
Behind every thriving Med Spa is a team that believes in the mission. In this episode, I sit down with the powerhouse team from Radiance Beautiful Skin, CEO Tara VanderValk, Kristin Whittington, Ana Broadwater, and Sarah Griffin, to talk about how...
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Well, hello my friend.
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Welcome to another episode of the podcast. You are in for a treat today because in this episode I interview not only my client Tara Van Der Voak from Radiance Beautiful Skin, but I interview her and three of her team members, Kristen, Ana and Sarah. This is the first time I have.
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Ever interviewed one of my clients, the.
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Owner and her team members. They are members in the Med Spa Advantage and they come on to share their experience. Now keep in mind, we are recording with them through Zoom and there's four of them recording inside their actual spa, so the sound may not be as pristine as sometimes. Other times when I interview folks and they're either live with me here in.
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My living room studio or we are.
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Just one on one talking to each other through Zoom or Riverside or the like. And so I am just want to shout out Tara, Kristen, Ana and Sarah because they come on and share their real experience and they're just such a powerhouse team. I think you'll hear it during this conversation and how they've built such an excellent team culture and how all of them are just such great collaborators in creating just a wonderful experience at Radiance Beautiful Skin. They're based just outside of Kansas City as so anyhow, without further ado, I can't wait for you to tune into this conversation with the wonderful team members of Radiance Beautiful Skin.
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Enjoy.
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Welcome to the MedSpa CEO podcast where I teach you how to grow and scale your Med Spa or aesthetic practice.
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So that you can have the income.
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And impact you know you were meant for without overwhelm, stress or feeling like you have to sacrifice your personal life and happiness to do so, it's totally possible for you and your business. Plus simpler than you think. Keep listening to find out how.
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Hey, beautiful friend. If you're a longtime listener of the podcast who's been dying to work with me but hasn't pulled the trigger yet.
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I have an incredible opportunity to work with me for a fraction of the cost. If your estheticians can't explain your signature plans or your new injectors panic every.
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Time they have to sell a high.
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Ticket consultant, it's not their fault.
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Well, welcome my beautiful friends to the MedSpa CEO podcast. I am so thrilled to have all four of you on the episode at one time. Welcome. I have the wonderful, beautiful, talented women, women of Radiance Beautiful Skin here. Tara is the fearless leader and CEO and they joined the Med Spa Advantage in late 2024. And I invited them on because they're such a dynamic team of powerhouse women that I just really wanted to introduce to the listeners of the show. Tara, can you take a moment to kind of kick us off? Introduce yourself who you are and then maybe we can go Krist, Sarah, and then Anna and each introduce yourselves. Tell us who you are and what it is that you do.
C
Of course. Thank you so much for such a kind introduction. I feel the same about this team. They're amazing. So of course. My name is Tara Vanderbilt and I own Radiance Beautiful Skin. We're located in downtown Overland park in Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, and we are celebrating our 11th year in business. Woohoo.
D
And I'm Kristen. I am esthetician here. I'm also an aesthetic nurse.
A
Awesome. I'm Sarah.
E
I'm an esthetician and I'm also a road surge nurse.
A
Great.
F
And my name's Ana and I am another esthetician here.
A
Amazing. So Tara, you opened 11 years ago. Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to go into business for yourself and then give us a little bit of color? Did you start out solo? Did you always have a team give us a little bit of color about how it all started? Sure.
C
So I really got into esthetics by accident. I didn't know anything about this industry until my close girlfriend introduced me to it in my late 20s. And I was kind of floundering at that time, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with my life. So upon completing aesthetic school, I took a job with a local spa here in town and I would have worked there forever. I loved it. I ended up working for a couple different locations after that. And it was during those transition times that I really started to feel that cultural values weren't aligning with my moral standards. And I just had a God moment. I felt like God was putting it on my heart to create and do something differently. And yeah, I just kind of took that leap of faith to open a business and it has worked. I am still surprised to this day. I don't know how, but we're still dating.
A
And when you started it was. Was it just you at first?
C
Correct? Yeah, it was just me.
A
Okay. And then how long was it just you? How long before you took the brave leap to bring on a team member?
C
You know, I needed to do that out of necessity, honestly. We were expecting our first child and I needed some support within the business. So I brought someone on and she was with me for three or four years and she was a really awesome support during that time as we were building our family. And again, the business just continued to grow. And so we were able to onboard more staff as the years went on.
