Depending on what their specific problems are, clients need to know that I have the knowledge and credentials to help with that issue. If I am not the one, I will try and find them someone better qualified for their specific needs. Sometimes I will give them free advice if it’s a lack of budgeted funds. I’ve helped many solo practices over my career. Once they see success, they find that my services are worth paying for, so they give me a call. One of the things I tell my clients is that selling products is vital because everybody needs them. Clients are all buying skincare, somewhere right. So set your goal every week. Take a product, For example, a cleanser for all skin types. Everybody’s going to mention the cleanser to every client today because everybody washes their face. See how many more cleansers you sell by bringing that small goal to your staff. Have successes up on a whiteboard for staff to see. What’s the product sales for this week? Set little mini goals instead of everyone’s got to sell $500.00 worth in this amount of time. It’s much easier to make small goals That is one of the little things that I’ll share with them at the beginning. , if that doesn’t work, then, maybe I’m not the right person for you, but I’ll give you some little tips, try this and see if it works. I enjoy those callbacks that say, “we sold 25 cleansers this week and normally we sell three”.
Can you give an example of how you helped a client overcome an obstacle?
One Medi Spa with new employees was unable to use some of their device’s handpieces because they weren’t trained. Clients were asking for this treatment but because no one was trained on the pixel handpiece, no services were being performed and they were losing business. I was able to go in and train the entire staff at one time, We lined up clients that could be used as models, went over potential safety issues and protocols that were associated with using this handpiece and how to get the best results. I also covered some of the best ways to sell this treatment on their menu. The owner was then able to add this into their service menu because the aestheticians were trained, confident and ready. It’s about quality assurance standards and making sure that they’re doing everything properly. Sometimes this can be accomplished very quickly depending on the experience levels of the staff.
What inspired you to get into this industry?
I kind of fell into aesthetics by accident. I was working for a physician at the time doing marketing and consultations for his sclerotherapy business and he wanted to buy a laser for hair removal. I was trained and soon I was running two of his clinics doing laser hair removal and some other procedures. It was at the beginning of the aesthetics boom in 1998. Lasers for hair removal were cutting edge at the time and I found that I just loved it. I then went to school and I got my aesthetics license while I was working in the medical office. I have worked at Oregon Health Sciences University, worked in laser sales and education for skincare companies as well as running my clinic. I have served as the Chairman of Oregon State Board of Cosmetology for two terms and on the Nation Interstate Council skincare liaison committee. I am also a subject matter expert for the State of Oregon Cosmetology board for Laser and Advanced modalities.
Can you share any lessons that you learned early on that still impacts how you operate today?
The biggest thing for me is that I’m very hands-on. I have adult children and my son always says mom, you could’ve been franchised. I was one of the first in our area operating a laser hair removal clinic. I’m not a good people manager and I know that about myself. I’m the type that when I’m cooking, instead of having somebody come help me, I just do it myself. I’m very much that kind of a person. I feel like I know how to do it and I do it better. And that’s a bad thing. You must trust your employees. If you want to grow, you must hire good people. I’ve had to learn I can’t be everywhere. You must get good people and trust them. That’s a hard thing for me and I had to adjust along the way. I take personal pride in my work and I feel that way in my consulting business as well. If I don’t have the answer, I will find out for you or point you in the right direction. One experience of a bad hire was early on in my business
I hired a woman to come in and work for me. She seemed great and very qualified. She was going to be doing some tattooing and permanent makeup in my office on a part-time basis.
She came in and she looked professional. We had a great interview and the first day on the job she showed up in overalls and had a toy toilet with her. This toilet was almost a foot tall that had the word “tip’s written on the front of the bowl. She put it on the counter in the front lobby in the receptionist area. This toilet made a flushing sound when you threw money into the bowl. I didn’t know how to handle that at first because it’s just not acceptable and was so weird. I remember my receptionist’s face as the toilet was right at her eye level. We locked eyes both of us in shock. Long story short, my new employee and I parted ways. This was a very memorable and unique situation dealing with an employee. That’s a pretty strange example but it really happened, and I can laugh about it now. I am now a firm believer in an employee expectation handbook.
