Lauren Blowers has been an Aesthetic Nurse for 10 years. But before she opened her South Australian SILK clinic, she spent many a long night caring for patients in the ICU ward of Flinders Hospital in Adelaide.
Speaking of her time as an ICU nurse, Lauren said, “I loved that type of nursing, but I couldn’t see myself working there forever. It was emotionally draining – I had a very young family. I was trying to work and balance their needs. My husband would work in the day, and I would work at night. I was trying to blend a successful career with having a family. I was working opposite shifts to my husband so someone could be home with the kids – it was tough, we were like ships in the night. I was just functioning rather than having a quality of life.”
It was at this point when Lauren’s son was just a few months old, she decided to interview at SILK. She took six months leave from her role as an ICU nurse to see if she liked being an Aesthetic Nurse. “I wanted to build a good life for my family while having a good career. Becoming an Aesthetic Nurse seemed like a good way to blend having a career and be a mum,” Lauren said.
That six-month leave was over 10 years ago. Lauren never returned to the hospital system. Instead, she took on providing Cosmetic Aesthetics full-time working for various clinics across Adelaide.
After seeing how fast the laser and aesthetic treatment sector was growing, Lauren started to explore options of opening her own clinic. She had a loyal set of clients and felt confident enough in her skill that she could go out on her own.
“Transitioning from working in the public health system to running my own business was quite a daunting thought. I was used to working long hours in a very inflexible environment. I saw having my own business as the opportunity to establish a positive, flexible workplace which benefits my family and makes people feel better about themselves,” Lauren said.
However, she didn’t want to end up doing the books every night, returning to a situation where her home life suffered for her career. That’s when she came across the idea of franchising a clinic and in 2018, Lauren opened her own SILK clinic in Marion, South Australia.
“I’m good at what I do, but I’m terrible at technology, advertising, and finance. My strength is being in a clinic, providing Cosmetic Aesthetics, running the clinic, and managing my staff. Franchising has been the best decision I’ve ever made career-wise. It’s hard work but it’s for my benefit,” she said.
“The back of house tasks that head office does makes the business model work. I didn’t want to spend all my evenings doing ordering, accounts, and finance. I’m so happy that SILK does that because it takes the pressure off.
“I have the autonomy of being able to work for myself and be home for my kids when they need me. My home life is significantly better without the stresses of working for someone else.”
In the space of three years, Marion is one of the most successful SILK clinics in Australia. Lauren has doubled the size of her team from 6 to 12 and is now on the hunt for a larger space to accommodate increasing client demand.
