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The Mindset Shifts That Transformed My Business · Beyond the Needle: The Aesthetics Business Podcast

• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Beyond the Needle, the Aesthetics Business Podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Each week, I'm here to share real, actionable strategies and bring on expert guests to help you level up, attract more patients, and build a standout brand.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let's turn your passion into a thriving business together.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Beyond the Needle podcast.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And today I'm doing something slightly more different.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is going to be a little bit more personal, but still hopefully full of great value for all of you practitioners and clinic owners listening.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: I have just hit five years in business, and I thought, what better way to celebrate than to sit down and really unpack what those five years have actually looked like behind the scenes.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And the lessons that I've learned along the way, the things that I wish I could go back and tell myself five years ago.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, I really want to dive into the reality of building something from scratch.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the decisions that felt uncomfortable at the time but ended up changing everything, the mistakes that cost me time, energy, and sometimes money, the habits and patterns I had to unlearn to actually move forward, and the shifts that genuinely made my business feel clearer, more stable, and more aligned.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know a lot of you listening are either at the very beginning trying to gain momentum, or you're in that middle phase where things are working, you're busy, you've got patients coming in, but some things still feel a little harder than they should, or you want to be moving forwards in a different way than you are at the moment, or you feel a little bit stuck.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you might be spinning a lot of plates, you're wearing every house in your business, you're making decisions constantly, and you feel a little bit burnt out from it.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And even though things might look fine from the outside internally, it can feel quite messy, reactive, and at times overwhelming.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the problem is there is a lot of advice out there that skips over that part.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: It either speaks to complete beginners in a very basic way or jumps straight to scaling teams, multiple clinics and big revenue milestones without really addressing what happens in between.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that phase where you're doing well, but you know things could be working better, you're busy, but you're not always intentional, and where you're growing, but it doesn't always feel sustainable.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the part I really want to focus on today because that's where most of the real work happens.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if I'm honest, a lot of the lessons that I'm going to share didn't come from things going perfectly, they came from things feeling frustrating, or from things not working the way I expected, or from realizing that what I thought would grow my business actually didn't, and then from having to step back and rethink how I was doing things.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And five years in, I've still not got it nailed down.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, do you ever really get things, you know, absolutely 100% perfect?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Probably not, if we're being completely realistic.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm still learning, and there's still things that I know I could be doing better, but there's still a lot of mistakes that I have learned from and lessons that I have learned along the way that I want to share with you all today.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't going to be a list of five quick tips or surface level advice, it's a deeper look at what actually changes the way you run your business day to day, how you make decisions, how you structure your time, how you communicate your value, how you show up online, and how you build something that doesn't just grow but feels really good to run as well and really aligned with where you want to be.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's the part no one really talks about enough.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just building a successful clinic, it's about building one that actually works for you.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if you ever felt like you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing, but something still isn't quite going the way you want it to, or it feels more difficult than it needs to be, or you feel overwhelmed or not quite sure where you're going next, then this episode is for you.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope you find it helpful.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And just a quick reminder before we get into it, if you enjoy these episodes, please don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast platform and leave me a little review.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: I really do appreciate them.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's get into it.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think the first thing I really want to say is this: nothing in business ever feels as clear as you think it's going to.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that might not be what you want to hear, especially if you're in that phase where you're waiting to feel more confident, more experienced, or more ready before you make certain decisions.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: When I first started, I genuinely believed there would be a point where everything clicks, where I'd have all the answers, I'd feel certain about my direction, decisions would feel obvious instead of uncomfortable.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: I thought clarity was something that you kind of arrived at, but like you'd reach a level in business where you finally felt you knew exactly what you were doing, and from that point on, everything would just feel a lot easier.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: But that never really happened.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're constantly adapting, and even now, five years in, I still make decisions without having all of the information.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: I still test things that don't work, I still put things out there that don't land how I expected.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I still have lots of ideas that I don't necessarily have the time to implement and trying to find the time to do that is, you know, a huge hurdle.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: I still have moments where I question myself on whether I'm making the right call.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is I don't let that stop me anymore.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't sit and wait for certainty before I move forwards.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that clarity does not come before action, it comes from it.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I see a lot of business owners in general holding themselves back without even realizing it.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you're waiting until your content feels perfect before you start posting, you're waiting until your branding feels right before you start putting yourself out there, you're waiting until you feel more confident before you raise your prices, you're waiting until you feel more experienced before you niche down or change your positioning.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And while you're waiting, nothing really changes and you're not moving your business forwards in the direction you want to take it.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: You stay in the same place, doing the same things, hoping for a different outcome.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: But confidence in business doesn't come from thinking about doing something, it comes from having done it, from seeing what worked and what didn't, from having real feedback, from learning what actually resonates with your patients, not what you think should resonate.