably made every mistake in the book! I am grateful that I have been able to learn from these experiences and become a better person, leader, and business owner. We have had some pretty painful experiences. Some of them have been our fault and others haven’t. However, I have learned that “every obstacle is an opportunity.” In fact, I have said that phrase so often that it has almost become a cliche within our team.
I have learned that we never stop learning. We think we are done with education when we finish school and training, but the way the world works is such that we are always learning new things. Often, the best education comes from our mistakes and failures. The tuition for education just gets more expensive as we get older!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your practice? What else should we know?
My work consists of several areas. I would be remiss without talking about the importance of my wife and family. For many of us, we think that our spouse and family relationships just happen. The older I get, the more I realize that they take work. One must invest time and energy into them in order for them to be successful. My wife and family are my single greatest source of pride and happiness.
Professionally, my responsibilities can be divided into several categories. My facial plastic surgery practice, the medical spas, the skincare line, and the teaching, education, and coaching that I perform.
In my facial plastic surgery practice, I perform rhinoplasty, facelift, blepharoplasty, brow lift, skin cancer reconstruction, and hair transplantation. Of all the procedures I perform, I am best known for my rhinoplasties. Rhinoplasty requires a special mix of aesthetic sense and structure. In many ways, a good rhinoplasty surgeon is similar to an architect. The nose must look good, but it must also function well, just like a house. My aesthetic sense is one that focuses on natural results that help enhance my patients’ natural beauty. Being able to build that part of my practice has been very exciting to me.
As the founder and owner of Form Derm Spas, I provide the vision. This is a fun way to help enhance the lives of our patients. I know that, to some people, the following statement may seem crazy, but we truly believe that improving eyelid wrinkles, plumping lips, removing unwanted pigment, reducing unwanted hair, etc. helps make people feel more confident and happier. I am so happy to help form the vision that creates excellent results and outstanding experiences for our patients.
The education, training, coaching of our PAs, nurses, estheticians, medical assistants, leadership team, and client relations staff is a highlight of my work as a business owner. As a facial plastic surgeon, rhinoplasty, which requires such high aesthetic and structural expertise, brings me the most satisfaction and enjoyment. With all these things, I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
This is a tough question to answer. There are a lot of different characteristics that I think are important for success. The single characteristic that I would probably name is tenacity or grit. The ability to endure and persevere through ups and downs is important. I guess part of what I think helps me maintain that necessary endurance is vision. Having a vision of how to look forward to the future and how to navigate through the difficult times allows one to maintain hope and move forward.
I also think that curiosity is important. Being curious helps you look for reasons ways to always improve. Developing curiosity in yourself as well as in those around you is a powerful tool that can help lead to success, happiness, and fulfillment. In addition, curiosity allows you to educate yourself and improve yourself. None of us are born with a perfect set of traits that lead to success. I firmly believe that we need to strengthen our natural talents as well as strengthen our weaknesses to find happiness and fulfillment.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@wardmd.com
- Website: https://www.wardmd.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wardmd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WardFacialPlasticSurgery/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pdanielwardmd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_16DQvkEZbDXEra3Z7fqCA
