EP 654: From ER Nurse to Wellness Entrepreneur: The Story Behind PS Wellness & Aesthetics

The purpose of this show is to guide you to realign with habits that get you to live the life you've always wanted.

Welcome back to the Habit-Based Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host, Jesse Ewell. We got a very special guest today, Ashley Hess, who is the owner of PS Wellness Anesthetics. She's also an ex-ER nurse and now an NP. Ashley, I want to welcome you on the show today.

Hi, how are you?

Hey, I'm doing great. Hey, can you tell a little bit of our listeners just about you, what PS Wellness and Aesthetics is all about? And then we can kind of get into some questions on your backstory and stuff like that.

Yeah. So I opened my business in 2023. And prior to that, I was a nurse practitioner in the ER and been it since then. We offer all things wellness, anesthetics, obviously, but I'm really passionate about the wellness side of things. So a lot of peptides and hormone therapy and obviously the aesthetics as well. Yeah.

So you were an ER nurse and you know, how did you, how did you get into that first off? Because that sounds like it kind of was the beginning of your journey.

Becoming an ER nurse?

Yeah.

So I'm a family of nurses. Um, my mom was an ER nurse and, and so I always loved when she would come home and tell me all, you know, stories about the crazy stuff she would see. And so I was always really excited about it and knew that's just what I wanted to do. And then after doing that for so long, decided to go back and further my education and become a nurse practitioner. And I was able to work there as that, doing that as well.

Okay. And Like, so your, your story obviously is you, you grew up around your mom who's a, who was a nurse. My mom was a nurse also for like 43 years. So I can relate.

So, you know.

Yeah. I can relate to some of those stories. In fact, my mom was a recovery nurse, so recovery room nurse. So there's a couple times where I was her patient. So I gotta see kind of full view of all of that, but like, when did you know That you, cuz like obviously being in a hospital setting, it's very different than owning your own business, but like when did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur? At what point, you know, in your career?

So I think I always kind of was interested in being an entrepreneur, maybe just didn't realize that even from a young age. Yeah. I remember coming up with ideas to problems at like 12 years old, but I didn't necessarily know I was gonna take this path. I started doing it on the side while I was working in the ER and just saw the results my patients were having and just fell in love with it. Like, loved the ER. That was my dream job, but feeling like I was actually helping people lose weight, achieve their goals was the most rewarding thing I had ever done. And so it kind of just developed. I mean, and I had to make a choice. It was like, I had gotten really busy on this side of things. And so it was like I couldn't manage both anymore with 2 little girls and a husband. And so I just said, we'll see what happens and I can always go back if I need to.

Yeah. I mean, it, it, I think the crazy thing is you like go to school to, you know, nursing and all of that. And then for you to actually like be like, hey, I I'm kind of treating people with like sick care, and then now you're treating people in, in the model of like making 'em healthy. Like, what do you kind of see as the difference between a hospital setting and like the setting you're in right now?

Well, what you just said. I mean, so I'm seeing people when they're already really sick. They don't wanna see me. I'm not like, they come to the ER, I'm probably not their favorite person to see. They're not excited to be there usually. And then now my patients, we're trying to prevent those things from happening. We're trying to get them healthy so that they don't need to be in the ER and they're not having cardiovascular issues and things like that. So we try and attack that now before it becomes an issue and they get, you know, diabetes and become more sick.

Yeah. What, what would you say was one of the worst things that you ever seen in the ER?

Oh my gosh. So many. I think Probably the worst, or the things that you always remember are probably children.

Okay.

And, and accidents with children or children passing away. Those are stories you never forget. You don't ever forget hearing, hearing those things or dealing with those things. But yeah, I mean, that's probably—

And then as far as health-wise, did you, did you kind of start seeing more of a common pattern in people that Hey, people are ending up in the ER with these health problems. And, you know, I would imagine now you're like able to kind of see that play out if they don't change, you know, their current like health habits and stuff like that. Do you feel like that drives you a lot today in the work that you're doing?

