Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherri Hull, WHNP-BC, HSM-MSN.
Hi Sherri, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Absolutely! Initially I never wanted to become a nurse. I actually wanted to go to school for Fashion Design and Merchandising, at 15 years old I had done all of the research and had spoken to admission offices of a few schools. My change of career choice came when I was seventeen, in high school and pregnant. A neighbor of mine, Danielle, was in LVN school, we often would talk about what I wanted to become. She was so excited and spoke of the nursing field and how nurses could always find a job, there was job security in this field. The very few nurses that were women of color that I knew, had a major impact on me; subtle seeds had been planted and I didn’t realize it at the time.
After graduating from high school and having a seven-month-old baby to care for, my fiancée and I found out that we were going to be parents again, I was going to be 19 years old with two children under two. In high school, I had prepared for college; however, with life’s events, I began looking for employment to help our little family and soon found out that obtaining an entry-level job wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I had applied to multiple entry-level positions only to be denied or never contacted. That is when I knew that I had to go to college, this was nt an option for me. I needed a program that offered the ability to learn a trade in less time than what a four-year university would offer, in my mind there was no other option. I called the vocational school of nursing that my old neighbor had attended and within two months I began a eleven month vocational nursing program, my second son was four months old.
As a LVN, initially, I worked in worked in an outpatient clinic. While working in this position I worked with Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (Pas), now titled Physician Associates. I was intrigued by both roles and researched them both however the NP career tract lined up with my current profession. Soon after I began taking classes to obtain my RN which included 1-2 years of prerequisites. I worked full-time, took college classes part-time, and was a young mother and wife. Once I completed the RN program, it was my goal to seek a position as an L/D nurse for five years and then to return to NP school. My family continued to grow during this time and within five years I was in a WHNP program through UCLA, I graduated at 33 years old.
As an NP, I saw very few that looked like me in my career as an NP and understood the importance of women of color having providers that they could culturally identify with and trust when seeking care. With my specialty being women’s health, I have always been passionate about all things women’s health and wellness. When Botox injections hit the scene, I began hearing about it and noticing the advertisements in magazine ads. Being a skin care junkie, I was very interested and wanted to enter this exciting field of aesthetics to offer diversity in this industry. That same year (2007), I took my first Botox, dermal filler, chemical peel and laser therapy program, once completed and in need of hands-on training, I soon found myself having limited beliefs of not looking like the image portrayed of someone who worked as an injector NP, let alone being hired as one. I also learned of California’s strict regulations and its limited practice laws not allowing NPs to function at the full capacity of their licensure, meaning we had to have a Medical Director or Collaborative Physician to work in this industry, we couldn’t function independently as NPs, as some could in other states.
With no access to resources and unaware how to move forward with this new information, I decided to pivot and take a different path and became an esthetician performing skincare at my LLC called Younger Image Skin Spa. I planned to add medspa treatments to my new aesthetic & wellness specialty, once I found a medical director. In 2008 the market crashed and a year later I closed the skin spa.
After working additional years as a WHNP, raising my children, and going through a divorce, which was a turning point in my life. In my transition to my new life, my passion for aesthetics, which was always there, surfaced at the top. I thought about it, all of the time. I took refresher courses and many new courses. I opened a skin care clinic in the new area that I had moved to. I then sought the advice of health and corporate attorneys, I began searching for a medical director, and it all came to a screaming halt with the pandemic. Once everything ended, I obtained my NP license in multiple states, and I decided to open a small boutique medspa in Arizona with plans to move to a full-practice state that did not require a Medical Director to work as a Nurse Practitioner. After much thought and consideration and two months away from making the complete move to a new state, my new husband, also a Nurse Practitioner, and I decided to remain in Beautiful California and open a practice here in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. We opened Genesis Aesthetics & Wellness, Nursing Corp.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. My struggles included:
1) The inability to find a medical director. Initially, I sought an agency to help me find a physician medical director; however, whenever I’d speak with the attorney to determine if the physician met the qualifications, I was always told one reason or another that these doctors didn’t meet the requirements. I now know it also was misinformation and many, including that attorneys were misinterpreting the law. This certainly deterred me at one point from remaining in California. Once I finally decided to remain in California, I decided that I would not be deterred and would push forward. I found a medical director, and I began setting up cosmetic injectable accounts with the major companies and pharmacies.
2) Learning the business side of managing a practice also has been very challenging. I have taken multiple business coaching programs; they have taught on all things business and how to structure the backend of a business. Marketing has been the hardest hurdle; marketing helps bring clients. Marketing helps clients to become familiar with the brand, proper marketing will help clients to notice your business, gain interest, develop trust in the brand, then choose to seek care from you.
3) My last challenge was that I was doing EVERYTHING myself. With this method, you quickly will burn out. You need relationships with others in similar industries to speak to, collaborate with, as well as to hold one another accountable.
There are many ups and downs, and as most will say, owning and operating a business is not for the faint of heart. With all its challenges I push forward every day and would never trade it in.
It makes me so happy to see a woman’s a health outcome improved after she has successfully committed to a weight loss journey and has reached her goal of weight loss with our help, has obtained her quality of life back after seeking care to optimize her hormone’s after suffering with hot flashes, night sweats, poor sleep, and decreased libido, her confidence boosted after receiving aesthetic treatments such as Botox or dermal fillers, and advanced skin care solutions such as chemical peels, microneedlingwith and without prp/prf, or hydrafacials. It also is my responsibility to help nurses aspiring to open their medspa and wellness niche. I honestly feel it is my gift to help women in different aspects of their lives as a provider or mentor.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Genesis Aesthetic & Wellness, Nursing Copr. We specialize in meeting women where they are at in their aesthetic & wellness journey. We offer a full range of anti-aging, non-surgical treatments that restore and regenerate natural beauty and wellness: including Botox, Dermal Fillers, Microneedling with and without prp/prf, Weight loss Solutions, Body Enhancing Treatments designed to dissolve fat in stubborn areas of the body that are difficult to resolve, Hydrafacial and Facial Treatments, Chemical Peels, Hormone Replacement Therapy, and Hair Restoration Therapy. We also offer Testosterone Replacement Therapy and ED Treatment by our Male Provider.
We are located in the Inland Empire
Located at:
11553 Foothill Blvd, Ste 22
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Text or Call (909) 679-0070 to schedule an appointment or consultation.
The website is currently under redesign; you may book through a booking site.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The lessons learned for me from COVID-19 is to plan ahead, for the what ifs. The what-ifs include all the areas in which your life can be significantly impacted in regards to safety, food, health, and shelter and also planning financially by having an account with at least six months’ worth of your monthly expenses in your personal and business account, to develop other forms of reaching your audience/clients by having alternate forms of communication which may include text list, email lists, mail, or cold call, and lastly in the event of an emergency be prepared to pivot at a moment’s notice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
genesisaestheticswellness.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ genesisaestheticswellness/?hl= en - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/ genesisaestheticswellnes - Other: http://genesisaw.
janeapp.com
Image Credits
Jackie Ceja Photography (All photos except the photo with me in teal scrubs) Matthew Eric Brooks (Photo in Teal Scrubs)
