Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Cut the Tide podcast. Hi, I'm your host, thomas Helfrich. I'm on a mission to help you cut the tide of whatever it is holding you back in your life from success, and that success is something you've defined for yourself, and today I'm joined by Stephanie Salance. You're gonna butcher it. Hello Stephanie, how are you Great, how are you?

Speaker 2: 0:18

I'm delicious, thank you for asking I'm hydrated.

Speaker 1: 0:21

I'm delicious. Thank you for asking I'm hydrated. No idea what show I'm on right now Some of the three yarns. You got to go do it. This is so much fun. Stephanie, you're in Atlanta, I'm in Atlanta.

Speaker 2: 0:37

But that aside, take a moment to introduce who you are and what it is you do Stephanie Klontz, director of Operations for Hydra Plus. We've got three med spas in the metro Atlanta area, so we're in Sandy Springs, right now I'm in Buckhead, and we've also got a location in Virginia Highland.

Speaker 1: 0:49

Very cool. So there's a lot of med spas. There's a lot of things in the space. Why do people pick you?

Speaker 2: 0:56

Because of the people, honestly right, and don't give me specific examples of that, because I have been in this industry for close to 20 years and I have patients who have followed me from practice to practice but, just like you know, our competitors we've got IV hydration and medical weight loss and hormone replacement, botox, all of that stuff. But really it's the relationships that you're building that Hang on someone's calling my phone, relationships that you're building that hang on someone's calling my phone. Really it's the relationships that you, that you build with your clients, your patients, that like that's why they come and that's what keeps them coming back. And also, and I've never changed my phone number in the last few years so they always know how to find me- it's.

Speaker 1: 1:40

I mean it because you're, you're, you know. A lot of times people talk about the competitive edge of any business. Oh, you can't say it's the people and that's so not true. Like I've heard this so many times in my career, I'm like that is like the people actually make the difference. Your products, most products and services, are commoditized to some degree. There are very few things that someone can do that no one else can do from a services standpoint. But how it's done and how you feel before and after an experience is is is people? It's 100 percent people, so are our people. My English is not so good, so I would agree with you before we get into your journey a bit and kind of like, you know the things you had to do to get there, to find success, but can you define success on your terms?

Speaker 2: 2:26

or define success. But can you define success on your terms? Waking up every day and not feeling like a chore that you have to go to work and also putting in the work and it not feeling like you're I have to here we go again, type thing. This, like, my role here is not a nine to five, and I know that, and it's also not a five day a week thing. So I mean, and being okay with that, you know, sometimes it's missed soccer practices and it's missed games and it's, you know, late nights and early mornings and that sort of thing. But when you get to a point to where you know that that's the way it is and it's not taking its toll on you, it's not wearing on your relationships, that sort of just the way it is and it's not taking its toll on you, it's not wearing on your relationships, that sort of thing, then it's like, okay, I think this is my forever home, that's how I feel.

Speaker 1: 3:12

And I think that definition of success, obviously it evolves over time and it will for you, as it does for everyone else. Talk about your journey a little bit. And what the metaphor, ty.

Speaker 2: 3:23

Maybe you had a cut to achieve the success you just defined okay, well, so I have a little bit of a gypsy life right I born and right. I was born in california, raised in dallas, texas, did my undergrad in minneapolis, did my first internship there, believe it or not. I went to school to be a TV news reporter. I was going to be the next Lisa Givens. Do you know that, lisa Givens, I'm dating myself? I don't know who Lisa Givens is From. Entertainment Tonight, remember, with Mary Hart.

Speaker 1: 3:53

We didn't have TVs growing up. I'm kidding, I did. I was probably watching Star Wars, to be fair.

Speaker 2: 4:00

Okay, well, so I do like TV news or entertainment news or anything like that, right? So that's what I went to school for. My degree is journalism. So after my internship with NBC in Minneapolis, I went to my first TV job, nbc in Waterloo, iowa. You want to ask me how awesome Iowa is.

Speaker 1: 4:19

I've been to Iowa. I'm from the Midwest. It is actually nicer than people think I'll give it credit in some areas. I don't to Iowa, I'm from the Midwest. It is nicer than people think I'll give it credit in some areas.

