April 30, 2024 • 42 mins
Ever wondered how a fierce determination and a dream can reshape not just a life, but an entire industry? Dr. Donna Jubin's inspiring path from a child dreamer to a trailblazing pioneer in cosmetic and laser medicine is a masterclass in the power of passion and perseverance. She joins us to reveal her transformation from a young medical enthusiast to an influential entrepreneur, detailing the thrill of opening her own clinic. Donna's candid story is a clarion call to all women, demonstrating the true essence of empowerment and the joy of discovering one's ikigai.
This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom on teamwork and leadership, as Donna delves into the philosophy that values every team member's contribution. From the person who greets you at the door to the one ensuring the clinic's cleanliness, each plays a pivotal role in sculpting the client experience and the collective success of the business. We get an inside look at how applying personality frameworks like Myers-Briggs can amplify team dynamics and customer interactions, making the workplace a hub of positivity and productivity.
Finally, we navigate the ebbs and flows of Donna's entrepreneurial journey, from her strategic decision to open the clinic to her poignant account of partnering with MedSpa Partners. Her insight is a guiding light on navigating personal and professional transitions, emphasizing the empowerment of women, the evolution of marketing strategy, and the importance of gratitude and self-improvement. Through Donna's reflections, we're reminded that every step, every challenge, and every victory is integral to the journey of success.
Mackenzie Kilshaw Co. offers comprehensive business coaching, and consulting tailored to your needs.
With Mackenzie's award winning entrepreneurial expertise in strategy, leadership, business development, branding, website development, social media management, SEO, sales and customer service training and more, clients receive personalized guidance to drive growth and success.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shauna Foster (00:20):
Winning will help you learn the hard lessons the
easy way, with guidance fromcelebrated entrepreneurs and
business leaders.
It's fun, it's informative,it's Winning.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:31):
Hello, welcome to Winning.
I'm your host, MackenzieKilshaw, and today's guest is Dr
Donna Jubin.
Hi, Donna, how are you today?
I'm excellent.
How are you?
I'm so good.
I'm so happy to have you on.
If you don't know who Dr DonnaJubin is, a doctor, of course.
She graduated from theUniversity of Saskatchewan
(00:54):
College of Medicine in 1993.
And she had a very busy andsuccessful family practice in
Saskatoon.
In 2008, she opened her firstlaser clinic and she spent lots
of times visiting clinics andcolleagues across North America
to get training and expertise.
She is the director and founderof Bella Sante MD Cosmetics and
(01:17):
Laser Clinic in Saskatoon,which has been in operation for
over 15 years, and we're goingto talk a lot today about your
career and kind of where youstarted and where you've gone,
but do you want to give theaudience a little bit more about
who you
Donna Jubin (01:33):
Well, I'll give kind of a bare bones but from
the beginning, because it helpsunderstand where I'm at now.
So you know, grew up in kind ofa standard family mom, dad and
grew up as and even as a younggirl, I always wanted to be a
doctor.
So you know, when people askkids what are you going to be
(01:55):
when you grow up, and I used toalways say doctor, and people
would say, oh, is your dad adoctor?
It's like no.
And I don't even know exactlywhat that drive was.
But, yeah, I, I've alwayswanted to be a doctor.
So when I got into medicine, um, I felt very, very lucky and
privileged to be able to studymedicine, had a very wonderful,
(02:20):
um, family practice, did lots ofobstetrics, of course, being a
female.
Naturally women, you know, wereattracted to having a female
physician because it's a veryvulnerable position to be in
when you're, you know, having tosee your physician either.
You know emotionally,physically, all of those things.
So became very close to womenand understood different types
(02:43):
of women, different women'sissues through the practice of
medicine.
And so it became a naturalprogression when, in close to
2008, after I'd had my fourthchild, became almost impossible
to practice medicine in the waythat it was kind of required at
(03:06):
that time of being on call,demanding hours.
So I still really wanted toempower women and do something
in that field.
And at that time cosmetic andlaser medicine was not a field,
it was very niche and veryoff-label.
So some people that I had metthrough some conferences I flew
(03:30):
to Vancouver, flew to Calgary.
I had to do kind of privatetraining with people that would
take me under their wing andbecame very, very interested in
cosmetic and laser medicine.
And you know, you know onething, I think our listeners,
you know, if you're, if you havean entrepreneur spirit, if you
have a dream, you have a drivefor something, there's always
(03:52):
going to be naysayers and youknow, you have to brush that off
.
If you believe in yourself andyou really have a vision and
which I did at the time time Icould see the future with this,
that this was going to besomething wonderful for not just
women, but at that time, it wasmostly women that I was
(04:13):
concerned about.
You know, with laser medicinehelping with scarring and
rejuvenation, it wasn't aboutanti aging, it was about being
the best person that you couldbe, and as women, we can all
relate to that.
I mean, you do feel better whenyou look better, and it's not
about cosmetic or looking likeone particular thing, it's about
(04:37):
being your best version ofyourself.
So, um, yeah, I had naysayers,you know I mean, but I had
naysayers even going intomedicine.
Oh, you're a girl, are you sureyou want to do that?
So, yeah, I had naysayers, youknow I mean, but I had naysayers
even going into medicine.
Oh, you're a girl, are you sureyou want to do that?
Aren't you going to?
Because I'm old right?
So, back in the day, don't youwant to get married and have
children?
Yes, I want to do all of that,but why can't I do it all so and
(04:58):
you know, and then once I gotinto medicine, it was you know
you shouldn't be even thinkingabout starting a separate
business.
You're, you're already secure,you're successful.
And you know, I don't thinkthere's very many books or
history written on women thatare just mediocre, like there
just isn't.
You have to take some risks,you have to follow your heart,
(05:20):
and that's what inspires otherpeople to follow their passions
as well.
And then it was right aroundthat time as well that I'm kind
of into a little bit of Japanesephilosophies, but ikigai, which
is a Japanese philosophy ofwhen your passion and what your
(05:42):
skill set is and what the worldneeds or will pay for, all
intersect.
That's when you get , and thatis what I felt happened to me.
I love taking care of women andI had a huge base of women that
all I knew and that trusted me.
I am an artist also.
I do art on the side, but Ialso understood medicine so it
(06:06):
could be safely done and therewas a huge demand for it.
People were really wondering,like, is this just for Hollywood
, doing this little bit of Botoxor doing laser or getting rid
of sunspots?
And it's like no, this isn'tfor Hollywood and it's very
affordable and very doable.
So, anyway that that thatcollision happened in my life
and, and um, I feel verygrateful again that I followed
(06:28):
my heart and did not listen tothe naysayers Um, some of it, I
would say I literallybushwhacked my way.
Um, you know, once, once you're,once you're through and it
looks like you have a you knowthe golden pathway all set down
or the bricks are all lookingnice, you've done this nice
pathway.
When you look back, it can lookthat way to others.
(06:51):
But there was definitely timesI didn't know what the answer
was.
So you just got up in themorning, you take a step ahead
and you do the best with theknowledge you have at the time.
If it's not working, you changegears or change direction, and
so this has been a hugeeducational experience for me
(07:12):
and for my staff as well thathave been with me for the last
20 years.
It's been an amazing journey.
Honestly, a journey is a reallygood term for where this
business, where it started andwhere it is, and, like I say,
some where it is and, like I say, some of it was on paths
unknown, and some of it was, youknow, following advice from
others.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (07:30):
So, yeah, I love that.
The beginning there when yousaid there's always going to be
naysayers, and it's true, andevery person that I talked to
why would you whether foryourself, I mean you had a
thriving practice you're adoctor why would you leave that
to go do something else that youdon't know if it's going to
(07:51):
work, you don't know how muchmoney you're going to make.
They're like why would you dothat?
And I don't think theyunderstand that passion or that
dream that's in you to dosomething else.
And, like you said, confidencein women right, it wasn't about
just getting Botox to lookbetter.
It's about making women feelbetter and helping them on their
(08:12):
journey, and I think that'sreally a thing that we forget
about is you're taking that leap, right?
