Fifteen years ago, I was fresh to the aesthetic industry and attending my first conference. As I watched thought leaders speak on stage, I envied the way they commanded the room. People would watch, listen, and take notes! What made one injector so skilled, knowledgeable, and magnetic that they could capture the attention of hundreds of others?
This curiosity has underpinned much of the work I do in aesthetic business consulting. I’ve learned that success is really not about what people do. It’s how they think and make decisions that separates the top 1% from the average.
As my practice has evolved, I’ve built intimate and vulnerable relationships with hundreds of female entrepreneurs. And there’s no question that there is a formula to achieving iconic status.
The core success principles that shape the DNA of a powerful leader are timeless. That’s what allows the top 1% to achieve success again and again and again. Because it becomes who they are.
Today, I have assembled a powerful list of that practical and tactical knowledge. Let’s dive in.
Secret #1: They Have A Close Group of Trusted Advisors
When top injectors want to make a strategic pivot in their business, they don’t survey the entire community. Instead, they have a core group of trusted advisors who they rely on. This inner circle helps them find their wisdom, access their creativity, and confidently move closer to their medspa goals.
For example, a few years back, I had an experience with one of my aesthetic business consulting clients. This client had invested thousands of dollars in a rebrand strategy. After I presented my suggested approach, she came back and said ‘I need to ask around. I was talking with my massage therapist, and she really wasn’t feeling the vibe.’
I’m all for doing market research. In this case, we’d conducted a focus group with her most valuable consumers. We’d also sought feedback from key employees and business partners. Then, we combined this knowledge with insights regarding consumer behavior and market demand.
This was a very well thought out proposal. But the client still had a very difficult time making up her mind. She had an underlying fear of losing or upsetting customers who didn’t agree. This was the right decision for her business, but she couldn’t get behind it because she valued everyone’s opinion instead of the ones that really counted.
Top injectors have made a radical mindset shift. They’ve moved from ‘I need to make everyone happy’ to ‘I need to do what’s right for me and my business.’ They are selective about who they allow into their business, and into their ear.
Secret #2: They Develop A Proprietary Method
A top injector comes to market with a core belief system. That system guides the way she operates clinically, and within her business.
A top injector typically believes in something that is contrary to the majority of the collective. Instead of jumping into a passing fad because she thinks customers want it, she identifies a gap in the market.
Then, she owns that space. She uses at least 30% of her digital marketing footprint to showcase her unique philosophy. She’s recognized for this individual, proprietary approach, not the services she offers.
Don’t believe me? Pull up 100 aesthetic practitioner Instagram accounts.
It’s likely that one of them will have a video interview of a provider and her patient. The video will be telling the story of her signature methodology. Has it been adopted by peers and colleagues around the globe? Has it changed patients’ lives?
That’s how the 1% moves from being just another provider, to truly innovating and standing above the crowd.
Secret #3: They Invest in Personal Development
Talk to the most successful or most fulfilled person you know. You’ll find that every single one of them is striving to become better.
A couple of weeks ago, I received an Instagram message from someone we’d invited to a free masterclass. She said ‘I’m already too busy. I can barely keep up with the demand I have.’
Immediately, I recognized an infrastructure problem if she was unable to expand her business and reach her medspa goals. But more importantly, no one is too busy to invest in themselves.
In fact, your business will stagnate if you are not investing in your own personal growth. Because as a business owner and leader, your business cannot outgrow you.
Running a business is 20% mechanics and 80% mindset. You can have all the gadgets, social platforms, and launch strategies in the world. But the only way to build a lucrative, sustainable, freedom-based business is to develop yourself into a leader. That means accountability for all of your results — successes and failures.
Secret #4: They Think in 5-Year Milestones
I’ve had the privilege of working with dozens of key thought leaders in our industry. I’ve recognized one nuance that collectively drives their decision making — they think with the future in mind!
A few years ago, I was asked to speak on an expert panel with a board certified MD injector. This woman is an amazing, inspiring speaker. We were chatting afterwards, and what she said has always stuck with me.
‘Only 10% of the people in this audience will actually be able to implement what they just learned. That’s not because they’re lazy or not ambitious. It’s because most people are too focused on what they can do today to grow their business. But that 10% who are building their businesses sustainably, they’re here to build the relationships and skills that will become mastery three to five years down the road.’
Top injectors are creating sustainable growth by thinking and planning for the future. They’re embracing an expansive vision, then commissioning the resources they need to realize it in the future. The Military Decision Making Process is one framework I recommend for teaching yourself to think in this way.
Successful top injectors are not reactive, responsive, or impulsive. Instead, they methodically and strategically make moves behind the scenes before anyone ever knows about them. They’re always thinking five years ahead — if not more.
Secret #5: They Don’t Just Learn, They Teach
Ask an industry leader what made them so successful, and they’ll often say something like ‘I’m always learning.’ And certainly, that’s true. These inspiring leaders are invariably full of curiosity and creativity.
But I’ve seen firsthand that their learning often goes farther than that. Beyond reading books and attending more training sessions, top injectors acquire new skills by teaching them.
In my career as a consultant and through one-on-one coaching, I’ve seen that only 10% of growth comes from learning. True mastery and leadership is 90% independent thinking and applying the skills you’ve learned.
I’ve experienced it myself, too. Through teaching and aesthetic business consulting, I’ve learned much faster. I’ve achieved more mastery than I ever did by listening to someone else talk about it.
The 4 Phases of Becoming a Leader
Defined by these secrets, there’s an evolution that happens as an injector builds her confidence in thought leadership. I call these the 4 phases of becoming a leader.
Phase 1
She begins as a student who is constantly learning, seeing herself as a sponge soaking up knowledge. She markets the things she offers, like products, services, bundles, and treatments.
Phase 2
She begins to develop her own collection of techniques. Taking bits and pieces of her learning, she develops a mixed bag of tricks. Then, she threads them together into her own way of doing things. Because she feels like she is advancing, she may begin dabbling in teaching basic techniques.
Phase 3
She discovers a new way of approaching her craft that is unlike anyone else. She begins to work in her own unique, unconventional way. She starts to resent the groupthink in her industry, feeling frustrated that people haven’t caught on to her magic.
She starts to share her philosophy with others and puts herself out there. She begins to be recognized as someone who others look up to and want to follow.
Phase 4
Here is where we find the top 1% — the Julie Hornes of the world.
By now, the leader is fiercely confident in what she has, who she is, and how she approaches her business. She is done convincing others. Her services are in high demand, she is monetizing her brand reputation and her work stands uncontested. She is rarely in competition, because she runs in a category of one.
Aesthetic Business Consulting To Reach Success
Through aesthetic business consulting and one-on-one coaching, I specialize in helping you along your journey to becoming a leader. Whether through one-on-one, or in one of my programs, there are so many ways to get involved in my community.
To start, get on my email list and tune into my podcast, The Fierce Factor. Every week I lead honest, personal conversations about scaling your business as an aesthetic wellness entrepreneur.