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It's Your Business with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE, PBS, and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation, with funding provided by the Rural Reimagine Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

Welcome to It's Your Business, where we bring you valuable advice and tips to help you thrive in the world of entrepreneurship.

And now, even though the thought of being a business owner may sound intimidating or daunting to some, there are many free resources available, as well as many business owners who can offer advice from their experiences.

So before you tell yourself that you can't do it, why not listen to some of those sources to find out what becoming an entrepreneur can mean for you.

[♪♪] While many of our stories deal with starting your own business from the bottom up, we've also had several stories from entrepreneurs who have taken the opportunity to step into a business that has already been established and put their own mark and flair on it.

And that's exactly what Leah Carpenter decided to do when she found the chance to pursue her passion for beauty and wellness with a perfect fit of a well-established med spa in Cookeville, Tennessee.

[♪♪] We're in Cookeville, Tennessee, talking with Leah Carpenter, the owner of Skin Deep Cookeville.

Leah, welcome to the show.

Well, thank you so much for having me.

We're certainly glad to have you here.

Let's start out with the basics.

Skin deep.

What is it?

What do you do here?

It's a medical spa, so we offer it pretty much anything that you want for your esthetician services.

Facials.

Brows, lashes.

We do a lot of laser services.

So laser hair removal, sunspot removal, veins.

You know, the like.

And then we have our injector services.

So Botox, Juvederm Cabella different things like that and then medical weight loss.

So we have pretty much anything you need medical grade products.

So correct me if I'm wrong.

It's been around for quite a while now.

And you're the new owner.

Is that correct?

That is correct.

So, Doctor Pippin and Stephanie Pippin, founded it in 2010, and it's been around for 15 years.

I acquired it in April.

They're, you know, looking to slow down and spend more time with their grandchildren.

So, yeah, I was very thrilled and lucky to find this opportunity.

We all offer so many things.

And, you know, you just found your way into this.

What gave you the idea?

You know what?

I'm going to buy Skin Deep, and I'm going to make it my own.

Well, it was a long process.

I was at a crossroads in my career.

I was wanting to make the transition to entrepreneurship, but I didn't really know that I had the right startup idea, the right time.

And so, like, really was kind of putting it out to the universe, like, what's the next step?

So, found out about acquisition, entrepreneurship.

This got kind of popped up on my newsfeed and I started doing a lot of research, a lot of reading, joined a mentoring group.

And, so that was a burn of about two years last summer, 2024.

I got super focused and this was like, I'm like, this is the next step for me for sure.

And I started out looking at anything profitable anywhere in the United States, but I kept coming back to Tennessee because as far as my heart is, you know, my family's here.

I'm from Maryville.

And then I was looking at plumbing companies, moving companies, you know, like, literally anything.

And then, I fell in love with this one med spa outside of DC and put in an offer, kind of fell through.

They came back on the market, put in another offer, they went with somebody else, and I was like, I guess I really want a medi spa though, you know?

So between Tennessee and finding the medi spa, it was like the perfect fit.

I had about ten criteria points and most of the businesses I was vetting were hitting about 6 or 7 of those.

Skin Deep pretty much hit all ten.

I think it had been off the market and it came back on the market.

When I saw that in my inbox within an hour, I was on the phone with a broker.

Within 24 hours, I was on the phone with the Pippins, and it just felt so easy and organic.

So from that point on, it was laser focused.

This is my business.

So it sounds like it was really meant to be.

It was.

I feel like it was.

So, you know, you were looking at so many different business opportunities and, you know, ultimately you came right back around to medi spa and it worked out for you.

There's so much to unpack here.

We're going to get to the business aspects here in a little bit.

But what I'm really curious about is really two things.

One, going into this business, how did you learn all that?

I mean, just from the intro, you all do so many things.

How do you understand all of that?

And then the second part of that question is how do you make a business out of it?

How are you doing this?

Well, the business was a well oiled machine.

I can definitely thank, Doctor Pippin and Stephanie for that.

They, you know, had it pretty much running autonomously.

I can go back and forth between, you know, here and home and not have to worry about the daily operations.

My background is strategic business development.

So I, you know, wanted to come in and kind of apply some of my ideas and, you know, my strategies in ways that I felt like, you know, would bring new life to the business.

So you've got this background in strategic business development, you've acquired the business, you're running it now.