You're taking that leap fromwhat you know to that unknown,
and that can be scary, but it'salso really exciting, isn't it?
Donna Jubin (08:27):
It is yes, and you know, I guess you know, when
you're the face of the business,I get to be kind of the leader
of the band.
You know, you're the one thatgets your photo taken, you're
the one that gets the press, buttruly, um, any leader of the
band that's smart realizes thatthey do not exist, um, without
(08:51):
their band members and theirsupport crew.
And that is my amazing staffand the people, um that are that
have been in my life, thatwe've either cross-trained up,
trained like that, have been inthis business and been a support
to me and I believed in mydream, um, and that's where you
(09:12):
really get leverage and momentumis when you have a dream and
you believe in something, whenyou're just yourself, you are
one person.
When you get a group of peoplethat also believe, I mean I've
got a skill set, um, and I'vegot a personality that sees life
and sees things and obstaclesin one way, but I've surrounded
(09:34):
myself around people thatactually see life a little
differently and but stillbelieve in my dream and support
me, but will very confidentlyand feel confident to tell me,
you know, put the hand up and goWhoa, okay, this might be
doable, but have you thoughtabout this?
Let's let's talk about gettingthese things in place first.
(09:57):
So I think also being open tohaving support people in your
life that don't think exactlylike you but still believe in
the ultimate goal is reallyimportant as well, because you
learn from each other and yousee things differently and see
obstacles and see successes indifferent, in different use,
(10:18):
different measurements, I guess,or different barometers for
that but at the end of the day,we all celebrate and high five
each other when we reach thatgoal, and we've done that as a
group and as a business, andthat's also been an amazing
empowering time for me is to seethat I created something that
(10:39):
has empowered my staff and youknow to have a living wage and
to have opportunities fortraining and to feed their mind
and feed their soul, and thatthey also really care about
taking care of our patients.
So that's been also one of thekeys to a successful business
working mainly with women,because that's something unique
(11:00):
to this industry is it is mostlywomen.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (11:03):
Yeah for sure .
And your team makes all of thedifference, like you said,
having that support and havingthose people that you can rely
on, but just aren't yes people,because I think sometimes people
fall in that trap of their teamis just people that, oh yeah,
you have a great idea.
Oh yeah, you should do that, ohyeah, and they just say yes to
everything, which actuallyoftentimes does not get you
(11:25):
ahead.
Does it right?
Donna Jubin (11:30):
I would even , like sometimes we'd be out and, you
know, run into one of my staffand then they would, you know,
interest me.
Oh, this is my boss.
I say no, I work with so-and-solike we're.
We work as a team.
I never wanted it to be.
I guess you need an org chartin the back end of a business to
know who to answer to.
(11:50):
But when we were here, if therewas garbage on the floor, the
garbage used to be taken out.
Nobody is ever allowed to say inthis business, that's not my
job, our job.
You need to have that why, oryour your understanding of why
you're here.
And the understanding is thatwe are here for our patients and
(12:13):
we're here to make it the bestexperience ever for them.
From every touch point in theclinic.
It wasn't just about a result,it's about the whole process,
and that we are all responsiblefor that, every one of us, and
so that also is something thatyou know.
We, I think, also helped thisbusiness be successful is that
we work together as women.
(12:33):
So that that was all.
It also makes working together,um enjoyable If you're working
with somebody that doesn't helpyou or sees that you need help
but walks away and says that'snot my job.
Um, it is our job to be humanwith each other and help each
other.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (12:48):
Yeah, for sure, and I think that comes all
back to you as the leader ofthe group, right, as the owner
of the business and the personthat founded the business.
But it really comes back toyour leadership and the example
that you set, because if youdon't act more important than
the person answering the phoneat the front that's greeting
(13:10):
your patients, to the peopleworking the laser machines and
everything else right theneveryone works together a lot
better, for sure absolutely andtruly.
Donna Jubin (13:21):
You know the, the, the girls at the front um are
kind of the gatekeepers of thewhole clinic.
So that is truly one of themost important jobs of the.
It's their first touch pointfor our clients and the last
touch point for our clients whenthey leave.
So very, very important um, butevery I mean everybody's job is
important, including the personthat cleans the clinic at night
(13:44):
.
You know, like I was gonna sayspotless in the morning right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:47):
So, yes, it's every single person, and I
agree with the customer facingpeople, because a lot of the
times I think we forget aboutthat customer service aspect.
And whoever is answering thephone or greeting someone, or
replying to an email or socialmedia message or whatever it
happens to be, that's likely thevery first impression that a
(14:12):
potential patient of yours orclient has, right.
So that person really havingthat exceptional customer
service really does make adifference in your business and
it's often a forgotten aspect,right, we think, oh, we need the
newest technology or we needthe best of this, but if the
(14:35):
person that's talking to yourclients isn't kind of on the top
of their game, you might noteven get to booking an
appointment, right.
Donna Jubin (14:44):
Yes, well, and you know, on that note, Mackenzie
we did some fine tune training.
So I hired, so her name wasIldi Wiley, but she ran a
company out of Toronto that wasabout personality inventories,
so we brought her in and we dideverybody.
(15:05):
The personality inventories isbased on Myers-Briggs.
That was one of the best thingswe ever did in this clinic.
And you know, if you've gotsomebody that is really smart
and really dedicated, butthey're an introvert, naturally
they're not going to be yourbest person at the front desk
interfacing with your customers.
And you know, no matter howmuch training you give them,
(15:27):
they naturally just don't.
That's not their naturalhabitat for them to thrive in.
So, and I'm a very big believerin finding people's strengths
and working with their strengthsinstead of focusing on their
weaknesses and try and changethem, because that's not my job
to do that and you're just goingto fail and that that that
(15:49):
person that you've hired is alsogoing to feel like a constant
failure.
So, having to do thosepersonality inventories, we
actually re-org'd the business,a little bit and it gave me
great insight on um for whichareas of training some of the
staff required, and which onesshould be front facing, which
(16:10):
ones would work best on theirown, which ones to work maybe
more in groups or to kind ofhand the baton off or coordinate
between the services.
And so the first session wasunderstanding ourselves.
We gave it a few months, we alltalked about it.
Then we had her come back again, we redid it so that we could
(16:32):
understand how to communicatebetter with each other based on
our personality differences.
And then we had to come back athird time to understand how to
communicate to our patientsbased on when we meet them, what
personality, because she did itin colors to make it easier
instead of the kind of the fourquadrants of Myers-Briggs.
(16:54):
But you know, we at that time Istill remember a patient would
come in and somebody go she'svery blue which then we all knew
okay, she needs detail, shedoesn't want hugs, she doesn't
want to, she needs details.
Or somebody oh, she's very red.
Okay, be quick, give her theinformation she wants in and out
, like we.
That it was a form ofcommunication with our team.
(17:16):
That, um, I would highlysuggest that to anybody that's
having problems with if they'vegot good people but they're
having problems withcommunication or communication
breakdown.
Um, that was, that was a gamechanger for us.
It took us to a whole otherlevel as a team.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (17:33):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
And having a consultant orsomeone come in like that like
you say, that's from outside ofyour organization to work on
that training.
And I think you said somethingthat I agree with too is really
having the right person in theright position right, it's not
trying to push someone into arole just because you need that
(17:56):
role filled.
It's really making sure thatthe person that's in that role
is the right person.
Donna Jubin (18:01):
Having the extroverts at the front that's
so important, yeah, and then andthey get energized by that you
put an introvert at the front.
They go home exhausted.
They're exhausted by dealingwith all these people.
So, and you know that's that'sanother point I want to make is
that you know, I feel that youknow, our society now.
(18:23):
A lot of people just work tofor a paycheck and that makes me
really, really sad.
That makes me really sad.
You know you work eight or 10hour.
You're gone for 10 hours ofyour day to maybe enjoy three or
four with your family, but thatyou, the majority of your day,
is something that actuallydrains you.
That makes me again.
