Episode 314: Learning to Lead Before You Feel Ready with Melanie Crowley
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
Release Date: 04/13/2026
Episode 20: The Leadership Mistakes Keeping Your Business Stuck
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
What happens when your business slows down, your team isn’t retaining clients, or your employees aren’t taking initiative? Too often, we look for an external fix, a new device, more advertising, a new hire, or someone to blame. In this episode, I’m breaking down why sustainable growth starts from the inside out. I’m unpacking two real questions from med spa owners: how to attract more patients after making a major investment, and how to build a team that takes ownership and creates lasting client relationships. We’ll talk about the difference between using a tool to enhance an...
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Bonus: Leadership Lesson 19: Growth vs. Safety: How Do You Know Which One to Choose?
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
In this bonus replay episode, I’m revisiting one of my favorite conversations from the Fierce Factor: 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...
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Episode 18: Best Practices for Raising Your Prices
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
If the thought of raising your prices makes you want to crawl under a rock, this episode is for you. In this episode of Business on Top, I’m breaking down why premium pricing is such an important part of building a profitable, sustainable business, and how to know when it’s time to increase your prices without disrupting the client experience. I’m walking you through the signs that your pricing is out of alignment, from rising operating costs and shrinking margins to clients expecting discounts or becoming less aligned with the experience you want to provide. I’m also sharing the...
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Episode 17: What Would Kaeli Do? The Leadership Questions Every Founder Should Be Asking
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
In this special episode of Business on Top, I’m answering real questions from women navigating the complexities of growing and scaling their businesses. I’m sharing my candid perspective on the biggest mistake I see seven-figure founders making, whether work-life balance is actually possible, how to build a business that supports your life, and what to do when your partner doesn’t understand or support your business investments. I’m also breaking down what I would look at first if someone handed me a million-dollar med spa and sharing why I believe the value of coaching goes far...
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Episode 16: Your Performance is Built in Practice
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
In this episode of Business on Top, I’m getting a little more personal and reflecting on the experiences, failures, discipline, and perseverance that have shaped the leader I am today. I spend so much time focused on growth and what’s next that I rarely stop to recognize the experiences that gave me the skills and confidence to pursue those goals in the first place. In this episode, I talk about the importance of acknowledging the wisdom we’ve already earned through the challenges, failures, and moments when we had to get back up and keep going. I also share a personal story from my...
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Episode 15: Clinical Expertise Won’t Build Your Business
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
I believe one of the biggest challenges in the aesthetics industry isn't clinical skill, it's business education. In this episode of Business on Top, I'm sharing why so many talented providers struggle with leadership, finances, hiring, and scaling their practices, despite being exceptional at what they do. If you've ever felt confident in the treatment room but uncertain reading your financials, leading a team, or making strategic business decisions, this conversation is for you. I dive into why this gap exists, how it keeps high-achieving founders stuck, and why mastering your craft isn't...
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Episode 14: Part 2: The Six Stages of Entrepreneurial Business Growth
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
In Part 2 of this series, I’m continuing the conversation around the six stages every business moves through and the leadership evolution required to successfully navigate each stage of growth. As your business grows, your role as a founder has to evolve. The strategies, habits, and decisions that helped you build your business are not always the same things that will help you scale it. In this episode, I’m breaking down the final four stages of business growth: Toddler, Teenager, Young Adult, and The Zone, and the mindset shifts required to move from being the person who does everything...
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Episode 13: Part 1: The Six Stages of Entrepreneurial Business Growth
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
I’ve learned that every stage of business growth requires a different version of you as a leader. Just like parenting, your role evolves over time. The way you lead your business in the beginning is not the way you lead a million-dollar company, a growing team, or a business designed to give you your life back. In Part 1 of this two-part series, I’m sharing one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from working alongside hundreds of founders: businesses don’t outgrow strategy first, they outgrow leadership. I’m breaking down the first two stages of business evolution, Birth and...
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Episode 12: Your Business Can Only Grow as Far as Your Operating System
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
Last week, I released a 7-part series on operational excellence, and the response was incredible. So many founders reached out saying these conversations completely shifted the way they think about growth, leadership, and building a business that doesn’t rely on them for everything. So, I wanted to bring the entire series together in one place. In this episode, you’ll hear all seven parts back-to-back as we dive into the systems, leadership, and operational frameworks that I’ve seen transform businesses over the last decade of working alongside hundreds of founders as they’ve crossed...
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Episode 11: Growth Doesn’t Break Businesses. Weak Infrastructure Does.
Business on Top with Kaeli Lindholm
If you’ve ever felt like your business is growing, but you’re carrying more stress, more responsibility, and less freedom than ever before, this episode is for you. Today, I’m sharing Day 1 of our five-day SPARK Leadership Intensive, where I dive into one of the biggest shifts every growing practice owner has to make: realizing that sustainable growth isn’t about working harder, it’s about leading differently. In this session, I’ll walk you through why so many successful businesses hit a plateau, how leadership, not demand, becomes the biggest growth constraint, and what it really...
info_outlineIn this episode, I’m bringing you a replay from our recent SPARK sprint, where we focused on strengthening operational leadership inside growing aesthetic and wellness practices.
During this conversation, I sat down with Melanie Crowley, Practice Manager at Renova Aesthetics, to talk through her journey from elementary education into managing a multi-million dollar business, without a traditional background in this industry. What unfolds is an honest and highly relatable look at what it means to step into leadership before you feel fully ready, and build confidence through action.
Together, we unpack the evolving relationship between an owner and a practice manager, and what it really takes to create alignment as a business grows. From navigating team dynamics and implementing change, to learning how to hold accountability without losing trust, Melanie shares what it’s looked like to develop her leadership in real time.
Inside this replay, we also get into some of the realities that many practice managers and owners face but don’t often say out loud…
- What happens when your team doesn’t understand your role
- How to lead people who were there before you
- How to balance being supportive while still upholding standards
- And how consistent communication becomes the foundation for trust, performance, and culture
If you’re a practice manager learning how to lead, or an owner looking to strengthen your operational leadership and partnership, I think you’ll find this conversation both validating and clarifying.
Because what this conversation reinforces is simple…
Leadership isn’t something you wait to feel ready for.
It’s something you build, one conversation, one decision, and one level-up at a time.
Resources
→ Learn more & book a call with our team to learn if the Practice Manager Academy is right for you!
→ 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.