So what I'm curious about is several things really, is is understanding the actual running of the business.

I'm seeing all kinds of products here.

You've got all kinds of services.

How do you actually manage that?

There's a big learning curve for sure.

I've learned a tremendous amount.

But I was working in some industries that were completely foreign to me.

I was recruited at one point to, be the first.

and only female sales rep for a steel wire rope manufacturer.

So literally, I, you know, mostly was calling on distributors and manufacturers, but sometimes I would have to do end user calls and, you know, wear my steel toed boots on my hardhat and climb a crane or something crazy.

So, if I can learn those industries, I definitely felt like coming into the medi spa world it was something that was way more aligned with something I would understand and be able to like, you know, absorb rapid cadence.

So that's kind of what I've been doing.

But it's still so much to learn.

And like I said, I have a autonomous, well-oiled machine team that really helps me, and I pretty much have somebody to ask every question I have.

So.

So let's talk about your team.

You've got several employees here.

Who would you say that your approach to leadership and management of employees looks like?

Yeah, I think we've all had good bosses and bad bosses.

I try to be the kind of boss that I would want.

I just try to really build the individual relationships as well as, you know, the holistic team.

Like I said, I'm in and out of town, but I try to, spend one on one time with them and set up team building activities and outings and, you know, give them little treats.

And so that's what I try to do.

Well, I think, you know what you said there too, about, you know, thinking about what type of boss you would want being able to emulate.

That is certainly important.

So in thinking about setting up the business, you're relatively new.

I don't understand.

It was a well oiled machine, but I understand that you had a little bit of help.

You went to the Small Business Development Center.

Talk us through just a little bit about what that experience was like, why you even talk to them, and what advice they gave to you.

Well, interestingly, somebody that worked at the brokerage that helped me with the acquisition had recommended me and referred me to the Sbdc.

So after I got my legs underneath me here, I met with Kelly Sullivan over there, and she made some great referrals, around town, open some doors for me.

I also met with Tiffany Anton at the Biz Foundry She also made some awesome introductions.

Opened some doors and, you know, just really tried to network and meet people as I can.

And I've met so many awesome people in this town, but especially I'm blown away by how many women entrepreneurs are here killing it.

And I mean your mayor is a woman.

Like everything is just like there's so many really impressive women.

I'm really glad to meet them and feel like, you know, supported and embraced and lifted up by them.

So let's talk about that.

What does it mean to you to be a woman entrepreneur?

I've always been told as a, you know, growing up that I could accomplish anything I wanted to, and, you know, sometimes that can be a little overwhelming, right?

You know, and I think, you know, I was always very interested in everything.

I was always like, yes, yes, yes to every thing that was presented to me.

So at some point you're just kind of like, well, what do I want to do?

What is my focus?

So I think the end game, my MBA was very focused in entrepreneurship, and it was very clear to me that that was something I wanted to pursue at some point.

But it was very focused in startups, and I never really felt like I had the right idea at the right time.

And so, yeah, I just feel super blessed to have, you know, stumbled upon this avenue, to become an entrepreneur in less risky way and, you know, still get to have a business that I'm able to put my stamp on and, and hopefully, you know, lead to success.

Do you think that you can truly learn how to be an entrepreneur from education, or does it take the experience to learn how to be one?

Well, I think there's definitely, a learning curve as you get into it.

My dad was an entrepreneur, so I, you know, grew up with that in my household.

And, you know, seeing, you know, there's obviously good days and bad days and sometimes it's really a roller coaster.

You feel like, you know, at the top of the world.

And the next day you're like, I am failing at everything, you know?

So it's it's a pretty fun experience, though.

And it's very empowering.

I'm like, you know, I always said, if I'm going to work this hard for somebody, it might as well be for myself.

You know, let's see what I'm made of.

You know, as you're going through that roller coaster that you mentioned, you know, you got your highs, you got your lows.

How are you personally dealing with that?

Oh, well, you just try to, I think keep it in perspective.

I think, you know, we've all lived enough life at this point to know that, you know, there was going to be those, tough times and, you know, things that are hard to, manage in the moment, but ultimately look back into the past and you see, okay, that wasn't such a big deal.

And, I did survive and I did overcome.

So I just kind of keep that perspective.

You know, you have a hard day, but, you know, tomorrow it's going to be better.

So.