Speaker 2: 4:26

I don't get it. Yes, iowa not so much, you know. Anyway, I put in my two years there and then I moved to CBS in Fayetteville, arkansas. Not sure that that was much better, but I needed to make the lateral move so that I could get from. I started off as a producer just behind camera, wanted to get in front of the camera as a reporter, so I went to CBS. Hang on my phone's ringing again, all right. So I went to CBS in Fayetteville, arkansas. I lasted 10 months and I realized this is not what I want to do with my life. You know, I was just speaking at a career day last week in Lithonia you know where that is and I was telling the kids, like that, this presentation, right. And I was basically saying that, like, even if you don't know what you want to do, or if you do, if you change your mind, that's okay. So that was my first severing ties, right. There was like cutting ties with the idea that I was meant to be this famous TV news reporter, anchor, whatever.

Speaker 1: 5:28

I envy you'd create it for yourself from a very young age.

Speaker 2: 5:33

Yes, yeah. So after quitting TV, I mean, I was in different jobs that were completely unrelated to journalism. I was a publishing company, I was with a cardboard company, I was with a personal law firm personal injury and this was 2008 when everything exploded, right, and one of the attorneys there said hey, you'll just go with my son, he's a chiropractor, he's opening up his own weight loss clinic. And that's when my journey began. Wow, that's when my journey began Wow.

Speaker 2: 6:07

Well, about five years ago, that this is what I was meant to do, so I'm a late bloomer.

Speaker 1: 6:12

Well, you're blooming exactly when the flower was supposed to bloom. I mean, you can't, you can't. Well, I think the Augusta Masters people can make flowers bloom earlier, I don't think anyone else. So, on that journey, a, you've identified it, you know you, you've, you've, you know you. You know what you need to do. Do you remember the exact though moment when you're like I am doing this, I'm going to do my own, I'm creating my own thing?

Speaker 2: 6:40

Yeah, I do. So let's let's rewind to about three years ago. Three years um will be 2022. So September of 2022 is whenever I came on board with HydroPlus, so we're talking about August and I had this aha moment. I told my business partner I was at another med spa, by the way, and I said I'm going away soon he's like what? And I said, yeah, so my timeline is by the end of the year.

Speaker 2: 7:07

It's time to move on. I feel like I'm a hamster in a wheel and there's not really any room left for me to grow. I think, first coming to terms with that and then within a week, and then maybe I manifested it. I had two job offers. One of them was for a med spa that I would do exactly the same thing, except I had a longer commute, same pay. And then the other one was for here for Hydro Plus, and it was only IV hydration. So it was going to be my role to bring in the weight loss, the hormones, the Botox, all of that stuff times three and you know, a little bit more pay but a lot more work. And I went with a decision that made me the most uncomfortable. And here I am.

Speaker 1: 7:47

I love that, so that you know you've you made the decision, you did it, you had clarity of mind to make, find success and and no doubt fears like your success was going to pivot again and you're going to be like I'm going to go do that now. Uh, what's been the impact for you since making the move?

Speaker 2: 8:05

You know, I think that maybe I didn't realize the the workload that I was taking on, and so I, you know, I thought maybe I was just here to see weight loss patients and you know, help people with hormone replacement and and I didn't really realize that I was going to be, you know, dealing with when the internet goes out or when the alarms are going off in the middle of the night, or whenever staff is calling out sick or you know, just like the big and the little day to day things. And so it made me learn to take charge more of the operations side of it, instead of just being in the clinical setting. And so I was like, okay, I have to learn more. So I started taking classes from Cornell on the psychology of leadership and I just think I wanted to be better at my job. So that's been the impact is that it's like, okay, what else should I do next?

Speaker 1: 8:58

It sounds like it's forced you to grow. So well you know, if you cause, if you don't grow you're, you're withering Right. And so if you, if you don't feel like you're, you have room to go. And I think in your own earlier statement it sounds like at some point, unless the ceiling's big enough in there, you might have to bust through that and go, do something, grow even bigger to something else.

Speaker 2: 9:17

We're in our fourth location right now, so I mean that is a big project to take on right now.

Speaker 1: 9:25

It's a good business to open one location, let alone having a new one plus three others to manage.

Speaker 2: 9:29

We have a state, so challenge accepted.

Speaker 1: 9:34

I love that Challenge accepted. Let's do this. What are you most grateful for, though, in your life?

