We recently connected with Pamela Grossman RN, CANS and have shared our conversation below.

Pamela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I was compelled to answer this question because it is often that people attribute their success to things outside the day-to-day influences that occurred within the walls of their homes as children. I believe the way we grow up, whether easy to acknowledge or not, has a major impact on how we behave as grown-ups. The adults we grow up around are our first impressions of adulthood. Looking back, my parents certainly had an impact on my life and career.

I was the oldest of three. There were expectations of me that weren’t the same for my younger siblings – especially when it came to work ethic and success. Failure was never an option. And not because it WASN’T an option, it was just not something I would accept, nor would my parents. If something wasn’t quite right, I had to figure out how to make it right. For me, it wasn’t about perfection; it was about learning. I loved to learn and loved to help others. I was a latchkey kid. I was expected to take care of my brother and sister when they got home from school, get dinner started and do other chores. I was given responsibilities, and because of that, I grew to be responsible.

I was raised by my father and my mother – two very different influences on my life. My father, while I loved him, exhibited a lot of what I didn’t want to model my life after. He was a typical ‘60s dad which was not a bad thing, but it wasn’t what I wanted to be when I grew up. My mother was a hard worker. She was a full-time mom and entrepreneur during a time where that was not common. She did the juggle – career, home, kids– she did it all. I think the best part of how she did it was that she wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable or imperfect. I see so many parents today put so much pressure on themselves to do everything right. My mom taught me that you’re not always going to be right in your career or as a parent…but at least you’re going to learn. That was something I really remember about her; and in retrospect, I really admired. My mother was a real model of success for me.

Pamela, 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’m Pamela Grossman, RN, CANS. I’m a Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist and the founder of Colorado’s medical spa, Facial Aesthetics. Let’s rewind so I can share how all of this came about. I was getting ready to graduate high school and had no idea what I wanted to do. I remember my father saying, “be a teacher or a nurse, and you’ll always have a job.”. I felt like the nursing profession aligned better with my personality, so I chose to attend nursing college. After earning my degree, I went to work in the operating room (OR). I got married and welcomed my first child in 1981. A few years later, I found myself in a similar place as I did after high school – this time a divorced, single mom, but the same passion to do something I loved, not just for me, but for my daughter now, too. I went back to the OR. I worked alongside an internationally recognized plastic surgeon, whose skills and knowledge stood uncontested in the industry, Dr. John A. Grossman. As fate would have it, that man would become my husband, and we’d build a business that I’d put my blood, sweat and tears into – Facial Aesthetics. With two established medical spas in Denver and Greenwood Village, Colorado, we are excited to share that we have two more on the way. Sounds like twins, doesn’t it? But that’s how you talk about them. These clinics become your children. Our two new locations will open in Golden, Colorado and Superior, Colorado in 2023.

Our Facial Aesthetics medical spas provide luxury, results driven experiences for the skin and body. We don’t love to just do; we love to teach. Education is the backbone of our business. We hire the best providers who have the knowledge, skill, experience, and character to uphold our brand reputation of providing the best in skin and body care in the state. And we don’t take that reputation for granted. We’ve adopted an ethos around this concept of “aesth-ethics” which means to do right by the patients when it comes to any service we provide. This can mean saying ‘no’ to patients if it’s the best thing for their health or safety, providing full explanations of placement and dosage, creating effective treatment plans, and setting proper expectations. Our approach to being honest and clear with our patients is what sets Facial Aesthetics apart, and it has certainly helped us achieve our recent milestone of 30 years in business.

As a fun, approachable brand we’re not snobbish about anything but great patient care. We have high expectations for how a patient should be treated, and high standards for how we operate. It’s important that our patients enjoy their every visit.

We try to make our staff, and everyone that walks through our doors, feel like family. Part of that is because Facial Aesthetics is rooted in family. My husband and I built this business. And my daughter is now the President of Facial Aesthetics. Her knowledge, drive, determination, customer service, and business savviness couldn’t make me prouder. In balancing our personal/professional relationship – we’ve learned the importance of collaboration and communication – not only with each other, but with our team. Allowing our staff to feel comfortable, safe, and heard is an important part of our culture at Facial Aesthetics.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think to have success in this field, the following 5 things are important to keep in mind:

– LET YOUR IMAGINATION SOAR: Dare to dream. The bigger the better. Reality will always hit, and things will change course, but the dream must exist first.

– BE DETERMINED: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Having something of my own, something that I created was important to me and I wasn’t going to stop until it was the way I wanted it to be.

– HAVE COMPASSION. Care for others, not just yourself. Having the ability to connect with patients as people to make them feel cared for as individuals is a true gift. People appreciate it more than you may think.

– GET A PULSE ON PEOPLE: Relationship building is key. Take time to get to know your staff. Take time to get to know your patients. In the service industry, connecting with people and providing an exceptional experience is so important to the success of the business.

– LEARN FROM MISTAKES: Mistakes are made to teach us. Don’t be afraid to make them, they’re inevitable – but how you choose to respond is completely in your control. Address it. Learn something. Move forward.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

All my advice is rooted in communication:

– Always be honest.

– Be open to ideas from your team – it helps you get better.

– Don’t forget that as a leader, your words have power. Praise good work. Address poor work. Criticism of an employee’s person vs. criticism of the employee’s performance are two different things – make sure you know the difference. It takes a lot of practice to communicate clearly.

– Don’t play favorites and don’t let gossip invade culture. Nip any of that petty nonsense in the bud as soon as you hear anything about it.

– Remember that your actions are being watched. Stay composed. Perfection is impossible. Expect for things to go wrong. Know how your actions and responses affect the culture of the group.

– Provide opportunities for education, growth, and development – your investment in team members will pay off.

Contact Info:

• Website: facialaestheticsinc.com
• Instagram: facialaesthetics
• Facebook: facialaesthetics