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's what builds evidence, and evidence is what builds confidence.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of asking yourself, Am I ready to do this?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to start asking, what's the smallest version of this that I can try?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because you don't need to have everything figured out to take a step forward.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you're unsure about your content, you don't need a professional content day in clinic or a full rebrand.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to post something slightly more intentional this week and see how it lands.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you're unsure about your messaging, you don't need to rewrite your whole website overnight.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to test one clearer way of explaining what you do and pay attention to how people respond.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're unsure about your pricing, you don't need to overhaul your entire pricing structure.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can test an increase in one area and see what happens.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is how you build momentum, not by making one big perfect decision, but by making a series of smaller informed ones.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is where people get stuck because they're trying to skip that middle part.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: They want clarity without the trial and error, they want confidence without the discomfort and without the risk of it not going the way they want it to go in.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: But the reality is the people who move forward in business are not the ones who feel the most certain, they're the ones who are willing to move without it.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're in that place right now where you feel like you don't fully know what you're doing or you're questioning whether you're making the right moves, I want you to normalize that.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't a sign that you're behind, it's a sign that you're in the process.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And the only way through that phase is to stay in motion and to test things and to learn as you go.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because the version of you who feels more confident, more clear, and more in control of your business is not waiting for you somewhere in the future.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's built through the decisions you make now, even the uncertain ones.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Another lesson that really changed how I run my business is this: you have to be intentional about who you are building your business for.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mean that in a really vague know your audience way.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean making actual decisions about who you want to work with and then backing those decisions with your actions.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I think, you know, when anyone first opens their business, almost all of us just want clients, we just want customers.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: We've invested money, we're really scared about it not going in the direction we want it to go in or about it failing.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we're just willing to say yes to absolutely anyone who wants to work with us, every inquiry, every type of client, every project that came in, and that was me for a long time in the first few years of my business.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's normal.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think you know, you want income, you want experience ultimately, and you want momentum.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: But what I didn't realise at the time is that every yes was shaping my business.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you say yes to everyone, you don't just get more work, you get inconsistency.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: So that might be, you know, clients at completely different stages, clients with very different expectations, clients with different budgets and priorities, or clients who need very different levels of support.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, you know, I said yes to a lot of businesses who weren't really my ideal client, you know, and they didn't have maybe the budget and the resources to invest in their content in general.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: So therefore, the work that I could produce for them, in terms of, for example, social media marketing and management wasn't exactly the level of quality that I wanted and that I knew I was capable of.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: And every client that I work with reflects me and my skills.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if the quality of the work that I produce isn't the quality that I want to be producing, that looks bad on me because people don't look at those clients and think, or maybe they didn't have the budget to invest in their content, they just look at me and think, oh, that's the that's the content that she created.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Even if my hands were tied and I really had no other choice in the matter.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the same for practitioners, you know, if you're attracting a lot of people with very small budgets who only really want to invest in Botox, you're never going to get those amazing full-face transformation results that really reflect the skills and the experience that you have as an aesthetic practitioner because you're not attracting those people who want to invest in, you know, the strategically placed filler in various areas of the face where they've lost volume, the skin boosters and the laser treatments or the RF micro-leadling treatments to improve their skin quality so that you get this really nice, kind of beautiful, all-round result that really reflects your skills and the power of combination treatments.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: You're never going to get that because the majority of people that you're treating only really want to come in for their two or three areas of Botox, maybe the odd skin booster treatment.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And therefore, people aren't really seeing how skilled and talented you really are and what you're truly capable of.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is something that we need to be thinking about more in business and not be afraid to say no to people and to work out exactly how we want to do things and the types of people we want to work with, and then stick with that, you know.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So the shift for me, and this has happened more so in the last year, is turning away people who I do not think are the right fit for me, and who I do not think will be able to give me the content and the assets that I need in order to get the best results possible for them.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, I don't want to work with anybody who's going to be disappointed by the results that we get.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if they don't have the things in place or the knowledge or the time to invest in their own content, then they're probably not going to be a good fit for working with me.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: So the shift for me was when I stopped saying yes to everything and I started asking, who do I really want to work with repeatedly?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's the difference between building business and just filling your time.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: So here's how to actually apply this in a practical way.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: First, audit your recent work.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe look at your last 15-20 patients and split them into three groups aligned, neutral, and draining.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't necessarily about who paid the most, but it's about how they fit your way of thinking.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So for your aligned group, look at patterns such as what were they coming in for, what level of knowledge do they have, how decisive were they, what kind of results were they open to, how did they respond to your recommendations?