The Curated Beauty Podcast

A theme popping up again and again in business coaching sessions is the entrepreneurial myth that simple willingness to open a business will make it possible. Many people have the drive to start a business, but don’t understand the ins and outs of actually running one. It will require you to go from practitioner to visionary. What does it look like, and where does it begin?

There are three business roles you will fill on your evolution. When you start out, you are the provider; the hands-on person. Eventually, you will become the manager, organizer, and problem solver. Ultimately, what you want to do is fulfill the role of true entrepreneurship and become the visionary and innovator. Many business owners get stuck in the first role.

It’s crucial to create systems to set yourself apart. Create infrastructure to anchor the business. Your business should have its own soul and its own heartbeat. This requires you to look at the business as a whole outside of the role you play and the services you provide.

Of course, there are pros and cons to be aware of. This stage of your evolution will require tremendous personal growth. Your mindset will have to shift into long-term strategies. Focus on scaling over growing, and challenge societal norms.

Leadership is not for everyone. It requires courage, audacity, and flexibility. Zoom out to see the bigger picture. Realize that there will be highs and lows, but the highs will outweigh the lows. You can become the leader you want to be.

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As a business owner, you should know the benefits of raising your prices and why you should do it. If this sounds intimidating, know that it’s not about price gouging people because of inflation, it’s about representing your value. Pricing your services at the proper value is beneficial for you and your clients.

The way we’ve managed value has changed a lot over time. For example, think back to when we used to barter or exchange goods as currency. We’ve come a long way. But at the end of the day, the truth remains: Price is what you pay, value is what you get.

So, we’re left with this question: How do you increase your value so that you can charge more, and make that your obvious option? First, you have to embody this increase in value. In medical aesthetics, suggested retail plays a large role in setting your prices. Most business owners compare themselves to others and price in a way that keeps them competitive.

Being known as the cheapest option is certainly an approach, but it may not be the best one. Your ideal clients won’t care if you’re the least expensive, but they will care if you’re known for providing the most value. Understanding and emphasizing the quality of your services and team is where it starts.

Great results, customizability, and setting expectations for the outcome is what your clients really care about. You’re not just selling a service or units of Botox—you’re delivering on a promise. In the end, it’s not about the price tag, but rather what you’re offering.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

In this episode we’re going to talk about three ways that people respond to you when you’re in a growth phase. The growth can be personally, spiritually, in your career, and more. As you are on a path of personal transformation, the reactions of others may make you question yourself.

The first way that people may respond is the cheerleader. These are the people who see your growth and are genuinely inspired, plus they don’t really compare themselves to you. Cheerleaders will likely be people who have walked a similar path, or they could be from the small sector of people that are just naturally so kind.

Next up is the eclipser. These people find your growth to be too much to handle, and they don’t necessarily drag you down, but they slowly exit your life. They’re probably friends or family members that are comfortable with the old you and think the new you is intimidating.

Finally, there’s the crab mentality. If there is a bucket of crabs and one tries to climb out, the others will literally drag the escapee back down. This is a natural phenomenon, not just a metaphor. This mentality from people you know can be overt, but it can also be very subtle, such as a passive aggressive comment here and there. If you do manage to escape the “bucket,” it can bring upon existential loneliness that comes with the territory.

Navigating this loneliness is key. You have to develop mental resilience that filters out discouragement. Meditation, journaling, expressing gratitude, and setting really clear boundaries are great ways to strengthen yourself. Also, when you see someone jumping to the next level, be sure to become their cheerleader.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

If you’ve faced challenges in your business, you’ll know that confronting difficulties is a great motivator to gain more business knowledge. It inspires us to improve how we operate and continue better than before. This leads to discovering actionable steps to create a truly memorable client experience.

One of these vitally important actionable steps is conducting one-on-one conversations with your team members. Your employees have insight and a unique perspective that makes their feedback about how the business is running invaluable. Allow your team members to hone in on what really makes them happy, and they will shine and be able to develop their own unique abilities.

