Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura Gary. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Laura , thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I have “grown up” as a pediatric critical care nurse. I have worked at the bedside, caring for critically ill patients, worked for an organ procurement organization, flying all over the upper Midwest, and have worked my way up the nursing leadership chain. My whole career, to this point, has focused on this pediatric patient population and working within the traditional hospitals 4 white walls. In January of 2024, I started to wonder what else is out there and what else can I do and can I offer. I starting to reach out to connections to ask about their careers, what have they done and how have they gotten there. Every person I reached out to, was so encouraging and supportive. After shadowing a friend of mine, who owns their own medical spa, I was intrigued by another way to provide clinical care, support, and add happiness to other people’s lives. I went back again to ask her more questions and shadow her. After that second time, I was determined to start my own medical spa in my own community. However, this was out of my comfort zone. I had never started my own business, worked in nurse aesthetics, and worked outside of a traditional hospital. So, in keeping my full-time day job, I would work 2 hours in the evening to build out my business. This took me about 4 months. As things started to come together for my small business, I started to become incredibly fearful. I started to worry about “what will people think of me?” “What if I fail?” “What am I doing? I have a safe and secure job within the hospital that I know and know well?” As it came closer to my launch date, the fear of failure and what others might say/think almost stopped me from moving forward. I just wanted to curl up in a hole and quit. However, I kept reminding myself why I started this journey and don’t let fear hold me back. I told myself to take the risk, put myself out there, and to push through my fear. Creating this business and putting myself out there, to create something that isn’t currently there, is one of the biggest career risks I have ever taken!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a pediatric nurse, nurse educator and nurse leader by background. I have been in the healthcare field since 2008. I love learning and growing my skill set. I received my master’s in nursing in 2014, with a focus on nursing leadership, and went on to become certified in pediatric nursing, pediatric critical care, nursing leadership, and nurse aesthetics. What brings me joy, in healthcare, is the ability to listen to my patients, understand what they are needing, educating, and helping them simply feel their best. There is no better feeling, for me, than to walk away from a patient visit then knowing that I did everything in my skill set and power to make them look and feel their best.
I am really excited to combine my love of clinical skills and helping people feel there best by creating my small business (Simply You, Nurse Aesthetics).
I currently offer mobile Botox in my community. I will drive to their homes and do their treatments. Everyone is so busy in their daily life, that I am happy to offer this luxury service in the convenience of their own home. My joy is seeing the smile on my patient’s faces to help them feel their best. I launched my business in June of 2024 and currently offer this treatment, but I would love to grow and offer more services in time.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I am doing it right now! I have grown up working in urban, large healthcare systems focusing on pediatric critical care. I have had a wealth of experience in this field and have worked my way up the leadership chain. When I was working in a Senior leadership role, I had a career coach ask me where I wanted to be in two years? I paused and started to think about that. The correct answer was, of course, going for an executive leadership role but I wasn’t so sure I wanted that. The further up on the leadership ladder I got, the farther away I was pulled from what really made me happy. This prompted me to reach out to other friends and connections I had made throughout the years. I asked so many questions, did shadowing experiences, and really reflected on where I wanted to be in 2, 5, and 10 years. This propelled me to create my own small business, Simply You, Nurse Aesthetics. I am still working my full-time job in the hospital and focus on my business in the evenings and weekends. I have a vision of creating a full-service medical spa in my community that focuses on helping people feel and look their best. I want to combine my passion for clinical expertise, business skills, and patient care into one bundle. It has been really scary to pivot and create my own business (outside of the large hospital setting that I am used to working in) but really exciting to create something of my own!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Simply put, the most helpful thing for succeeding in my field has been helping others: helping people get their business off the ground, being a cheerleader when they need it, and answering any business or clinical question that might come up.
In the healthcare industry, patients should always come first and wanting to provide the best care possible should always be your focus. If this is your focus, you don’t see other companies as your competition but rather, how can you all learn and grow together. This has helped me be successful both in the hospital setting and outside of the hospital setting, in growing my business. Others, in both the aesthetic field and the entrepreneur world, have always lent a hand to help me out. This has been tremendously helpful. This is something I also extend to others. I firmly believe that we all rise together.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: Simplyyou_Laura
- Facebook: Simply You, Nurse Aesthetics
- Linkedin: Laura Gary, RN, MSN, CPN, CCRN, NEA-BC
Image Credits
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