What do you do?
I am the owner of Ashley McFarland Aesthetics. Been open since 2010 and the services we provide are injections, medical skincare, and facials.
How did you get the idea for your business?
I had been working in a family practice office in Shelbyville since 2001. I went back to working full-time when my husband started his construction company. After a while, I started getting our services and ended up being very interested in the business.
How did you make your first sale?
Really my first sale was from family and friends. I would ask them to participate and be my guinea pig and they would agree. Looking back, I have some really interesting friends and family, and they’re still my clients to this day. I’ve been a nurse practitioner for 10 years now so they knew they were in safe hands.
What is unique about owning and running a business in Murfreesboro?
My husband and I have always been advocates for Murfreesboro. It’s the best place to settle down and raise a family and just live. Even though it’s a small fast-growing town, word of mouth is still so important here. Plus it is a very loyal place. The community here is amazing. When they find something they like, they are great about being loyal to that business.
How do you advertise your business?
We do a little bit of print media, but it’s very specialized. Like VIP magazines, premium lifestyles, and social media. 60% of our customers are actually from word of mouth, referrals, and recommendations.
As a business owner, what keeps you up at night?
Aside from obvious medical things, I worry about the patient experience. We pride ourselves on giving the best customer service and making sure they are comfortable. Creating a welcoming and great atmosphere where people feel at home is the most important thing.
What is one way you’ve had to pivot or change course to grow your business? What led to you making that decision?
Right now I’d have to say COVID. Whenever we had to shut down earlier, we were flattening the curb. You went from being closed for two weeks to actually two months. Aside, I still needed to keep my employee’s pay, lights on, etc. because it was important that everyone was taken care of. I thought for the post-COVID it was “ Will the specific market still be relevant and will people still care for the service that I am giving?” Surprisingly our business has picked up more speed! We have hired more staff to keep up with the business and it’s doing very well.
If you could time travel back to the day you started your business, what advice would you give yourself?
I’ll probably have to say be a better planner for growth. I have been chasing the fights and putting out fires for so many years. So I have gotten better at planning for the future.
Where do you want to go with your business?
I am happy with where we are now. There is always a possibility to expand but how I see it is it’s more time away from my family. So I think staying where we are now and working smarter will benefit us the same way.
What’s the one thing you’re doing right now from a marketing perspective that’s getting you more customers?
I am not one to come up with the content. I just meet with the two amazing women who handle the marketing side and I’m just there to help them with guidance.
What’s one business lesson you’ve learned that you’d be willing to share?
In the past, I have had trouble with finding a balance between practice focus, business focus, and employee focus. So I have learned to find a healthy balance with those. Also, I work with all women and our focus is also on the family. When you show your employees that you care about them outside of the business the work ethic is 100% better.
What do you use for your daily to-do list?
I am a very structured person so I write and log things in. For example, when I am making a schedule, I grab my team member Leanne and as she types what I am saying, I am also writing things down as well. Then when she’s done I give her the list of what I wrote kind of like a backup sheet I just make me feel better to know that it was written down an extra time.
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