(18:43):
It's, it's not healthy and Ithink, um, if you can have a job
where you feel joy and you feelappreciated, you enjoy the
other part of your life evenmore.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (18:56):
Oh for sure, yeah, and all the things that
we're facing in today's worldstress and mental health and
kind of a lack of physicalmovement and all of those things
.
If you aren't happy in your jobthings.
If you aren't happy in your job, like you say, you spend like
(19:16):
half of your day, or more even,at your place of work.
If you're not happy there, allthose other things get affected,
including your family and yourrelationships and all of that
yeah yeah, for sure we've allbeen there.
Donna Jubin (19:28):
Yeah, I mean, we've all been there, I.
I think it's recognizing that,taking that step back and saying
I'm going to change gears hereto you know, reconfigure my you,
you can't keep.
You can't keep changing all thetime either, like you need to
(19:56):
kind of find a landing pad,regain your strength and then go
again.
And that I think it's just thenature of an entrepreneur, is
you're never done like becausepeople ask me now oh so are you,
when are you going to retire?
When it was like, why would Iretire?
I love what I do like, I lovewhat I do.
I just you know so.
(20:17):
And again, it's that falseexpectation from society that
you're going to work a job youhate just so you can retire when
you're old to do what itdoesn't make any sense to me.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (20:30):
I agree, I totally agree.
I want to backtrack a littlebit to before you opened your
business, because when I wasreading your bio and you're a
physician, you're doingobstetrics.
So if you're delivering babiesyou're going all times of day.
It's not like you're workingnine to five.
You have four children.
(20:51):
How do you balance that?
I know balance is a crazy word,because I don't think there's
an actual balance, but how didyou make sure that you still had
time for your family but youwere still successful with your
career?
Donna Jubin (21:05):
That's a great question.
Early on I realized that's Imean, that's a great question I
am.
Early on I realized that Icouldn't do it all myself and
was humble enough to say I needhelp.
So I was lucky enough to havemy mom lives in Saskatoon and
(21:28):
she is very supportive so shehelped out, um with some of that
, like when the with the kidsand having to drive them, a
little bit like if I got calledto a delivery.
And then I also had um, anamazing uh woman that I had
hired that helped with kind ofdomestic as a full-time person
in the home and again she becamepart of our family, the home,
(21:54):
and again she became part of ourfamily.
Very wonderful person.
But then when I was home Icould be like fully present with
my children.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (21:58):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's so important.
Like you don't want to be doinglaundry or cleaning your house,
you want to spend the time withyour kids.
Donna Jubin (22:07):
Yeah, and I mean I don't mind doing laundry or
cleaning my house.
But my priority when the kidswere younger was that you know,
let's go for a walk, let's go tothe park, let's do your
homework to be able to be theparent helper at school and
that's the other thing being anentrepreneur is.
You know you have thatflexibility when you are your
(22:27):
own boss that you know I couldsay ahead of time to whoever's
booking me I want Tuesdayafternoon booked off, I'll come
in on Wednesday, I'll stay anextra couple hours on Wednesday,
whatever it is like.
You have that leeway to toorganize your own life for
things that you prioritize.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (22:47):
Yeah for sure .
And then, coming into 2008,when you started the clinic, how
did you, like lots of peopletalk about it?
Was a gut feeling or I justknew.
But how did you know it was theright time?
Because you were really wereperson in Saskatoon doing most
of what you did.
So what made you take that leap?
(23:15):
Because I've been there, I wasan entrepreneur, left a
full-time job to take that riskof becoming a business owner.
And how did you know?
Donna Jubin (23:29):
Well, and I guess the only explanation I can give
is that I just trusted that Ithought this was going to be,
you know, something that wasgoing to be important and was
going to be bigger.
I could feel it because I wasreally interested in it
personally, like I was veryinterested in it and I was the
(23:51):
right age to like I was, I guess, so in 2008,.
So I would have been like in myearly 40s, so it was right at
that right time, right of.
Okay, I'm that person and I'vegot all these patients that are
.
So I transitioned it where Iwas doing half time, uh, for
(24:12):
about six months, where I wasdoing half time.
I'll call it cosmetic lasermedicine, but except also do
medical Botox for migraineheadaches, hyperhidrosis, like
so there's lots of medicalimplications as well for these
uses.
And then it was just.
It became quickly apparent likethe business just grew like
(24:33):
unbelievably.
It was so fast.
It was like, oh my gosh, I wentinto this like be a little bit
more nine to five, be at homemore, um, not be on call.
And now I'm actually busierthan I've ever been in my life
because I still have part of myfamily practice and I've got
this.
So at that time I was reallylucky there was um a doctor that
was graduating and wasaccepting patients, so I handed
(24:56):
off the rest of that part of mypractice off to her so my
patients had a place to go andthen just went full time and
then it just it just continuedto kind of snowball from there,
yeah.
I always had the, the safety netalso.
If it hadn't worked out, Icould have gone back to being a
(25:17):
family physician.
Yeah, that's true.
I did have that safety net.
I didn't think I would need todo that, but that was there in
case.
So again, psychologically,sometimes having that safety net
gives you more confidence tomove forward, knowing that all
isn't going to be lost.
There is another plan B.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:39):
Yeah, that's how I felt too.
I mean, I wasn't a physician,but I thought I owned a clothing
store in Saskatoon.
Most of our listeners know Ihad Two Fifty Two Boutique.
But I thought, well, I guess ifI fail I just go get another
job, like it's not the end ofthe world, right?
And we all fail.
Also, if anyone thinks thatentrepreneurs don't fail,
(26:01):
there's a million failures thatno one even knows about.
That happen because we justwork through them, right, you
figure it out or you move on tothe next thing.
But there's always that move tothe next thing, right.
Donna Jubin (26:15):
Yes, and it's not a failure.
I think and I'm not trying tocorrect you because I mean that
is the correct word to use, butit's an education.
And as long as you don't keepmaking that same mistake over
and, over and over again, thenit's a failure.
But if you've done the bestwith the knowledge you have and
it didn't work out now, you knownot to do that again.
(26:37):
So, and unless you have amentor, you know telling you.
But even then, like a lot ofthe things that entrepreneurs do
have never been done before.
So you know we're paving theway for the next person, which I
mean in my industry.
Now there's so many pop-upclinics.
I mean it's very mainstream.
(27:00):
You know botox and filler arevery commoditized now, um.
So I mean it's very the the umbarriers to entry are very low
now to get into this industry.
I mean someone can take aweekend course and hang a
shingle and say that they're aninjector.
You know when, back, you know20 years ago, when I started, I
mean it was we learned one thing, mastered it, went and learned
(27:23):
another thing, and you know Isaved up my money till I could
afford a laser and then boughtit and then we would use that
and then, as we, as you know, webuilt up a bit more, we would
find what's the next technologythat we could use in this clinic
.
So you know it was.
We all learned together as wewent and so, yeah, I'd say
(27:45):
there's, if you meet anentrepreneur, that's actually
done.
Well, they do actually have alot of knowledge to give you of
things not to do, becausethey've made those mistakes.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (27:55):
I'm one of them.
I have a list of things, but Iagree with you.
To me, they're learningexperiences and that's how we
learn.
If everything we did worked outwell, we'd never learn anything
, right?
We would just keep doing thesame thing over and over again
and there wouldn't be any growthor change or anything.
It would just be the same,right.
Donna Jubin (28:14):
That's, there wouldn't be any growth or change
or anything, it would just bethe same.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (28:15):
Right yeah, success makes a horrible teacher
.
That's a great quote.
I'll actually probably use thatin something.
You're talking okay, transition, so you go from family with
physician to open your clinicand in 2020, you actually sold
your business and became apartner.
So what happened there, I guess?
(28:41):
So what prompted you or whatwas the catalyst for that?
Donna Jubin (28:46):
Well, again, looking at the writing on the
wall and watching what washappening in our industry, there
truly was starting to be a lotof pop-ups.
There's an amalgamation of someof the bigger clinics the derm
clinics, the plastic surgeonsamalgamating and being able to
purchase again some of thecommodities like Botox, filler
(29:09):
lasers at a reduced pricebecause of the bulk.