A
Okay, and then what would you say is like your specialty for all of you? Like, do you have certain folks that, I mean, I know, but like for the listeners who do you sort of specialize in serving? Give us a little bit of like, who are your ideal people?
F
I would say that mostly the two kind of categories that we're seeing most often are those healthy aging clients, whether they are, you know, late 20s, early 30s and really seeing those first signs. Or we have some ladies that come in a little bit later on as well and just feeling really motivated to get into skincare. The other category we see a ton of is acuponts. People struggling with persistent breakouts and doing a lot of skin clearing with them.
E
I would also like to add, I feel like I've been seeing a lot of flux of like bridal, like brides getting ready before or like mother of the bride or mother of the grill. I feel like I'm getting a lot of those clients as well recently.
B
Amazing.
A
Okay, so when you joined us, this was the end of 2024, Tara, what was. You were already having success, obviously, and you've been in business for a while. What were you hoping to achieve? Well, it' to be a double barreled question. So first, what was working for you? Like what had. What do you feel like your success over the last decade over decade. Maybe you can give some insights into what you think, the things that have helped you succeed. And then what were you Looking to go from like good to great when you joined us at the end of 2024, sure.
C
You know, I actually put a lot of merit into our culture as to why the company has been successful. I think that you cannot expect to have a really strong business that is client facing if there are internal struggles going on. So I've really put a heavy emphasis on making sure that we have a just open line of communication amongst the team and I think that that just ends up blossoming in everything that we do. We all feel confident and comfortable to have our voices heard within the business. So if we are going down a certain path with a treatment and Kristin may think that there's something that we can improve upon, she has complete comfort in bringing that to E. And I think that goes a long way.
A
Well, as an observer, after working with you guys for a while now inside of msa, I can say with full fledged confidence that it totally shows because from Tara to each team member, you all take such pride in showing up and just being of service to your clients. And it showcases because for those listeners who don't know, inside of msa, we coach the owner, but we also coach team members and we actually have separate calls for the team members and your team members continually. These ladies have showed up and participated in a really meaningful way. You can tell that you guys all really enjoy working together and that it's really a collaborative type of environment as well too. And I think it also just speaks volume. When I invited Tara to even come on to share her story, she is the one who suggested that we bring the whole team on as well too. And it just shows how much pride you have in your team as well too. So speaking of that, when you joined msa, what were some of the things that you were hoping to improve? Something that was already, because you already having some success, obviously. So what were some of the areas that kind of sold you on that you thought we could do an even better job here?
C
We had actually been creating treatment plans for quite some time. Kristin and Ana Sarah is new to the team, but about two years ago, correct me if I'm wrong, but around that timeline, we had made an internal decision that we wanted to move into treatment planning for our clients. So we wanted to create these multi month treatment plans and they helped profoundly build that out. But we were finding that we were having a hard time just completely overhauling the menu. I didn't feel like I really had the tools and the framework that I needed to do that well. And so it really just kind of Felt like divine timing when MSA came across my feed, and that is what really prompted me. I'm kind of forgetting the question, but that is where we moved into that relationship with you is we had this plan, and you were just kind of that tool to push us out of the baby's nest.
A
I love it. So I'm curious, and you guys can all answer this question. Once you got the signature menu, so you took some of your. The clinical protocols that you were already using, essentially, and turning them into signature packages or programs or plans, whatever we want to call them, them. How has this. Having that signature menu and some clarity and maybe even some better positioning around those signature packages helped you talk to patients or make recommendations with your clients and what have you.
E
For me, for, like, being so new and it just being, like, a different way to, like, shine light on basically, like being an esthetician. I think just having the clarity of knowing, like, this is exactly what we're following. And for me, then I can have the confidence to tell the patient or the client, this is what I'm recommending, and I don't want to basically be confusing. And I'm like, well, this is good for you, but also this would be great for you. But I think just having it laid out and having it so concise and very, like, still letting me use, like, my verbiage and, like, how I would, like, go with the flow of speaking with the client has been very helpful for me, especially being so new and it being so new for me. I feel like it's really been beneficial for me personally.