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is your ideal profile, you know, not a made-up marketing avatar, but real data from your actual business.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then look at the draining group.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: So where was the friction?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Was it unrealistic expectations, budget resistance, constant reassurance needed, or disagreement with your approach, maybe lack of trust?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: This tells you what you need to filter out in order to start to attract more of the right types of patients.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because most people try to get better at handling misaligned patients or clients, but that's not the goal.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: The goal is to reduce how often they enter your business in the first place, and that's where your marketing comes in.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Once you know who you want more of, you can adjust your messaging to reflect that.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you want patients who value subtle long-term results and understand that the best results are built through a series of treatments, not one-off quick fixes, your content should talk about restraint planning and natural outcomes.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you should do a lot of storytelling, you should show a lot of before and afters if you can and talk about the journeys behind those results.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you want patients who really trust your expertise and are going to walk into clinic already trusting you and just ready to hear your recommendations and your plan for them and are going to be willing to kind of move forwards pretty quickly without wanting to go home and overthink everything, your content should show your decision making, not just your outcomes.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it should include your opinions on things in the industry and treatments.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: It should educate about different concerns that people have that you know your target audience have and how you would approach them and how you wouldn't approach them and the mistakes that people make and what you wish more people knew.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it should be quite opinion-based, not just three ways to improve jowls, but really showing your opinions about what you would do and what you wouldn't do and why.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is where a lot of people go wrong.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: They keep their messaging quite broad because I don't want to exclude anyone, but all that does is attract a mixture of people, which creates more work and less consistency and not necessarily the right people.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: So clear messaging filters your audience before they even book, which means higher consultation conversions, better alignment, easier decision making, and more consistent results.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: And once you're clear on who you want to work with, you have to support that with how you operate.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that might look like not offering certain treatments that don't align with your approach, being more direct in consultations about what you will and won't do, adjusting your pricing to reflect the level you want to work at, and not over-explaining or over-justifying your recommendations.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because if your positioning says one thing but your behavior says another, you will stay stuck.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of the worst things practitioners can do is lower their prices or keep their prices at a certain level or feel like they have to fit in with everyone else around them in terms of their pricing.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you don't want to outprice yourself for the area that you operate in, but you also don't need to be the cheapest or you don't need to be amongst the cheapest because people associate cheap with a certain level of quality, and that's going to attract a certain type of patient.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe a patient who doesn't have a huge budget and only wants to spend on the two or three areas of Botox every four or so months.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: But if you are one of the slightly more expensive practitioners in your area, that is going to attract a higher quality patient.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody who doesn't want to go and see the cheapest practitioner or one of the cheapest in the area.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: They want quality, they want a practitioner who will look after them, act in their best interests, and be able to achieve the results that they're looking for.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it has it takes a very natural approach.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: People will pay for quality, especially when it comes to their face.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to attract the right type of patient, which, you know, the type of patient who wants to take that full face approach, wants to have a treatment journey, wants to come in and hear your advice and go on a journey with you instead of have one syringe of filler and then not see you again for another six months or a year.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So look at who you're currently attracting, identify who actually fits, and then build your messaging, your service, and your boundaries around that group of people because the right patients don't just improve revenue, they improve how your business feels to run.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And in the last 12 months, I have really honed in myself who I want to work with.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: The ideal client for me, I now turn down more discovery calls that get roots in with me and inquiries than I actually have.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very specific about who I want to work with.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And in turn, that has attracted more of the clinic owners and practitioners that fit into that bracket, more of those dream clients.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's probably one of the best things that I have done for my business.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: I also want to touch on perfectionism in this episode because this is a lesson that I've learned a lot about over the last five years.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still learning, you know, do we ever fully get rid of that perfectionism trait if we have it?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of the things that I see slow people down the most, especially in aesthetics, because you know, as aesthetic practitioners, you're trained to care about detail, to care about how things look, to be precise, to think about outcomes properly.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that can be obviously a real strength.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: But the problem is that same mindset often spills into your business and your marketing where it actually works against you.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: It shows up as overthinking content before you post it, rewriting captions multiple times, delaying launches or offers, sitting on decisions for weeks, waiting until something feels ready.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: And what this actually does is slow everything down.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: You take longer to post or you post less because it just becomes exhausting.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: You delay decisions so progress stalls, you second guess things so you don't build momentum, and then it feels like your business isn't moving when actually it's just stuck in hesitation.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've done this so much myself, spending too long refining something that didn't need it, waiting until something felt completely right before moving forwards, trying to eliminate risk instead of managing it.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is, some of the best decisions I've made in business were not perfect, and I think you know, one of the best examples of this is with my own social media content.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I just have to, and I've got quite good at this where I just go, you know, who cares?