Well, that's certainly great advice for entrepreneurs.

Let's narrow it down just a little bit more.

What would you say to a woman entrepreneur that wants to be one?

That's a good question.

I feel like this world has evolved to a place where we all have great opportunities, and it's not always the case, but usually it is.

And I think if you present yourself a certain way and hold your ground and, you know, kind but firm and, you know, just show what you're made of, people usually will rise to meet you at that level and show you respect.

You know, there's every once in a while you meet somebody along the way who just doubts you or whatever, but then that just gives you the fuel to prove them wrong.

That's right.

So what does the future look like for Skin Deep?

You know, I kind of took over and it was kind of a rocky time.

It's been a slow summer, just industrywide.

I think the economy is doing some crazy things that people aren't, you know, sure how to navigate.

And so, you know, I kind of jumped right in and I was like, let's do the things that we want to do right away.

So I, took a kind of consultative approach.

And, you know, we've done some redecorating.

We've, got some new systems in place.

We we've got a new website that's launched, you know, some new marketing initiatives.

Hopefully by the time people see this interview, you know, it will be all rolled out and it'll be a well oiled machine.

And I will have put my full stamp on skin Deep, which, like I said, was already an awesome business.

Well Leah, it sounds to me like you were rocking and rolling and I wish you the best.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you so much for having me.

There seems to be a common thread in the advice given by entrepreneurs on this show.

When starting a new business, make it something you're passionate about.

And Doctor Erica Sussex-Grant did just that.

She saw the chance to start a business that focused on her passion for helping others reach and exceed their health goals.

At All Good health and chiropractic.

She assesses each patient as a whole to help them receive treatment geared towards their specific needs to help improve their health and their way of life.

[♪♪] We're here in Cookeville, Tennessee, hanging out with Doctor Erica Grant, owner of All Good Health and Chiropractic.

Doctor Erica, thank you so much for being on the show.

Thank you for having me.

So all good health and chiropractic.

Clearly you're doing chiropractic here.

But tell us a little bit about your business.

What do you really do here?

So I'm a chiropractor and I help patients most times feel better.

I mean that's what let's face it, most patients come in because they're hurting.

However, there's so much more to chiropractic than just the pain element.

Initially, We want to get you feeling better, but functioning better and then living better.

You know, before I met you, I didn't really know much about chiropractic, and I'm willing to bet a lot of the people that are watching don't either.

Could you just kind of walk us through what does chiropractic actually mean?

What do you all do?

What our primary goal is, is to just assess your spine, to see where there could be potential misalignments.

They're all little joints, so they're meant to move and be a little flexible.

So a lot of times what happens is they get a little misaligned, stuck, not moving right.

Swelling inflammation starts in muscles tighten up and it doesn't feel good.

So that's usually what patients come in for that we look for to adjust and get those in better alignment.

Now as a chiropractor you are a doctor.

And so you have a patient come in and they report that they've got maybe some pain behind their shoulder blade or whatever it may be.

Walk us through what are those steps?

What are you actually going to do with them?

I am a doctor.

Sometimes we get the idea of we're not real doctors, but I went to school for seven and a half years straight.

No summer break or anything.

Our curriculum is very similar to medical doctors as far as all the sciences and things that we take.

We typically even have more anatomy.

And of course, our palpation skills, because we're feeling your spine.

And that's another thing is nowadays, I think on social media and other places, it's kind of, you know, got a rap of us.

Everybody's getting addicted to watching and hearing the crack and the pop.

but there's so much more to it than just the crack and pop, because anybody can crack and pop you want.

That's why you want to go to the doctor and the professionals that know what they're doing, because we do sit down with our patients and we take a history, we do an exam, and we put all those pieces together to really learn what's going on, instead of just putting them on the table and cracking bones.

So, I mean, there's been times that I've had patients come in swearing that they had a rib out alignment.

It wasn't a rib out.

I sent them to the E.R.

they were having a heart attack.

I mean, I appreciated that they had that much confidence to come in to me for that.

But yeah, I mean, it takes some knowledge to, you know, really get to the root of it, do the assessment and know what we want to do and how we're going to treat that patient.

So you've assessed this patient.

Now you take them back and you're going to give them a treatment of some sort.

Walk us through what does that look like.

What are you looking for.

You know, what are some of those common techniques that you're using?

After I've done my history and, you know, palpate and check some movement in that I usually get my patients on the table.

