We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Polly Dursum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Polly below.
Polly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
What were the main steps you had to take: I am an experience nurse practitioner and have been a nurse for over 15 years. I have no business experience. I was extremely intimidated about starting my own medical aesthetics office. However, I had a strong and loyal patient following and knew that if I opened my own practice I would be booked and busy right away. However, I was still hesitant as I knew nothing about starting and running a business. I sought out other nurse practitioners who I looked up to who had opened their own successful medical aesthetics clinic to ask for advice. I also had close friends and patients of mine who I greatly respected and all them continued to encourage me to open my own clinic. It was through my own personal desire to do better by my patients and open a place that truly reflected my values as an medical aesthetic nurse and also receiving a great deal of encouragement from mentors, friends, and patients that I finally took the leap.
After that it was a crash course in business, law, accounting, building construction, operations, and design. The start-up of my business was entirely self-funded from my savings. My wife and I delayed buying new cars and a home so that we would have enough money to start my business. I did everything for my business from designing the logo, website, to project management/designing and sourcing everything for the office construction from doors to sinks to furniture to every medical supply used. I wrote medical protocols, consents, standardized procedures, patient aftercare handouts etc for all of the medical treatments. This was all while working full-time in my then job as an aesthetic nurse practitioner in a plastic surgery office. After months of tremendous hard work, I opened in October 2022 with my schedule almost 3 months booked out. I grew quickly within the first 6 months I hired an administrative assistant and my wife, a physician associate in aesthetics and dermatology, also joined the practice and started seeing her patients. We invested in advanced lasers, stem cell and regenerative therapies, and more. After the first year and half we added a clinic manager and another physician associate to help see more patients. By the 2nd year I had expanded and opened a second office location next to our main office. Right now we are almost 2.5 years in and a busy team of 6.
what were some of the key challenges in setting up your own office/practice and would you have done anything differently knowing what you know now?
Always trust your instincts. As I said, I do not have prior business experience and all of my decisions are based on my own intuition and values. Whenever I questioned or second-guessed myself, those decisions were often a poor choice. For instance, in the beginning I didn’t trust myself that I could design the office space and wanted to hire an interior designer to help me. I quickly found out that this person was not the right fit and ended up spending and wasting a lot of time and money on a person who did not contribute to my vision. I should have trusted my own intuition on this person and also to have more confidence in myself. I ended up designing the entire office myself, sourcing every piece of furniture and interior decor. This later helped me to build out our second office. I am proud to say our beautiful office space and interior is one of the top things our patients rave about after visiting (aside from their wonderful experience and beautiful results!).
Any advice for a young professional who might be considering starting their own practice?
Stay true to your values, vision, and yourself. That will be the heart of your business. Never compromise on that.
Polly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was recently featured in the top female entrepreneurs in the Montecito Journal. Here is their write-up. I feel that it encompasses me very well.
When Polly Muditā Dursum opened
MUDITĀ Skin Health in Santa Barbara
in 2022, she wasn’t starting from scratch.
After more than a decade practicing aesthetic nursing
full-time, Polly brought with her a loyal client base,
a deeply honed sense of aesthetic balance, and a
clear vision for what her boutique medical aesthetics
office would become. “I opened with a full schedule,
booked out almost three months,” she shares.
MUDITĀ, Polly’s middle name and the Sanskrit
word for ‘selfless joy,’ reflects her philosophy: that
aesthetic care is a meaningful part of self-care. The
office, nestled among trees in a historic district, radiates
calm. “The feeling of the office is very open and bright.
It’s soothing,” Polly says. “From the interior décor to
the branding, everything was done with intention.”
The practice has an all-female staff and is
family-owned and operated by Polly, her wife
Nancy Moharram who is a physician associate in
dermatology and aesthetics, and their sister-in-
law Dr. Matti Jansen. Together, they have built a
practice that prioritizes thoughtful, holistic care. “We
are never rushing through. We really take our time
with each person to set their skin goals and aesthetic
goals,” Polly explains. This includes comprehensive
facial assessments, personalized skincare regimens,
and advanced treatments like collagen-stimulating
injectables, stem cell therapy, and laser modalities.
Polly’s background in critical care nursing and her
artistic sensibility—she is a painter, as well as being
a classically trained pianist and flutist—informs her
approach. “Injecting is an artistic part of the business.
It’s like painting. You can give someone a paintbrush,
but the outcome depends on the artist.” This mindset
drives her work, especially in areas like lip fillers,
where she prioritizes refinement over trends.
MUDITĀ Skin Health is distinguished by its team
of highly trained clinicians. Every provider is either
a nurse practitioner or physician associate, each
equipped with extensive clinical training and the
ability to both prescribe and diagnose. “We combine
medical dermatology with aesthetic care. There’s both
art and science in what we do,” Polly notes.