For sure. So, I mean, we're preventing so many of these disease processes from happening, which is really cool and fun, but I think the biggest thing that I feel like that we don't hear about a lot is the mental part. So these people, when I first meet them, are down on themselves, feel hopeless, feel like nothing has helped them or worked for them. And we start to optimize them and get them healthy. And I don't even know who they are in 6 months. They're, they're, they're showing up in life. They're better friends. They're better spouses. I mean, it all starts here. And, you know, a lot of them start working out and taking care of theirself, you know, so there's just so much of a trickle down from it that is Amazing to see.

Yeah. Yeah. No, that's amazing. So let's, let's go back to 2023. You started your business, you kind of became an entrepreneur. For someone maybe listening to this who is an NP and maybe they were kind of doing what you're doing, right? They were working in a hospital, but kind of doing this as a side gig. What, what was the, the thing that made you transition to being an entrepreneur?

I think me just taking the risk and doing it, like, it was really scary, but I, again, I worked I worked really, really hard. I was working 7 days a week and I had proof that I could, you know, financially do it. My husband was on board with me doing it and you kind of just have to take the, take the leap and just hope that it works out. Like I said, I told myself, if for some reason this path is not the way I'm supposed to go, then I can always go back. No one can take my education from me. I always will have an option to go back and do what I was doing before. But By grace of God, this has all worked out.

Yeah. I mean, that's really cool. I mean, I'll tell you this, like I talked to so many health professionals every week who are in a hospital setting, getting a guarantee and they're afraid to take that leap, but they're kind of like dipping their toe in the water. That's kind of why I ask is like, what made you, you know, really want to take that leap, but like you take the leap, you, you got your business, like what, What were maybe some of the top 2 or 3, 3 things you struggled with in the beginning of your business?

Oh my gosh. So, you know, I know all of the, the practitioner side of things.

Yeah.

But the business side of things, I mean, I'd never been taught any of that. So, you know, knowing what steps to take to even start my business and what protocols I needed in place and what consents, that was really difficult. And now as I've grown, I would say the most difficult thing is probably leadership. So I'd not been a boss before. before and knowing how to navigate different types of personalities and types of different leadership styles. And a lot of these people are a little bit younger. And so just generational differences on things, you know, has been, has been the most challenging part probably.

Yeah. I mean, we can't, let's, let's just say this, the work ethic of some of the generations below, you know, ours. Are a little bit different than the work ethic we grew up with.

For sure.

And, uh, you know, how you connect with that, how you connect with that generation's a lot different than it is, you know, in, in the generation we grew up with. And, uh, I agree, like leadership, leadership is probably one of the hardest things in business, uh, that you can do. Um, how have you like became a better leader in the last 3 years?

So, I mean, I'm, I'm still currently working on this, but yeah, you know, I, I really like to learn about myself and try and improve and see what I've done possibly wrong or what I could do better. And that's just like a continuous process. But I think also too, with me starting out like as a smaller business, I maybe was a little more emotionally involved with people than what maybe you should as a leader, but there's just a few of you.

Right.

So that tends to kind of happen. And I think sometimes when that happens, lines get blurred on respect and like kind of, you know, that you're still the boss. And also, like I said, I've never been a boss and I don't know that I sometimes I'm like, I don't know if that, that's really what I wanted to do, you know? So, you know, that can be difficult sometimes.

Yeah. I, I had, I remember at one time I had 25 employees between 2, you know, training facilities. And, uh, it was, it was a lot to kind of manage everybody, manage emotions. And, you know, you really have, like, nobody ever really teaches you on how to be a better leader. It's kind of like a lot of times we learn by the mistakes we make.

100%.

Yeah. And like, it's hard to teach someone who's new to business, like, hey, this is how you be a better leader. But then you go out in the real world and it's like fumbling everywhere. Right. And, you know, you want to build a relationship with your employees, but then sometimes that relationship can be too close to where they know everything going on. And then it kind of is like, well, are we not friends? And it's like, well, we are friends, but there's also the business side of it too. And, and I think that in the beginning is really hard sometimes to separate those 2 things.

Yes. And also I think for me, because I'm like, I want to move fast. And so you have a lot of people approaching you and like, let me help you do this. Let me show you this. Like, and I did kind of at first snag onto that and wasted some money. But if that's what happened, it was a small amount compared to, you know, but what I found out is you can't, there is no like jumping through hoops. There's like not really a shortcut. I mean, there's things you can do or have mentors to help you, but.

Yeah.

You really, like you said, have to kind of go through it to learn it. Yeah. You know?

