Marti MedSpa Mentor

This one might p**s some people off. 🤷‍♀️

I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and one thing I will never understand is asking someone for their experience and advice when you’ve already decided what you’re going to do when you have no expertise in this business.

There are a million ways to build a successful business. Mine isn’t the only one. And if you do it completely differently than I would and absolutely kill it? YES. Teach me.

But there are fundamentals. They MATTER.

And one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is this:

Don’t build the business you HOPE to have before you’ve built the clientele to support it.

Get educated. Get really good. Learn how to get results. Learn how to connect with people. Build demand. Know your numbers. Protect your capital.

Then grow.

Because sometimes you don’t have a client problem.

You have an overhead problem.

Sometimes the industry isn’t “oversaturated.” You just don’t know your numbers.

The schools aren’t “pumping out too many graduates.” You haven’t learned how to differentiate yourself and connect with your clientele.

And sometimes you don’t need another piece of equipment, a prettier space, or another marketing strategy.

You need help.

So ask for it.

Ask the people who have already made the mistakes. Ask the people who have survived the hard years. Ask the people who have built something sustainable.

And then here’s the important part:

Actually listen to the advice you asked for.

There are so many versions of ourselves we’re taught to edit.

Be professional. Be appropriate. Don’t say too much. Don’t offend anyone. Remember, you’re someone’s mom, boss, employee, wife, daughter. Act accordingly.

And listen, I believe in professionalism. I used to be the boss who made you cover your tattoos and monitored conversations on the salon floor because I never wanted another client to feel uncomfortable. I still believe there’s a time and a place.

But the treatment room?

The treatment room is different.

Close that door and people become PEOPLE again.

If you could hear the conversations that have happened in my treatment room over the years, some of you would die. 😂

We’ve talked about s*x, God, spirituality, marriage, divorce, dating, infidelity, addiction, sobriety, money, aging, bodies, kids, husbands, ex-husbands and family drama.

I’ve had clients tell me their kid is going to jail.

I’ve had clients bursting with pride because their kid got into their dream college.

I’ve had women lie on my table glowing because something incredible happened, and women in that exact same spot trying not to cry while telling me something they haven’t been able to say anywhere else.

This is one of my favorite parts of this career.

For an hour, nobody has to perform.

You don’t have to be Mom.
You don’t have to be the boss.
You don’t have to have your s**t together.
You don’t have to pretend your marriage is perfect.
You don’t have to pretend you’re not devastated.
You don’t have to edit every thought before it leaves your mouth.

And neither do I.

There are boundaries. There is confidentiality. There is professionalism.

But somewhere along the way, I think we confused professionalism with pretending we aren’t human.

I can know my stuff, take my profession seriously, give you an incredible treatment AND laugh with you about something wildly inappropriate five minutes later.

I don’t just love what happens to people’s skin in the treatment room.

I love what happens when that door closes and people finally feel safe enough to just be themselves.

That might actually be my favorite part of this entire job. ❤️

LET’S TALK REAL MONEY IN AESTHETICS.

Okay guys, you know you come here for the real education, and I’m always going to keep it real with you. I know my clients see these posts too, so I want to be transparent.

Clients, when you pay $200 or $300 for a treatment, your esthetician isn’t putting $200 or $300 in her pocket. You’re paying for education, experience, supplies, equipment, insurance, licensing, continuing education and a safe place to have your treatment. Your esthetician deserves to make money AND you deserve to understand what you’re paying for.

Now estheticians, this is for you.

I’m so tired of bulls**t online courses saying, “Charge $300 for microneedling, see four clients a day and make $288,000 a year!”

I could sell you that dream. I sell microneedling courses. But it wouldn’t be integrous, and it wouldn’t be who I am.

I don’t want to sell you a dream. I want to teach you how to build the real thing.

Let’s say you’re newer and charge $200 for basic microneedling. Two clients a day, three days a week = $1,200/week.

That’s GROSS REVENUE.

Now subtract supplies, processing fees, insurance, licensing, software, marketing, rent, equipment, utilities, education and taxes. Add cancellations, no-shows and slow seasons.

And where did those clients come from?

A certificate doesn’t come with a clientele.

You have to build trust, get results, market yourself, rebook, retain and keep learning.