Another crucial actionable step is to focus on your top clients - the individuals who make up the top 20% of your business income. Cater to those high value customers who spend the most money. Offer memberships to reward people who are already bought in. When you make these clients the focus of your business, you will build incredibly strong and mutually beneficial relationships.

In order to create real improvement, it's absolutely necessary to double down on what truly adds value, and that will always be the relationships you have with your team members and your clients. This will open the doors for exponential growth in your business.

When you focus on your team and show them you support them, they are better equipped to support their clients. When you focus on your most valuable clients, they will return again and again, allowing your team members to build extraordinary relationships with those clients. This creates a positive feedback loop that will create an aligned and unique company culture that everyone will want to be a part of.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

There is undeniable power in positivity. The role of positivity and an abundance mindset in business helps to ensure a fruitful future. Learning to shift your mindset from “not enough” to “abundant” will reconfigure your mind's ability to see more possibilities, have more gratitude, and make more possible in your life. This is especially true for your business.

One of the greatest outcomes of an abundance mindset is manifesting opportunities. You’ll be surprised with what comes your way when you learn to see the world through the lens of possibility. If you don’t focus on the good, it won’t show up in your life. What you think that you deserve is ultimately what you will end up with.

Positivity and believing in abundance can invigorate the team spirit within your business. Positivity is contagious, and employees want to be a part of a business that sees a bright future for itself and leaves plenty of room for growth and joy. You’ll attract incredible employees and they will find a sense of community that lights them up.

Fostering a community-driven approach is vitally important to the abundance mindset. You can’t prevent other businesses from offering their services, but if you truly believe in your business, and believe you have something unique and important to offer, then you are in a category of your own and therefore have nobody to compete with.

Most important of all, adopting an abundant mindset supports your mental health and well-being. We live in a very fast-paced, challenging world. As business owners, it’s important to have every tool you can at your disposal. An abundance mindset is free and can only serve to support you on your journey toward success.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

One of the most misunderstood topics in the business world is value versus price. At the core of each and every client relationship is the value that you hold for them. This applies to medical esthetics, but also any other business you can think of. Value is a perception of your product or service by the customer.

Perceived value is greater than the price. The customer should feel that they are at an advantage in order to create a positive experience for that customer. This will help to build those strong, long-lasting client relationships every business owner wants.

Price is just a monetary cost. If you don’t offer anything to the product or the procedure to add value, clients will not be attracted to your specific business. Paying customers want more than just the advertised procedure. Your clients want to leave with a feeling. There are a multitude of ways to provide them with this feeling, such as going above and beyond in customer care.

To create compelling value, exceptional customer service is the number one tool. This goes beyond politeness. As a business owner, you want to be able to anticipate your clients needs and to go above and beyond in providing for them. Exceed their expectations and make them feel like they are deeply cared for.

There are many other strategies you can utilize to add value to your service. Offering unique treatments, creating an ambiance that is inviting and relaxing, and investing in professional staff are all factors that add value. When you add value, your clients leave feeling their best, and in turn, keep coming back to the business.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

Vulnerability is an important tool to reflect on our past disappointments in order to guide the journey of the learning process. While it can be difficult to share honestly about the challenges we face, these challenges will ultimately shape who we are. Not just as business owners, but as leaders and individuals.

Experiencing betrayal in our personal lives is inevitable, but when it occurs in our professional life, it can be incredibly jarring. If you’ve ever experienced a breach of trust, finding yourself on the precipice of an emotional chasm, know that you are not alone.

Despite our best efforts to build a solid team, we ultimately can’t control the decisions of others, nor can we read their minds to completely understand their intentions. In the aftermath, you may be faced with a fractured team and a sense of loss for that trust. While most of the advice you will get from others in the wake of this situation will be to create a legal fortress around your business, it’s vital to restore trust, as well as to see and treat your team as your number one priority.

Have one-on-one meetings with your team members. Not as an evaluation of their skills, but as an invitation to them to have you hear from them what they need. Provide for your team members beyond financial compensation, because that doesn’t assure cohesion. From these meetings you can come together to celebrate a shared vision that is larger, has greater purpose, and is founded on deeper, more meaningful connections.