It's kinda like having kids, right? You know?

Yeah.

It's kind of on-the-job training all the time. So, so you, you, you know, you talk about, obviously you guys do medical weight loss, hormone optimization, peptide therapy, aesthetics, like what is What is that like today? Because I know when I was a trainer, none of these things, you know, they kind of started to become popular. Peptides were still really not popular, but like, what are you seeing shift in just the last 3 years in the market for those specific services?

Huge thing is not to go back to the GLP-1s, but when I first started, I felt like it was very like hush-hush. You didn't want anyone to know you were doing it. You felt like you were cheating. Now there's been so much research that's come out that states that it, you know, helps with inflammation and perimenopause and so many other benefits that I think even a lot of my, my clients that are trainers and things like that don't feel guilty taking it. They know that there's benefits to them taking that as well at like small doses. Yeah. Also in the, that testosterone's for women too, and it's not just for men and that we can actually start caring about women's health.

Yeah.

And that people aren't afraid to say they get Botox anymore either. They just all say it.

Yeah. I mean, yeah, I might need some too. Even the guys, like, I mean, I, we call it Botox, but hey, we got to take care of it, right?

Yeah. I make my husband. Yeah.

So, you know, medical weight loss is obviously a huge thing. You know, obviously clients I think are more educated. Right now, more than ever when they walk in or they have the ability to be more educated. What are some of the things that you see in the weight loss GLP space with clients coming in now? Obviously you said, hey, people didn't want to talk about it before. Now it kind of feels like, hey, 9 out of 10 people are taking some type of GLP, but like, how do you make what you're doing different than everybody else out there?

So I worried about that at first because there were so many like online things and it's like, And there was other providers even in my area that were doing just basically telehealth.

Yeah.

And I thought, well, maybe that is something I should be doing. There'd be less overhead. I wouldn't have to have, again, like all, you know, employees and things like that that are, that make things hard sometimes. But really I think that's what sets me apart. You get to come in, you get to have a consultation. I get to talk with you. You know, over time you build a relationship with these people too. I have like some of the most amazing patients. I'm very blessed to, they're all Great. But you form these relationships with people that you wouldn't have if you were just doing it online or, you know, another way.

Yeah. I mean, I think at the end of the day, like, I think telehealth is great, but like building a personal relationship with someone is, you know, there's a lot of value behind that. And I think sometimes, you know, we forget that, right? It's like access, access is great, but You know, having the personal relationship, having the trust, you don't get that a lot of times if you're just, you know, hey, essentially like, hey, here's your access to this. But like what you really value in your business is a personal relationship, having trust with the client. Those are all really important things.

Well, and what I would say too is what I found when I first started was like, I knew it was gonna take a little bit for the aesthetic side to kick off. Right. And people only come back every 3 months for their Botox. They're coming once a year for filler. So I was able to build relationships and trust with my patients on helping them feel better and get more healthy and optimize their hormones. And then they trust you on a different level as well. You know? Yeah. Then they, they kind of transform into an aesthetic patient cuz you know, it's your face, so you wanna trust that person.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, you, you establish the relationship with the client, it opens up doors to other services and other things like that. Especially when people are getting results. That's a huge thing. So talk to me about like some of the like transformations you see from clients just in your business today with a lot of the services you're doing.

Oh my gosh. So again, the mental health part, the aspect of that, like you feel good, you're, you just are gonna show up better. And that's just been amazing to see. I've seen people lose Over 100 pounds. And I have patients that come in and literally are like, you saved my marriage. I cannot tell you how many people have told me I've saved their marriage. Um, husbands that have personally come in and just like shook my hand and thanked me. You know, we have a billboard up that says, you don't hate your husband, your hormones do. And that is like a big talker, you know, like it's so true. And I try to educate these men too, because the more we know. You know, that your wife, you know, maybe it's her hormones.

Right.

Yeah.

I mean, I think that's a very common thing. You know, that kind of gets into my next question. Like a lot of times we're told that hormonal symptoms are just a part of aging and, and stress and like there isn't really anything we can do about that. But like, or, you know, maybe, you know, hey, you're just getting older, right? That's a lot of times what we hear. And so we take that as That's the end of it. Right. But like, yeah, we were lied to, weren't we?