But here’s what I REALLY want you to hear: you can absolutely build an incredible, profitable career in this industry. I built my entire life doing this.

I’m not telling you $100K or $300K is impossible. I’m telling you there’s a whole lot between taking a course and building a $300K business.

That’s the part I want to teach you.

Because I believe you can get there enough that I don’t need to lie to you about how you get there.

I learned about capacity listening to a podcast by Emily Grey, and this word has honestly shaken me to my core.

I can’t stop thinking about it.

When I first heard her talking about your capacity to “hold” something, I remember thinking… your ability to hold something? I mean, okay. I hold a lot. 😂

Now I can’t stop seeing it everywhere in my life.

Capacity isn’t how much you can do. And I think that’s where I had it completely wrong.

It’s how much you can feel, experience, want, lose, love, fear, not know… without losing yourself inside of it.

Can I be disappointed without becoming hopeless?

Can I be rejected without immediately questioning my worth?

Can I be overwhelmed without deciding I need to burn my whole life down just to feel some sense of control again?

Can someone misunderstand me and I just… let them?

Can I want something so badly and still be okay in the not knowing?

Can I love someone and not abandon myself in the process?

Can I be scared without deciding the fear is telling me to stop?

That’s capacity.

And I think what has really gotten me is realizing how many times I’ve thought growth meant getting better at NOT feeling certain things.

Maybe it’s actually becoming able to feel more.

To hold more.

To let two completely conflicting things exist at the exact same time.

I can miss someone and know they’re not right for me. I can be scared and still move forward. I can be disappointed and still believe something good is coming. I can love deeply and still have boundaries.

I can be completely overwhelmed and not make a single decision from that feeling.

I can feel this without becoming this. 🤯🤯🤯 WOW!

I don’t know. Something about it has changed the way I’m looking at almost everything right now.

Maybe I don’t need to immediately fix every uncomfortable feeling. Maybe I don’t need to escape it, explain it, make a decision from it, or turn it into some bigger story about who I am.

Maybe I can just hold it.

And maybe that’s what expanding your capacity really is.

Life doesn’t necessarily get easier.

You just become able to hold more of it.

There comes a moment when you realize the love you kept searching for was always meant to begin within.

This season of my life feels like choosing myself, honoring myself, and meeting myself more honestly than ever before. Falling in love with who I am, maybe for the first real time. My body, my mind, my drive, my softness, my strength, my hard edges. Loving all of it, while knowing I am still so much more than what can be seen on the surface.

I feel deeply connected to God….Grounded, grateful, emotional…aware.

I’m especially thankful that my work allows me to share that energy with other women every single day. I get to witness transformation, confidence, healing, vulnerability, growth, and beauty in all its forms. I get to pour into women who, in return, pour so much back into me.

As I step into my 20th year in this industry, I’m overwhelmed by where this path has taken me. The people it brought me. The strength it built in me. The life it helped me create.

What once felt like a small dream became something far bigger than I ever imagined.

A business. A calling. A legacy.

And I’m just getting started. ✨

There comes a moment when you realize the love you kept searching for was always meant to begin within.

This season of my life feels like choosing myself, honoring myself, and meeting myself more HONESTLY than ever before. No performing. Just falling in love with who I am, maybe for the first real time. My body, my mind, my drive, my softness, my strength my hard edges. Loving all of it, while knowing I am still so much more than what can be seen on the surface.

I feel deeply connected to God. Grounded, grateful, emotional…aware.

I’m especially thankful that my life’s work allows me to share that energy with other women every single day. I get to witness transformation, confidence, healing, vulnerability, growth, and beauty in all its forms. I get to pour into women who, in return, pour so much back into me.

As I step into my 20th year in this industry, I’m overwhelmed by where this path has taken me. The people it brought me. The strength it built in me. The life it helped me create.

What once felt like a small dream became something far bigger than I ever imagined.

A business. A calling. A legacy.

And I’m just getting started. ✨🦋🤩

Mic on, business running, students learning, clients glowing.
This is the life I built.

And it didn’t come easy.
It came from heartbreak, hard decisions, and choosing myself over and over again.

There were moments I didn’t think I could carry all of this…
the pressure, the responsibility, the weight of it all.

But I kept showing up.

I didn’t build this perfectly.
I built it while healing.

Watch me, world… I’m still growing. ✨