Med Spa Success Strategies

Episode: The Financial Shift Every Med Spa Owner Needs to Make

Host: Ricky Shockley
Guest: Shannon Simmons, Founder of Fit For Profit
Date: December 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the transformative financial mindset and systems that every Med Spa and aesthetics practice owner should adopt to achieve sustainable profitability, reduce stress, and create more freedom and impact—in business and in life. Ricky Shockley interviews Shannon Simmons, a Profit First specialist and founder of Fit For Profit, who exclusively helps fitness and wellness entrepreneurs take control of their numbers and build businesses that serve their clients, teams, and themselves.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Does It Mean to Be Fiscally Fit?

[02:39]

• Shannon introduces the three-legged stool framework—your clients are thriving, your team is thriving, and you as an owner feel successful.
  • "The clients… have to be getting the result that they're coming to you for… your team is an important stakeholder... I view my job as a business owner to take care of my team because the team then is taking care of the clients. Right. And then the other leg of that stool is you as the business owner, thriving, being happy, enjoying what you're doing, being rewarded for what you're doing." — Shannon Simmons [02:39]
• Emphasizes the necessity of balance: Owner burnout hurts the entire business ecosystem.

2. Building a High-Quality, Repeatable Hiring Process

[04:33]

• Shannon stresses the importance of always recruiting—build a "virtual bench" of ideal candidates before you urgently need help.
• Hire based on values and personality fit, not just technical skills.
  • "I'm all about hiring off of values and personality... If they're not going to fit in with your culture, it doesn't matter what skills they bring to the table." — Shannon [04:33]
• Tip: Post job openings every 2-3 months and cultivate relationships with potential future team members.

3. Your Relationship with Money: The Fundamental Mindset Shift

[08:21]

• Most business owners have unrecognized limiting beliefs about money from early life, such as “I’m not good with numbers.”
  • "The limiting belief that they're holding around money... as soon as you're aware of it, you're like, oh, I don't really believe that. That's pretty easy to shift." — Shannon [09:53]
• Money management is principally about behavior, not just math.
  • "It's 20% math, 80% behavior." — Ricky (referencing Dave Ramsey) [10:25]
• Self-awareness and rewriting money stories prevent self-sabotage and backsliding.

4. Common Profitability Pitfalls in Med Spas

[11:59]

• Pricing: Owners often set prices by copying competitors, not understanding their own costs.
  • “You can look at what they're pricing, but you have no idea what their costs are...” — Shannon [11:59]
• Owners often neglect reviewing financials, leading to poor profitability despite strong revenue.

5. Implementing the Profit First System: Foundational Cash Management

[14:54]

• Start with small, consistent steps: open a dedicated profit bank account and allocate 1% of income to it.
  • "Sustainable financial habits... the first time you have a profit account, you're probably only going to be allocating 1%." — Shannon [15:41]
• Use separate bank accounts for allocations: profit, owner’s pay, taxes, equipment, etc.
• Adjust targets as the business grows or reinvests; profitability may dip during expansions, but must never go to zero.
• Align allocations with existing payroll cycles and business cadence.

6. Expense Management: Where Med Spa Owners Waste Money

[18:48]

• Two main categories that get out of control: Payroll and Marketing.
  • "People just think, if I put more into marketing, I will get more results... you also need to be getting a return on the investment of marketing." — Shannon [18:48]
• “Death by a thousand cuts”—subscriptions, unused software, and small recurring expenses add up.
• Recommended Practice: Quarterly bank statement reviews to identify and eliminate waste.
  • "Do you know what every single expense on there is? Because so invariably somebody will come to me and they'll be like, I don't know what I paid ABC Company for. And I'm like, that's a problem. Go figure it out." — Shannon [21:12]

7. Why Profit Matters—Beyond Greed

[22:31]

• Profit enables you to pay your team well, weather hard times, enhance client experience, and ensure business longevity.
  • "You can't serve your clients forever if you're not profitable. I want you to be able to serve your clients as long as you want to be in business. And that means you have to be profitable in order to do it." — Shannon [22:31]

8. Key Strategies to Maximize Profit & Cash Flow

[24:04]