A
Yeah, that's awesome. Because you have both sides of the coin with y' all because you're newer, and then Kristen and Ana have been with you for longer. I think they've been for you for. With you for a while, at least since before you started working with us.
C
Yeah. Kristen's node. That's worth seven. Seven and four. Three. Three.
F
Yeah.
C
Yeah.
A
Amazing. So how do you think having, like, signature packages, how has it helped when you are actually speaking with clients? And what would you say is the biggest difference from just doing treatment plans to now kind of drawing your line.
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In the sand, so to speak, to.
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Going more all in with a little bit more confidence and certainty is kind of what you were describing to me, Tara, because it's like the protocols we're doing within the packages are not, like, new to you guys, right? Like, you were doing some facsimile of this through treatment plans before. So what do you think actually has helped? Like, kind of like, you were describing Tara, like, was it partly just the fact that you guys were committing to going all in on them? I'd be curious to hear what your guys thoughts are on it.
C
Yeah.
D
I have definitely found that by embracing that framework, it has shaped the way I think and how I'm relating to clients, certainly with more confidence and with more clarity. And I'm finding that in starting with a blueprint, a beautiful skin blueprint, which is a consultation process, and then having our packages, plans, programs to present, it's making it so much easier for me to really believe in what I'm recommending and think of it as a streamlined process. And I think that clients are able to rest in that instead of getting overwhelmed by information. And one thing I'm finding is that even if someone is not ready for a package program, plan, et cetera, that I'm recommending to them, a lot of times that trust is building in a way that encourages them, gives them the freedom to go all in, in whatever ways they can.
A
I love it.
D
Yeah. I feel like client retention has gone up. Clients confidence in what we're doing has gone up.
A
Yeah. And I love that you guys, it helps you all to be on the same page as well too. I'd be curious because I know that, Tara, I think you guys had a pretty solid, you'd invested in putting together a solid consult, if you will, before working with us. And so we have our CARES process that I know you guys have implemented parts of it into your system. I'd be curious, is there any parts of that that was super helpful for you all that helped make the process go smoother?
F
That was something that really stood out to me was learning about the CARES process and having that framework, having that acronym to follow not only with first time clients and consultations, but even with my returning clients as we're introducing maybe a newer treatment for them or a newer product line for them. And that framework helps me make sure that I'm hitting it from all sides and creating an experience for them to piggyback off. Kristin, that isn't super overwhelming but is super informative and also touches on, you know, affirming their own experience of what they have already been looking for with.
D
Their relationship with us.
A
I love that. Yeah. Because I, I think, you know, there's so many, especially in our industry and I certainly, when I first started was this way too. It's a lot of like deciding on the fly, if you will, like what the conversation's going to be like. Right. Like we're going to respond to what the client comes with, so to speak. And it comes from such a place of love. Right. Like, meaning our thought process is we want to treat everybody as a unique human. And so like every conversation is going to be different because of that. And so we still want to be personal and of course be totally human in our approach. But you know, there's so much research that backs up what we actually want as clients is a consistent experience. Right. We want a consistent experience. And so the more you guys have implemented this, the more you've like increased the consistency and the experience in a way that I think you have been able to feed a lot of positive feedback with your clients as well too. So I'd be curious because you had a lot of existing clients. And a lot of the questions that I get from folks is like, okay, so I get Heather, that we create a signature menu and then we use the CARES process. And that makes sense to me when it comes to like the new clients. Right. That you have come in for acne or anti aging or whatever they're coming in for. But how has this been for when you want to use it with existing clients? Because you guys already had a significant existing client base before you started working with us.
C
I feel that it has been so empowering in strengthening those relationships with our existing clients because frankly, I think we had reached this level of comfort over the years with especially our existing clients, that we were falling into these patterns of booking the same treatments on repeat. And I started noticing that some of our longstanding, loyal clients were falling off. And that was one of the things that triggered my motivation to create these treatment plans a few years back. And I'm finding that in rolling this out, it's actually strengthening that trust that we have with those long term clients. And they're seeing that we do in fact have a vision for them. And it's not simply a transactional relationship where we are just seeing them every month for the same hydrafacial experience.
A
Yeah. And you guys have done a really good job. You've named your consult and you are now starting to do it. Has it been because you guys haven't been even with us for a full year yet? But for the listeners that are maybe newer to me, I recommend having an annual consult. And what did you name your consult again?