I am also attaching the bio written for my award for “entrepreneur to watch” from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Santa Barbara chapter:
We are thrilled to announce Polly Dursum as the recipient of the Entrepreneur to Watch Award!
Polly Dursum is redefining beauty- one patient, one practice, and one joyful transformation at a time. A board-certified nurse practitioner, certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist, and founder of MUDITĀ Skin Health, Polly brings over 15 years of experience in nursing to her work in medical aesthetics, blending clinical excellence with a deep, holistic understanding of self-care.
Polly began her journey at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned degrees in both Environmental Studies and Music (Piano Performance). Her love of healing and human connection led her to pursue a second bachelor’s in Nursing from California State University, Northridge, launching a career in critical care and ICU nursing. In 2014, she shifted her focus to medical aesthetics, where she found her true calling. Since then, she has trained numerous aesthetic providers in injectable techniques and laser/light-based treatments, and in 2018, earned her certification as an Aesthetic Nurse Specialist through the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board.
In 2021, Polly completed her Master of Science in Nursing (Family Practice) at the University of Cincinnati and became a board-certified nurse practitioner- further expanding her ability to provide personalized, high-quality care. In 2022, she realized a lifelong dream by founding MUDITĀ Skin Health, a boutique aesthetics practice in Santa Barbara built around the idea that wellness and aesthetics are deeply connected. Named after her own middle name, Muditā (Sanskrit मुदिता for “joy in the joy of others”), the practice is a reflection of her core belief: that aesthetic care is a powerful form of self-care. Every detail of MUDITĀ- from the tranquil, nature-inspired space to the long-term skin health of its patients- embodies Polly’s commitment to holistic, balanced, and personalized beauty.
Outside the treatment room, Polly is a classically trained pianist and flutist, a devoted partner and mom, and a lover of painting, yoga, meditation, and hiking. She lives in Santa Barbara with her wife, Nancy, their daughter, and their labradoodle.
Polly’s story is one of passion, purpose, and joy- muditā in every sense of the word- and her work continues to uplift, inspire, and transform lives inside and out.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I have been a full-time aesthetic nurse specialist for over 12 years. Although my business is fairly new (2.5 years in) I am not new to this industry and have a strong loyal clientele base in Santa Barbara. I slowly built my reputation from every single interaction with each one of my patients. I take my time, I am a perfectionist for each patient and never compromise my values and commitment to each one of my patients. I think patients can feel your level of integrity, commitment, and most of all joy and love for what you do. You have to care. There has to be joy in what you do. I also strive to be master at what I do. That is the perfectionist in me. I also expect this from and invest in my team members. This means continuously learning, perfecting, and investing in advanced and latest equipment. As a team we travel multiple times a year to conferences, advanced preceptorships, seminars to always continue to learn and stay up to date on everything medical aesthetics.
Word quickly spread after that. I have never had to run specials, do paid advertising, memberships or referral programs. Everything I have built has been strictly through word of mouth and modest social media (Instagram) promotion. This is what committing to and never compromising your values will do.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My wife and I always joke that “Botox brought us together!” I met my wife, Nancy Moharram, at a medical spa we both worked at in Santa Barbara. I had been working as an aesthetic nurse specialist at this medical spa for 2 years when Nancy joined as a physician associate (PA) who had both aesthetics and medical dermatology experience. Nancy was friends with the owner’s son (they went to highshool together) and he recruited her to help fill-in as one of the nurses had abruptly left.
At the time, I had never been with a women before. I was actually married to my now ex-husband who I had been with since college. Nancy and I started off as co-workers and friends. This later turned into light flirtations. I then realized to my surprise I was falling in love with her. Little did I know, she was already feeling the same for me. I later divorced my husband, it was albeit a difficult decision however an amicable separation and something I had to do to stay true to myself. It was one of the most difficult things I had to do, coming to the realization that I was into women and that I had to be true to who I am. I then started dating Nancy. We kept it a secret at work. No one knew we were dating. After a two years or so I left the medical spa and to work at a plastic surgeons office. Nancy stayed at the medical spa. After that we moved in together. A year later Nancy proposed and we got married! Nancy was a big supporter in me pursing my dreams of opening up my own medical aesthetics office. After I opened and became so busy, she quickly quit her job and joined me to help me grow the business both as a physician associate and as our operations director. Our sister-in-law, Dr. Matti Jansen (she is married to Nancy’s brother) is also our medical director.
So our business is all women, family, minority, LGBTQ+, and locally -owned and operated.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.muditaskin.com
- Instagram: @mudita.skinhealth and @pollydursum_np
- Facebook: none
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polly-dursum-195a3880/
- Twitter: none
- Youtube: none
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/muditā-skin-health-santa-barbara
- Soundcloud: none
Image Credits
Lucia Kiel Portraits
Mindy Rainey Photography