Local Stories
May 30th, 2023
We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Candice Stewart and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Candice, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I had been the medical director, master injector and hormone specialist at my last job for about six years. I really loved the staff and owner; they treated me like family and helped me create my own path in this industry. However, there were many times while working for others that gave me inspiration to operate in ways that inspired me to run services in my own way. Since it wasn’t my business I wasn’t able to make changes. It was my drive to have more autonomy, and my motivation to make changes that would offer my patients a higher level of care that encouraged me to start my own business.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The wellness and medical aesthetics industry has been rapidly growing, and in Arizona, there is so much competition. You can find a Medspa on almost every corner! A lot of nurses or nurse practitioners go into this industry just to be able to work or run a medspa because they love getting botox and filler or think it’s just very glamorous. I believe that the right reason to be in this industry does not center around the glitz and glamor. I began my journey as an oncology/hematology nurse at Mayo Clinic, where you have to learn how to deliver safe patient care first before jumping right into being an aesthetic injector. I will never hire a RN that hasn’t worked at a hospital or other type of patient care setting. At my last job before starting my own practice I worked at a large medspa/anti-aging clinic as the hormone specialist, aesthetic injector, and medical director for 5 years before I decided to start my own practice. Working for a large medspa that had several locations including Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, and Scottsdale, I was able to get very advanced training and was under the guidance of a hormone guru. When I started my own practice, I had confidence in my injection ability and trust to give my patients the best care possible to optimize their hormones and enhance longevity through peptides, supplements, thyroid, and bioidentical hormone replacement.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We are so lucky to live in Arizona where the weather is amazing 8 months out of the year. I live in Arcadia, so biking on the canal Old Town Scottsdale is a must. The farmers’ market in Old Town is perfect for picking up produce for the week. Everything is fresh from Mclendon’s farm and I love perusing and grabbing food from the featured vendors. Other great places to go for lunch in Old Town are having a boujee brunch at Maple and Ash, a healthy meal at Chop Shop, great latin food at The Mission, a ladies lunch at Arcadia farms or a water-front meal at Olive and Ivy. Strolling the art galleries, having coffee and avocado toast at Berdena’s, the touristy western shops, walking around civic center plaza and seeing the ‘Love’ art, and shopping at Fashion Square are all things I love to do in the area. When friends come to visit, I love to take them to amazing spas for a relaxing spa day. My personal favorite spas are at The Phoenician and Sanctuary. It’s great to get a spa treatment and then hang out at the spa pool for the day. I also love adventuring with friends on quick road trips to Sedona, which is just magical, and has my favorite hiking spot the west fork trail, or kayaking and wine tasting down the Verde River, to get out of the heat. Furthering the trip up the hill to Flagstaff, I really enjoy eating at my favorite restaurants and visiting the ghost town of Jerome. However, my favorite time of year in Arizona is March and April when it’s not too hot during the day and perfect at night with sunsets that are bright orange and purple, and the orange blossoms are blooming filling the air with a scent that smells like candy.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people and organizations along the way that have encouraged me. This includes: my patients, Dr. Edwin Lee who has been a mentor to me and wrote my favorite peptide book The Fountain of Youth with Peptides, Dave Asprey’s podcast and books, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), the pharmaceutical reps that have mentored me on the business aspect of my practice, and the pharmacist and compounding companies. I have to thank my husband who has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader. He has had to help out with the kids a lot more since I started my own business. He also has guided me with so many aspects of running a business that I otherwise would have had no idea about. I’m an expert in medical aesthetics and longevity medicine but running a business is completely different. He showed me how to set up an LLC, how to get a Tax ID, helped me set up quick books, helped me outsource for bookkeepers, accountants, website developers, and so much more. He is the first person I want to share my business with and he is the shoulder to cry on when things become incredibly overwhelming.
Local Stories
May 30th, 2023