So I saw that that's what washappening, the trend, and so,
again, I was one of the firstwell, actually, it was the third
one in Canada to join MedSpapartners and partner with them.
Now they have over 30 clinicsover Canada and the US.
(29:31):
They're the largestamalgamation of MedSpas and
cosmetic clinics.
So I just I saw it as at thepoint of growth that I was at my
business.
I either needed to do somethinglike that or hire like a full
time marketing person you knowanother HR person like we were
(29:53):
at that precipice of I eitherneed to get more supports in
place to continue to grow orstay exactly the way I am, which
is a hard thing for anentrepreneur or join somebody
else that I actually really lovethe direction they're going in,
which is what happened with medsmallall Partners.
(30:14):
When I met with their team, Iknew that we were very aligned
in our vision of patient first,safety first.
It needed to be medicallydirected.
At the end of the day.
It's about that over just thebottom line, and it's been great
(30:35):
.
I mean, some of the things thatwere keep you up at night,
which I'm not sure for you ifyou have any support staff, but
you know, it really is HR issues, accounting, admin things,
ordering, hiring, firing thatkeep you up at night and that
keep you away from what yourpassion is, and I was finding I
(30:56):
was spending more time on thatand I don't want it to be so
joining with with MedSpa hasbeen a really great move for me
and for this team.
So, yeah, I'm, but it was.
I actually had somebody warn methat you know there's
(31:16):
going to be be a process likeyou go from being kind of the
woman to part of like a smallerpiece, and so it was humbling,
um and.
But I'm still medical directorand have, uh, still am enjoying
that and with um directing theteam here and overseeing the
(31:37):
medical directive here at theclinic, and I'm also learning.
I feel like it's feeding me alittle bit.
There's medical directorsShannon Humphreys, Mark Lupin,
you know from BC.
Shinu Bae, from Florida, did apresentation last night on a
podcast and I was very inspiredby that.
So you know, I'm feeling againthat I'm with people that have a
(32:00):
similar vision, but they'reinspiring me, so that's a good
place to be.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (32:06):
For sure.
Was it challenging.
You said going from like thewoman to, I don't want to say,
just a woman because you'restill obviously but that must
have been hard right it is.
Donna Jubin (32:19):
And you know, I think there's actually a really
big opportunity for someone tostart a business, because
there's a lot of us that are,you know, the baby boomer age or
you know, late millennial, thatare going through this, where
we're choosing to sellbusinesses because it makes it's
the right time or it's um, andthere should be a business set
(32:43):
up to help people process and gothrough this because, again,
human behavior is prettypredictable, um, and you know,
we like to think we're allunique, but some of our
reactions to things that arevery similar, we have similar
reactions and how havingsomebody help you work through
that, I think would help quickenthat process.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (33:11):
I mean, I know COVID was just such a crazy
time, but there's so manythings in our environment now
that really change ourbusinesses very fast.
Like you said, buying powerright like if other clinics are
amalgamating and they can buy,let's say, botox for a lot less
and you have to charge more, youmight lose clients for that
(33:34):
right.
So there's things that are outof our control.
For me, I sold my business, butit was because I got married
and I moved to a different citywhere my husband's stepson lived
.
So not truly the environment,but it was during COVID and
everything else, and just atthat time it was just the right
thing.
And I feel like for you too,that was very similar.
(33:56):
It was the right thing.
But it's hard.
It's hard.
It's part of your identity,right of who you are, and that's
really a hard thing to let goof.
Donna Jubin (34:08):
Um, it it is.
But I also know that you knowI'm not done yet and I feel that
now, this next stage of my life, you know I'm in a position in
life where I now get to work andI don't need money.
So that's not even a consider,that's not really a
(34:28):
consideration.
It's about what do I just wantto do?
And so I think you know I'vebeen contemplating this, but and
I it's not formulatedcompletely, but you know, I
really think my next stage isgoing to be helping marginalized
women get into business.
You know I had there's so manysteps along the way where things
(34:51):
could have gone wrong or I, youknow, know, could have slid off
the path, and it would havenever gotten to where this is.
And there is such a sense offreedom as a woman when you own
your own life and you do notrely on anybody financially, um,
for yourself, for your children, um, for just for your number
(35:11):
one, for yourself.
What I think as a woman, if youhave children or fur pets or
fur babies, you do want thatfreedom, and there's something
really beautiful about makingdecisions that aren't
financially influenced.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:26):
Oh for sure, and I love, too, that part of
your journey, or your next stepis sharing all of this knowledge
and all of these lessons thatyou've learned with other women
that can help them right ontheir journey, and I think
that's very like to me.
It's seems like a very naturalprogression for you and it's
(35:47):
kind of the right thing to do,right, helping other people be
successful and having a lifethat they love and a career that
they love.
Donna Jubin (35:55):
So I think that's awesome and living it every day.
Yeah, finding their ikigai.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (36:00):
Yeah, exactly , I love it.
Do you have a most importantlesson that you've learned that
you would share?
Donna Jubin (36:10):
I would say the most important lesson would be
to surround yourself with, andonly take advice from people
whose lives that you would wantto live, and I can't stress
enough about the power ofpositivity, yes, you know to
(36:31):
have a positive attitude and tofind the good.
So you know, one of the thingsif I ever find myself feeling a
little off or like, and evenwhen I'm not, I'm feeling good,
I, when I first thing, when Iwake up in the morning, I like
to set my day and I think ofthree things I'm grateful for.
Um, and then, even if I didn'tdo it right when I woke up,
(36:54):
because something crazy happenedto get the morning started as
I'm driving to work, I think ofthree things I'm grateful for.
And I think, when you resetyour mind, you know we, our, our
brain is just another organ ofour body and you know we can
train it to be positive.
We can train it to look at thegood or we can train it to do
the other to.
You know I'm a victim.
(37:14):
Oh, poor me.
This didn't work out.
And when you focus on that,that's the energy you attract
into your life.
So, anyway, that would be my.
I always strive to be a littlebit better.
It doesn't.
You don't have to be perfect,but every day should be a tiny
bit better than you wereyesterday.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (37:32):
I love that tiny steps forward, right ahead.
For sure Is there anything youwish you had known, or maybe
something that you could tellyour younger self.
Donna Jubin (37:47):
I don't think so.
I don't think so because Iwouldn't be.
It's kind of like thatbutterfly effect.
You know that show that if youchange any one thing, everything
would be.
There's so many things thatcould be different and I love
where things are at right nowand I can truly say, even
through some really tough times,I still really love.
(38:08):
I love my life and I love thepeople that are in it.
So I don't know that I change,change too much.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:15):
I love that.
I think it's so true because wecan't, you can't look back
right, you can't change itanyways.
And you're right.
You don't know where you'd benow if something, even that you
think is insignificant, would bedifferent.
So it's great and that positiveattitude.
I love it.
Um, I know people are going towant to learn more about you,
(38:35):
maybe more about the clinic.
Where's the best place for themto find you?
Or find more information aboutBella Sante?
Donna Jubin (38:46):
Well, if they just in general.
I mean, we've got a website, weare on social media, which,
thank goodness, we've gotsomebody else running now, um,
because that became a job all ofits own as well, that's another
big thing that's changed in thelast five years.
Full-time job, that's afull-time job.
It is a full-time job.
When we first opened thebusiness, do you know where?
(39:08):
We advertised newspaper, yellowpages!
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:12):
Yeah, I know people are like what is?
What's a phone book?
Donna Jubin (39:17):
Exactly yeah, and so yeah, I think also, if people
are interested in, specificallyin the services of Bella Sante,
coming in and getting acomplimentary consultation and
we do kind of a 360 degreeconsultation on patients to find
out what are your concerns,what might our concerns be, um,
(39:40):
and you know what possibletreatment options are there, we
write out a treatment quote etc.
So that there's no stickershock or surprises, and usually
we make a plan for a patientbecause it's usually not a one
and done.
It's usually kind of a uh, ittakes time to to age or for
things to accumulate on our skin.
It takes a little bit of timeto to erase that.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (40:03):
So for sure.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on.
