Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Smith.
Hi Elizabeth, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My history of becoming a nurse actually began very early in childhood at around age 4 years with my baby dolls and my poor dog being my patients all lined up for their pretend shots, medicine and bandages. Fast forward a few years to my 20+year career as a critical care nurse at both local big hosptials, Munson Medical Center ICU in Traverse City and Mclaren Northern ICU in Petoskey. My latter 10 years of nursing were at the ER and Infusion Center located at Munson Healthcare Charlevoix Hospital. Most recently, I actively enjoyed part time traveling around northern Michigan performing home based biologic infusions for autoimmune disorders with Mclaren Home Infusion services based out of Davision, Michigan. At the time of COVID, as with many other nurses, I felt the need for a change to go independent of the hospital system due to unfortunate COVID burnout. I explored and learned a new passion after I assisted and shadowed under the professional guidance of Dr. Mary Ivey and her Medical Aesthetics practice that she was launching. This shift in focus from hospital based healthcare to assisting men and women to feel and look better within their own skin was a wonderful change and breath of fresh air. I felt the draw to learn more and pursued multiple certifications in complete facial aesthetics, advanced injectables for products such as botox, biostimulators, and fillers, sclerotherapy, PRP for Hair restoration and skin rejuvenation, and more training and certs that are ongoing! I am enlightened every day I work with aesthetic clients and my heart fills with joy when they say how “wonderful their skin feels”, or “I feel so much brighter”, or “I don’t even wear make up anymore”. I have been expanding and learning so much over the last 5 years within the medical aesthetics field, It definitely is an ongoing education! Being a nurse has given me the incredible background to really understand the physical, and emotional effects the “largest organ in our body” impacts us. I love to share with my clients the process of how we rejuvenate the skin or hair, educate on great skincare and assist them to develop a plan to follow for the future. I’m very impressed with how my clients look forward to their next visits and don’t want to miss out on their future treatments. This being said, only a brief year and a half ago, my friend Jennifer Armstrong, FNP and I opened a small boutique medspa called Charlevoix Aesthetics Co. located at 704 Bridge st. here in Charlevoix. We very quickly outgrew the lovely little space and have now expanded and joined forces with another friend Sandy Chambers-Herzog who is a licensed massage therapist and nail technician. Our new team of 3 ladies have opened Charlevoix Wellness Co. located at 108 Michigan Ave. Downtown Charlevoix located in the Edgewater Inn Complex. We now operate as a collaborative to offer a nice array of complementary services. Our service menu is really growing as we settle in to our new warm and welcoming space and our clients request more treatment offerings.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Growing pains have been there for sure! We were challenged at first to establish new clients, then understanding and learning how “much it costs” to get launched in a new business has been and still is a huge struggle. Missing out on Grant opportunities along the way due to being unaware of deadlines or how to apply. We must have filed our business paperwork 4 times before it was accepted at the LARA site, then we got roped into a booking platform that was a financial struggle for they took too much financially from our services rendered. However, we now are independent and booking up much easier. We have learned that nurses don’t receive enough business education to do all the facets of building a brick and morter storefront…..so it was jump in and swim, and really swim hard! A note to other small business entrepeneurs, 20 Fathoms small business development from Traverse City has been a great resource, and we have utilized many of their free business programs.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Oh, sooo many things about me, most people don’t know about my past life of adventure. I have owned over 40 horses in my lifetime. Horses were drawn to me, or maybe it was me to them! as I previously owned an Equestrian Center/Riding Stable and a Bed and Breakfast on Beaver Island prior to settling full time in Charlevoix. I’m a certified Horse Trainer in natural horsemanship and graduate of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School. I raised, rescued and trained 33 Siberian Huskies for dogsledding teams and tours on Beaver Island. I flew to Florida in an open cockpit vintage Stearman Biplane, while taking flying lessons along the way!! My hobbies include way too much vegetable gardening and creating metal and rock sculptures with ornamental welding techniques.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.charlevoixwellness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlevoixwellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1H6km29EAs/?mibextid=wwXlfr