• Get Confident on Pricing: Based on your true costs and value, not comparison.
• Review Expenses Regularly: Systematize money reviews.
• Adopt a Money-Values Alignment: When money flows according to your values, it enables true impact (e.g., giving back, staff bonuses).
  • "When your money is aligned with your values, you can do things like make donations to charities... and you have built in that profitability. Right?" — Shannon [25:19]

9. The Embodied CFO Role: Beyond Bookkeeping

[26:45]

• The bookkeeper records past transactions; a CFO looks forward and guides financial decisions.
• Owners must "embody" the CFO mindset, even if only for an hour per week, or when working with a fractional CFO.
  • "Even if you hire a fractional cfo, I want you to have the knowledge that you can have an informed conversation with your cfo. That means you have to be more than the bookkeeper of your business." — Shannon [27:01]

10. Making Big Financial Decisions: Equipment, Debt & Expansion

[29:02]

• Open a dedicated equipment savings account—fund regularly, even if just for future down payments.
• Always project revenue/profit impact before taking on new debt or buying expensive assets.
  • "Can you cash flow the debt payments then? Right. But if you're able to put something on as a down payment, that's just going to decrease the amount that you have to finance." — Shannon [29:15]
• Keep high-yield savings accounts for large, non-frequent expenditures, ideally at a separate bank for “out of sight, out of mind.”
• Annual big expenses (like conferences): Allocate on a monthly basis to "smooth out" cash flow.

11. Managing Debt Responsibly

[33:34]

• Major risk: Over-leveraging via multiple loans and credit lines without a long-term plan.
• Recommendation: Find an accountability partner (neutral business advisor, not a friend or spouse) for major debt decisions.
  • "So many times when you say it out loud, you all of a sudden come to your own answer. You don't really need somebody else to tell you that it's right or wrong… having somebody that you can do that with who's a neutral party.” — Shannon [34:12]
• Safe Ratio Guideline: No more debt than you have equity in the business; 2:1 (debt:equity) is "a little much” and risk tolerance varies by owner.
  • “My general rule of thumb is no more than, no more debt than you have equity in your business. Right?” — Shannon [36:02]

12. Single Biggest Habit for a Financial Shift

[37:26]

• Start today: Open a profit bank account and automatically transfer 1% of every income deposit.
  • "Start one new bank account and take 1 to 1% of every deposit that you get into your business and put it into that profit bank account. Super small habit... and it builds from there." — Shannon [37:26]

Notable Quotes

• "Numbers are nothing more than letters with different shapes on paper... you can learn math and accounting, too." — Shannon [10:59]
• "If you’re not being compensated well for the work, you're going to burn out. And then nobody is receiving your benefits—the team and your clients. If you're not there..." — Shannon [02:39]
• "Most businesses are constantly growing at some level... every time you increase revenue, your expenses will increase if you're not paying attention to it." — Shannon [17:54]
• "You want to talk about running a not for profit in your business. When your money is aligned with your values, you can do things like make donations to charities..." — Shannon [25:19]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:39] – Fiscally fit framework: clients, team, and owner must all be thriving
• [04:33] – Repeatable hiring: value-based recruiting, always be hiring, building a “virtual bench”
• [08:21] – Mindset and shifting money stories
• [11:59] – Pricing mistakes: copying competitors, not knowing your own costs
• [14:54] – Implementing the Profit First system in stages
• [18:48] – Expense management: payroll, marketing, and “death by a thousand cuts”
• [21:12] – Quarterly expense reviews
• [22:31] – Why profit truly matters
• [24:04] – Five key strategies for maximizing cash flow and profit
• [26:45] – Bookkeeper vs. CFO: owners must embody the CFO role
• [29:02] – Financial decision-making for major expenses and equipment
• [33:34] – Responsible debt management and accountability
• [37:26] – Top actionable tip: Start with 1% profit allocations

Further Resources

• Shannon’s Company: fitforprofit.com/medspasuccess (includes assessment, guide, and training for listeners)
• Services: Fractional CFO, Profit First implementation, and bookkeeping (bookkeeping optional if you already love your current provider)
• Socials: @fitforprofit

Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for any Med Spa owner tired of flying blind with their finances. Shannon provides actionable, sustainable steps for reclaiming control—starting with mindset and moving through practical systems like Profit First and expense management. Implement even one habit from this conversation, like the 1% profit allocation, and you’ll set yourself on a path to lasting profitability and business freedom.