Enterprising duo, Dr Michael Ong and Dr Terrence Teoh are founders of 1 Doc Holding Sdn Bhd, one of Malaysia’s biggest multi-award winning skin centres. The co-founders share with TMV on their journey in establishing One Doc and their aim in introducing an entirely new concept of skin aesthetics to customers.

“I graduated from the University of Melbourne with a medical degree and in 2008, I decided to work in Singapore as the country was much more medically advanced during that period,” says Dr Terrence Teoh. “I worked there for around 9 to 10 years as a family doctor and a general practitioner. After 5 years, I ventured into the field of aesthetics. I worked in Singapore as an aesthetician for 4 to 5 years and returned to Malaysia for another 2 years.”

On the other hand, Dr Michael Ong graduated from University of Malaya in 2012 and completed 4 years of doctor’s training in a government hospital. “During those 4 years, I discovered a deep passion and interest in aesthetics so I took up some courses on aesthetics. I met Dr Teoh in Singapore and we shared the same vision. Therefore, One Doc was established in 2016 with the goal of being the number one skin centre in Malaysia,” says Dr Ong,

“We now have 16 outlets in Malaysia and we plan to set up one more centre in September. We have also diversified our treatments from face treatment to hair growth,” says Dr Teoh enthusiastically. “Our initial goal was to provide non-invasive treatments for pimples, pores, pigments and scar problems with no side effects. We are the first one-stop Pico Skin centre that provides facial treatments for all skin problems. About 2 years ago, we established our treatment centre called Hair Doc and we provide effective treatments for scalp problems and hair loss,” Dr Ong adds.

One Doc’s mission is to provide the best solution for all types of skin problems by constantly doing research and development (R&D). “We invested a lot in R&D in order to upgrade and improve our treatments. We started out with basic skin treatments performed by technology that have been around for 8 to 9 years,” Dr Ong excitedly says. “Now, we brought the first Pico Skin technology from Korea and used it for treatment in our centre. We are now the biggest Pico Skin Centre in Malaysia.”

“We take pride in the values we have in our company. The first is transparency. We are very honest about our treatments and its pricing. All treatments and pricing are similar in every centre. Second is maintaining professionalism. We ensure that all staff, including consultants and therapists are professionally trained by doctors. The staff also undergo examinations to ascertain that they have sufficient knowledge and could perform satisfying skin treatments on customers. Lastly, we are extremely result-oriented. We will gather the feedback of clients and staff on the results experienced in order to ensure that we are able to deliver effective and expected results for our clients,” says Dr Ong.

One of One Doc’s best treatment products is One Doc PicoPulse™️  the latest patented skin treatment technology which is still considerably new in the Malaysian market. “Ever since we introduced PicoPulse™️ to the public, it is now a well sought-after treatment option in the market for treating various skin conditions,” says Dr Teoh. “We are only using machines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our machines are also formulated specifically based on One Doc’s protocol,” Dr Ong adds. “As our machines are purchased from Korea, they are catered for Koreans’ skin type. With our protocol, we are able to use it on South East Asians’ skin condition.”

“We plan to expand our outlets to smaller cities such as Melaka, Kuantan and Kedah,” says Dr Ong. “One of the biggest challenges we faced was during the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the Covid-19 pandemic as we were not able to perform our treatments without physically meeting clients. However, we are grateful that we have no staff turnover since the company was established,” says Dr Ong who also shares that during the lockdown period. One Doc only sold products online and did not earn any profit but they still needed to support their staff, pay rental and fulfil other financial commitments. Dr Teoh adds, “As we have many branches, we are thankful that our company survived financially.”

The company sets strict key performance indicator (KPI) for their staff and rewards those who achieve them with flying colours. “We need to ensure that clients are comfortable and our staff are aware of their responsibilities and duties,” says Dr Teoh. “As our team members comprise mainly of young people, we are laid-back and fun to work with.” On the other hand, Dr Ong believes in being accountable and responsible at work. “We set a target revenue and everyone in the corporate hierarchy has a KPI,” says Dr Ong.

With the presence of many competitors, the doctors ensure that One Doc would always remain the best by improving and planning a step ahead in purchasing new machines to remain as the leader in the market. “We have to research, think and plan ahead in order to always be the number 1 in Malaysia,” says Dr Teoh. “What inspires us the most is the fulfilling results obtained by our clients.”

“Our plan is for One Doc to keep expanding new outlets and also be a listed company. We also hope to have 20 outlets by next year and also provide treatments for slimming, an area which I’m interested in,” says Dr Teoh who also plans to set up an academy where he can recruit, share his experience and teach students who are interested in medical aesthetic treatments.

Dr Teoh values his family time, “I’m a family man and I’ll return home straight after work ends. Only occasionally, I’ll head out with my friends. As my children are still young, I try to spend more time with them. It is difficult to balance my work and professional life as my job also requires me to travel around Kuala Lumpur and to other states.” “Successful businessmen spent most of their time doing business and they never stop working hard. They will even be at work during the weekends. It is the same with me as I will bring my wife and kids to the outlets and when I’m free, I’ll spend quality time with them,” says Dr Ong with a smile.

“My advice to young people who are interested to start an aesthetic business is to be unique and to think of their own selling point in order to stand out. They would need to know their direction in setting up the business,” says Dr Teoh while Dr Ong advises youngsters to dream big and don’t be afraid to fail. “We took up the challenge in setting up the company and finally we have achieved success. Thus, taking a step out of one’s comfort zone and embracing challenges is vital if one wants to garner success in life.”