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna post it.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Who cares?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care if this if this doesn't land the way I want it to land, or if this doesn't look 100% the way I had it in my head, or I could probably sit on it for another day or two and add a few more ideas to it.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's is it valuable now to my audience?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Does it look on brand?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: Does it look good visually?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if it ticks those main boxes, just post it because it is so much better to do something than nothing at all.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can start to shift your mindset so that you stop overanalysing every single little thing you do and stop wanting it to be absolutely perfect, because actually some of the things that and I hear people say this all the time, you know, and some of the things that I've thrown together in five minutes without really much thought behind it are the things that perform the best for me in terms of engagement and reach and all those types of things.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: They've landed better with people because they just come across more authentic, right?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: More human, more real.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've not tried to over-perfect it and make it seem this massively polished thing, which then doesn't really resonate or connect with people as much.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: I've just thrown it together, it becomes across more human, people connect with it better.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: And those are normally things that do the best.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that you have to throw your content together in five minutes every day.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what I would recommend.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: But just stepping back a little bit and thinking, you know, does this post give value the way it is?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Do I need to really sit and put another half an hour or an hour of my time into it?
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: And chances are you probably don't.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: The reality is your audience doesn't need perfect, they just need clear, consistent, useful, valuable, and informative.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you only get better at that by doing it more often, not by sitting on one post for three days.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the same applies to decisions in your business, pricing, positioning, offers, messaging processes.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you take weeks to make decisions that could have been tested in days, you slow your own growth.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: So a really practical way to deal with this is to shorten your decision windows.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Not everything needs the same amount of time.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Start categorizing your decisions, low risk decisions, things that are easy to change or test, for example, a piece of content, a caption, a small change in messaging, an email newsletter.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: These should be decided within 24 hours.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: No overthinking it, no revisiting it five times, just decide and done.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Ticked off, you're not going to think about it again.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then you've got medium risk decisions.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: So these are things that have some impact but are still adjustable.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: For example, a pricing tweak or a new content direction or a small change in your offer or an in-clinic event that you're going to run.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Give these a few days, think it through, then commit, and then test.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then you've got higher impact decisions, so things that affect your business more significantly.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, these might take longer, but they still need a timeline because the goal isn't to remove the thinking entirely, it's just to stop stretching decisions unnecessarily.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: And the key mindset shift here is that you don't need to get it right, you just need to get it moving because action gives you data.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: When you post consistently, you see what resonates.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: When you test messaging, you see what converts.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: When you adjust your approach, you see what works.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that feedback loop is what builds confidence.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Not sitting on decisions until they feel perfect, but actually putting the action in place so that you can move your business forwards.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: And one more thing that's worth saying perfectionism often hides as high standards, but they're not the same thing.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: High standards improve your work, but perfectionism delays it.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're someone who knows you sit on things for too long, I really want you to be more intentional about speed because the businesses that grow are not the ones making perfect decisions all of the time.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: They're the ones making enough decisions quickly enough to keep moving forward and to learn what works so that they can apply more of that, and that is what builds momentum.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Another really, really important lesson that I want to share is accepting that growth will feel uncomfortable at every stage.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is really important to say because a lot of people assume that once they get past a certain point, it will start to feel easier, that once you're more experienced, more established, or more successful, the doubt goes away, the decisions feel obvious, and things just run smoothly.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: And for some people, maybe that's the case.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: But for a lot of us, and I know for me especially, that isn't their experience at all.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: What actually happens is the level changes.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: So at every stage, there's something new being asked of you a new decision that you haven't made for, a new level of responsibility you haven't carried before, a new risk that feels slightly bigger than the last one.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you start off in business, it's often just You and the decisions that you're making at that point still feel big and scary, but then as you kind of grow and you want to grow your business and take it in the direction that you want to take it, a lot of the time that involves scary decisions like investing in things that cost a lot of money for you.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: That might be investing in a device, you know, that's going to cost you a significant amount of money.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's investing in a team.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, that's been a big one is investing in people, in outsourcing things.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to touch on that as a separate lesson, but you know, that can feel quite scary because then it's not just yourself that you're having to create income for, it's other people as well.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to kind of maintain the level of income that you're already making plus more if you want to grow your business in order to keep those people on.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it feels like a big responsibility because suddenly you've got more people relying on you.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it feels easier when you've just got yourself to answer to.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: But these are all things that move your business forward.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the people who grow are not the ones who avoid that, they're the ones who learn to move with it.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of asking, how do I make this feel more comfortable for myself?
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: A better question is, is this the right next step for my business?
