We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Temaat recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
In 2019, my husband Paul and I were working in the real estate industry together as a team. Economy was great, business was great but after you’ve been in real estate for several years, you realize it ebb’s and flows. We knew we needed another source of income to support our growing family. We sought out several different entrepreneurial options but ran into some problematic restraints in our small town of Evergreen, CO. Staffing. Anyone up here would tell you that it is the number one issue with any small business. One very serendipitous day, while we were dropping off our oldest son at preschool, we briefly began speaking to the father of one of our child’s classmates. The usual small talk question of ” What do you do?” came up and he told us he sold Coolsculpting machines. Immediately and impulsively said ” I know what that is!”. Years earlier, I had been working as a medical technician in the Nashville area in one of the first Coolsculpting OG’s.
A mix of excitement and possibilities began stirring inside me and I just knew that this might be the start of something amazing. After talking with my husband and Roy, our new sales rep, we did as much research as we could to figure out how to make this crazy, risky business happen. After securing all the required supervision, licensing and training, we opened Coolsculpting of Evergreen in December of 2019 in a small spa room above Beau Joes Pizza in downtown Evergreen.
Business was going well as far as new businesses go! Economy was booming, better than I had ever experienced in my 30 years at the time. Next, I assume you know where this going…spring of 2020 hit. Just as we were gaining momentum, we were forced to close our doors for about 6 weeks. It was a terrifying and uncertain time for not only the business but also for myself. You see, I was a girthy 36ish weeks pregnant. We were all so scared. All we knew was there was a deadly virus spreading like wildfire across the world and here I was, closed for business with a baby on the way!
Weeks past, and I delivered my baby boy, Charlie on April 3rd 2020. The whole delivery experience was one I would like to forget but fortunately we were discharged quickly and sent home. Instead of feeling the stress of trying to take care of my newborn baby and my newborn business, I was actually relieved to have found myself on a forced maternity sabbatical.
You never know why or how life is going to play out. In the hard moments, it’s easy to panic and allow regret and negative thought patterns to show their ugly faces but I truly think everything happens for a reason.
We finally reopened and business picked up much to my amazement! The Covid 15 (similar to the college 15) was real and I found that many people were needing some permanent fat loss solutions in their lives! I do and will always feel gratitude that my job is helping people feel more confident.
It’s now been over 4 years since we opened, we moved to a larger location and now offer over 8 different treatments to help people look and feel their bests without going under the knife. It’s hard to take that first step, but I truly am passionate about helping people achieve their body goals through the ever-evolving nonsurgical fat loss solutions and I hope to continue to help more people for years to come. If it weren’t for the risks my husband and I took, I don’t know if I would be the same person I am today.
Ashley, 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 am first and foremost, a wife and mother of 3 beautiful children (4 counting my husband ha!) We built our home here in Evergreen in 2015 on 8 amazing acres overlooking Denver. It’s an epic spot and I never want to leave. We actually got married on our land prior to building and the arbor still stands to this day which I feel is somewhat symbolic to our love and commitment to each other and the life we have built in this magical mountain community just 30 minutes west of Denver. As I explained before, we opened Evergreen Body Contouring in late 2019 and have since grown into a full service body contouring medical spa which primarily focuses on all things body! We offer noninvasive permanent fat loss treatments, muscle building, skin tightening, cellulite treatments, vacuum booty lift treatments, spray tanning and have recently moved into the health side which includes pelvic floor strengthening chair, Emsella and lymphatic drainage vacuum therapy. I love our niche treatments as it allows us to really treat a wide spectrum of solutions to help our patients reach their goals all in one place. I am very proud of the work we do. I see a lot of before/after’s on other accounts and do feel like ours are usually more dramatic. It’s a result of giving a true analysis of each individual patient and treatment plan. We also are mindful of client budgets and we tailor packages at very competitive prices. Although we are a small medical spa compared to the larger competitors with larger ad spending budgets, we don’t skimp on amazing service, care and pricing. I never try to up sale a package plan with unnecessary treatments. We also have the edge being a husband and wife business and since we don’t have a staff or a lot of overhead costs which the savings go directly to our clients by giving them best prices which leads to better results. Because of the savings, my clients will often come back for other treatments or they are so happy, they come back to tackle another area of concern. It’s really fun building relationships with my clients. I genuinely love 99% of everyone that comes in the door, and the other 1% you know who you are. Kidding!
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Evergreen is community like I have never experienced before. They LOVE small business. The town is full of small businesses and I think it is truly something special. The strategy I found most effective is both word of mouth and our local Facebook page. Once everyone knows they don’t have to go down the hill for top-notch treatments AND it’s owned by a local family, they keep coming back. I always make a point to get to know you and I think in a world full of impersonal interactions like automated phones, email only responses, people find it refreshing to be able to pick up the phone and get the questions answered honestly and quickly. And speaking of honestly, I think my approach to handling consultations and questions with transparency and honesty go a long way. I don’t mind telling people they aren’t a good candidate for a certain treatment or just gauging client expectation. I always do my best thoroughly explain treatment outcomes and the science behind each treatment. This helps with the client / provider relationship a lot and keeps them coming back because they know they can trust me and my advice.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
The year was 2014. Young Ashley was a dreamer, fearless and really loved playing volleyball recreationally. A colleague of mine, Adam mentioned he played volleyball with a group of young Catholics at Wash Park in Denver. He told me he had just received a text that they were planning on getting together the following Tuesday and asked if I would like to join. Of course I said yes and oh how my life was about to change very quickly. We met up and I met some very awesome people, one of them being a 6ft 4in tall older guy with salt and pepper hair and a very youthful, funny demeanor. We spent the whole Summer playing volleyball together. I caught a glimpse of this mans rippling abs one day as he went up to spike ball. Looking back now, I think that was the moment I knew I was *interested*. One fateful day after volleyball, we all decided to meet up at a country dance bar. I strategically asked Paul if he would mind driving me since it was ladies night and I didn’t want to worry about drinking and driving…but really I just wanted to get to know him better. He obliged. He took me to the classy establishment of Hooters for some wings beforehand, he paid for me and it kind of felt like a date. When we got to the bar, no one from our volleyball group was there! They all bailed so it was just him and I. He had on cowboy boots that made him like 7 feet tall and he taught me how to do the cowboy cha-cha. I think it was at that moment I just knew I wanted to marry him and made a secret vow to myself to make him my husband. We went night hiking afterwards at Maxwell Falls in Evergreen and we have spent almost everyday together since.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coolsculptingofevergreen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evergreenco_body_contouring/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coolsculptingofevergreen/
Image Credits
20 Degrees Media