By our grandparents.

Yeah.

We thought we were supposed to just get old and frail and boring.

Yeah. So like what signs like might indicate that someone should have a deeper conversation around this from a qualified provider? You know, what are, what are things that maybe they shouldn't say, hey, just, you're just getting older. It's like, hey, I'm going to take this to someone else who actually wants to help me.

Yeah. So starting like mid-30s for most people into early 40s, we start experiencing some of these things. And that's what they're showing now too, is it's really good to start this 10 years before you're actually going into menopause. And they're seeing a lot of benefits from that. But irritability is one, low energy, low motivation, low sex drive, maybe not waking up in the morning with morning erections anymore, which that could be other things too. That, and that's why I get labs on everyone. Because there can be other things going on. But a lot of those things can be fixed with hormones or when women start experiencing like night sweats or, you know, dryness, things like that, that's time to, to start talking to a provider. Those are things that we can help you.

Okay, cool. And you know, talk to me a little bit about like your process. It sounds like is like, hey, first we're going to do labs. We kind of gotta get a full picture on you. Talk, talk a little bit about like the difference of doing that versus somebody just handing them a peptide or just be like, oh yeah, you should get on hormones. Right? Because I think there's that kind of model in the marketplace where it's like, oh yeah, I can get all these peptides, but like people aren't actually looking at blood work.

Totally.

And making sure that someone's actually getting better, they're on the right thing. And there's a lot of that out there, but like, it sounds like you, you know, do it the right way. It's like, let's look at the full picture.

For sure. But I, my one bit, we, I definitely want to have labs for multiple reasons, but because there, some of your symptoms could be based on other things going on. So what's your thyroid look like? You know, I mean, there's, there's just a lot of different pieces to the puzzle that we need to make sure that we have. Also, I want to have a baseline for these things as well. So as we move forward, we can kind of reflect back to that. But one big thing I do say, so this just kind of goes back on what I'm saying, but like I'm treating my patient, not necessarily paper. So if you're coming to me and you're 40 years old and you're having, you know, irritability and no sex drive and hot flashes, you know, I'm probably thinking you're gonna be, you know, a candidate for hormone therapy.

Right.

Or if you come back in and we get your labs again, And you're not necessarily in that optimal range, but you're telling me you feel amazing and all of your symptoms have improved. Great. You know, I like to go off of how my patients feel a lot of the times. Right. And then kind of make changes from there.

Okay, good. So you kind of go, you know, blood work and then, hey, how do you actually feel? How do you want to feel? So, you know, you're taking all those things into account. You know, obviously peptide therapy has exploded the last probably 3 to 4 years. What is, what do you think some of the misinformation out there on peptides?

Some of the misinformation on peptides, I think there's a lot of scare tactics like surrounding them. I think that they've been around for a long time, just like the GLP-1s, like we were talking about. They've been around forever.

Yeah.

Unfortunately, there's not as much research as there should be because kind of like we discussed too, like, um, it's hard to patent things that your body produces on its own.

Right.

And so I think we're lacking funding there for caring about doing more research on these things. But I think too, like a big thing, it is kind of like the Wild West. I think people need to be careful about where they're getting them from.

Yeah.

I think it's important that you're actually seeing a provider. Not only because, you know, what you're getting could be wrong, but maybe you're paying for something that's not even actually have the, what it's supposed to be doing for you. Maybe it's not even, you know, strong or, you know, I mean the right dose.

Yeah.

For what you need. So I think it's really important you're going to a provider that can manage that and manage symptoms after you start if you have things that come up as well.

Yeah. I mean, I, I think, you know, a big thing nowadays is like everybody has access to it, right? But it's like access. Is, is the starting point, not the endpoint. Right. And kind of what you're saying is like, look, having, having a licensed provider, number one, look at your blood work, look at your lifestyle. Number 2, are you actually getting it from a place that is following guidelines? And then number 3, is it being tested? You know, that it doesn't have, that it has the things in it that it's supposed to have and not have other things. What are some of the common mistakes that you see with people specifically around GLP-1s? Like maybe why they might have side effects or, or whatever. Like what are you seeing out there that people are doing that maybe are, are people are having side effects? And then we'll go on the other side where you see them not have side effects and why.