It was a pleasure talking toyou.
I will, of course, tageverything in our social media
so people can find you and findyour website and for everyone
listening, we'll see you on thenext episode.
Thanks for listening to Winning.
Be sure to subscribe to get allof our new episodes.
(40:23):
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support the
podcast, please share it withothers, post about it on social
media and leave a rating andreview wherever you listen to
Winning.
To catch all of the latest fromus, you can follow Winning
Podcast on Instagram @ winning_podcast, Facebook at Winning
(40:44):
Podcast, and on Twitter@Winning Pod.
Winning was created and isproduced by me, Mackenzie
Kilshaw Music, created by SummerFirby, Editing by Seth
Armstrong.
Special thanks to Shauna Fosterfor voicing our opening and, of
course, a huge thank you tothis episode's guest.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you on the next episode
(41:06):
.
Winning will help you learn the hard lessons the
easy way, with guidance fromcelebrated entrepreneurs and
business leaders.
It's fun, it's informative,it's Winning.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:31):
Hello, welcome to Winning.
I'm your host, MackenzieKilshaw, and today's guest is Dr
Donna Jubin.
Hi, Donna, how are you today?
I'm excellent.
How are you?
I'm so good.
I'm so happy to have you on.
If you don't know who Dr DonnaJubin is, a doctor, of course.
She graduated from theUniversity of Saskatchewan
(00:54):
College of Medicine in 1993.
And she had a very busy andsuccessful family practice in
Saskatoon.
In 2008, she opened her firstlaser clinic and she spent lots
of times visiting clinics andcolleagues across North America
to get training and expertise.
She is the director and founderof Bella Sante MD Cosmetics and
(01:17):
Laser Clinic in Saskatoon,which has been in operation for
over 15 years, and we're goingto talk a lot today about your
career and kind of where youstarted and where you've gone,
but do you want to give theaudience a little bit more about
who you
Donna Jubin (01:33):
Well, I'll give kind of a bare bones but from
the beginning, because it helpsunderstand where I'm at now.
So you know, grew up in kind ofa standard family mom, dad and
grew up as and even as a younggirl, I always wanted to be a
doctor.
So you know, when people askkids what are you going to be
(01:55):
when you grow up, and I used toalways say doctor, and people
would say, oh, is your dad adoctor?
It's like no.
And I don't even know exactlywhat that drive was.
But, yeah, I, I've alwayswanted to be a doctor.
So when I got into medicine, um, I felt very, very lucky and
privileged to be able to studymedicine, had a very wonderful,
(02:20):
um, family practice, did lots ofobstetrics, of course, being a
female.
Naturally women, you know, wereattracted to having a female
physician because it's a veryvulnerable position to be in
when you're, you know, having tosee your physician either.
You know emotionally,physically, all of those things.
So became very close to womenand understood different types
(02:43):
of women, different women'sissues through the practice of
medicine.
And so it became a naturalprogression when, in close to
2008, after I'd had my fourthchild, became almost impossible
to practice medicine in the waythat it was kind of required at
(03:06):
that time of being on call,demanding hours.
So I still really wanted toempower women and do something
in that field.
And at that time cosmetic andlaser medicine was not a field,
it was very niche and veryoff-label.
So some people that I had metthrough some conferences I flew
(03:30):
to Vancouver, flew to Calgary.
I had to do kind of privatetraining with people that would
take me under their wing andbecame very, very interested in
cosmetic and laser medicine.
And you know, you know onething, I think our listeners,
you know, if you're, if you havean entrepreneur spirit, if you
have a dream, you have a drivefor something, there's always
(03:52):
going to be naysayers and youknow, you have to brush that off
.
If you believe in yourself andyou really have a vision and
which I did at the time time Icould see the future with this,
that this was going to besomething wonderful for not just
women, but at that time, it wasmostly women that I was
(04:13):
concerned about.
You know, with laser medicinehelping with scarring and
rejuvenation, it wasn't aboutanti aging, it was about being
the best person that you couldbe, and as women, we can all
relate to that.
I mean, you do feel better whenyou look better, and it's not
about cosmetic or looking likeone particular thing, it's about
(04:37):
being your best version ofyourself.
So, um, yeah, I had naysayers,you know I mean, but I had
naysayers even going intomedicine.
Oh, you're a girl, are you sureyou want to do that?
So, yeah, I had naysayers, youknow I mean, but I had naysayers
even going into medicine.
Oh, you're a girl, are you sureyou want to do that?
Aren't you going to?
Because I'm old right?
So, back in the day, don't youwant to get married and have
children?
Yes, I want to do all of that,but why can't I do it all so and
(04:58):
you know, and then once I gotinto medicine, it was you know
you shouldn't be even thinkingabout starting a separate
business.
You're, you're already secure,you're successful.
And you know, I don't thinkthere's very many books or
history written on women thatare just mediocre, like there
just isn't.
You have to take some risks,you have to follow your heart,
(05:20):
and that's what inspires otherpeople to follow their passions
as well.
And then it was right aroundthat time as well that I'm kind
of into a little bit of Japanesephilosophies, but ikigai, which
is a Japanese philosophy ofwhen your passion and what your
(05:42):
skill set is and what the worldneeds or will pay for, all
intersect.
That's when you get , and thatis what I felt happened to me.
I love taking care of women andI had a huge base of women that
all I knew and that trusted me.
I am an artist also.
I do art on the side, but Ialso understood medicine so it
(06:06):
could be safely done and therewas a huge demand for it.
People were really wondering,like, is this just for Hollywood
, doing this little bit of Botoxor doing laser or getting rid
of sunspots?
And it's like no, this isn'tfor Hollywood and it's very
affordable and very doable.
So, anyway that that thatcollision happened in my life
and, and um, I feel verygrateful again that I followed
(06:28):
my heart and did not listen tothe naysayers Um, some of it, I
would say I literallybushwhacked my way.
Um, you know, once, once you're,once you're through and it
looks like you have a you knowthe golden pathway all set down
or the bricks are all lookingnice, you've done this nice
pathway.
When you look back, it can lookthat way to others.
(06:51):
But there was definitely timesI didn't know what the answer
was.
So you just got up in themorning, you take a step ahead
and you do the best with theknowledge you have at the time.
If it's not working, you changegears or change direction, and
so this has been a hugeeducational experience for me
(07:12):
and for my staff as well thathave been with me for the last
20 years.
It's been an amazing journey.
Honestly, a journey is a reallygood term for where this
business, where it started andwhere it is, and, like I say,
some where it is and, like I say, some of it was on paths
unknown, and some of it was, youknow, following advice from
others.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (07:30):
So, yeah, I love that.
The beginning there when yousaid there's always going to be
naysayers, and it's true, andevery person that I talked to
why would you whether foryourself, I mean you had a
thriving practice you're adoctor why would you leave that
to go do something else that youdon't know if it's going to
(07:51):
work, you don't know how muchmoney you're going to make.
They're like why would you dothat?
And I don't think theyunderstand that passion or that
dream that's in you to dosomething else.
And, like you said, confidencein women right, it wasn't about
just getting Botox to lookbetter.
It's about making women feelbetter and helping them on their
(08:12):
journey, and I think that'sreally a thing that we forget
about is you're taking that leap, right?
You're taking that leap fromwhat you know to that unknown,
and that can be scary, but it'salso really exciting, isn't it?
Donna Jubin (08:27):
It is yes, and you know, I guess you know, when
you're the face of the business,I get to be kind of the leader
of the band.
You know, you're the one thatgets your photo taken, you're
the one that gets the press, buttruly, um, any leader of the
band that's smart realizes thatthey do not exist, um, without
(08:51):
their band members and theirsupport crew.
And that is my amazing staffand the people, um that are that
have been in my life, thatwe've either cross-trained up,
trained like that, have been inthis business and been a support
to me and I believed in mydream, um, and that's where you
(09:12):
really get leverage and momentumis when you have a dream and
you believe in something, whenyou're just yourself, you are
one person.
