Episode 282: The Real Cost of Starting a Business
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
Release Date: 09/08/2025
Episode 304: Develop Your Voice of Impact: Part 1 with Krista Donargo, SGA
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In part one of our Develop Your Voice of Impact podcast takeover, KLC’s Strategic Growth Advisor, Krista Donargo kicks off a powerful three-part series designed to help high-performing founders become more confident, compelling, and magnetic communicators, online, in person, and on stage. This episode explores why so many accomplished leaders lose their authority the moment a camera turns on or they’re asked to speak publicly, and why it has nothing to do with skill. Krista unpacks the real culprit behind shaky confidence: self-conscious, performance-based communication. Through personal...
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Episode 303: Safety vs Growth
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In this episode, I’m unpacking one of the most dangerous myths women are taught about success: that “playing it safe” is the responsible choice. This conversation was sparked by a reflection on 2016, the year I started KLC and the year my brother passed away, and a question that stopped me in my tracks: Is my life truly better because I chose growth over safety? What I’ve learned over the past decade is this: safety is often conditional, and comfort can be far more limiting than risk. I take you back to my corporate career at Bayer Healthcare, a role that looked secure by every...
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Episode 302: Bonus: Why Your Injector Isn't Booked
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
Episode 302 is a special bonus episode, and one every aesthetics and wellness founder needs if you’ve hired help but still feel like everything runs through you. You’ve hired a talented provider, invested in training, and yet you’re still carrying most of the revenue load. Patients wait for you. Your injector’s schedule stays open. And before frustration sets in, it’s important to understand the real factors keeping your provider from being fully booked. In this episode, I’m breaking down the 10 reasons your injector isn’t fully booked, from over-reliance on your personal brand...
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Episode 301: My 2026 Predictions
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
This isn’t a conversation about resolutions, hustle, or chasing the next shiny tactic. It’s a grounded, strategic look at what’s actually going to separate thriving practices from struggling ones in the year ahead. In this episode, we zoom out to reflect on the shifts shaping our industry—maturing consumer behavior, increased economic discernment, rapid AI expansion, and the quiet erosion of average experiences—and what those forces demand from today’s leaders. You’ll hear the 10 defining predictions for 2026, including why retention will outperform revenue growth, how client...
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Episode 300: The Best of 2025 (Milestone Episode!)
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
Episode 300 is a milestone, and I wanted to mark it the way we actually grow: by looking back at what worked, what landed, and what leaders kept coming back to when things got loud. This is a recap episode of our most revisited conversations, the ones that sparked the most “I needed this” replies, the ones that turned into team meetings, boundary resets, revenue decisions, and CEO-level pivots. In this episode, I’m recapping: The leadership moves that keep you steady when the outside world feels unstable The culture standards that make great teams possible (and keep turnover from eating...
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Episode 299: Scaling with Confidence: Why CTS Live is the One Big Domino for Your Practice with Krista Donargo, SGA
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
I know what it feels like to be stuck in the "messy middle" of practice growth, that stage where you’ve achieved success, but you’ve also become the absolute bottleneck of your own business. I’ve spent years coaching female founders through this exact inflection point, and in this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on why I created Confidence to Scale LIVE. During this conversation, KLC Strategic Growth Advisor, Krista Donargo, and I break down exactly what you can expect during our upcoming live kickoff in Manhattan Beach on January 9th and 10th. I share my core philosophy that...
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Episode 298: Signs You're on the Verge of a Breakthrough
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
As we approach the end of the year, reflection has a way of stirring up emotions we don’t always talk about, pride, grief, uncertainty, and a quiet sense that something new is forming beneath the surface. In this deeply personal episode, I’m sharing what I’ve been sitting with during a season I don’t love… the season of waiting. The season where the calendar looks full of routine white boxes instead of big launches. The season where you’ve planted the seeds, done the work, and yet the results haven’t fully arrived. The season that asks you to slow down, trust yourself, and expand...
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Episode 297: The Turning Point: Stepping Out of Burnout and Into Confident Leadership with Jolee Hughes, NP-BC
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In this episode, I’m sitting down with Jolee Hughes, NP-BC for a raw and honest conversation about what it actually takes to build a business that grows without consuming your entire life. If you’ve ever found yourself doing everything, carrying the weight of every decision, or secretly wondering how much longer you can keep pushing at this pace… this conversation will feel like a deep exhale. Jolee shares her journey from being the bottleneck in her business, burned out, overwhelmed, and afraid to let go, to becoming a confident, supported leader with a team she trusts. We talk about...
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Episode 296: The Identity Shift Every High-Level Woman Must Make in 2026
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In today’s episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of a conversation that’s been unfolding quietly, but urgently, inside the minds of high-level women across the aesthetics and wellness industry. After hosting our annual POP Leadership retreat and receiving an overwhelming wave of private messages about visibility, voice, and leadership, I realized it was time to revisit a topic I first explored over 260 episodes ago: finding, and owning, your truest, most powerful voice. This episode dives deep into the identity shift every high-level woman must make in 2026. Not the shift into...
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Episode 295: Real Estate, Acquisitions & Real Leadership: How Dr. Melissa Hubiak is Building Life-first Wealth
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
If you’ve ever wondered what it really looks like to build a thriving, multi-location aesthetic business while staying grounded, humble, and values-driven… this episode is your permission slip. Melissa Hubiak, MD is a quiet powerhouse, a contrarian thinker who has scaled her practice not by following the industry “rules,” but by rewriting them. From growing up with no electricity as the oldest of six, to navigating a pandemic right after a massive expansion, to purchasing multiple buildings and stepping into the role of CEO, Melissa has built her empire with resilience, creativity, and...
info_outlineThis week, I’m pulling back the curtain on the realities of starting and scaling a medical aesthetics practice. Fresh off the heels of my five-day SPARK Sprint intensive, I’m sharing insights from hundreds of conversations I’ve had with female entrepreneurs navigating today’s shifting landscape, private equity roll-ups, increased restrictions, and the pressure of a contracting economy.
I’ll talk about why exceptional clinical skills alone aren’t enough to guarantee business success and break down the hidden costs, time commitments, and mindset shifts required to truly thrive as an owner. From proof of concept and financial planning to leadership, team building, and the art of resilience, I’ll walk you through the unglamorous but necessary steps behind creating a sustainable and profitable practice.
Whether you’re dreaming about launching your own business or reevaluating if now is the right time, this episode will give you clarity on the trade-offs, the opportunities, and the mindset you’ll need to lead with confidence.
Thinking about purchasing your ticket for ALT 2026?
Our 3-day in-person experience for ambitious women in aesthetics and wellness is happening next spring. But if there’s one thing we know, it’s that success is more sustainable when you aren’t going it alone. So, mark your calendar for Monday, September 22 when because the Injectorpreneur Bestie Bundle is happening.
Register for ALT with your bestie and you’ll each save $250—because growth is better when it’s shared. This is your chance to step away from the chaos, gain clarity, and reconnect with the leader you want to be (with your BFF by your side).
Let us know your bestie at klcconsultants.com/altbesties to get early access when the offer goes live.
Resources
→ Join the Fierce Factor Society
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● Book a Discovery Call: Ready to scale with intention? Let’s map out your next strategic move.
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Tune in to hear what it really takes to build a business that aligns with your vision, and why the journey, though challenging, is one of the most rewarding you’ll ever take.