And then I'm feeling, you know, when I was first in chiropractic school, we had to go down the spine and count the vertebra.

And I'm like, I can't even feel anything.

Now I put my hands on patients and I'll touch and say, and they say, how do you know that was the spot?

Or I didn't even know what hurt there.

So it's it's mostly palpating, which means me feeling the patient.

And I kind of push gently to feel if there's motion in there or restriction I'm feeling for tight muscles, you know, knots in there called trigger points, that type of thing.

I use cold laser.

It's a company called Erchonia cold Laser.

It's a true laser.

So the red light is more superficial where the laser actually penetrates.

It's FDA approved for neuromuscular pain.

Inflammation expedites healing.

It's just a light that shines on you.

You don't really feel anything.

So sometimes people think it's not even doing anything, but it really does.

And it's very effective and gets a lot of good results.

Another thing that I offer is custom foot scans for custom orthotics, because we know a lot of times if your feet aren't supported, then that can affect the structure all the way up.

Shift in the pelvis into the spine and that.

I do some nutritional vitamins and supplements.

And for the patients that really want to dig in deeper, I've partnered with Lab Core and we can do blood work and, kind of get more of a functional medicine approach to getting to the root of deeper health things to kind of help promote their body just to function better.

So it really sounds like you've got a holistic practice here.

I mean, you're really looking at everything.

It is more of a holistic because chiropractors have always been known for that.

And it's an exciting time for it, too, because I feel like more and more people are looking for the alternative natural approach.

And for me, being a third generation chiropractor, I mean, that's what I've lived my whole life.

And so sometimes I take it for granted and but at the same time, it's nice because then I can share my knowledge and my experience with others to encourage them that there's more answers than just medication out there and that we can help their bodies.

So you went to school for seven years.

You get done your chiropractor.

What's that next step?

Did you immediately open a business?

How did you get here?

No.

So I did go to school for seven and half years straight.

Like I said, I went to on a softball scholarship.

I knew schools important.

I started down getting my prerequisites.

And then you just get going down that path.

And I was blessed that I kind of had a goal.

I think that's important, especially for young kids these days.

Very rare I feel like, do people really enjoy school.

But once you have a goal and you can start working at it, then you're okay.

Just get through this one and that one.

So I got through that and then when I was done with school, I was blessed enough to get to go in to practice with my dad.

And so I practiced with him for almost about 18 years.

And, that was a lot of fun.

And then when he retired, the Lord just blew the doors wide open for us to have an opportunity to come here to Tennessee.

And so we landed here in Tennessee.

And we just loved it here.

Although I've been in practice for over 20 years, I'm still new to growing and developing my practice here in Cookeville, and I've been very blessed and excited to see that growth and be able to serve more patients in the community.

And being a female has been a great opportunity.

Some patients feel a little more comfortable.

Maybe they think I'm a little more gentle and I work on, you know, the whole family, from pregnant moms to infants, clear to in your 90s.

And that again, goes to say that, you know, you can change your techniques on the need of the person.

You know, you've got all this medical knowledge, you know, how to treat patients, but now you've got this actual business that's yours too.

And you've got to know what accounting and patient management and all those things walk us through what it's like owning a business.

Just like anything else, you want to make sure that you do your job at what you're good at.

And as business owners, I think we do typically wear a lot of different hats.

However, I felt it was a wise choice to hire an accountant.

And so we have our own accountant.

We got our, attorney to help us set up the LLC.

You know, advertising is a really important thing.

And so I've done a little bit of that on my own.

So there is a lot involved.

But again, just like anything else, if you just take it one step at a time, bite those pieces off, and then next thing you know, you're up and running and and still learning and changing things.

And here you are with your business.

And I think what you just said to I mean, that's so common that we hear that is you never really done, you never really have it completely figured out.

There's always something to learn.

There's always something to change.

Preferences change, society changes, you know, so the day to day business management aspect of it, how are you balancing being Doctor Erica versus Erica business owner?

That can be a challenge.

So ideally hiring some help is good.

And having a good front desk staff that can help you manage some of those things.

And I use my software system to kind of help me.

A lot of doctors struggle with their documentation of their notes and then their billing and all of that.

So that's where I really try to pick one that kind of brought it all together for me, which helps.

And then, you know, there's early mornings and late nights and in the office on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays.