When you get a group of peoplethat also believe, I mean I've
got a skill set, um, and I'vegot a personality that sees life
and sees things and obstaclesin one way, but I've surrounded
(09:34):
myself around people thatactually see life a little
differently and but stillbelieve in my dream and support
me, but will very confidentlyand feel confident to tell me,
you know, put the hand up and goWhoa, okay, this might be
doable, but have you thoughtabout this?
Let's let's talk about gettingthese things in place first.
(09:57):
So I think also being open tohaving support people in your
life that don't think exactlylike you but still believe in
the ultimate goal is reallyimportant as well, because you
learn from each other and yousee things differently and see
obstacles and see successes indifferent, in different use,
(10:18):
different measurements, I guess,or different barometers for
that but at the end of the day,we all celebrate and high five
each other when we reach thatgoal, and we've done that as a
group and as a business, andthat's also been an amazing
empowering time for me is to seethat I created something that
(10:39):
has empowered my staff and youknow to have a living wage and
to have opportunities fortraining and to feed their mind
and feed their soul, and thatthey also really care about
taking care of our patients.
So that's been also one of thekeys to a successful business
working mainly with women,because that's something unique
(11:00):
to this industry is it is mostlywomen.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (11:03):
Yeah for sure .
And your team makes all of thedifference, like you said,
having that support and havingthose people that you can rely
on, but just aren't yes people,because I think sometimes people
fall in that trap of their teamis just people that, oh yeah,
you have a great idea.
Oh yeah, you should do that, ohyeah, and they just say yes to
everything, which actuallyoftentimes does not get you
(11:25):
ahead.
Does it right?
Donna Jubin (11:30):
I would even , like sometimes we'd be out and, you
know, run into one of my staffand then they would, you know,
interest me.
Oh, this is my boss.
I say no, I work with so-and-solike we're.
We work as a team.
I never wanted it to be.
I guess you need an org chartin the back end of a business to
know who to answer to.
(11:50):
But when we were here, if therewas garbage on the floor, the
garbage used to be taken out.
Nobody is ever allowed to say inthis business, that's not my
job, our job.
You need to have that why, oryour your understanding of why
you're here.
And the understanding is thatwe are here for our patients and
(12:13):
we're here to make it the bestexperience ever for them.
From every touch point in theclinic.
It wasn't just about a result,it's about the whole process,
and that we are all responsiblefor that, every one of us, and
so that also is something thatyou know.
We, I think, also helped thisbusiness be successful is that
we work together as women.
(12:33):
So that that was all.
It also makes working together,um enjoyable If you're working
with somebody that doesn't helpyou or sees that you need help
but walks away and says that'snot my job.
Um, it is our job to be humanwith each other and help each
other.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (12:48):
Yeah, for sure, and I think that comes all
back to you as the leader ofthe group, right, as the owner
of the business and the personthat founded the business.
But it really comes back toyour leadership and the example
that you set, because if youdon't act more important than
the person answering the phoneat the front that's greeting
(13:10):
your patients, to the peopleworking the laser machines and
everything else right theneveryone works together a lot
better, for sure absolutely andtruly.
Donna Jubin (13:21):
You know the, the, the girls at the front um are
kind of the gatekeepers of thewhole clinic.
So that is truly one of themost important jobs of the.
It's their first touch pointfor our clients and the last
touch point for our clients whenthey leave.
So very, very important um, butevery I mean everybody's job is
important, including the personthat cleans the clinic at night
(13:44):
.
You know, like I was gonna sayspotless in the morning right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:47):
So, yes, it's every single person, and I
agree with the customer facingpeople, because a lot of the
times I think we forget aboutthat customer service aspect.
And whoever is answering thephone or greeting someone, or
replying to an email or socialmedia message or whatever it
happens to be, that's likely thevery first impression that a
(14:12):
potential patient of yours orclient has, right.
So that person really havingthat exceptional customer
service really does make adifference in your business and
it's often a forgotten aspect,right, we think, oh, we need the
newest technology or we needthe best of this, but if the
(14:35):
person that's talking to yourclients isn't kind of on the top
of their game, you might noteven get to booking an
appointment, right.
Donna Jubin (14:44):
Yes, well, and you know, on that note, Mackenzie
we did some fine tune training.
So I hired, so her name wasIldi Wiley, but she ran a
company out of Toronto that wasabout personality inventories,
so we brought her in and we dideverybody.
(15:05):
The personality inventories isbased on Myers-Briggs.
That was one of the best thingswe ever did in this clinic.
And you know, if you've gotsomebody that is really smart
and really dedicated, butthey're an introvert, naturally
they're not going to be yourbest person at the front desk
interfacing with your customers.
And you know, no matter howmuch training you give them,
(15:27):
they naturally just don't.
That's not their naturalhabitat for them to thrive in.
So, and I'm a very big believerin finding people's strengths
and working with their strengthsinstead of focusing on their
weaknesses and try and changethem, because that's not my job
to do that and you're just goingto fail and that that that
(15:49):
person that you've hired is alsogoing to feel like a constant
failure.
So, having to do thosepersonality inventories, we
actually re-org'd the business,a little bit and it gave me
great insight on um for whichareas of training some of the
staff required, and which onesshould be front facing, which
(16:10):
ones would work best on theirown, which ones to work maybe
more in groups or to kind ofhand the baton off or coordinate
between the services.
And so the first session wasunderstanding ourselves.
We gave it a few months, we alltalked about it.
Then we had her come back again, we redid it so that we could
(16:32):
understand how to communicatebetter with each other based on
our personality differences.
And then we had to come back athird time to understand how to
communicate to our patientsbased on when we meet them, what
personality, because she did itin colors to make it easier
instead of the kind of the fourquadrants of Myers-Briggs.
(16:54):
But you know, we at that time Istill remember a patient would
come in and somebody go she'svery blue which then we all knew
okay, she needs detail, shedoesn't want hugs, she doesn't
want to, she needs details.
Or somebody oh, she's very red.
Okay, be quick, give her theinformation she wants in and out
, like we.
That it was a form ofcommunication with our team.
(17:16):
That, um, I would highlysuggest that to anybody that's
having problems with if they'vegot good people but they're
having problems withcommunication or communication
breakdown.
Um, that was, that was a gamechanger for us.
It took us to a whole otherlevel as a team.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (17:33):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
And having a consultant orsomeone come in like that like
you say, that's from outside ofyour organization to work on
that training.
And I think you said somethingthat I agree with too is really
having the right person in theright position right, it's not
trying to push someone into arole just because you need that
(17:56):
role filled.
It's really making sure thatthe person that's in that role
is the right person.
Donna Jubin (18:01):
Having the extroverts at the front that's
so important, yeah, and then andthey get energized by that you
put an introvert at the front.
They go home exhausted.
They're exhausted by dealingwith all these people.
So, and you know that's that'sanother point I want to make is
that you know, I feel that youknow, our society now.
(18:23):
A lot of people just work tofor a paycheck and that makes me
really, really sad.
That makes me really sad.
You know you work eight or 10hour.
You're gone for 10 hours ofyour day to maybe enjoy three or
four with your family, but thatyou, the majority of your day,
is something that actuallydrains you.
That makes me again.
(18:43):
It's, it's not healthy and Ithink, um, if you can have a job
where you feel joy and you feelappreciated, you enjoy the
other part of your life evenmore.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (18:56):
Oh for sure, yeah, and all the things that
we're facing in today's worldstress and mental health and
kind of a lack of physicalmovement and all of those things
.
If you aren't happy in your jobthings.
If you aren't happy in your job, like you say, you spend like
(19:16):
half of your day, or more even,at your place of work.
If you're not happy there, allthose other things get affected,
including your family and yourrelationships and all of that
yeah yeah, for sure we've allbeen there.
Donna Jubin (19:28):
Yeah, I mean, we've all been there, I.
I think it's recognizing that,taking that step back and saying
I'm going to change gears hereto you know, reconfigure my you,
you can't keep.
You can't keep changing all thetime either, like you need to
(19:56):
kind of find a landing pad,regain your strength and then go
again.
