Clinical Director of Facial Aesthetics and award-winning nurse practitioner, Julie Scott, shares her insights on getting started in aesthetics with host, Vicky Eldridge. What attracted Julie to a career in the sector, and what one piece of advice would she go back and tell her younger self? Tune into this inspiring conversation to learn about Julie’s tips for developing a business mindset, dealing with imposter syndrome, and what she is most excited about for the future of aesthetics. This episode is a must listen for practitioners starting out, as well as anyone looking to take their business to the next level.
Vicky Eldridge: So I'm here with the amazing Julie Scott. She's the founder of Facial Aesthetics and she's a speaker, trainer… She does all sorts of things. She's a nurse practitioner.
Julie Scott: Well, thank you for having me. First of all, Vicky.
Vicky Eldridge: , it's a pleasure. Coming up on today's show …
Julie Scott: If you surround yourself with good people, then you can relinquish some of that control. And you just have to do it slowly but surely, you have to. And I think that things. Sometimes we'll all make mistakes, sometimes we won't always reach expectations, but often. I don't know about you, Vicky, but it's. Things will go wrong, but it's actually how you deal with them when they do go wrong and not hiding behind things and just transparency, authenticity. The less is more, the natural rejuvenation. You know, that regenerative aesthetics is only going to get bigger and broader and it's like, bring it on. I'm all about that. I'm excited about that.
Vicky Eldridge: Julie, you've been sharing your insights about getting started in aesthetics. What would be your key advice? For anybody, another nurse who's thinking about coming into aesthetics, or for any practitioners, what would be your advice?
Julie Scott: Things that I talk about with you today is key points. Understanding who you are and what you want from this industry. Because what that looks like is so different to everyone. I think having a vision that can move and kind of, you know, you can grow with that vision. Understanding what brings you joy. What is going to bring you the most energy? Is it, you know, your goal to have three clinics? Is it to run a really successful soul business and really understanding what your USP is? I think that that term is a really interesting one, isn't it? Because people think really kind of corporate, but I look at it in a very different way of kind of undeniable kind of specialty. What is your niche? And be really clear with that vision? I think so sitting down and really understanding what you want and ignoring the noise. Don't get caught up in what X is doing down the road. Be true with yourself and then go in that direction.
Vicky Eldridge: What was it that attracted you to a career in aesthetics? Because I know you run a successful business. What is it that made you think, that's what I want to do? That's the road I want to go down.
Julie Scott: That's an interesting question. I love that because when I first. My background's in plastics, I was a plastic surgery nurse for 14 years and I remember a very dear colleague of mine who's sadly passed away now, but she said to me, you know, Julie, this is what you should do. And 20 years ago, no one really knew what it was about. And I remember kind of, you know, walking off all stroppy and saying, you know, I'm a proper nurse, etc, etc, and then coming back with my tail between my legs two years later and saying, how do I get into this industry? And I think what attracted me was being able to translate my creative flair, my skills, my, my patient care because I never wanted to lose that. And using that clinical background but still keeping capturing that real close contact that I had with my patients. And then I went on a journey and it's been a very, very long journey.
Vicky Eldridge: If you could like go back in time and talk to your younger self when you were getting started in aesthetics as a nurse, is there any advice you'd have given yourself or anything you'd have done differently?