And it gives me my Tuesdays and Thursdays for a little bit of me time, but also a little bit of the administrative business aspect of it all.

So you're right here in the Upper Cumberland, a rural area of Tennessee, you know, you could be anywhere in Tennessee.

You could be in Nashville, Knoxville.

But you chose Cookeville, nice small town.

We love it here.

Why do you prefer to have your business here?

And how does that make you feel?

To be right here in our rural Upper Cumberland area?

Well, for me and my family, we like rural, so that was easy for me.

I'm not a big city girl.

I'm not going to deal with traffic, any of those things and I honestly love the people.

I like more rural, easygoing, laid back.

Not the hustle, the bustle.

What does the future hold for All Good Health and Chiropractic?

Well, the future holds maybe for me, and the practice is maybe expanding to a little bit better location.

I love my little office here, but it doesn't have the best curb appeal, I guess you could say.

So I've looked into possibly doing that and or another option would be maybe opening up a second location in another rural community close by.

So that's always an option or been on my mind too.

So we'll wait and see.

Well, Doctor Erica, it sounds like the future really is bright.

Congratulations on all the success that you've had so far.

And thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you.

I really appreciate it.

[upbeat music] Hi, I'm Tiffany Anton, founder and creator with Powered By Her.

Powered By Her was an initiative that we started about five years ago when we saw a need for inspiration and community with women in the Upper Cumberland.

We started by having a podcast.

We were approached by a local radio station, and they said, hey, we kind of have this idea, what do you think about this and can you host it?

And I was very, very excited to be able to help tell the stories of women of the Upper Cumberland.

And so we started launching that about four and a half, five years ago.

We're about to celebrate our 100th episode coming up soon.

Pretty excited about that.

In the last couple months, we started releasing weekly podcast episodes, and so you can find those wherever you stream podcasts.

The purpose of the podcast is really to tell stories, to connect with women business owners and really feel like you're not so alone.

And so with the podcast and putting out content that we felt was valuable for women in the area, we also thought having an in-person meet up would be really, really important and valuable.

So we started a monthly lunch and learn event.

And so every second Thursday of the month here in Cookeville, you can come for a free lunch sponsored by Kelly Sullivan and the businesses that she's run along the way.

And so we just have speakers or we have open discussion, and it's just a chance for women to come together, take an hour out of their month to sit down and have a meal together.

Whether you learn something or make a connection with someone new, it's just a very valuable experience.

We also in this year we're able to launch Powered by Her in Livingston, and so we were able to have monthly lunches in Livingston as well.

And we look forward to that community growing and how we can actually impact even more of the Upper Cumberland.

Along with what we've been doing over the past 4 or 5 years.

This year we are launching Powered By Her Kenya.

We know that in order to be the best women entrepreneurs possible, giving back and supporting others is part of that.

And so a lot of women I see are supporting their next door neighbors, or the businesses across the street, or promoting others on social media.

I have a heart for service, and I was able to travel to Kenya in February, and I connected with the people of Kenya.

I cried many, many times and I connected with many business owners and one in particular.

My friend Joyce, just had this heart for mentoring and serving and making an impact.

Using the Power By Her name and brand and so we have started fundraising efforts to start a mentoring program in Kenya with girls that are ages 13 to 20, a year long program, and how we can have the impact of what we're doing here in the Upper Cumberland as a part of what they're doing in Kenya.

And I'm so, so, so excited.

It just fills my heart to be able to impact these other women.

I actually get to talk to them weekly.

They video chat me and it's like all their little faces around the screen.

And I just love what we're able to do.

And I love being able to connect to these people.

I hope that you can connect with what we're doing with Powered by Her, whether it's listening to the podcast, streaming, wherever you listen to podcast, or connecting with us at a lunch, come to any of our free lunches or checking out what we're doing in Kenya, you can head over to PoweredByHercommunity.com to find out all the things that we're involved with.

Thank you for joining us yet again for another episode of It's Your Business.

And hopefully you've learned that there are plenty of great resources right here in the Upper Cumberland to help you achieve your dream of starting your own business.

If you would like more information on today's topics, please visit the WCTE website and to learn more about free small business resources and expert assistance, please visit the Business Resource Collective website.

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

[upbeat music] It's Your Business with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE, PBS, and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation with funding provided by the Rural Reimagine Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.