Med Spa CEO with Heather Terveen
Episode: What to DO When You are Feeling Defeated in Your Business
Date: October 15, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, Heather Terveen speaks directly to med spa and aesthetic practice owners who are grappling with feelings of defeat in their business. Drawing from her experience as a strategist and coach, Heather outlines tangible mindset shifts and practical steps that leaders can implement when things feel overwhelming. The episode is designed to normalize the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship and equip listeners with tools to move forward confidently, even during tough periods.
Core Discussion Points & Insights
1. Anchor Into Your Vision, Not Today's Emotions
- Insight: Emotions are transient, but your vision should be your guiding "lighthouse."
- Quote:
"Feelings change hourly... when you have a vision and a mission that you are working towards, that will be like a lighthouse."
—Heather Terveen [00:00] & [55:20] - Application: When you feel lost or overwhelmed, return to your core mission and let it guide decisions, not fleeting feelings.
2. All Things Are Compounding in Your Favor
- Insight: Even setbacks are actions stacking up toward your growth.
- Action: Write this statement somewhere visible: “All things are compounding in your favor.”
- Quote:
"Even the outcomes that your brain is telling you is a failure is just not how you wanted it to go. Those things are compounding in your favor too, because that will keep you in motion."
—Heather Terveen [13:50]
3. Adopt the Farmer (Not Only the Hunter) Mindset
- Insight: Sustainable business growth comes from planting seeds and tending to them over time, not just "hunting" for immediate results.
- Quote:
"We still have to hunt, right? We still have to eat today. Okay? But...you are a farmer, you are a gardener as well. Those action items...are not gonna bear fruit that day immediately."
—Heather Terveen [18:00] - Application: Persist with new strategies and marketing initiatives, understanding that results may take time.
4. Protect Your Filters on Feedback
- Insight: Not all feedback is created equal; discern whose opinions deserve your attention.
- Quote:
"Not all feedback is worthy of your energy... if they're not in the arena, don't take advice from people who haven't even been in your shoes in some way."
—Heather Terveen [23:25] - Memorable Anecdote: A med spa owner decides that a price-shopping client isn’t their ideal client, modeling healthy boundaries.
5. Every Bad Hire is Leadership Training
- Insight: Hiring mistakes are an inevitable and valuable part of developing your leadership skills.
- Quote:
"There's actually no other way around it. It would be like trying to build muscle without having to lift the heavyweight weights."
—Heather Terveen [29:45] - Anecdote: Heather shares her personal story about ignoring red flags in personal and hiring decisions, emphasizing learning from mistakes.
6. Protect Your Energy—It's Your Currency
- Insight: Leadership is energy-intensive; be intentional about what you consume and where you expend energy.
- Quote:
"Leadership is energy intensive, y'all. When you leak energy into the wrong places... you got to treat it like currency."
—Heather Terveen [35:30] - Tips:
- Set clear boundaries on time and team access.
- Filter content and feedback consumed.
- Identify and avoid energy drains (social media comparison, toxic team members).
7. Redefine Defeat as Data
- Insight: Remove the emotion from setbacks and treat them as sources of information—what works, what doesn't, and what's next.
- Quote:
"Instead of being in the defeat of, like, I spent thousands of dollars and it didn't get me the return that I wanted, I looked at it as, that is not defeat, that is data."
—Heather Terveen [40:00] - Application: Regularly evaluate outcomes (good and bad), seek lessons, and iterate. Avoid shame and paralysis in the face of failure.
8. Zoom Out—Take the Macro View
- Insight: A single rough week or month does not define your business. Step back for perspective.
- Quote:
"When you zoom out and look at the whole year, it's not gonna matter that maybe September's numbers weren't where you wanted them to be."
—Heather Terveen [49:00] - Action: Create emotional safety by treating your business numbers as neutral data instead of a personal verdict.
9. Return to Vision Again—Your Lighthouse
- Insight: Reemphasizes the importance of staying focused on the vision, which provides direction and resilience.
- Quote:
"When you are captaining your ship toward your vision, toward that lighthouse, if you can keep your eye on the lighthouse, no matter what storms hit, you cannot navigate those waters."
—Heather Terveen [55:20]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “If you can be the captain of the ship of your mind...and know that those feelings ultimately don't dictate the action that you're going to take, that you keep moving, that you keep taking action towards your vision and your mission and your goals, there's just nothing you can't do.” [10:20]
- “Oftentimes folks will abandon things too soon...Meta ads actually work for everybody. You just didn't figure out how they could work for you.” [20:50]
- “Shame ultimately around any of these things paralyzes you.” [45:00]
- “If you're spending a lot of time in fear, in guilt, in embarrassment, in shame, in anxiety, you ultimately will freeze and not take as much action.” [46:30]
Key Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:00 – The lighthouse analogy: Vision over emotions
- 13:50 – All things are compounding in your favor
- 18:00 – Hunter vs. Farmer mindset
- 23:25 – Filtering feedback and using the right “tuning fork”
- 29:45 – Leadership lessons from bad hires (includes personal story)
- 35:30 – Managing energy and setting boundaries
- 40:00 – Reframing defeat as data
- 49:00 – Zooming out to the macro perspective
- 55:20 – The closing call to anchor into your vision
Summary: Takeaway for Listeners
Heather’s episode is a candid, practical guide for aesthetic business owners who feel overwhelmed by setbacks. She reminds listeners that negative emotions are not indicators of failure but opportunities for growth. By rooting decision-making in a clear vision, filtering feedback wisely, protecting their energy, and treating setbacks as valuable data, med spa owners can persist, adapt, and ultimately thrive—even in stormy periods.
Heather closes with encouragement to keep this episode handy and share it with anyone who’s currently feeling defeated, reinforcing a sense of community and shared resilience.