Julie Scott: Yeah, definitely. I mean, yeah, don't, don't learn by all my mistakes. But I think things that I would say to myself would be just come out of that kind of shy girl mentality. Study imposter syndrome and how to overcome it much earlier because I grappled with that and still do. I think it's a disorder that, you know, imposter syndrome. A lot of women do and men, let's not miss those out. But I think, yeah, really shaking that off, pushing myself out of my introvert tendencies and going out there and finding my tribe earlier, yeah, I've got them now. But finding your tribe, like minded people, people that will support you, champion you. And I think if I'd done that earlier, probably would have had many years of less stress. So that would be the biggest thing I think I would say to myself. And I think that I would say to myself, Julie, get help earlier. So it's taken me years and I've written about this a lot, kind of written for you, Vicky, and talked about and presented about that. We try and be everything to everybody and just can't. I know what I'm good at, but I really know what I'm not good at. And if I want to upskill on those things, I go away and do that. But there's some things that, you know what, just find people that wear those hats much, much better. And I wish I'd done that earlier because if I had, I wouldn't have gone through burnout and had to kind of pull myself back from it as well. So, yeah, stop being so shy, get out of PJs Julie, get out there and find your tribe and bring help in sooner. They're the two biggest lessons.
Vicky Eldridge: I think that's really important, isn't it? Because burnout is something that we do talk about now, but I don't think we did. When I got started in my career, it was very much a badge of honour if you worked to the level of burnout. And now I think we've got. We hear much more about self care, don't we, we hear much more about boundaries and things like that. When did you come to decide that actually, I need to - this is something I want to address. For me, it's been about 10 years ago. I probably recognised that level of wasn't sustainable.
Julie Scott: You were there before me, so mine was about six years ago and I've recently written about this because it's very. I think it's important for us to be humble and share things in this industry. And there was a real turning point for me one Christmas. Whereas normally it was big celebration, the year has, look how well we've done. And I had this insufferable tiredness and it didn't matter how much sleep I had. Nothing brought me joy over that Christmas period. And normally when kind of the days of getting closer to coming back and reopening my clinic in January, you know, I get excited and I've got all this kind of, you know, new lease of life and I'm gonna do this year and I just didn't want to open my doors. And I was like, what is this? And a dear, dear friend of mine said, Julie, I think you're a bit burnt out. I think you're trying to do everything. And I was like, oh. And that was a real moment for me. And I don't actually think I caught up with myself till about a year later and. But I'm definitely there, Vicky, And I took it and just thought, okay, what. What contributed to this? How can I stop that happening again? And again, talking of pivotal moments, you know, I took five weeks off and I was looking out into the ocean in Santorini and thinking, you know, sometimes you have to kind of get to the brink. I wouldn't recommend it or advocate it, but to be able to. The hardest lessons are the ones that you, you know, you often get the most growth, isn't it?
Vicky Eldridge: That's something I've been thinking about, you know, making space in my work for taking like the whole month of August off or something like that, you know, and it is a journey, isn't it, when you recognise perhaps that you've been burnt out, you've been, it's not an overnight fix, you suddenly go, oh, I'm going to change things. And I think it can be quite challenging when you, when you run your own business. Certainly for myself, I'm self employed. So when you're not working, you're not earning, you feel like that sometimes. And I think what you were saying earlier about being able to hand some things over, a lot of people find that difficult, don't they, when they're running their own business?
Julie Scott: They do if they're a perfectionist and a control freak. Those two, two combinations are. I'm not talking about you and having that, but I think you have to just, you know, if you surround yourself with good people then you can really relinquish some of that control and you, you just have to do it slowly but surely you have to. And, and that's why it's so important to, you know, bring the right people into your business, into your culture and things and finding like minded people, but those people that have the skills that you don't have and entrusting them. And I think it is just sometimes, you know, I say to my daughter all the time, she's just gone off to uni to study medicine and I say to her, sometimes your best is good enough because she's a natural, you know, perfectionist. And I said, sometimes, you know, because her best is brilliant, you know, and she can continue and continue, but it's, you know, for what gain? And I think that it is about balance and it is finding that balance, whatever that looks like to you as well, and, you know, championing your own, your own wins and celebrating them and just not comparing yourself, that whole comparisonitis thing that goes on, especially in our industry, and just, yeah, just celebrating the little wins as well as the big ones as well.