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Even if it feels uncomfortable at first.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because if the answer is yes, then the discomfort is just part of the process and it's not a reason to stop or to hold yourself back.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: And something that helped me a lot with this is separating emotional discomfort from actual risk.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Because not everything that feels uncomfortable is risky.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: Posting a more opinion-led piece of content might feel uncomfortable, but it's still low risk.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Raising your prices might feel slightly uncomfortable, but it's manageable and testable.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: Setting clearer boundaries might feel uncomfortable, but it actually improves your business long term.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: When you start to look at it like that, you realize a lot of the things you've been avoiding are not actually high risk, they're just unfamiliar.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then when it comes to things like investing in devices or team members, that is slightly higher risk.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: But to reduce the risk, all you need to do is sit down and look at your figures.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Sit down with your accountant, sit down with a financial advisor, whatever you need to do, and actually work out what the level of risk is for your business.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because actually, often most of the time we make it seem a much bigger thing than it is in our heads.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: But having the knowledge and understanding that you need to back up that decision will help it feel less uncomfortable if you know that actually you can bring on that new device because this is how much it's going to cost you per month.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is how many treatments you need to be doing per month in order to justify that cost and to pay off the device.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is how many patients have signed up to a wait list or expressed an interest in having that.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is what happens if you want to give the device back early if it doesn't work.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you have all of those facts in front of you, suddenly it feels more manageable and it's more comfortable decision to make.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: The goal isn't to remove discomfort from business because we're always going to feel uncomfortable about things as we grow, but it's to build the ability to handle it without letting it stop you and hold you back because every level of growth will ask something new of you.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the sooner you accept that, the easier it becomes to keep moving.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Another lesson that changed how I approach pretty much everything in business is this confidence comes from repetition, not knowledge.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And this is one I see a hard lot of practitioners back without them realizing it.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because in aesthetics, you're used to training courses, advanced courses, more qualifications, more information, and that's important from a clinical perspective, of course.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: But when it comes to running a business, a lot of people stay in learning mode for too long.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: You tell yourself, I just need to understand this a bit more.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'll start when I feel more confident, I need to get it right before I put it out there.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you keep researching, keep watching, keep thinking, keep talking to colleagues, but you don't actually move forwards.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the problem is confidence doesn't come from understanding something intellectually, it comes from doing it enough times that it stops feeling unfamiliar.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: You can know exactly how to structure a consultation, but until you've done enough of them, you won't feel fully confident in them.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: You can understand pricing strategy, but until you've actually said your prices out loud, handled hesitation, and seen people say yes, it's not going to feel natural.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can learn about content, hooks, messaging, target audiences, all of it.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: But until you've posted consistently and seen what works for you, you'll still second guess yourself.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: Confidence is built through evidence.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: And the only way you get that evidence is through repetition.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is where a lot of practitioners get stuck.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: They're waiting to feel confident before they show up consistently online, speak more clearly about what they do, raise their prices, refine their positioning, or make decisions in their business.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: But confidence is the result of those actions, not the starting point.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: So you end up in this loop, waiting, not acting, not building confidence, still waiting, and the cycle continues.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: The only way to break it is to reverse it.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: This means you act first and build confidence second.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: You need enough knowledge to start, but you don't need complete certainty to continue.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let's think about this in a practical way.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: If there's an area of your business where you feel hesitant, look at how you're actually doing it.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to go back to content for a second.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you're posting every couple of weeks and overthinking every single post, of course it's going to feel uncomfortable.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: But if you posted three or four times a week for a month, you made that your goal and you did everything in your power to make that happen, you'll have more feedback, more clarity, and more confidence moving forwards.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: People were going to say things to you in clinic about your content because they're seeing more of it on their feeds.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: They're going to say, Oh, I just love that post you did the other day.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: That really resonated with me, came across really well.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Your colleagues are going to message you and say things.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love how you're showing up at the moment.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's really good to see you posting more.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, friends and family are going to say things to you.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that's going to build your confidence, right?
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because people are giving you great feedback.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: And now let's look at consultations.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're still feeling unsure in consultations and you don't need every single attempt to be perfect for it to count, you just need it to be done.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Every post you publish, every consultation you refine, every decision you make, every time you explain your approach, all of it builds data.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that data is what removes doubt because you're no longer guessing, you've seen what works, you've experienced what doesn't.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're someone who feels like you're lacking confidence in certain areas of your business, don't default to more learning.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: Look at your volume.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: Where can you increase repetition?
