We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Otherday. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.

Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

There was no team. No front desk. No marketing department. No cleaning crew. Just me wearing every hat — provider, receptionist, social media manager, bookkeeper, janitor, inventory manager — all of it. I built it one client, one late night, one risk at a time.

In the beginning, hiring felt terrifying.

When you build something from nothing, it becomes your baby. Letting someone into that space — especially in aesthetics where client trust is everything — felt vulnerable. I wasn’t just hiring skill. I was inviting someone into my vision, my reputation, and my dream.

My first hires didn’t come from big recruiting efforts. They came from relationships. Word of mouth. People I observed. Energy I paid attention to. I looked for heart before resume.

I’ve always believed you can teach skill.
You can’t teach integrity, work ethic, or emotional intelligence.

My interview process has always been more conversational than corporate. I want to know:
• How do you handle pressure?
• How do you treat people when no one is watching?
• Do you care about growth?
• Are you coachable?
• Do you align with the culture we’re building?

Especially after the water loss and rebuilding phase — when we were literally operating out of my husband’s garage — I learned even more about what kind of team I needed. I needed resilient people. People who didn’t panic in chaos. People who believed in the vision even when it didn’t look glamorous.

Recruiting in aesthetics can be tricky. Talent is everywhere, but culture alignment is rare. I’ve had to learn that not everyone who is good at injecting or performing a service is good for your business. And that was a hard lesson.

Training in my business has always been hands-on and high expectation. I lead from the front. I expect professionalism, consistency, and pride in your work — but I also invest heavily in education and growth. If you work with me, you’re going to learn.

If I were starting today?

I would hire slower.
Document systems earlier.
Put policies in writing from day one.
And understand that protecting your peace is just as important as growing your revenue.

In the early years, I sometimes hired out of urgency instead of alignment. Growth can feel exciting — but the wrong hire costs more than an empty schedule ever will.

What I wouldn’t change?
Starting scrappy.
Building lean.
Learning every part of the business myself.

Because now, as an owner, no one can tell me “that’s not my job.” I’ve done every job.

And I think that’s why our team culture today is stronger. It’s built on respect, resilience, and real understanding of what it takes to keep the doors open.

Building a team isn’t about filling rooms.
It’s about building something bigger than yourself.

And that part? That’s been the most rewarding chapter yet.

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 Stephanie Otherday, and I am the founder and owner of Skin Sanctuary Med Spa, a boutique-style medical aesthetics practice in the Prior Lake / Shakopee area of Minnesota.

But more than that — I’m a wife, a mom of two, and an entrepreneur who built my business from the ground up with grit, vision, and an unwavering belief that women deserve to feel powerful in their own skin.

I didn’t step into this industry casually. I was drawn to aesthetics because I’ve always been fascinated by confidence — how much it impacts the way we show up in our careers, our relationships, and our lives. Skin health and aesthetic treatments aren’t about vanity to me. They’re about empowerment. They’re about helping someone look in the mirror and feel aligned with how vibrant they truly are.

Skin Sanctuary was built to feel different from traditional med spas. I wanted a space that felt elevated yet intimate — luxury without intimidation. From the black walls and warm wood tones to the intentional client experience, every detail was designed to make people feel seen, safe, and cared for.

We specialize in advanced aesthetic treatments including injectables (Botox, Dysport, dermal fillers), medical-grade skincare, laser technologies, skin rejuvenation, corrective treatments, and customized facial protocols. But what we truly provide goes beyond services.

We solve confidence gaps.

We treat acne that has impacted someone’s self-esteem for years.
We correct pigmentation and scarring that clients have tried to hide.
We soften lines in a way that preserves identity — never erasing character.
We educate clients so they understand their skin instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

What sets us apart is intention.

In an industry that can sometimes feel transactional or trend-driven, I’ve built Skin Sanctuary on education, ethics, and long-term relationships. I don’t believe in overfilling, over-treating, or over-promising. I believe in natural, refined results that age beautifully and protect the integrity of the face.

Another thing that sets us apart is resilience. In 2025, we experienced a major water intrusion that forced us out of our storefront. For a period of time, we operated out of my husband’s garage while rebuilding. It was humbling, exhausting, and one of the most defining seasons of my life as a business owner. But we didn’t close. We adapted. We rebuilt. And we reopened stronger.

That season taught me that this brand is bigger than a building. It’s built on loyalty, community, and trust.

I’m most proud of three things:
1. The culture inside my business — a team built on integrity, growth, and professionalism.
2. The loyalty of our clients — many of whom have been with us since the beginning.
3. The example I’m setting for my children — showing them what it looks like to build something from nothing and stand back up when life knocks you down.