Speaker 2: 9:40

I think I'm most grateful for people taking like, people like the owner of Hydra. He took this chance on me, you know. I mean everybody can talk a big game right, like, oh yeah, I can run that and I can bring in all of these products and services and have all these patients who will follow me. My first week here I was like what if nobody shows up? Right, and you can't let it fail. And so I think I'm grateful for that, first off, and then secondly for, like, the support system around me, right?

Speaker 2: 10:07

So I mentioned before that you know I don't get to make it to every soccer game, I don't get to be present on the sidelines for practices and sometimes I miss, you know, I don't get to make it to every soccer game. I don't get to be present on the sidelines for practices and sometimes I miss, you know, school performances and sometimes, you know, I can't have date night with my husband and that sort of thing. But the second thing that I'm most grateful for is really just the support around you, like, like my husband gets it, my daughter gets it, like it's not, like I'm just off, you know eating. What is it? What are those Bonbons? Bonbons.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Bonbons.

Speaker 2: 10:37

And just hanging out with my friends, Like I mean, you know, I'm trying to build this, like you know, empire, and I love that my daughter and my husband can appreciate that. That's really important.

Speaker 1: 10:50

It is, and you know, one of the questions I always ask is kind of like the lesson for the listeners, and I'm going to offer one that the lesson for your loved ones and you know they get, or they're learning, if they're, you know, you know it's your husband, your, your child is that you have to sacrifice to get what you want. Like you're not going to get it without some type of giving. Yet, and as long as you're transparent with what the reasons are and the why and the direction, people will support you, and they're not. They'll be better for it because they'll know that. No, you know she was doing what she needed to do but didn't do it because she didn't want me to be there, Because you know the kid steps what hits hard, right? That's the subject. That's a good lesson, though You're teaching them that you have to sacrifice to get what you want.

Speaker 1: 11:32

You you will. You know, if you're an athlete, you got. You're going to give up parties and you're going to give up drinking. You're going to give up lots of things friends and other people around you are going to be doing, so you can go chase what you want. If you're a business person, you're going to give up time sometimes with loved ones to go get some stuff done. You're gonna get up sleep. Just how hard. So I love that.

Speaker 2: 11:51

You don't want to sacrifice, entrepreneurship is not for you. So I try to tell people that, like I mean it's you're going to have to give up sleep, and sometimes you're going to have to give up family time, and sometimes you have to give up, like you know, your weekends or your nights. And if you're not willing to do that, or you don't have the support system who will allow you to do that, then entrepreneurship should be for you.

Speaker 1: 12:17

I mean, allow you to do that, then entrepreneurship should it be for you. Entrepreneurship is a French word that's defined as crazy ass people that might be potentially ADHD, to give up everything to chase absolutely nothing with the hope that they'll be successful. I just made that up.

Speaker 2: 12:23

I was like oh my God, is that me? I think he's the guy that's me. I attacked.

Speaker 1: 12:31

You know what it is. It's true, it's controlled madness. It is, it's true, it's controlled madness to some degree. What's the best in business advice you've ever received.

Speaker 2: 12:42

You always have more time than you think. Somebody told me that when I was 28. Just for reference, I'm 44. It was that long ago that somebody said that to me.

Speaker 1: 12:51

This is a lot. If you're 44,. Either we're talking about the filters you're using on the camera or I'm coming for you because, holy cow, I would have guessed you like me. And I mean that. Guys listen, don't be creepy. Go watch the video, you'll be like oh yeah, that's weird, no way.

Speaker 2: 13:11

Yes. So it's like you know, I always thought, okay, well, you know what? All my friends are married, all my friends have kids. And I kept comparing myself to, you know, the people who already owned a house, or the people who already had kids in grade school and whatever. And you know, here I was still chasing my dreams and, like you know, then it does, like it finally resonates with you that you that there's a lot more time than you think. People like Jeff Bezos and all these successful people right, a lot of them didn't start any of that stuff until they're mid to late. Bill Gates right, a lot of us are late bloomers.

Speaker 1: 13:51

I would say I don't think you're that late. I think you got a lot more time than you think to do that. That's great advice, by the way. You don't have as much time as you think. Especially when you have kids in the mix, it accelerates quickly. It's like a multiplier per kid. I'm pretty sure If you had to start over today, when would you do that and what would you do differently?

Speaker 2: 14:14

When would I do it? I don't know.

Speaker 1: 14:15

Like, what part of your timeline would you go back to and say, ah, we're going to do something different at this moment?

