Today we’d like to introduce you to Kisstina “Kissy” Francis.
Hi Kisstina “Kissy”, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story definitely wasn’t a straight line to business ownership. I’ve worked in the medical field since 1999 and have spent more than 12 years specifically in dermatology and aesthetics. I loved the medical side of what I did, but I also fell in love with helping people feel more confident in their own skin.
Getting to where I am today took a lot of rebuilding along the way. There was a time in my life when I was raising three boys and we were homeless, even living out of my car for a period of time. I’ve been through domestic violence, started over more than once, and I’m also a cancer survivor. Those experiences shaped me tremendously, especially in the way I see and care for other people.
After COVID, I unexpectedly lost my job, and that became one of those moments where life basically forces you to decide what you’re going to do next. Instead of going back to what was familiar, I decided to take a chance on myself and create something of my own.
That’s how Kissy Face Med Spa began.
I started small, with a vision of creating a place that felt different from the typical medical aesthetics experience. I wanted people to receive knowledge they could understand, results-driven care without ever feeling intimidated, judged, or like they had to become someone else. To me, aesthetics isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about helping someone look in the mirror and feel good about the person already looking back at them.
Since then, Kissy Face has grown into a team of 9, a full med spa, our own skincare and body-care products, and something that has become much bigger than what I originally imagined. I’m still very hands-on with my patients and my business, and I’m still learning as I go. Owning a business has certainly not been the easy road, but I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built and of the fact that some of the hardest chapters of my life ultimately helped shape the kind of business owner and provider I am today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth? Not even close. I think one of the biggest surprises for me was learning that being good at what you do and being good at running a business are two completely different things.
I came into this with years of medical and aesthetics experience, but owning a med spa meant suddenly learning an entirely different world: payroll, marketing, hiring, leadership, finances, equipment, leases, patient experience and about a hundred other things nobody warns you about when you decide to become a business owner.
There have been some incredibly difficult seasons. I’ve dealt with staffing changes, unexpected expenses, building and equipment issues, slow months, decisions that didn’t work out the way I hoped, and plenty of moments when I questioned whether I was doing the right thing. There have even been long periods when I haven’t taken a paycheck because making sure my staff was paid and the business could keep moving forward had to come first. That’s a side of owning a business people don’t always see.
One of my biggest lessons has been realizing that growth doesn’t always look like success while you’re in the middle of it. Sometimes growth looks like making a mistake, owning it, changing direction and trying again. I’ve had to learn how to become a leader and business owner, not just a provider, and that has probably been one of my greatest challenges.
I also think social media can give people a very unrealistic picture of entrepreneurship. You see the beautiful office, new equipment, a growing team or an exciting announcement, but you don’t see everything that happened behind the scenes to get there. There have been late nights, tears, hard conversations and more than a few moments when I’ve thought, “How in the world am I going to make this work?”
But somehow, I do. I figure out the next step and keep going.
I’m much more willing now to say, “Okay, this isn’t working. What are we going to do differently?” I don’t believe struggle automatically means you’re failing. Sometimes it means you’re building.
Kissy Face is still growing and evolving, and I certainly don’t have everything figured out. I’m still learning every day. But I’m proud that when things have gotten hard, I’ve continued to show up, adjust and keep moving forward.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Kissy Face Med Spa ?
Kissy Face Med Spa is a medical aesthetics and skincare practice in Adrian, Michigan, but what we’ve created goes far beyond treatments. From the beginning, I wanted Kissy Face to feel different.
There were two things that were incredibly important to me when I opened Kissy Face: education and accessibility.
First, I wanted patients to actually understand their skin and their treatment options. I had spent years in the medical and aesthetics field, and I realized how overwhelming this industry can be. There are so many treatments, products, technologies and medical terms, and patients are often expected to make decisions without really understanding what any of it means. I wanted to take that knowledge and explain it in a way that makes sense to the person sitting in front of me. I never want someone to feel intimidated or embarrassed to ask a question. If I can’t explain something in a way my patient understands, then I haven’t done my job.