C
The Beautiful Skin Blueprint Consultation.
A
I love it. Do you?
D
Because it is a mouthful.
C
Really questioning that name.
A
And so it must be a mouthful.
D
But it's a good mouthful.
A
Yeah, I love me a long name sometimes. So you're asking the wrong GAL abbreviated.
C
To the bsvc, but that also sounds too.
A
Yeah, but you have like now every year. And so this is one of those things that helps with the retention and helps to like stimulate, if you will, your existing clients that maybe can drop off because every single year now you're like, just like a primary care doctor has a well check every year. We're gonna do a well check as well too. And it helps not only just make sure that you're not missing any sort of service opportunities with your clients, but also makes it so that you can give an annual game plan every year as well too. And I know just even from fielding some of the questions because I'd be curious for Kristen and Anna and Sarah. I know Sarah, you're newer to the calls as well too, but have the calls been helpful? From my vantage point, you guys come with such great questions to get coached on and you have such great, I guess I would say intermediate to advanced questions on the process itself. Like, even like, how do we follow up after we've done the annual game plan? And like all those kind of new context specific things. So I'd be curious because Kristen, you come and Ana, you've come before as well too and come with such great questions and are just great participants.
D
Yeah, I think that for me, one really helpful thing about the calls from the very beginning is that they helped me to not overthink things, to get past the initial overthinking that I know I was doing when we first started the program. Of course, just listening to your conversations with other participants helped me to not overthink, but specifically the kind of simplicity that you brought to what felt like really complex problems in my mind, hopefully to be like, oh yeah, I don't need to overthink this.
A
In fact, if I could go back.
D
To eight months ago, nine months ago or whatever and talk to Kristen of December, January, I would be. I know it feels like so much, but you actually don't need to overthink so much. This is going to start to feel like a flow and just trust the process of that.
E
I'd say from being like newer, I can really appreciate how I feel like.
C
You'Ve helped me retrain my brain.
E
And just thinking with like, it's not because I feel like for me, I've always just thought, like, I'm not like a salesperson. I've always thought that about myself. Like, I'm not great at selling. Like, it's not. It's just like once someone kind of shuts it down, like I don't keep pushing, I just kind of stop, because then I get nervous or then I start overthinking it, kind of like Kristen did. But I loved what you said a while ago. You're like, you don't need confidence. You just need courage. And so I felt like that really sat with me, and that has helped me just be like, you know what.
F
I am gonna, like.
E
You really, like, have courage today. I'm just feeling okay. I mean, this is great for you. And honestly, they're. And I think the other thing that you said is they're coming to us for advice, so it's not like we're bringing them on Facebook or what have you. They're already here, and they're gonna be. That's the best time to tell somebody, like, what I think, like, what they need. So I feel like the calls have helped me grow a lot in just a few months I've been here.
A
So let me tie that too. Yep.
E
Yep.
A
Yeah.
F
And I just have to say because, as you know, we were kind of thinking about potential things that we would be chatting about today. The teams calls was one of the elements of MSA that I have found so valuable and so unique. You know, we've done some other types of trainings in the past that involve either making our consultation process really streamlined or maybe to help with sales or, you know, et cetera. But the calls that you provide both for CEO and for the teams, I just think is so unique. And valuable. And each week as we're utilizing this process and making these recommendations, as I have new experiences and maybe question myself of how could I have made that better, it just. It gives me somewhere to put that and to bring that. You know, we talk with each other very openly and bounce ideas off of each other very openly, obviously, all time. And that's amazing that there really is something so different and so fulfilling about being able to bring it to you and being able to bring it to other estheticians all over the country with different types of setups and spas. Like, it just a whole, you know, other level than anything that I have experienced through different training modules and things like that.
C
It's just awesome.
D
Yeah, I can definitely second that. And one thing I really like about NSA is that it hasn't just improved our consultations or our sales. Our ability to meet clients needs as separate pieces of a puzzle. You really bring it all together. And I know we've talked about, like, kind of retraining our brains at all different times, but the life coaching framework that you're Coming from has really helped in thinking about what is the situation and how am I thinking about it and how are my thoughts impacting my feelings and therefore my action and there for my outcomes and where can I step back in that process and tweak things so that I can get a different outcome? And in kind of shifting my mindset within a bigger picture of your trainings, working on everything or approaching everything from sales to packages, etc. I've really just been so strengthened as a provider from my core in layers outward.