You can reflect on your trails to ultimately become stronger as a business owner and team overall. Problems and challenges will arise, but go forth with the knowledge that they are being faced by a more experienced leader.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique 

One thing is abundantly clear when making connections in the medical aesthetics industry: building community is a pillar of a successful business. In this episode, Katie Martin is here to have a conversation about community over competition. Katie is a physician's assistant from California, as well as VP of Clinical Operations and Advanced Injector at Holden Timeless Beauty.

Collaborating can take place inside or outside the clinic itself. Within clinic settings, it's smart to play off other colleagues’ or practitioners’ strengths. That way, you can fill in each other’s gaps and focus on what you’re good at, thereby capitalizing on your own unique abilities. One person may be a visionary, while another may be more detail oriented. A thriving business needs both.

Refer to practitioners outside the clinic if you believe they can provide the best service your client is seeking. This will make for happy clients, and those clients will return to you for your services. Be an expert in your niche with the knowledge that holistic treatment is vitally important. It’s always about removing the ego and focusing on getting your client the best outcome possible.

Behaving competitively toward other injectors will impact how your clients view your business and will attract negative energy. Avoid speaking poorly about products they have used or other injectors. Instead, discuss how to move forward. It's likely you will receive back the energy you put out.

Everyone deserves a seat at the table, and that’s why it’s important to support community over competition. Transform your life and the life of your patients. Focus on working together with your colleagues to create self-esteem from the inside out by providing the best client outcomes possible.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

One of the greatest gifts of entrepreneurship is hindsight. Hindsight is a tool to help you assess where you are now so you can make necessary changes and move forward. It’s helpful to reflect on what could have been done differently to help yourself and also help others who may be earlier on in their business building journey.

When you are starting out, set your business up as if it will be huge regardless of how big you plan for it to be. It’s much harder to go back and change standard operating procedures, key performance indicators, team member expectations, and especially payroll once the ball gets rolling. Setting the standard in the beginning will save you the headache of negotiating down the road.

Get into the nitty-gritty of your business plan. Going into detail with regards to legal structure, taxes, ownership structure, and expense tracking are not the most exciting parts of starting a business, but they are vital aspects. Take care of those important tasks in detail from the beginning to help the business run more efficiently from the start.

Remember, your reputation is how you make people feel. Medical aesthetics is a small industry, and there’s a good chance you will run into the same people repeatedly. Develop positive relationships with colleagues, suppliers, partners, and customers. Invest in an identity that communicates your core values as a business so that these people know what to expect.

Be adaptable and flexible. Challenges that arise outside of your control will pop up. Find ways to creatively problem solve, and it will build up your resilience. Don't be afraid to shake things up. Lean into the harder aspects of entrepreneurship. It’s never too late to make changes or start over.

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique

The skin is our body’s largest organ, and what we put on our skin will ultimately determine its health. With the overwhelming amount of marketing and product availability in skin health products, most people don’t know what to look for. Skincare is akin to tending a garden, requiring different tools for different jobs. There are 10 ingredients that play essential roles in tending to this garden.

Focus your skincare regime on one that is nourishing, regenerating, and rejuvenating. If you can learn the function and benefits of certain ingredients, you can make informed decisions. Products many brands have used or still use are outdated as more science emerges in the skincare field.

Understanding what ingredients like peptides, tranexamic acid, growth factors, and glycolic acid can do for your skin will guide you into finding what products are best suited to your skin. Whether you need help with hyperpigmentation, discoloration, signs of aging, or just want a brighter tone and more even texture, there is something out there for you.

It’s important to also consider where those ingredients are sourced from, and even have a deeper understanding of some of the smaller chemical differences and how they can affect your skin in order to have the most effective regime possible. Knowing what form each ingredient comes from, and which one is best, will give you the best results possible.

Of course, recommendations for specific brands and specific products are provided. Many of the products do double or triple duty, containing two or more of these essential ingredients. You can also book a consultation at Beauty Culture Spa for in-person or virtual skincare to help you create a curated regimen for your unique skin.

Beauty Culture Spa: https://beautyculturespa.com/

Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/BeautyCultureTechnique