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because you're no longer guessing, you've seen what works and you've experienced what doesn't.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I remember when I first started, when I had discovery calls with new potential clients, I would feel so nervous and I would literally spend hours beforehand reading about that business and preparing for it.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm not saying I don't prepare at all now, but I don't prepare anywhere near as much.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: I will look at the business website and their Instagram page and get a feel for them and what they're doing currently, but that's only going to take 15, 20 minutes of my time.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I've learned over time what works.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've put a clear structure in place for all of my discovery calls.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: I ask the same questions and I have a similar process that I follow for everybody because I've learned over time what works, what people want to know, what the key information is.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: And therefore, not only do those discovery calls take me less time to do, but people also get more out of them and leave with the right information that tells them everything they need to know about me and working with me and whether I'm going to be the right fit for them.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: That confidence that I now have with my discovery calls didn't come from me doing loads and loads and loads of trainings on how to perfect that process.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: It came from me having a lot of discovery calls and learning from them over time.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And now my confidence is on another level from where it was five years ago.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Another lesson that took me a while to fully understand is that the way you think about your business matters much more than what you do.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by this is two people can do very similar things on paper and get completely different results.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: In terms of, you know, aesthetics, two people can be operating in the same area, they can offer the same treatments, post similar content, and work similar hours.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: But one grows steadily, builds a stronger reputation, attracts the right patients, and feels in control, and the other feels stuck, inconsistent, and like everything takes more effort than it should.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is usually in how they think, how they think about value, how they think about their role, how they make decisions, how they respond when things don't work, and how they handle discomfort.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: That thinking drives behavior, and behavior drives results.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: So let me give you some practical examples of what this actually looks like.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: In terms of value, one practitioner might think I need to justify my prices.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they overexplain, discount, second guess their recommendations, and try to please everybody.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Another practitioner thinks my value is in my expertise and judgment.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: So they communicate clearly, stand by their pricing, recommend confidently, the key word here being confidently, and they attract patients who trust them.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: Same skill set, different thinking, completely different outcomes.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then when it comes down to decisions, one practitioner might overthink everything, wait for certainty, delay changes, and keep things the same for far too long.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas another makes decisions with the information they have, tests, reviews, and adjusts, and moves quickly enough to build momentum.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is going to stay stuck and the second one will move forward.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: They might not get everything right, but they will learn and they will move forward.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then we've got discomfort.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: One practitioner might see discomfort as a warning sign.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: They think this feels hard, so maybe I shouldn't do it.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: Or I might look at it next week when I just feel like I've got a little bit more brain space.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: So they avoid visibility, stay in safe content, delay raising prices, and keep things familiar.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas another practitioner sees discomfort as part of their growth.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: They think this feels uncomfortable because it's new.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: So they lean into it, get better through repetition, and expand what they're capable of.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: One protects where they are, where the other one moves beyond it.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why mindset is so important because it directly affects what you do next.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: It affects what you say yes to, what you say no to, how you price yourself, how you show up online, how you communicate, how you handle challenges.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: It shapes the entire way your business operates.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're not always consciously choosing these thoughts.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're reacting based on habits, past experiences, and what feels familiar.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: So if your business feels harder than it should, or inconsistent, or like you're putting in effort without getting in return, it's worth stepping back and looking at how you're thinking, not just what you're doing.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself, where am I undervaluing what I do?
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I delaying decisions I already know need to be made?
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I avoiding discomfort instead of working through it?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I adding more instead of improving what's already there?
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because these small shifts in thinking create big shifts in behaviour.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: And once behavior changes, results tend to follow.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: So this isn't about becoming a completely different person overnight.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's about becoming more aware of the patterns that are currently driving your business and deciding whether they're actually helping you grow or whether they're holding you back.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because the actions that you take matter, but the thinking behind those actions matters a lot more.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's what really determines whether your business stays where it is or actually moves forward in the direction that you want to take it.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's talk about outsourcing, about hiring, because this is another lesson that's made a huge difference to how I run my business.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: Learning and realizing that you do not need to do everything yourself.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I say that as someone who did exactly that in the beginning and still does that to an extent.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is still a journey that I'm on.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I want to hold on to everything: client work, admin, content inquiries, planning every single decision.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: Not because it was the best way to run a business, because it isn't, but because it feels easier in the moment, because it feels easier than finding the right person, which can sometimes feel like finding a needle in a haystack, and then going through the process of onboarding that person, training them, and then dealing with the risk of them turning out not to be the right person when you've just invested all of that time into them.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it just feels quicker to do it yourself, it feels safer to keep control, it feels like no one else will do it quite the same.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, to an extent, I think for me that is the case because I think, you know, I have quite a unique understanding of the aesthetics industry.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've worked in this industry for 10 years now.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: I worked in clinics in a management capacity, then I got into marketing.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: So now I combine the two.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: But if I'm gonna find anyone else that has that same level of knowledge of aesthetics as me, no, probably not, you know, and I have tried to bring on people before to manage client accounts alongside me, but it just didn't work because they didn't have that level of knowledge, and aesthetics is so vast, you know.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: You've got obviously your fillers, your Botox, your skin boosters, your biosimulators, RF microneedling, ultrasound, skin tightening, lasers, you know, it's so, so hard to teach somebody all of those different things.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a level of understanding that I have gained over a decade.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: Am I going to be able to teach somebody that?