Vicky Eldridge: Absolutely. I think another thing people struggle with is shifting into that business mindset, isn't it from coming from an NHS background, like you said earlier, you know, when you're working in that very clinical environment where you feel like, you know, that people have said, oh, well, it's, you know, proper medicine and well, you know, moving into something that's private perhaps feels different. Yes. How do you shift into that business mindset from an NHS background?
Julie Scott: It's interesting because when I came into the industry there was, there was nothing, you know, there was very, there was limited resources. So I, I kind of really kept at my core the patient care and focused on the patient journey and didn't, you know, I didn't have the funds to kind of go out and do research. So I just asked my patients, you know, what you need, what do you want? They were my barometer, really. And then I made a real shift and I decided that we needed to, I needed to not only invest time and money into my clinical skills, but I invested in customer service. So I actually really looked and said, you know, it's all well and good if I'm, you know, good with a syringe, but if I don't actually reach all of my patients’ expectations from the minute they walk into my clinic till they leave, then I've, I've failed at so much more that I could be good at. So I think I would say that to invest in the patient journey and customer care and I, you know, would think, you know, like a hotelier kind of, you know, what do they have to think about, you know, how they make the people feel when they walk in.
Some people say it's the fluff, but actually the fluff, I think is 80% to what we do. The patients come to me and they expect me to be skilled, they expect me to be clinically competent, but they don’t expect the added extras. They don’t expect that beautiful smell when they walk in the clinic, they don’t expect that extra cup of coffee, that extra little product that goes in there. They don’t expect that. And how they leave. Feeling is everything to me. So I would say, really look at your customer care and the patient journey. If you’ve got that down, that will be a big, big contributing factor to your success. It is in mine. Yeah.
Vicky Eldridge: And from a Hamilton Fraser perspective, obviously, you know, when you talk about complaints and things like that, a lot of complaints, you know, come out of patients being unhappy and that's down to their expectations, often not being managed, rather than a serious complication, which does happen, obviously. Often these complaints or difficulties with patients come out of that. They're not happy with how they've been treated within a clinic. And that speaks to exactly what you've just been saying.
Julie Scott: Definitely. And I think that things sometimes will all make mistakes. Sometimes we won't always reach expectations, but often. I don't know about you, Vicky, but things will go wrong. But it's actually how you deal with them when they do go wrong and not hiding behind things and just transparency, authenticity in everything, in the way that you communicate with your patients before you've even met them, through your social media, through your marketing and things. You, you know, you have to perceive yourself in a really authentic, true light. So when they come to see you, they get exactly what they think they're going to get, and you just mustn't disappoint them and just always being in that moment with your patients. And I think if. If you're true with your patients and you're honest and you're fair, your reviews will come and people will speak about you and you're going to be successful. It's just when you try and skip corners, you can't skip corners on clinical care and customer care ever.
Vicky Eldridge: Absolutely not, no. And I think one of the things you're really passionate about isn't it is helping women, supporting women through perimenopause, through menopause. And again, there, sometimes women are feeling really vulnerable, aren't they, during that phase? And that care is really important. What role do you think aesthetic clinics have to play in that space in supporting women for menopause? Not just through their skin, I guess.
Julie Scott: Yeah, no, definitely. I think you're right, Vicky. I think when I started in the industry, I was in my early 30s and I used to sit behind a desk. I used to rent a consultant's room and I used to sit behind this desk and these patients would come to me and they were in their late 40s, early 50s. I was in my early 30s, and I hadn't got a clue, hadn't got a clue. And I would chase a line I didn't understand. And it was only as I evolved and grew, I thought, I'm missing something here. They're not getting what they need from me. I may have been able to treat that line, but I wasn't looking after them holistically. And so I went away and I educated myself. I read more around the menopause. I was very prepared by the time I hit it, and educated myself so that I could really service all of my patients and their needs and really look after them holistically. So I did my homework, did my reading. There's so many resources out there and books, you know, wonderful conferences, even, like Menopause in Aesthetics, dedicated to this. You know, we've got 51% of. I think that's right. Not great with stats, but I think it's 51% of women in England and Wales. You think about how many of those are going through the menopause, you're naive if you think that they're not going to come through your clinic doors. So I think that it would be remiss of us not to be ready and prepared. And I think really simple, take your time with these patients and sit down. And I allow an hour with my consultations, always do. And I bring patients back in and review consults throughout the year and I give that patient an hour. And Vicky, probably once I've kind of explained to how the consultation is going to be carried out, then I say over to you. And the number of women that sit there and there's like this silence and then sometimes I get tears, sometimes I get, I haven't been asked that for a long time or.
