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
Release Date: 12/29/2025
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...
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Episode 294: The Future of Aesthetics
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
If you’re craving clarity in a noisy industry, if you want to grow without sacrificing your sanity, if you’re committed to excellence and hungry for sustainable, grounded success, this episode is for you. As we wrap up 2025, I’m sharing the real, unfiltered thoughts I’ve been wrestling with behind the scenes, observations from a year spent sitting with small groups of founders across the country, breaking bread, and talking about the realities of leadership in our evolving industry. And what I’ve seen is this: We are living in an era of performative success. Visibility is being...
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Episode 293: 90k in 90 Days Challenge
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In this episode, I’m closing out 2025 with a real, honest conversation about what it takes to finish the year strong and set yourself up for an impactful 2026. I spent the entire day deep inside the numbers of my business, reviewing every program, every metric, every lever, and it reminded me how important it is for us as CEOs to pause, assess, and identify the one main constraint that’s actually holding us back. I’m sharing why so many of us get caught trying to fix problems that haven’t even happened yet, and how that tendency keeps us from addressing the simple but powerful issue...
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Episode 292: Stop Asking for Permission to Lead
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In this episode, I’m getting real about the emotional rollercoaster that comes with being a CEO, especially as we close out Q4. Between the external chaos, the end-of-year pressure, and the constant push to perform, it’s easy to lose trust in the one thing that built your business in the first place: your own wisdom. I’ll share why so many high-achieving women find themselves second-guessing their decisions and outsourcing their confidence to “experts,” accountants, and Facebook groups — and how to break that cycle for good. We’ll talk about what it really means to lead through...
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Episode 291: Female Founder Forum, Part 2: Building Loyalty Programs That Actually Work
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In this episode, we’re continuing the conversation from part two of our Female Founder Forum with three incredible founders—Gabrielle Hudson (Onyx Medical Esthetics), Lauren Grandanetti (Sunday Skin), and Morgan Kraut (MK Esthetics). Together, we’re diving deeper into what it really takes to design, price, and scale a membership program that drives loyalty, profitability, and lasting impact. We’re talking about the systems, strategies, and mindset shifts that transform memberships from a discount plan into a true growth engine for your business. You’ll hear how these women built...
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Episode 290: Female Founder Forum, Part 1: Building Loyalty Programs That Actually Work
The Fierce Factor with Kaeli Lindholm
In this special episode of The Fierce Factor Podcast, I’m bringing you Part 1 of our Female Founder Forum, where I sat down with three powerhouse women in aesthetics—Lauren Grandanetti of Sunday Skin, Morgan Kraut of MK Esthetics, and Gabrielle Hudson of Onyx Medical Aesthetics—for a raw, unfiltered conversation about building loyalty programs that actually work. We’re talking about the truth behind memberships, what makes patients stay loyal, and how to design programs that build community, protect your margins, and grow recurring revenue without discounting your value. This...
info_outlineI 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 scaling isn't actually about adding more complexities to your plate; it’s about subtracting and building a better framework that allows you to confidently let go of the weeds.
We walk through the six milestones of our 90-day blueprint, including how to unearth your million-dollar confidence and create a proprietary method that makes your practice competitionless. This isn't just about a two-day event, it’s about the 90 days of personalized coaching and accountability that follow to ensure these systems actually stick in your practice.
If you are tired of trying to scale on sheer willpower and you're ready to find that "one big domino" that will knock over all the rest, this episode is for you. I’m personally inviting you to join our January 2026 cohort of Confidence to Scale LIVE, and finally start digging up the dirt to lay a real foundation instead of just hanging more chandeliers.
Resources
→ Learn more & secure your spot for Confidence to Scale Live
→ Join the Fierce Factor Society
→ Follow Kaeli on Instagram: @kaeli.lindholm
Additional Ways to Connect:
- Book a Discovery Call: Ready to scale with intention? Let’s map out your next strategic move.
Listen in to hear how we help you reclaim your time and energy, and if you’re ready to take that next empowered step with me, I’d love for you to jump on a private call with our team to see if CTS Live is the right fit for your next level of growth.