And that I think it's just thenature of an entrepreneur, is
you're never done like becausepeople ask me now oh so are you,
when are you going to retire?
When it was like, why would Iretire?
I love what I do like, I lovewhat I do.
I just you know so.
(20:17):
And again, it's that falseexpectation from society that
you're going to work a job youhate just so you can retire when
you're old to do what itdoesn't make any sense to me.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (20:30):
I agree, I totally agree.
I want to backtrack a littlebit to before you opened your
business, because when I wasreading your bio and you're a
physician, you're doingobstetrics.
So if you're delivering babiesyou're going all times of day.
It's not like you're workingnine to five.
You have four children.
(20:51):
How do you balance that?
I know balance is a crazy word,because I don't think there's
an actual balance, but how didyou make sure that you still had
time for your family but youwere still successful with your
career?
Donna Jubin (21:05):
That's a great question.
Early on I realized that's Imean, that's a great question I
am.
Early on I realized that Icouldn't do it all myself and
was humble enough to say I needhelp.
So I was lucky enough to havemy mom lives in Saskatoon and
(21:28):
she is very supportive so shehelped out, um with some of that
, like when the with the kidsand having to drive them, a
little bit like if I got calledto a delivery.
And then I also had um, anamazing uh woman that I had
hired that helped with kind ofdomestic as a full-time person
in the home and again she becamepart of our family, the home,
(21:54):
and again she became part of ourfamily.
Very wonderful person.
But then when I was home Icould be like fully present with
my children.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (21:58):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's so important.
Like you don't want to be doinglaundry or cleaning your house,
you want to spend the time withyour kids.
Donna Jubin (22:07):
Yeah, and I mean I don't mind doing laundry or
cleaning my house.
But my priority when the kidswere younger was that you know,
let's go for a walk, let's go tothe park, let's do your
homework to be able to be theparent helper at school and
that's the other thing being anentrepreneur is.
You know you have thatflexibility when you are your
(22:27):
own boss that you know I couldsay ahead of time to whoever's
booking me I want Tuesdayafternoon booked off, I'll come
in on Wednesday, I'll stay anextra couple hours on Wednesday,
whatever it is like.
You have that leeway to toorganize your own life for
things that you prioritize.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (22:47):
Yeah for sure .
And then, coming into 2008,when you started the clinic, how
did you, like lots of peopletalk about it?
Was a gut feeling or I justknew.
But how did you know it was theright time?
Because you were really wereperson in Saskatoon doing most
of what you did.
So what made you take that leap?
(23:15):
Because I've been there, I wasan entrepreneur, left a
full-time job to take that riskof becoming a business owner.
And how did you know?
Donna Jubin (23:29):
Well, and I guess the only explanation I can give
is that I just trusted that Ithought this was going to be,
you know, something that wasgoing to be important and was
going to be bigger.
I could feel it because I wasreally interested in it
personally, like I was veryinterested in it and I was the
(23:51):
right age to like I was, I guess, so in 2008,.
So I would have been like in myearly 40s, so it was right at
that right time, right of.
Okay, I'm that person and I'vegot all these patients that are
.
So I transitioned it where Iwas doing half time, uh, for
(24:12):
about six months, where I wasdoing half time.
I'll call it cosmetic lasermedicine, but except also do
medical Botox for migraineheadaches, hyperhidrosis, like
so there's lots of medicalimplications as well for these
uses.
And then it was just.
It became quickly apparent likethe business just grew like
(24:33):
unbelievably.
It was so fast.
It was like, oh my gosh, I wentinto this like be a little bit
more nine to five, be at homemore, um, not be on call.
And now I'm actually busierthan I've ever been in my life
because I still have part of myfamily practice and I've got
this.
So at that time I was reallylucky there was um a doctor that
was graduating and wasaccepting patients, so I handed
(24:56):
off the rest of that part of mypractice off to her so my
patients had a place to go andthen just went full time and
then it just it just continuedto kind of snowball from there,
yeah.
I always had the, the safety netalso.
If it hadn't worked out, Icould have gone back to being a
(25:17):
family physician.
Yeah, that's true.
I did have that safety net.
I didn't think I would need todo that, but that was there in
case.
So again, psychologically,sometimes having that safety net
gives you more confidence tomove forward, knowing that all
isn't going to be lost.
There is another plan B.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:39):
Yeah, that's how I felt too.
I mean, I wasn't a physician,but I thought I owned a clothing
store in Saskatoon.
Most of our listeners know Ihad Two Fifty Two Boutique.
But I thought, well, I guess ifI fail I just go get another
job, like it's not the end ofthe world, right?
And we all fail.
Also, if anyone thinks thatentrepreneurs don't fail,
(26:01):
there's a million failures thatno one even knows about.
That happen because we justwork through them, right, you
figure it out or you move on tothe next thing.
But there's always that move tothe next thing, right.
Donna Jubin (26:15):
Yes, and it's not a failure.
I think and I'm not trying tocorrect you because I mean that
is the correct word to use, butit's an education.
And as long as you don't keepmaking that same mistake over
and, over and over again, thenit's a failure.
But if you've done the bestwith the knowledge you have and
it didn't work out now, you knownot to do that again.
(26:37):
So, and unless you have amentor, you know telling you.
But even then, like a lot ofthe things that entrepreneurs do
have never been done before.
So you know we're paving theway for the next person, which I
mean in my industry.
Now there's so many pop-upclinics.
I mean it's very mainstream.
(27:00):
You know botox and filler arevery commoditized now, um.
So I mean it's very the the umbarriers to entry are very low
now to get into this industry.
I mean someone can take aweekend course and hang a
shingle and say that they're aninjector.
You know when, back, you know20 years ago, when I started, I
mean it was we learned one thing, mastered it, went and learned
(27:23):
another thing, and you know Isaved up my money till I could
afford a laser and then boughtit and then we would use that
and then, as we, as you know, webuilt up a bit more, we would
find what's the next technologythat we could use in this clinic
.
So you know it was.
We all learned together as wewent and so, yeah, I'd say
(27:45):
there's, if you meet anentrepreneur, that's actually
done.
Well, they do actually have alot of knowledge to give you of
things not to do, becausethey've made those mistakes.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (27:55):
I'm one of them.
I have a list of things, but Iagree with you.
To me, they're learningexperiences and that's how we
learn.
If everything we did worked outwell, we'd never learn anything
, right?
We would just keep doing thesame thing over and over again
and there wouldn't be any growthor change or anything.
It would just be the same,right.
Donna Jubin (28:14):
That's, there wouldn't be any growth or change
or anything, it would just bethe same.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (28:15):
Right yeah, success makes a horrible teacher
.
That's a great quote.
I'll actually probably use thatin something.
You're talking okay, transition, so you go from family with
physician to open your clinicand in 2020, you actually sold
your business and became apartner.
So what happened there, I guess?
(28:41):
So what prompted you or whatwas the catalyst for that?
Donna Jubin (28:46):
Well, again, looking at the writing on the
wall and watching what washappening in our industry, there
truly was starting to be a lotof pop-ups.
There's an amalgamation of someof the bigger clinics the derm
clinics, the plastic surgeonsamalgamating and being able to
purchase again some of thecommodities like Botox, filler
(29:09):
lasers at a reduced pricebecause of the bulk.
So I saw that that's what washappening, the trend, and so,
again, I was one of the firstwell, actually, it was the third
one in Canada to join MedSpapartners and partner with them.
Now they have over 30 clinicsover Canada and the US.
(29:31):
They're the largestamalgamation of MedSpas and
cosmetic clinics.
So I just I saw it as at thepoint of growth that I was at my
business.
I either needed to do somethinglike that or hire like a full
time marketing person you knowanother HR person like we were
(29:53):
at that precipice of I eitherneed to get more supports in
place to continue to grow orstay exactly the way I am, which
is a hard thing for anentrepreneur or join somebody
else that I actually really lovethe direction they're going in,
which is what happened with medsmallall Partners.
(30:14):
When I met with their team, Iknew that we were very aligned
in our vision of patient first,safety first.
It needed to be medicallydirected.
At the end of the day.