Julie Scott: And they open up and I literally give them about 20, 25 minutes, just ping, uncoil and you get. So if only a lot of practitioners would. I've got colleagues and I'm like, you don't you. I can tell you don't listen with the intent to listen. You just want to fix, you want to put the plaster on, you want to suggest, you want to advocate and actually just allowing your patient to just without any interruption. You get so much information. It's all going in, it's all documented and then you can treat your patients holistically. But they leave and they won't say, oh, you know, she suggested this, she suggested that they'll leave and they'll tell three of their friends, I felt heard.
Vicky Eldridge: It's the big thing, isn't it, and you mentioned Menopause in Aesthetics and obviously they're a partner with Hamilton Fraser and I'm involved in that event. And that has been one of the big things that women have said that they haven't felt heard and that's what they want is to feel heard. And I know that other practitioners in this space say that when you're working with women who maybe have come to see you because of a skin concern during perimenopausal at any stage during that, that actually there's so much going on and that it is, it isn't just a sort of we can put a plaster on that, it's a real listening.
Julie Scott: And when you collate that information, there's probably six things they raise and maybe three of them I can help. But then you can refer your patients on. And that is crucial. At the end of the day we’ve got to follow a medical model. We're sitting down, we're consulting and we've got to be able to assess our patients and know where we can help. But as importantly, where we can't help and where we refer to, you know, refer on. So yeah, I'm not that ignorant 30 year old anymore, I'd like to think. I'm not an expert. No one's an expert. You stop learning when you start calling yourself that. But I am quite passionate about that. And it's even better now. I've gone through that personal journey myself. I can, you know, relate to my patients.
Vicky Eldridge: What are you excited about for the future of aesthetics?
Julie Scott: Well, it's interesting, isn't it, because it's constantly evolving and having been in the industry so, so long, I've seen, seen so much, so many things come and go. And like you, Vicky, you know, as a veteran in this industry, we're seeing some things kind of, you know, it's like things that come back into fashion. When I started in aesthetics, it was less is more. And, you know, nobody wanted any overt treatment.
Vicky Eldridge: Nobody wanted to know they'd have anything done.
Julie Scott: No one would recommend, you know, and now I have patients coming and say, oh, gosh, I went out for dinner last night and it really, you know, transpired that three of the friends at the table all come and see you. People talk about it now. Then we went through a real cycle and, you know, our industry, I think got a bad press. You know, there was overly treated patients. You know, overfill syndrome became a complication and known facts.
Vicky Eldridge: It was a look, wasn't it?
Julie Scott: You know, it was a look, a look I never adopted. So I'm excited about the future. I think we've gone full circle and I think that the less is more, the natural rejuvenation, you know, that regenerative aesthetics is only going to get bigger and broader and it's like, bring it on. I'm all about that. I'm excited about that. Excited, possibly not the word, but positive and hopeful for change when it comes to regulation and safety in the industry. I'm delighted that very recently I've been kind of taken on as part of, you know, JCCP for, for driving forward regulation. And I'm positive, optimistic that over the next couple of years those conversations are just going to accelerate. And I'm really optimistic and excited for that change because, you know, Vicky, we are long, long overdue. And I'm excited about maybe hanging up my latex free gloves at some point. Maybe just sitting there, not for a little while, but, you know, one day, you know, moving towards that. And actually I'm excited about kind of maybe being able to share even more in the industry as well. And, you know, there's lots of things, but I think regenerative medicine, regenerative aesthetics and regulation, imagine how our industry is going to change and what that's going to look like. I’m excited for that.