A
Oh my goodness. Well, that is so wonderful to hear. I designed the calls and in fact, I actually had a client, maybe it was two years ago, I can't remember how long ago it was, but we used to. I separated out the team calls specifically and now CEOs aren't allowed to come to them technically. And it's because I want team members to have a safe place to come with their struggles. And we've seen such an improvement and more participation as well too, so that you guys can come and feel like, okay, it's all team members here, all providers, where we're working on the same things as well to create kind of a safe space for you all to come. And you know, I'm so passionate about you guys feeling like what you're doing is in integrity with what you want the experience and the outcomes to be for your clients. And so whether it's the CEO calls or the team calls, I'm just really. And like, Kristen brought up that life coaching aspect of it. Like, if we can remind ourselves, like the. The whole goal is to create a wow experience with outstanding outcomes. This is how we can shift our thinking from it being sales to it being we're making offers to help our humans get great outcomes. Because I know almost the majority of folks we work with are women who care very deeply about their clients or patients. And nobody wants to feel like a slimy car salesman. Right. And so I love that you guys shared that as well too, because I think, you know sales, I'm using air quotes for those of you who are just listening to this audio sale. Sales has a dirty word because it's like a dirty word for a lot of people because we've all had negative sales experiences where folks, it's just about upselling, downselling and cross selling. It's not really about like matching an outstanding recommendation with what somebody's real desires and problems are. So wrapping up, if you will, I would love if you guys could share, even outside of msa, if you guys could go back in time and give any advice to like the the younger version of yourself in your careers. What would be some advice that you might give to the listeners? And one other thing, Tara, I know that people are going to want to know how you hired such a great team. So if you have any advice that you want to give on finding outstanding humans, obviously you already answered part of it by saying that they you really got really dialed in on culture and your values as well too. But if you have any other hot pieces of advice, I know that the listeners are going to want to know too.
C
I'll start with your first question. And I think maybe not going so far back in my career, but in the last couple of years as a business owner, I personally was finding it hard to articulate exactly who Radiance was and what made us different and unique. And in leaning into MSA I feel more rooted than ever and strengthened by words that you have said such as they're coming to you looking for your expert recommendation and we're almost mini celebrity if you will, in their eyes. And I've really taken that to heart that you're right. We sometimes get so caught up in the day to day that it can feel icky. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with making a recommendation to get someone outstanding results because as you've mentioned before, we're here to get them those results and not make opinions or judgments about their profit book. So I would just tell my my old self that it's okay to lead with confidence and to trust that I am trustworthy because I know that myself and my team are always working from a place of integrity regardless if we are operating the MSA structure or not.
A
Totally. Totally. So I'm going to ask the second part of that question again and then I'm going to open it up so that the others can answer what like advice they give their past selves. But the second part of the question I had for you Tara is do you have any advice on hiring or is it even just like getting clarity? Well, you've had. I'll just open it up to that. Do you have any advice for hiring top team members who are in integrity and who stay for years like some of the team members that you have?
C
You know, I think something that's made an impact in the hiring department is hiring based off of connection and not necessarily skill set which not everyone agrees with. But I've never been intimidated to bring on an esthetician who doesn't have experience in the industry because that can be developed over time, but being in the same room with someone and working with someone day over day, if you don't have a healthy relationship with that person or feel a level of just combined connection and like we're working towards this thing, same goals, I don't know how you can have success in that environment. Yeah.
F
Was there a second part of that?
A
No, that was it. And it's so funny because I actually agree with you and not everybody agrees with me. I would rather you hire for character traits than hire necessarily just for longevity of experience in the industry. And in fact, sometimes, you know, when you hire somebody who has lots and lots of experience, they also have lots and lots of habits that may not be in alignment with how you like to do things as well too. So there's pros and cons there, but you can never go wrong with making sure you're hiring for the qualities and the connection that you discover during the interview process as well too. So I love it. So the other question for you three was any advice you have that you would give to even your past self or somebody who's maybe even newer in the industry that you wish you had known sooner when it comes to it, can become serving clients or what have you just to success in general.