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: Probably not, no matter what resources I give them.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I have learned over time to grow my business around that barrier and to outsource the areas where you don't necessarily need as much knowledge.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: They might need some input from me, but they don't necessarily need that vast in-depth knowledge of aesthetics that I have, you know, and I did for a long time insist on doing a lot of things myself that I didn't necessarily need to do myself because it felt easier.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: And there was a period last year where I was making more mistakes because maybe I was doing a little bit too much, and I had to take a step back and think, am I really giving people the experience that they want to have when they work with me if I'm going to make mistakes?
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not afraid to say that.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not afraid to hold my hands up and say, Yes, I have made mistakes.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's part of learning and growing and building a business.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we've all been there in the beginning, but the important thing is how you deal with it.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I thought, right, I can't be the one doing everything anymore.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I'm not going to give people the experience that I want them to have when they work with me.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I'm not going to be able to do the quality of the work that I want to be doing.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's for me, it's been outsourcing little things like the admin side of things, whether that's content scheduling or hashtag research, some video editing, some graphic design.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the strategy and the core of the content will always come from me when people work with me, because I'm the one with that knowledge.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: And one of my strengths, one of the things that I do very, very well, is I am able to get inside the head of a practitioner or a clinic and really kind of open it up and tap into what makes them unique and makes them special and really understand their tone of voice.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that side of things, you know, the bulk of the content will always have to come from me.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the design of some of the content, the video editing, that doesn't necessarily need to come from me.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: So those are things I can more easily outsource or, you know, have people, I don't like to use the word outsource because I have people within my team who are very invested in what they do and they work very closely with me, you know, and it's not necessarily about completely outsourcing everything and expecting people just to be able to do it without you.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like with my video editor who edits some of my videos for me, I'll still say, we need to have this popping up here, or this is the the brand of skincare that they use, but it needs to pop up here when they're talking about retinol, you know, because they're not going to know that.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I still need to have some input.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: But for me, it's been taking a step back and looking at what I can outsource and where I can save a bit of time and energy so that I can put more of that time and energy into the things that I'm really, really good at and are going to drive things forwards, keep things moving in the right direction, and keep my clients happy.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I understand why people do hold on to so much because letting go can feel like more effort initially.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: But what it does in the long term is it caps your growth because your time becomes the limit.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: There are only so many hours in the day that you can treat patients, reply to messages, create content, manage the business, and still have any energy left.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: So eventually you hit a ceiling.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: And when that happens, the instinct is often to work more.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: Longer days, more squeezed in, less downtime.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not a sustainable way to grow.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: And in the long run, you'll probably end up resenting your business from doing things that way.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: The real shift is moving from doing everything to building something that can run beyond just you.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't necessarily mean building a huge team overnight.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: It starts much smaller than that.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with looking at where your time is going, what you're doing repeatedly that doesn't actually require your level of expertise.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: For example, answering the same types of inquiries, sending the same information, chasing bookings, posting content, organizing your week, handling basic admin.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: These are all things that can either be systemized or supported.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where people often get stuck because they think outsourcing means losing control.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: But good outsourcing is actually the opposite.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you more control over how things are done because you've actually defined them properly.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where systems and written processes come in.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Before you hand anything over, you need to know how you want it done.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: What's your tone of voice?
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: How do you respond to inquiries?
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: What information do you always include?
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: What are your boundaries?
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: What standards do you expect?
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: Once that's clear, someone else can easily follow it.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: But if nothing is documented, outsourcing feels messy and inconsistent, believe me, that's one thing I wish I'd started doing earlier in my business is writing down how I do things and the processes of doing things because it saves so much time in the long run when you do need somebody to come on board, especially if you need somebody to come on board relatively quickly.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: So for you as a practitioner, some easy things that you can put in place today or outsource might be, you know, having someone to manage your emails and your Instagram inbox within set guidelines, outsourcing your social media marketing, using templates for common responses.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, on Instagram, you can set up templates for, you know, if you get the same sort of inquiries time and time again, or having an automated message that people receive when they message you to say you don't accept inquiry, like you don't deal with inquiries over on Instagram.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: If they want to book an appointment, this is the link to book directly.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is the email address or phone number to ring if you need to speak to someone in clinic, and having automated booking systems, even one small change can free up hours each week, but more importantly, it frees up mental space because it's not just about the time you spend doing something, it's the mental load of knowing it needs to be done, the constant switching between roles, the feeling of always having to think about that.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: When you remove even a small part of that, everything feels lighter.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: You think more clearly, you make better decisions, and you have more energy for the parts of your business that actually need you, and that's where your value really is.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: So if you feel like you're at capacity or close to it, or you're spending time in the evenings replying to patients and doing all the admin side of your business rather than actually having downtime, look at what you can remove from your plate.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself, what am I doing right now that doesn't need to be done by me?