Vicky Eldridge: People are really hopeful for that, aren't they? And as a group, you know, nurses in the UK have been at the forefront of driving that ever since. I mean, I remember when it was, what was it, the RCN Forum for Nurses and Aesthetic Medicine, back 20 years ago. And so that I know that, you know, as a group, nurses have been really, really instrumental in that and continue to be so.
Julie Scott: incredibly, I mean, formerly BACN, now BANAM. They, you know, they are a phenomenal organisation and the work that the board do is. And you know, they do this in their own time. It's phenomenal. You know, the stuff that they put together is incredible and I'm proud to be a member but I think, you know, certainly here in the UK, BANAM, you know, I'm proud to say I'm a member of them and just, you know, applaud the work that they do and have for so many years and, you know, all the lobbying and work that they do is incredible. So I salute you, BANAM.
Vicky Eldridge: So you talked about listening to patients. Have you got any examples where that's really driven the direction you've gone in terms of treatment that perhaps you might not have done when you first met the patient and how that's impacted them going forward?
Julie Scott: Yeah, so I think it's not just one. I think what happens a lot is patient will come in, I'll give you an example. And for example, their skin's been fine and they're not necessarily worried about ageing, but they might come to me and they might sit down and say, you know, I'm getting this flushing, I've got very red cheeks. It's impacting on me at work. I, you know, find it embarrassing, you know, under stressful situations, I'm getting maybe lumps, bumps, etc, etc. I'm really, really worried about my skin. So they start divulging that and you think, okay, is it just their skin? And you think, I'm going to pop them up and do a skin analysis. And then, you know, as we dig deeper into that and that person's given that time and space, you know, what might go from being flushing and they're concerned about a few thread veins, then comes into, actually, I'm quite struggling at work. You know, I've been doing this job 20 years and beginning to forget things during my presentations or, you know, busy meetings, pressure, and it's really making me very, very stressed. And then when I go home, you know, I'm screaming at the children and X, Y and Z and I'm really. And they start opening up now, I'm not a counsellor, okay. But I'm hearing this and then we start talking about, you know, they start divulging that perhaps, you know, they, it's impacting in other ways and you know, they've gained weight or etc. Etc. So we've gone from flushing of cheeks and a few thread veins through to that patient is struggling at work, struggling in work related situations, struggling at home, doubting themselves. Well, there's a big, big issue here and you know, when we've taken a medical history, we know where they are in their life and it may not have even occurred to them like before, you know, oh, I'm perimenopausal. Oh. So in that situation, of course I can help them with their skin, of course I can help them with their self esteem in regards to that, but I can't fix that hormonal imbalance and all of those things. So in that situation I say, right, I'm going to do this part of my job. But I actually think, you know, would you be comfortable if I refer and recommend you? And that's when I then reach out to.my experts and refer on and with the patient's consent, of course. So what we've done there is we've not just fixed what is fairly a superficial problem, but it has a big impact. But we've looked after the patient as a whole and that to me, they come back a year later and you know, just seeing their confidence getting their life back. So I haven't just helped put a plaster on it, I've actually helped that patient at the core. And that to me is a job well done. So it's having that network of colleagues and experts and knowing your limitations, Vicky, and knowing when to refer on and not being, you know, I've got to keep this patient, I've got to, you know, try and do everything because we can't, we can't.
Vicky Eldridge: I know some clinics have branched out and they've decided to go down the route of doing the training with the British Menopause Society and things like that and offering those hormone treatments and that can be a path people choose and they've almost become more women's health clinics than aesthetics clinics.
