We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Withee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
There are moments where I feel overwhelmed by the demands of owning my own business. I wear many hats aside from being an aesthetic provider–I screen calls, messages, e-mails, create all of my own social media content and marketing, perform all the back office duties such as inventory, ordering, cleaning, organizing, as well as administrative tasks like book keeping and scheduling appointments. While it is a 24/7 job and I never get to “leave” my work at work, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I still get to make my own hours, create systems/protocols that enhance efficiency, and there is no middle man that takes a pay cut from all of my work efforts. I worked for large hospital corporations, small and large private practices, and did 12 hour shifts 3-4 days a week as an RN and 9 hour days M-F as a nurse practitioner in family practice. I hated the monotony of M-F and felt like I was in an endless loop of get up, work, sleep, repeat. I felt suffocated creatively and had less free time due to the stringent work hours. Once I found aesthetics and injectables, I realized the passion I had for this art form fused with medicine was something I had to pursue. Doing what I love doesn’t feel like work and it’s far from a regular job, so all of the extra responsibilities that come along with starting my own aesthetics practice are tiny sacrifices for me to live out my dream.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Jennifer WIthee, I was raised in Arizona, born in Seoul, South Korea. My dad was in the military, so I traveled abroad frequently as a kid. It exposed me to different places and ways of life from all over the world, which in turn, enriched mine. I have such an appreciation for travel and learning about different cultures, including standards of beauty. When I was younger, I was a natural artist, drawing and doodling things that were in my head and bringing those images to life on paper. I think I was 4 or 5 years old when my parents put me into a formal art class after I had won an art contest on a family cruise! Now, imagine being pre-K and sitting in an art class with older kids and adults…I had a hard time focusing on what the art teacher asked of me and eventually my parents took me out so I could just be a kid with this natural talent. By high school, I was sure I would be going to college for graphic design, but unexpectedly, I fell in love with my anatomy class senior year. I remember being so fascinated by the body, dissecting a goat’s eye, and a fetal pig. It grossed out some of my peers, but not me. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. So my goals changed, I wanted to go to medical school and become a plastic surgeon. Well, life happened, and I had a baby girl my after freshman year of college and I decided to pursue a nursing career and became an RN in 2007. Fast forward to 2016, I had been practicing as an NP for a few years and decided I wanted to become certified in cosmetic injectables. I was obsessed. I loved the hands on aspect, the creating/sculpting aspect, and I loved that I still got to connect with patients in a setting where they weren’t sick. At the end of the day, I love what I do, I love the people’s lives that I get to impact through making them feel better about themselves, seeing them light up makes me feel good about what I do. It also allows me to release my artistic energy–I really do see a canvas when I’m evaluating someone’s face. Every face has a uniqueness that I try to preserve. My intent is to reveal the best version of one’s self in regards to aging gracefully and enhancing natural beauty. Everyone deserves to feel confident about their looks. It sounds vain, but in actuality, it is so much more. It really influences your quality of life, attitude, and self-esteem. Making a positive impact on others is what I strive for every day through my practice.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Getting started was no easy task. I was practicing family medicine part time in 2020 and injecting part time in aesthetics. When I made the decision to transition to full time, I was scared and couldn’t help but doubt myself, and wondered if it would be worth the financial sacrifice and risk to pursue a full time aesthetics practice. I tried to take out as little capital as possible and let it grow organically from the ground up. I maintained my “regular job” at the medical clinic, working 3 days a week, and injecting 3 days a week to build more clientele. I refinanced my home in 2021 and took out a cash loan to help pay off some student loan debt from NP school and to fund some of the larger investments and costs of additional education/training to level up my skills as an injector. I thought, as long as I break even in the beginning, it’ll be good. After 6 months, I went from breaking even to always being “in the green”. I had to keep faith that all of these things would be worth it–working 6 days a week (more like 7 days with all the behind theI scenes) and living frugally so that any extra money/profits could be put back into my business. I invested 20k into my business the first 2 months. I was exhausted and it was hard, but I was determined to succeed the first time around. Becoming a business owner may sound great, but without firsthand experience, it’s hard to understand how much labor, love, and effort really goes into it. You have to really want it!
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is such a powerful marketing tool and I have learned that putting yourself out there and allowing people to connect with you as a person is the best way to attract quality patients/clients. Being yourself is important and you want to bring in clientele that vibe well with your personality and your vision as a professional. It was a challenge for me to figure out how to make reels at first, but I finally have it down (regardless of the fact that it takes me 3x as long as a Gen Z). Have fun with it and make sure you’re offering valuable information to your followers while still making it “you”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/kultureaesthetics/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kulture_aesthetics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kultureaesthetics
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kulture-aesthetics-mesa?osq=kulture+aesthetics
- Other: linktr.ee/kultureaesthetics
Image Credits
photos done by myself pdo max model (black headband) and first action shot are by Bryanna Ruiz my professional photos are by Kayla Dewees