F
I would definitely tell my baby esthetician self, which was off.
E
I don't go.
F
I've been an esthetician for three years. And so Tara, talking about hiring someone with little to no experience, that was me. So thank you very much for doing that. So, yeah, my whole aesthetic journey outside of school has been with radiance, beautiful skin. And if I could tell baby new hire on a one thing, it would be the parts of the job that are feeling the most intimidating are not permanent. And what I mean by that is just that when I first came on, especially, you know, with sales, just to kind of piggyback. Something that we've touched on this podcast is all the sales techniques that you're learning that are feeling icky don't necessarily equate to. This is never going to be something that you're going to improve at or even enjoy one day. You just haven't found the proper technique that fits in well with your style. Because I feel like that I've seen the most improvement in myself in that regard since working with msa. So, yeah, I would just kind of encourage myself in that way.
A
I love it.
E
I'd probably tell myself not to be afraid to fail and just kind of everyone is faking until they make it.
A
Amen, sister. I love it. Kristen oh my goodness. There's so many things I'm sure.
D
Well now I've been in the industry.
F
For 23 years and so there's so many things.
D
I, I think that one thing that I've learned just in the last seven years, I wonder what happened, is that.
F
It'S really important to be in an.
D
Environment that feels like an alignment with my values. Yeah, Radiance is just my favorite place that I've worked. There were some fantastic places, wonderful places, but being here really feels like an alignment of my goals, of how I want to be working with clients, the options that I want to be able to offer to them to really meet their needs and really most importantly, the kind of team that we have and the kind of culture that you're cultivating. Fear just feels so good.
C
And I worked places that really were.
D
Not like that and stayed too long. Not a good fit. So I would encourage baby Kristen to not stay so long at places, but we're a really terrible fit and instead trust that this exists.
A
Yeah. Oh, that's great advice. Maybe it does not exist outside here. I don't know. I love it. That's great, great advice. Oh my goodness. Ladies, you guys, like, I am just thrilled to have worked with you guys. Up until this point, you guys have been just a dream team to work with. Tara, if you could shout out how folks can follow you online where they can connect with you. We'll make sure to link up any of the links, the socials that you guys have personally as well that you want to share with us in the show notes as well too. But maybe Tara, you can let them know where to find you and scope you out online or maybe even book an appointment to come in to see you all.
C
Yes, we would love that. Before I do that, I just want to say thank you so much to you, Heather, and also to my team here because everyone has to fully embrace what it is that we're rolling out. And I feel so confident in the direction that this business is going and the team that's here doing it. These ladies, they lean in and they're really doing the work. And I had mentioned before we had some technical errors earlier that we're getting ready to move into a new and larger location. And some of that expansion is the result of us being able to offer these multi month programs and just positioning ourselves different in the community. And I don't know how long it would have taken me to roll that plan out if it wasn't for you. So you're really doing something unique. And amazing in our industry. So thank you so much for that.
A
Oh my gosh, Tera, thank you. You guys are such gems. And Tara, do you want to share like your website or.
C
Absolutely, yeah. Radiance Beautiful skin. That's R A D I A N c e beautiful skin.com and then our social is Radiance Underscore Beautiful skin.
A
Amazing. You ladies are gems. We'll link all of their contact info and socials and website what have you in the show notes as well. Thanks girls. It was a great conversation.
B
Hey, if you're enjoying this podcast and you're a boutique results driven med spa owner who's looking to drive more sales profitably each month without hustling yourself into the ground to do so, then you should consider applying to join us inside of the MedSpa Advantage. It's the only program designed to help you grow your revenue and profits while gaining back more time so that you don't feel scattered and drained while running and growing your business each month. To learn more about whether or not you're a fit for joining us, you can head over to heatherterveen.com apply to apply to get on a call with us to learn more. That's heatherturveen.com apply to learn more.
Episode: Building a Powerhouse Team that Doubles Down on Integrity, Client Retention & Signature Packages
Guests: Tara VanderValk, Kristin Whittington, Ana Broadwater, Sarah Griffin (Radiance Beautiful Skin)
Air Date: September 10, 2025
This episode spotlights Radiance Beautiful Skin—a renowned med spa near Kansas City—focusing on the intentional culture and processes behind building a committed, high-integrity team. Host Heather Terveen interviews owner Tara VanderValk and team members Kristin, Ana, and Sarah in a dynamic, in-depth roundtable. Listeners gain real-life insight into developing signature client experiences, boosting client retention, and fostering a workplace that prioritizes collaboration, continual growth, and interpersonal connection.