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: What am I repeating that could be systemised?
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: And where am I spending time that could be better supported?
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then start with just one thing because you don't need to outsource everything.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_00: Believe you me, for me, it's been a journey, you know, it's been finding one right person for one small thing, and I've kissed a few frogs along the way.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not, it's not always going to be easy.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely a process, and I would definitely say do one thing at a time because then it won't feel overwhelming.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to stop doing everything, and that's what actually creates space for your business to grow.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I say, Wind up this episode.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_00: If I had to simplify five years in business into what actually makes the biggest difference, it would be this.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: I stopped waiting to feel ready.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: I focused on improving instead of adding.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: I got clear on who I want to work with, I put boundaries and systems in place, I started outsourcing strategically, and I started trusting action over overthinking.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: Those aren't the only things that matter, but those are the things that changed how I operated day to day.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: They changed the quality of my decisions, the consistency of my work, the way I use my time, and the kind of business I was actually building.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that matters because a lot of people are looking for a really big breakthrough, the strategy, the hire, the launch, the platform, the offer, the thing that changes everything overnight.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_00: But when I look back at the last five years, most of the progress came from smaller shifts in how I thought and how I worked.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: It came from deciding that I wasn't going to wait until I felt fully confident before I started showing up properly.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: It came from realizing I didn't need more ideas or more services.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: I needed to make what already existed stronger.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_00: It came from understanding that not everybody is meant to be my client and that trying to appeal to everyone actually weakened your message, drained your energy, and makes the business harder to run.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: It came from putting structure around things that I used to handle reactively, like communication, planning, content, or processes, so I wasn't rebuilding the same things every single week.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it came from seeing again and again that action teaches you faster than overthinking ever will.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that if something feels slightly uncomfortable, you're probably heading in the right direction.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: And just to do the thing anyway, to stop overthinking.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thinking it because if I was still overthinking things and letting imposter syndrome hold me back and fear of uncertainty hold me back, I wouldn't be creating this podcast episode right now because I would never have launched the podcast.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I always say that's one of the best things I did for my business.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: So many businesses stay stuck, not because the owner is lazy or incapable or not good enough, but because they're sitting in a loop of hesitation.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're thinking more, researching more, tweaking more, waiting more.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: And all of that can feel very responsible and productive, but often it's just delayed action dressed up as preparation.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_00: What actually moves things forwards is much less glamorous.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's making the decision, testing the message, refining the process, holding the boundaries, and repeating the thing long enough to see if it works.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's what creates momentum.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening to this and your business feels messy, unclear, inconsistent, or just more effortful than it should, I want you to know that it doesn't automatically mean you're doing something wrong.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: It usually means you're in the middle of building, and building does feel uncertain, especially in aesthetics where pressure is high, the industry moves quickly, patients have complex expectations, and social media makes it look like everyone else has things more figured out than they actually do.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: But most people are figuring things out as they go.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is that some people stay emotional they do it, and some people wait for certainty that never really arrives.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_00: So if I could leave you with something practical from all of this, it would be this.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: Pick one area of your business that currently feels like it's draining you more than it should be.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's your content, maybe it's your consultations or your patient communication or your admin, your boundaries, or your positioning.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of trying to fix everything at once, ask yourself five questions.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I waiting to feel ready instead of taking the next step?
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: What am I adding that actually needs improving instead?
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: Who am I really trying to attract?
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: And does my business reflect that clearly?
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: What could be systemized or made more structured?
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: Where am I overthinking something that would become clearer through action instead?
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: Those questions will tell you a lot because usually the issue is not that you need more, it's that you need more clarity, more structure, and more honesty about what isn't working.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_00: You do not need to reinvent your whole business.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to start over and you don't need to wait until next month, the next quarter, or some karma season in order to start something or do something, because that karma season is probably never going to come.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to make one stronger decision than the one you made last week.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_00: That is how businesses are built, not through one perfect move, but through repeated intentional ones.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: I really hope this episode resonated and has been helpful for you.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: And if it has, I would genuinely love for you to share it to your stories on Instagram or to send it to another practitioner who is in that building phase right now because I think more of us need honest conversations about what growth actually looks like.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want more conversations like this around marketing, business growth, visibility, and building a clinical brand that actually feels aligned, make sure you're following the podcast so you don't miss the next episode of Beyond the Needle.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for tuning in, and I will see you in the next one.