What I want potential clients to know is this:
You will never be treated like a number here.
You will never be pressured.
And you will never leave without understanding what was done and why.

Skin Sanctuary is about refined results, education-driven care, and confidence that feels authentic — not artificial.

For followers and supporters, I also want them to know that what you see online is real. The growth, the challenges, the rebuilding, the celebrations — it’s all part of the journey. I believe transparency builds trust, and trust builds longevity.

At the end of the day, I’m not just building a med spa.
I’m building a legacy — for my family, my clients, and the community we serve.

And we’re just getting started.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team isn’t about being the boss. It’s about being the standard.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a business owner, it’s that morale doesn’t come from perks. It comes from leadership.

High morale starts with clarity.
Your team needs to know:
• What the standard is
• What’s expected of them
• What success looks like
• And that those expectations apply to everyone — including the owner

Ambiguity kills morale faster than workload ever will.

I believe in leading from the front. I would never ask my team to do something I haven’t done myself. I’ve worked the front desk. I’ve cleaned the bathrooms. I’ve handled upset clients. I’ve stayed late. When your team knows you understand every role in the building, it creates mutual respect.

Another key is consistency.
Nothing creates anxiety in a workplace like unpredictable leadership. If you’re calm one day and reactive the next, your team stays in survival mode. High morale requires emotional stability from leadership — even when things are stressful behind the scenes.

Communication is everything.
Address issues early. Praise publicly. Correct privately. And never let resentment build in silence. Most team conflict comes from assumptions, not facts.

I also believe growth fuels morale.
If your team feels stagnant, they disengage. Invest in their education. Challenge them. Give them ownership. When people feel like they are building a career instead of just working shifts, their energy changes.

That said — morale is not about keeping everyone comfortable all the time.
It’s about creating a culture of accountability and pride. High performers thrive in environments where excellence is normal.

One hard lesson I learned?
The wrong person can shift the entire culture. Protect your team by hiring slowly and valuing alignment over skill alone. You can teach technique. You cannot teach character.

And finally — appreciation matters more than people admit.
A simple acknowledgment of effort, a handwritten note, celebrating wins, recognizing personal milestones — those things build loyalty.

At the end of the day, morale is built when people feel:
• Safe
• Valued
• Challenged
• And part of something meaningful

When your team understands the “why” behind what you’re building, they don’t just show up for a paycheck — they show up with pride.

And pride is contagious.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Funding my business was not glamorous.

There were no outside investors. No large inheritance. No silent partners. Just belief, calculated risk, and a willingness to bet on myself.

When I decided to open Skin Sanctuary, I knew aesthetics required real capital — equipment, buildout, product, licensing, insurance, training. It adds up quickly. I didn’t have a blank check to write. So I had to be strategic.

I self-funded the majority of the startup through personal savings and reinvesting everything I made back into the business. I started lean. I did not open with every device or every treatment under the sun. I focused on high-demand services I was confident in and built from there.

I financed some equipment instead of buying everything outright. That allowed me to preserve cash flow in those critical early months. I negotiated. I asked questions. I compared terms. I didn’t let ego make financial decisions for me.

I also kept overhead tight. I didn’t overbuild. I didn’t overhire. I didn’t overspend on aesthetics before revenue justified it. It’s easy to want your space to look “Instagram perfect” on day one — but profitability matters more than perception.

In the beginning, every dollar had a job.

I tracked expenses obsessively. I learned the financial side of the business quickly because I had to. When it’s your money on the line, you pay attention differently.

There were moments that felt scary. Signing leases. Committing to equipment. Carrying payroll. Entrepreneurship requires a tolerance for risk — but not reckless risk. Every decision had to make sense long term.

One thing I’m proud of is that I built it step by step. Growth was funded by performance. When we added new technology or expanded services, it was because the demand and revenue supported it — not because I wanted to “look bigger.”

And then when we experienced the major water intrusion and had to temporarily operate out of my husband’s garage, it reinforced everything I believed about financial discipline. Because we had built strategically and not irresponsibly, we were able to survive that season.

If I could give advice to someone funding their business today, it would be this:

Start lean.
Protect your cash flow.
Understand your numbers better than anyone.
And don’t build for applause — build for sustainability.

It’s easy to get caught up in aesthetics and growth optics. But real power in business comes from ownership, control, and resilience.

I didn’t just fund a med spa.
I funded freedom.
And that made every calculated risk worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.skinsanctuarymedspamn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skinsanctuarymedspa?igsh=Nm80aGx0M3Z1cDZ4&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FUsxBQM8n/?mibextid=wwXIfr