But then also at the same time, like you say, there's that you don't have to do everything you can do, but you can also make sure that you've got local partners. And there's so many, I think with perimenopause particularly there's so many different symptoms, aren't there, that need different expert input? You know, we've been talking about safeguarding, Menopause in Aesthetics and we're going to be talking about it. You know, Hamilton Fraser have been talking about it as well.
And going down the intimate health treatments, you know, there's so many different aspects of this and we don't have to offer all of them, but it's good to.
Julie Scott: Absolutely. It's finding out what will bring you joy because if you enjoy what you're doing, then your patients will see that. So, absolutely. You know, I have my niche areas and I'm kind of branching out. Watch this space. Because if you enjoy what you’re doing you’ll give your best to your patients. And then it’s a win-win situation.
Vicky Eldridge: So you talked about finding your usp. Can you share with us what yours is and how you sort of took that out of an idea in your head and made that tangible? What was the journey there?
Julie Scott: Yeah, I think it's, I think finding my usp. I remember when somebody first asked me, I was just like, I'm like business and I'm. Oh, actually I am. So it was, but I kind of, I felt it was quite corporate. So what I did was kind of play around with that and just thought about, well, what's undeniable in my business and what's my speciality? So that's what I did with it.
And what was undeniable when I kind of sat down and brainstormed it all was that I wanted to maintain that real patient contact. I wanted to be off the high street. I never wanted to be on the high street. Natural introvert. I want to know who's coming through my clinic. I wanted to create a calm, tranquil space and I wanted my patients to come into this safe haven one on one with me, have that time. And I wanted to build that beautiful trust and take that patient on a journey and they never ever want to get off. So patients have been with me over 22 years. So I think bespoke, tailored treatments in a quiet, calm environment with a very personable journey with me. I never wanted to dilute it. So it's like, you know how you buy these concentrated juices and these kind of diluted concentrated juice. So that was my usp and it takes time because I remember having that vision. I remember brainstorming with my husband, you know, 20 years ago, and he said, what's your vision? I said, I want to be kind of, you know, in the middle of nowhere. And he was like, why do you want to be in the middle of nowhere? I said, where no one can find me, but they find out about me. And I had this vision board on my fridge and it just, you know, it was all ruffled. But I realised it and I think believing it will happen. Build it before. What's that lovely film with Kevin Costner?
Vicky Eldridge: Oh, the Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will come. Which people always misquote. I think I just misquoted it, but yes.
Julie Scott: I love that film. And I remember sitting there and watching that film and that's when I did my mood board. And I remember being on holiday once in the south of France and reading this book called Oversubscribed. And I took all of that, knew what it was that I wanted. Not knowing how I was going to get there, but getting it all down, really visualising it. And it just evolved. And then, you know, and I find myself today, you know, leaving my clinic and I've got that tree lined drive and you pull up to our clinic and you, you wouldn't think you're walking into a CQC registered clinic. And I think that the important thing on the journey before you've realised it is actually staying true to your core. Cutting out the noise. Not looking here and there, just staying focused. People say, oh, Julie, you know, who are your competitors? I don't know. That's not coming from a place of arrogance. I really, really don't know, Vicky, because it's coming from a place of I know what I'm doing and I just don't need to think about anyone else. Staying focused, staying true to your vision and yeah, I think, I hope that answers your question, but just keep going. Hard work and don't stray, don't be, oh, shiny toy, shiny toy. Just, you know, because if you're true to yourself, then, and you're truly authentic in your real self, then it's easy, it comes naturally. Don't try and be something you're not or something that you think you should aspire to actually find. And that's my secret to success because I really love it, I enjoy it. So I don't mind if I'm really busy because I enjoy what I do.
Vicky Eldridge: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. When I think of you, I do always think of somebody who's really passionate about skin. And then as we've got to know more about the menopause and giving, you know, patients that real sort of level of care and, and making sure that they're, they're heard. And that is a definite message that's come across. So, yeah, definitely. Julie, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been great to chat with you.
Julie Scott: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