Second, I wanted high-quality aesthetics and skincare to be more accessible. Taking care of your skin or wanting to feel better about your appearance shouldn’t only be available to people with an unlimited budget. I wanted to build a place where we could offer advanced treatments, professional skincare and knowledgeable care while being mindful of what real people can realistically afford. That doesn’t mean being the cheapest, it means being fair, transparent and helping patients make the most of the money they choose to invest in themselves.
Today, we specialize in skin health, corrective and anti-aging treatments, laser and light-based treatments, body treatments and medical aesthetics. We offer everything from customized facials, acne treatments and microneedling to advanced technologies for skin tightening, pigmentation, redness, scarring, tattoo removal, hair removal and body sculpting, along with injectable services provided under our medical team.
But I don’t think our equipment or treatment menu is what truly sets us apart.
We spend time with people. We educate them, track their progress and talk honestly about realistic expectations. Sometimes the best recommendation I can give someone is actually not to do the treatment they came in asking for. I’d rather say, “I don’t think you need that,” or recommend a less expensive option that makes more sense for them than sell something simply because I can.
I’m also very passionate about the idea that medical aesthetics should enhance people, not erase them. I’m not interested in making every face look the same or convincing someone that aging is something they should be ashamed of. I want our patients to look like themselves, just healthier, more confident and comfortable in their own skin.
I’m proud that Kissy Face has grown beyond the treatment room as well. We have our own Kissy Face skincare line and body-care products, and education remains a huge part of everything we do. I want people to understand why they’re using a product or choosing a treatment instead of simply being told what to buy.
And even as we’ve grown and added advanced technology and medical treatments, I never want us to lose the personal side of the business. We know our patients. We celebrate their milestones, hear about their families and sometimes walk beside them through difficult seasons of life. Many have been with me for years, and those relationships mean more to me than I can probably put into words.
What I’m most proud of is that Kissy Face has grown without losing the two things I cared about from the very beginning: helping people understand their options and making quality care accessible to the people in our community.
Our philosophy is simple: Love the skin you’re in … care as unique as you are. That’s not just a tagline to me. It’s the reason Kissy Face exists.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Absolutely. Nothing I’ve built has been built completely on my own, even though there have certainly been times when owning a business has felt that way.
My family deserves a tremendous amount of credit. They’ve watched me work long hours, listened to more business ideas and problems than they probably ever wanted to, celebrated the wins with me and supported me through the times when I questioned myself. When you build a business, the people who love you make sacrifices right alongside you, and I never want to overlook that.
I’ve also been incredibly fortunate throughout my career to have people who have taught me, challenged me and helped shape the provider and business owner I am today. Some showed me exactly the kind of provider and leader I wanted to become, and others, quite honestly, taught me what I wanted to do differently. I’ve learned there is value in both.
As Kissy Face has grown, I’ve surrounded myself with mentors and advisors who aren’t afraid to challenge me. They’ve helped me look at the business differently, work through difficult decisions and understand that being a good provider and being a good business owner and leader require very different skills. I’ve learned that sometimes the people who support you the most are the ones willing to tell you something you don’t necessarily want to hear.
My team deserves a tremendous amount of credit as well. Kissy Face may have started with my vision, but it takes a team to bring that vision to life every day. Every person who has been part of Kissy Face has contributed something to our story and helped us grow and evolve.
But I would be leaving out probably the most important group if I didn’t talk about our patients. Some of them trusted me before Kissy Face was established, before we had all the equipment, the team or the years behind our name. They came back. They referred their friends and families. They left reviews, shared our name in the community and supported us through every stage of growth. Some of those same patients are still with me today, and that means more to me than they probably realize.
I can have the vision, learn the treatments, buy the equipment and open the doors every morning, but if people don’t trust us enough to walk through those doors, none of this exists.
I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve built, but when I look at Kissy Face today, I know there are a lot of fingerprints on its success besides mine, and I’m very grateful for every one of them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kissyfacemedspa.com/
- Instagram: kissy.face.llc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DY4NEzFos/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@barefacedtruthpod?si=7k-Ld6RHlIEkfcmM