[05:34–06:30] Tara recounts her accidental entry into esthetics, moments of alignment/dissonance working at other spas, and the "God moment" that led her to open her own business:
“I really started to feel that cultural values weren’t aligning with my moral standards. And I just had a God moment. I felt like God was putting it on my heart to create and do something differently.” —Tara, [06:03]
Tara credits early growth to necessity (e.g., hiring support while starting a family) and a continual focus on expanding the team as the business grew.
[08:40–10:00] Tara attributes Radiance's sustained success to prioritizing internal culture:
“You cannot expect to have a really strong business that is client facing if there are internal struggles going on. So I’ve really put a heavy emphasis on making sure that we have just open lines of communication amongst the team.” —Tara, [08:44]
The collaborative environment ensures all team voices are heard, influencing protocols and client experiences.
[10:52–11:55] Tara and the team recount their intent to move from ad-hoc treatment plans to cohesive, signature packages:
“We were finding that we were having a hard time just completely overhauling the menu. I didn’t feel like I really had the tools... and it really just kind of felt like divine timing when MSA came across my feed.” —Tara, [11:11]
With Heather’s frameworks, they transformed their clinical protocols into branded, high-ticket signature offers.
[12:30–14:29] Sarah, as a newcomer, and Kristin detail how structured packages increased their confidence:
“Having the clarity...I can have the confidence to tell the patient exactly what I’m recommending...having it so concise, but still letting me use my verbiage, has been very helpful for me.” —Sarah, [12:30]
Kristin notes the new system simplifies recommendations and increases trust:
“Starting with a blueprint...then having our packages to present, it’s making it so much easier for me to really believe in what I’m recommending. Clients are able to rest in that instead of getting overwhelmed.” —Kristin, [14:30]
[16:15–16:54] Ana praises the consult framework, especially for maintaining consistency both for new and returning clients:
“The framework helps me make sure that I’m hitting it from all sides...creating an experience for them that isn’t overwhelming but is super informative and also touches on affirming their own experience.” —Ana, [16:15]
Heather highlights the paradox that personalized care is enhanced—not diminished—by consistent, structured client experiences.
[18:33–19:26] Tara shares that introducing annual consults revitalized relationships with long-term clients:
“We had reached this level of comfort... booking the same treatments on repeat. Some longstanding clients were falling off...in rolling this out, it’s actually strengthening that trust...They’re seeing that we do, in fact, have a vision for them.” —Tara, [18:33]
The "Beautiful Skin Blueprint Consultation" (their annual consult) acts as a wellness check and strategic plan for every client, increasing retention and engagement.
“There is something so different and fulfilling about being able to bring it to you and to other estheticians... a whole other level than anything I have experienced.” —Ana, [23:32]
[26:12–30:33] The discussion reframes selling as a form of service:
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making a recommendation to get someone outstanding results...We’re here to get them those results and not make opinions or judgments about their pocketbook.” —Tara, [30:06]
Heather and Tara both advocate for transparent, wow-experience-focused selling, resisting the “slimy car salesman” stigma.
[31:02–31:44] Tara’s hiring philosophy:
“Hiring based off of connection and not necessarily skill set...being in the same room with someone day after day, if you don’t have a healthy relationship or feel that level of connection, I don't know how you can have success in that environment.” —Tara, [31:02]
Both Tara and Heather prefer hiring for character over experience, recognizing that habits, not just skills, are inherited from past roles.
This episode radiates warmth, collaboration, and actionable wisdom. The conversation is candid, with each team member sharing growth moments and insights in a supportive, affirming tone. Heather’s coaching and facilitation foster a comfortable, solution-focused dialogue—one that seamlessly mixes strategy, reflection, and practical advice.
In summary:
Radiance Beautiful Skin’s success story demonstrates the payoff of doubling down on culture, transparent systems, and integrative training. Signature packages, clear consult processes, and team coaching fuel not just profitability, but a deeply rewarding provider and client experience. Listeners leave with specific strategies for growing a med spa business rooted in values, connection, and integrity.