Shelley Clayton, Founder of Ageless 360 Aesthetics: – “The best result of anti-ageing treatment is when no one knows what you had done.”
In today’s blog, we’ll share the story of Ageless 360 Aesthetics and its founder Shelley. She has always been interested in aesthetics, however, as a nurse, it was not easy to find a job in this field. Shelley began her nursing career in the emergency department, along with attempting to find a job as a nurse injector for many years. In 2014, her life was turned upside down when her 16-month-old son tragically passed away in an accident.
It was a difficult time, she had to return to work at ED. Shelley soon realized that ED was no longer her home. The sights and sounds would bring her back to her son’s death and it was not easier serving others in that situation. She decided that it was time to bid goodbye and pursue her dream of working in Aesthetics. Without worrying much about what was going to come her way, she took the first steps. Shelley Clayton founded Ageless 360 Aesthetics in the year 2017, which now operates at two locations, Indianapolis and Greenwood consisting of 11 employees.
Shelley shares, “Channeling my grief into my business helped me survive and do something positive with my time instead of feeling sorry for myself. I wanted to make my son proud of his mom and show my daughters that you can take a dream and make it a reality with hard work.”
Shaping Ageless 360 Aesthetics
Clayton worked at a plastic surgeon’s office as a receptionist in earlier days, she had an overview of how intimidating people can feel at these places. She tried to create a place where one could go and feel comfortable like one might feel at a friend’s house. A relaxed, friendly and warm environment for all anti-ageing treatments from the basic facial to injectables with specialists that care about the person, not the payment.
Ageless 360 offers customized treatment plans for the everyday woman. Their office is not a “real housewives” office where clients leave looking overfilled and fake. They understand clients’ real concerns, like pigmentation, pores, or wrinkles and help them with in-office treatments, home care, and education. The unique feature of Ageless 360 is that they don’t always sell clients the newest or most expensive treatment, they keep it honest and help keep you natural while keeping ageing at bay.
Hardships And dealing with pressure
Shelley faces various hardships every day as a first-time business owner. There are challenges but every day she learns about how to be effective in her role as a practitioner and a business owner. Time management is one such challenge, as it is difficult sometimes to step away from the patient care side, which is her passion, to focus on the business itself. Learning to release control and delegate more has been tough but necessary, especially as they now have 2 office locations. Ageless 360 has an amazing team of smart, hard-working women who keep everything on track and make sure everything stays running smoothly.
On the other hand, she believes that stress is a part of life, some good and some bad. She keeps reminding herself that the stress that comes with being a business owner is a blessing. meditation helps to slow down her brain when she feels overwhelmed, and takes out time to celebrate a little me time. Travelling is another way to reward herself as well as release stress.
New marketing strategies and Future Plans
In the aesthetics industry, the client is your best marketing tool. Making sure they are thrilled with the treatment and the result ensures they will refer their friends and family to you in the future. Ageless 360 Aesthetics’ number one marketing tactic is to treat each client like they are an influencer because they are! Other methods include digital marketing like social media, google ads, and local community promotions.
Plans are about the recently opened second location in Indiana. Clayton wants that location built up soon. Then work on the next expansion, possibly in Indiana or even another state. Her family lives in Florida, so her dream is to open several in the Naples and Bonita Springs areas.
Opinion on Women entrepreneurs
Shelley believes that Women are essential to all industries.
“We are as driven, hardworking, smart, and effective as our male counterparts and can bring a different perspective. Women are truly becoming some of the most innovative and creative minds in business today. I encourage all women to take the leap towards entrepreneurship if that is a dream of theirs. It’s scary but so rewarding at the same time!”
Achievements and learnings
Starting in a 100-square-foot room, Ageless now has 2 locations and 11 employees. One of the keys to success is to never give up. There will be a lot of times it feels like you’re failing, or it won’t work but you can’t stop going. Another is to never stop learning and improving your craft. There is no end when it comes to mastering our skill and technique, no matter what we do. Lastly, I think surrounding yourself with supportive people is huge. It’s not going to be easy; your support team can keep you motivated and from getting too down on yourself.
Find a mentor to help you and guide you. Having someone that has already been down the road you’re on can be helpful. Learn from everyone you can, even people from different industries because you never know what might be helpful for you. Finally, ignore your competition and focus on doing the best you can, the way you do it. If you spend too much time trying to do what they are doing, you lose sight of your mission and values. Stay true to your dream and don’t let anyone stop you from achieving it!
Achievements Year wise:
2020 awards
“Top Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner” 2020,” Top Women in Aesthetic Medicine” 2020, “Top Women Business Owners” 2020, “Top Women Injectors” 2020, “Top Medical Spa Midwest” 2020
2021 awards
“Top Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner” 2021,” Top Women in Aesthetic Medicine” 2021, “Top Women Business Owners” 2021, “Top Women Injectors” 2021, “Top Medical Spa Midwest” 2021
2022 awards
Champion of Women- Aspire Business Group, IAOTP- Top Business Owner of the Year in Aesthetics, Top 3 Medical Spa in Indianapolis, 2022 Global Icons- Passion Vista Magazine.
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