Speaker 2: 14:20

Probably before I got married the first time, I probably wouldn't have done that.

Speaker 1: 14:25

Skip that one. What did the? I don't know. Let's just skip that episode.

Speaker 2: 14:28

She had the cliche where people were like, well, if you didn't get married, then you wouldn't have your daughter, and so that no, and that's totally true. I think I was at it, and I'm saying that really because I was in a different place in time when I was 31. So like the things that I considered success or the things that you know made me feel like I was wealthy, or the things that made me feel like I was important, like it's not what it is now, you know. So I probably would have changed it in my early 30s.

Speaker 1: 15:00

It's interesting. So the same perspective you have today will also have the same effect back for 10 years. You'll be like oh, that actually wasn't important, it's going to happen again At 49,. I'm telling you, it's going to happen again at least twice more.

Speaker 2: 15:15

I believe it.

Speaker 1: 15:16

So, all right, where was I going to? I always had a deeper thought to ask you oh, I had it here.

Speaker 2: 15:21

We're going deep.

Speaker 1: 15:26

If there's a question I should have asked you today, but I didn't, what would that question have been and how would you have answered it?

Speaker 2: 15:31

If you were going to ask me a question.

Speaker 1: 15:36

What was the?

Speaker 2: 15:37

question. I should have asked you that. I didn't. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. Can I, can I sleep on that one? Because here's the thing I didn't know what you were going to ask me at all. I didn't even know what the joke was.

Speaker 1: 15:54

I know that's the best part of that question. I usually swim people the questions. It's automated and that's the last question I put on there. I'm going to part of that question. I usually swim people the questions. It's automated and that's the last question I put on. I'm going to ask you that question, but this is the best part of editing is I won't do it. What is the thing that someone should ask you?

Speaker 2: 16:09

They never do, maybe where I went to school, maybe what your educational background is.

Speaker 1: 16:22

I don't know, I mean be what's my bench or something fun like I mean like I know that nobody does that I would ask people that actually that is a leading question is like which is what muscles on the beat.

Speaker 2: 16:30

The first thing you say is hey bro, what do you bet?

Speaker 1: 16:33

no, I'll ask like a random person hey's your squat, and it might be a five-year-old and they're like I'm like I bet it's pretty good.

Speaker 2: 16:44

Well, I think people should know about your educational background. You know, like, why don't you just blow and smoke up your butt? And like I really have no background in that. I think it's good to know that.

Speaker 1: 16:54

Yeah, education, we won't go down. I can do a whole. I can do a whole starting podcast on education right now. All right, question, it's shameless plug time. First of all, thank you for coming on a show and listen. I love when people have no idea what's going on. It's the best, because I have more fun in those shows. I'm like, oh, this is going to be good. Who should get ahold of you and how should they do that?

Speaker 2: 17:17

I mean anybody, just to say hi, Men and women, 40 and up, anyone looking to lose weight, anyone looking to gain muscle. You're like looking for, you know, anti-aging remedies, iv hydration. If you have a massive hangover, you can come in and get a hangover bag. You know, if you need to look a little bit more snatched in the face and you want some injections done, anything like that. Basically, we're now one-stop wellness, so there isn't anything we don't have access to. We're about to roll out some stem cells and then it's next level after that.

Speaker 1: 17:55

That's great Peptides. I'm going to add these wrinkles. You could like do laundry on these things, you could like. I'm worried. If I get Botox, it's going to take my eyebrows and just shut my eyes down. Basically, I look like Chris Crinkle.

Speaker 2: 18:09

Like a shark bay.

Speaker 1: 18:14

Anyway, thank you, Stephanie, for coming on the show today.

Speaker 2: 18:18

Thanks. When do we get to see it?

Speaker 1: 18:21

Oh, you don't. We borrow it forever, that's all you have to pay for it. Okay, We'll figure it out. We do a bunch of these. There's a process. You probably won't read your email anyway, it seems like if we do it so it'll just be out for weeks and you'll be like oh no.

Speaker 2: 18:36

There it, oh.

Speaker 1: 18:36

No, there it is yeah, thank you for coming on, I appreciate it awesome. Keep in touch well and listen anyone who's made it this part of the show. Thank you for watching. If this was your first time here, I hope it's the first of many. Get out there, go cut a tie to something holding you back, but first to find success on your terms, so you know what it is you're chasing. Have a great.