I think increasing your dose too fast. I feel like even when we first, when these first became popular, it was like increase every month, every month, increase your dose. And people were sick and felt terrible. And that other point of that too, which is so interesting and I can't wait for them to do more with, but like the pleasure center just being completely turned off, you know, like I think dosing was just too high and you just kind of lost zest for a lot of things, you know, that you maybe once liked.

Right.

Some of those are good. Like people were stopping drinking and things like that. That's been pretty interesting to see, but. I think that that was causing a lot of the side effects is just doing too much.

Yeah.

If you're, if you're losing weight, your appetite's controlled, you know, it's okay to stay low. Yeah. You know, you can always, you can always bump up if you need to, but it's always better to stay low.

Yeah. I think one of the biggest things I see is like increasing your dose with like increasing your dose without necessarily having to do it, right?

Yes.

And like, I remember one of the first times I took semaglutide, this is probably like 4 years ago, getting sick and being like, I can't believe anybody would want to do this. And then I didn't actually, I hated the feeling of not being hungry. And so I remember like, I'm just gonna take less than what it's saying and see what happens. And then you kind of learn to eat up to It was like I went from maybe overeating to eating up until I was like full and could put my fork down without feeling like I had to finish my plate.

Yes.

And so you, I kind of like learned what the dose was that I should be taking. And one of the common things I see is like people are taking too high of a dose and the only thing they're being told is like, just take more. If it's not working and they end up getting sick or maybe losing lean, too much lean muscle mass.

And that's a big one.

Yeah.

The muscle mass.

Yeah. What are, what are some of the things that like you guys do to ensure that people aren't losing lean muscle, you know, and they're, and they're doing it correctly?

Well, during consultation, I always talk to people about how important it is that we're still getting protein and that we don't want to lose muscle mass. That's like the biggest thing I'm worried about for people, especially people that are in perimenopause. menopause, you know, it's hard to gain muscle as we get older, so we definitely don't want to lose what we have.

Right.

So making sure that you're getting enough protein, especially like in the mornings, you know, and, and making sure you're maybe getting a little bit more than maybe someone who's 20, you know, that, that needs.

Yeah. No, that's good. What, like, do you see an age difference in people coming in, you know, now for peptides versus like maybe 3 years ago when you started?

I don't think so. I think that's, I think that's pretty much stayed the same. Like I would say that's the, you know, 35 to 65 range, you know, is probably more what you're seeing. One, you know, these things are not cheap and if they are cheap, you're probably buying them off somewhere where you should not be buying them.

Right.

But so I think it comes down to that too. But, you know, as we get older, it's harder for us to, to lose the weight or to feel how we once felt. So. You're not noticing it as much when you're younger.

Yeah, for sure. One of the kind of, one of the things I see is how many younger kids are wanting access to, you know, GLPs or, you know, BPC, TB-500. That's probably one of the biggest things I've noticed is, you know, it was kind of like that 35 and over. Now you're starting to see like 20-year-olds, 25-year-olds. You know, they're like, oh, I need GLP-1. I'm like, dude, you're fine. Like, just go work out. Like, go run. Yeah. So that to me is a little scary, but obviously, you know, it, it kind of goes with the territory of what's out there on social media, things like that.

Well, I think too, cuz I've had parents, you know, bring in their kids or, you know, their 20-year-old kid, 19-year-old kid, and wanting to start them on certain things and There is a risk of, of taking things like that at too young of an age and messing with your normal process of your hormones and things like that. So that's scary to me that they can just purchase so easily online without knowing any of that information that it could be affecting them long-term.

Yeah. I think, you know, one of the biggest things with, you know, younger, the younger generation is like, food's different now than it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago. Right? So like, hey, you can, you can eat healthy food, but like, because of the way our food's made now, it still may not be that healthy. Right. And so I think now kids maybe have a harder time, plus maybe they don't have the same work ethic. You know, they have all these distractions now with video games, iPads, phones, social media, and that, that affects their mental health. Right. And so. If you're a kid, you know, looking at Instagram every day and seeing that everybody's taking peptides, like naturally you think you need to take 'em, right?

Yeah.

And, and I think some of that is kind of that social media culture we live in. You, you know, with that is like, how do you stay educated in a space that's changing so fast and at such an accelerated speed? Like what are some things that you do to kind of educate yourself?