It's about that over just thebottom line, and it's been great
(30:35):
.
I mean, some of the things thatwere keep you up at night,
which I'm not sure for you ifyou have any support staff, but
you know, it really is HR issues, accounting, admin things,
ordering, hiring, firing thatkeep you up at night and that
keep you away from what yourpassion is, and I was finding I
(30:56):
was spending more time on thatand I don't want it to be so
joining with with MedSpa hasbeen a really great move for me
and for this team.
So, yeah, I'm, but it was.
I actually had somebody warn methat you know there's
(31:16):
going to be be a process likeyou go from being kind of the
woman to part of like a smallerpiece, and so it was humbling,
um and.
But I'm still medical directorand have, uh, still am enjoying
that and with um directing theteam here and overseeing the
(31:37):
medical directive here at theclinic, and I'm also learning.
I feel like it's feeding me alittle bit.
There's medical directorsShannon Humphreys, Mark Lupin,
you know from BC.
Shinu Bae, from Florida, did apresentation last night on a
podcast and I was very inspiredby that.
So you know, I'm feeling againthat I'm with people that have a
(32:00):
similar vision, but they'reinspiring me, so that's a good
place to be.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (32:06):
For sure.
Was it challenging.
You said going from like thewoman to, I don't want to say,
just a woman because you'restill obviously but that must
have been hard right it is.
Donna Jubin (32:19):
And you know, I think there's actually a really
big opportunity for someone tostart a business, because
there's a lot of us that are,you know, the baby boomer age or
you know, late millennial, thatare going through this, where
we're choosing to sellbusinesses because it makes it's
the right time or it's um, andthere should be a business set
(32:43):
up to help people process and gothrough this because, again,
human behavior is prettypredictable, um, and you know,
we like to think we're allunique, but some of our
reactions to things that arevery similar, we have similar
reactions and how havingsomebody help you work through
that, I think would help quickenthat process.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (33:11):
I mean, I know COVID was just such a crazy
time, but there's so manythings in our environment now
that really change ourbusinesses very fast.
Like you said, buying powerright like if other clinics are
amalgamating and they can buy,let's say, botox for a lot less
and you have to charge more, youmight lose clients for that
(33:34):
right.
So there's things that are outof our control.
For me, I sold my business, butit was because I got married
and I moved to a different citywhere my husband's stepson lived
.
So not truly the environment,but it was during COVID and
everything else, and just atthat time it was just the right
thing.
And I feel like for you too,that was very similar.
(33:56):
It was the right thing.
But it's hard.
It's hard.
It's part of your identity,right of who you are, and that's
really a hard thing to let goof.
Donna Jubin (34:08):
Um, it it is.
But I also know that you knowI'm not done yet and I feel that
now, this next stage of my life, you know I'm in a position in
life where I now get to work andI don't need money.
So that's not even a consider,that's not really a
(34:28):
consideration.
It's about what do I just wantto do?
And so I think you know I'vebeen contemplating this, but and
I it's not formulatedcompletely, but you know, I
really think my next stage isgoing to be helping marginalized
women get into business.
You know I had there's so manysteps along the way where things
(34:51):
could have gone wrong or I, youknow, know, could have slid off
the path, and it would havenever gotten to where this is.
And there is such a sense offreedom as a woman when you own
your own life and you do notrely on anybody financially, um,
for yourself, for your children, um, for just for your number
(35:11):
one, for yourself.
What I think as a woman, if youhave children or fur pets or
fur babies, you do want thatfreedom, and there's something
really beautiful about makingdecisions that aren't
financially influenced.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:26):
Oh for sure, and I love, too, that part of
your journey, or your next stepis sharing all of this knowledge
and all of these lessons thatyou've learned with other women
that can help them right ontheir journey, and I think
that's very like to me.
It's seems like a very naturalprogression for you and it's
(35:47):
kind of the right thing to do,right, helping other people be
successful and having a lifethat they love and a career that
they love.
Donna Jubin (35:55):
So I think that's awesome and living it every day.
Yeah, finding their ikigai.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (36:00):
Yeah, exactly , I love it.
Do you have a most importantlesson that you've learned that
you would share?
Donna Jubin (36:10):
I would say the most important lesson would be
to surround yourself with, andonly take advice from people
whose lives that you would wantto live, and I can't stress
enough about the power ofpositivity, yes, you know to
(36:31):
have a positive attitude and tofind the good.
So you know, one of the thingsif I ever find myself feeling a
little off or like, and evenwhen I'm not, I'm feeling good,
I, when I first thing, when Iwake up in the morning, I like
to set my day and I think ofthree things I'm grateful for.
Um, and then, even if I didn'tdo it right when I woke up,
(36:54):
because something crazy happenedto get the morning started as
I'm driving to work, I think ofthree things I'm grateful for.
And I think, when you resetyour mind, you know we, our, our
brain is just another organ ofour body and you know we can
train it to be positive.
We can train it to look at thegood or we can train it to do
the other to.
You know I'm a victim.
(37:14):
Oh, poor me.
This didn't work out.
And when you focus on that,that's the energy you attract
into your life.
So, anyway, that would be my.
I always strive to be a littlebit better.
It doesn't.
You don't have to be perfect,but every day should be a tiny
bit better than you wereyesterday.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (37:32):
I love that tiny steps forward, right ahead.
For sure Is there anything youwish you had known, or maybe
something that you could tellyour younger self.
Donna Jubin (37:47):
I don't think so.
I don't think so because Iwouldn't be.
It's kind of like thatbutterfly effect.
You know that show that if youchange any one thing, everything
would be.
There's so many things thatcould be different and I love
where things are at right nowand I can truly say, even
through some really tough times,I still really love.
(38:08):
I love my life and I love thepeople that are in it.
So I don't know that I change,change too much.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:15):
I love that.
I think it's so true because wecan't, you can't look back
right, you can't change itanyways.
And you're right.
You don't know where you'd benow if something, even that you
think is insignificant, would bedifferent.
So it's great and that positiveattitude.
I love it.
Um, I know people are going towant to learn more about you,
(38:35):
maybe more about the clinic.
Where's the best place for themto find you?
Or find more information aboutBella Sante?
Donna Jubin (38:46):
Well, if they just in general.
I mean, we've got a website, weare on social media, which,
thank goodness, we've gotsomebody else running now, um,
because that became a job all ofits own as well, that's another
big thing that's changed in thelast five years.
Full-time job, that's afull-time job.
It is a full-time job.
When we first opened thebusiness, do you know where?
(39:08):
We advertised newspaper, yellowpages!
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:12):
Yeah, I know people are like what is?
What's a phone book?
Donna Jubin (39:17):
Exactly yeah, and so yeah, I think also, if people
are interested in, specificallyin the services of Bella Sante,
coming in and getting acomplimentary consultation and
we do kind of a 360 degreeconsultation on patients to find
out what are your concerns,what might our concerns be, um,
(39:40):
and you know what possibletreatment options are there, we
write out a treatment quote etc.
So that there's no stickershock or surprises, and usually
we make a plan for a patientbecause it's usually not a one
and done.
It's usually kind of a uh, ittakes time to to age or for
things to accumulate on our skin.
It takes a little bit of timeto to erase that.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (40:03):
So for sure.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on.
It was a pleasure talking toyou.
I will, of course, tageverything in our social media
so people can find you and findyour website and for everyone
listening, we'll see you on thenext episode.
Thanks for listening to Winning.
Be sure to subscribe to get allof our new episodes.
(40:23):
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support the
podcast, please share it withothers, post about it on social
media and leave a rating andreview wherever you listen to
Winning.
To catch all of the latest fromus, you can follow Winning
Podcast on Instagram @ winning_podcast, Facebook at Winning
(40:44):
Podcast, and on Twitter@Winning Pod.
Winning was created and isproduced by me, Mackenzie
Kilshaw Music, created by SummerFirby, Editing by Seth
Armstrong.
Special thanks to Shauna Fosterfor voicing our opening and, of
course, a huge thank you tothis episode's guest.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you on the next episode
(41:06):
.
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