I actually provided an education for a pharmacy on peptides and Aesthetic Nexus also has it on their FaceMed store that was like guidelines for providers for, for peptides. But I am constantly like re— I, I'm, I don't even have to try. It's cuz I just, I'm always like reading, watching, listening to things, trying to stay up to date as much as I can on things that are changing. I mean, I'm, I'm probably not perfect at it, but I try really hard to always stay, you know, up to date on those things. But I love it. Yeah. So it's easy to, to do that when you're, when you're obsessed with something.

Yeah, for sure. When is, when's the first time you like tried a peptide?

4 years ago.

Okay. And what, what was it?

Semaglutide was my first.

Okay. And then did you, did you get good results from it? Like what was your experience? Yes.

Yeah. So I lost like 40 pounds.

Oh, wow. Okay.

Yeah. And I thought it was great. And seeing that, you know, with just myself, it was like, oh my gosh, like, again, back to the mental health. Like, if we feel better about ourselves, we're just gonna, we're gonna start doing other things. And so I started working out. I started caring more about what I was eating and consuming, you know, those things became more important to me. And sometimes we just need a little help, you know, to get there.

Yeah. I mean, I, I think, you know, being a trainer for as long as I was, I feel like peptides are kind of like that. Like a lot of times the perception to a client was like, I gotta be perfect, or I gotta starve myself to lose weight. And then you're always trying to talk to 'em, you know, hey, you really don't need to be perfect, but you do need to do these things. And I feel like peptides. Specifically in the weight loss side, really help people with like not having to be perfect.

Yeah.

To lose weight and things like that, which gives them the confidence when they see results to want to start changing other things. And, and that's what I think is, it's kind of the trickle-down effect, right? You see the result, you want to change your diet, you want to change your exercise habits, you want to change your lifestyle. And then you want to change other things, which I think is, is really cool.

Do you feel like you saw a decrease in people? 'Cause I know that was a big talk for a while, like gym owners, like feeling like there was like a decrease in people coming in because of GLP-1s.

I mean, yes and no. I feel like, well, first of all, I feel like the training space was kind of like, no, you need to do a diet and exercise. I feel like the ones that adapted and said, okay, look, let's look into this. Let's see how it fits into what our program, like, we're not gonna move away from the foundational things we believe, but is there a way or is there a place for this to fit into it?

Yeah.

I feel like the trainers that adapted to that really quickly, they got ahead of it and were very successful. But like, you also have to remember that, you know, personal training, you know, chiropractic, functional medicine is, it's It's like a religion a lot of times. Right. And if we go outside the religion of the way we were taught things, then other people in our space are going to like crucify us essentially. Right.

Well, that's what being a provider even with things. Yeah.

So that's, that's really what I see, you know, now is like, you have, you know, 60% of chiropractors are like, absolutely not. I do not believe in Peptides, you have 40% that are like, yeah, I mean, I see how they can be utilized with what I'm doing. Same thing with personal training. And I think a lot of times, honestly, it's, it's, how do I say it? It's like if you paid a certain amount of money to learn something and then all of a sudden you realize that maybe that isn't the only thing out there, you have to battle your identity, you have to battle your beliefs, and a lot of people just aren't willing to do that.

Mm-hmm.

So if, if I was a health professional and my clients were coming into me saying, well, what do you think about peptides? My only answer is absolutely not. They're gonna end up going somewhere else and finding that information. And that usually means that they're probably gonna end up leaving you at some point. And so I believe that we have to educate ourselves regardless if we believe in 'em or not. And that's what I really see the whole health space missing out on right now is like, hey, even if you don't believe in 'em, you should be able to answer the basic questions for the client because they are curious. They are getting a lot of information on AI and social media. And so you really have to, you, you really gotta learn and be ahead of it regardless if you want to offer it or not. And I think that's what a lot of people in the health space are missing right now.

100%. I agree with you. And I have a few relationships with different providers near me that are primary care that they don't necessarily believe in some of this stuff and they don't necessarily, or they can't do, if they do believe in it, maybe they can't do what they want to do with it and they refer them to me. And I think that's amazing. Like there needs to be more of that. Like, yeah, that's fine if you can't, but at least the patient's still being taken care of and they can still monitor on their end as well. And, you know, everyone can be collaborating together, which is the best thing for the patient.

It's, you know, it's tough because, you know, like I, I, I think that the health space is, it's very religious. It's like there's not a lot of collaboration and like, I wish there was more because I could kind of see it all over cuz I get to work with all types of different like health professionals. So, but it's like, well, what is the greater good of the client? You know, and that's what should be the number one thing. And then like, what is the safety and efficacy of what they're doing? Those are the most important things. And unfortunately, unfortunately, the health space, you know, when you find out is like, there's a lot of unhealthy people teaching people how to be healthy in the health space. And yeah, it's, it's very like weird, right?

It is. I remember.

I remember in my gyms, you know, we would have trainers come in and, you know, they're 20 or 30 pounds overweight. And I'm like, hey man, like, would you pay yourself to train yourself or would you like not do it? And they're like, what do you mean? I was like, look, unless you have a story that you've had a major transformation, I'm like, if you can't sell yourself on training yourself, like how are you gonna sell other people? And I know that's kind of shallow, but I'm like, if you, if you tell me you've lost 60 pounds, you still got 30 to lose. I'm going to look at you and say, wow, that's an amazing transformation. You have a story to sell and you believe in what you're doing. But if you're just overweight and you're expecting people to work with you because you're smart, you're going to have a huge disconnect. And so, you know, I love the story where you're like, hey, I lost weight and now I want to go help other people do the same thing and get healthy. Like, that's a really powerful thing. And it, it's surprising to me how many people are teaching people how to be healthy that aren't healthy themselves. And it's, it's kind of an alignment issue in, in the whole industry.

Yeah, no, I would agree.

So let me ask you this, like, I wanna, I wanna shift a, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask you a couple things about peptides specifically that you've done. Like, what would you say your top 3 peptides that you've tried are and seen the most benefit from?

I would say, again, GLP-1s. There's some sexual wellness ones that are really great that I've seen, you know, that, that give great benefit. And also some, some peptides that also help with like muscle building or, or repair that are great as well. But again, I mean, that's something you need to sit down with your provider and have a consult and tell them the things you're wanting to improve. There's so many different categories and areas And things that, that can, you know, improve your health with these, with these medications that we have. I think they're really exciting.

Yeah. Yeah. Is there, is there anything new or that you're seeing peptides move into that you're like, hey, I really want to like tap into this?

Peptides? I don't think.

Okay.

There's a lot of things that I wish that we had that we could do for like the mental health side of things. PTSD, all of those things that I would love to be a part of that we can't get legalized here yet, but hopefully, hopefully one day.

You're probably talking things like ketamine and, you know, some of these other things.

Like ibogaine, like the, those ketamine we can do.

Okay. Got it.

But yeah, some of those, like the stories you hear, I watched a story on a guy from the military the other day, was in court trying to get them to legalize this because it had Totally changed his life. He quit drinking. He wasn't depressed anymore. It was the first time in his life he wasn't on antidepressants. He was like, this is amazing. But yet we don't have access to that stuff.

But we'll be happy to give people, you know, whatever amount of drugs. And yeah, I remember listening to the, the thing that they had about 3 weeks ago at the White House and listening to stories about side effects of peptides, you know, and like Virtually they're saying like, hey, we're giving this, this, you know, rat 20 times the amount that they should be taking. And there are still no side effects. And then it's like, well, what is the alternative? Is you give somebody sleep medication and like, they sound like they talk and they sound like they drank like a bottle of whiskey and like they're completely out of it. It's like, is that really the only alternative we have? And that's, that's very frustrating.

Well, because we, it's frustrating cuz we know why. Yeah. You know, it comes down to—

Yeah, for sure. What, uh, okay. So obviously you're a, you're a mom, you have 2 kids, like you're married, you're married, right?

Correct.

What is the balance of that like for you between managing your business and then also, you know, you're an entrepreneur and then you have kids, you have family, like how do you balance all of that? Don't.

I probably don't. I do my best. Um, you know, I do a lot to, I make sure I'm at everything. I attend all the things, but it's really hard. I'm lucky that I have a great husband who, who also does all of the things. And so we just kind of, we kind of try our best to make it work. I do a lot of stuff when they're asleep.

Okay.

You know, so, um, you just kind of have to. I don't think there's a work-life balance really. I don't know.

Yeah.

I think that, I mean, I think that's hard to, for me, it's been hard to find. I think you have to fit it in, you know, I don't want to miss out obviously on anything that my girls are doing. You already feel like they're just growing so fast and you're, you are, are you missing time? So it's like, you know, and that's been the great thing about this too, though, is it does give me the time to be able to go to all of their parties. I can leave work and I can do those things too.

Yeah.

So there's been benefits to it as well.

Yeah, no, that's great. Yeah. As far, I know you've tapped, you've talked a lot about, you know, your business, like the mental health side of what you're doing and like how you see that as maybe one of the biggest results that people see from coming in to see you. If someone was listening to this today, they wanted to take better care of themselves, but they kind of feel overwhelmed. Like, where would you tell that person to begin?

Again, so first thing you need to do is find a provider that you trust. Okay. That you can talk to, and that's gonna ask you questions about how you're feeling, what you're wanting to improve. I think that's a very good first start. And then labs, there can be so many things going on that you don't necessarily know about that can, can help improve your health. And then discussing kind of what your goals are. And there's different options for things that we can help you with to help you reach those goals. But like with what you said too, it's so important that they're getting enough sleep, that their lifestyle choices are also matching up, you know, with what they're wanting to do.

Right.

If they're eating terrible and then wanting to try and take something, you know, it's probably not going to, going to help them the way they're wanting to.

Yeah. Yeah, no, that's good. All right. I'm gonna do a little bit of rapid-fire questions. Okay. So you, you got, you can answer, you gotta answer this one though. So what, what is your, what is your one habit, lifestyle habit that you feel like you do consistently daily?

Well, like actually, like I pray every day.

That's awesome.

I pray a lot. Okay.

I mean that, hey, that might have a lot to do with your success in business.

So. Well, that's why I just keep trusting, like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I know that God would not do, put me in this, you know, mind frame if I wasn't. So.

Yeah, that's very cool. As far as—

Keeps the anxiety down a little bit.

Yeah. As far as, uh, you know, I would say this, what is your favorite, like, body part to exercise?

So I don't know if this is unpopular for me, cuz I know women are normally, you know, your lower body, but I'm really, really working on my upper body right now. Like my arms, my shoulders, like that's been super important to me right now. Today she, my trainer killed me and we, she's like, that's awesome.

Okay, cool. I mean, yeah, I would say for the probably 90% of women like to train lower body, 90% of guys like to train upper body. So that's awesome. You're, you're the 10%. So that's cool. Favorite peptide you've tried?

It would be a GLP-1.

Okay. Okay. Do you have a specific one or no?

Tirzepatide.

Okay, cool. And then, uh, like number one, so everybody listens to this, they're a business owner. Like what is the one business habit you feel like you're the most consistent with?

Showing up.

Okay.

You just, you gotta keep showing up and just be okay with being uncomfortable. Be okay with, uh, failing. Be okay with knowing that it really isn't a failure. You're, you're going to learn from it. Keep practicing.

Okay.

That's what, that's what I do. I mean, I don't, we're all kind of just doing our best.

Yeah, no, that's awesome. I love, love those answers. So if somebody wanted to find out more about you, what you have to offer, like how would they do that?

So on Instagram, obviously, and Facebook, it's PSWellness.Aesthetics. They can find us on socials.

Okay, cool. Well, hey, Ashley, I just want to thank you so much for being on the show today, sharing your story. And, you know, giving us a lot of, a lot of really good, you know, content and a lot of good just conversation around this. So thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

Yeah, you're welcome. Guys, if you want to know more about Ashley, what she's doing, obviously you can go into the show notes. You can, you know, follow, give her a follow on Instagram, check her out on Facebook. But you can go ahead and go into the show notes. You can click on the link. It'll take you directly there. You want to find out more about habit-based lifestyle and our private Facebook group for health professionals growing their business. You can also go into the show notes and you can click the link if you want to find out some of the new things we're doing in the peptide space with building peptide protocols and just fulfillment systems. You can also go into the show notes under peptide protocol engine. Until next episode, hope you guys have a great day.

Dreamed of this. This is This is the Habit-Based Lifestyle Podcast with Jesse Ewell. Jesse Ewell.