Power Women: Maegan Griffin of Skin Pharm On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman
An Interview With Ming Zhao
In order to succeed, I’ve found it critical to have a support system in place and to identify a health and wellness plan before taking the leap. I started working on Skin Pharm’s business plan in 2016 and spent a year building it on my own before launch. We launched in January of 2017, and I was answering the phones, scheduling patients, building our website (more of a landing page), posting to social media, providing cosmetic injections to clients and prescribing medications to patients — all at once. Starting and scaling a company is incredibly challenging — physically, emotionally and financially — and it’s important to have appropriate support in place from the start.
How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Maegan Griffin, CEO + Founder of Skin Pharm.
Founder, CEO, nurse practitioner and mother of three Maegan Griffin brings more than eight years of aesthetic medicine experience to Skin Pharm, a modern cosmetic dermatology practice offering in-clinic treatments and at-home skin care.
Maegan founded Skin Pharm in 2017, aiming to create a clinic environment and product line she couldn’t find (and knew she would love) as a patient herself.
As one of the first woman-founded cosmetic dermatology clinics available to consumers, the success of Skin Pharm’s Nashville flagship led to the launch of an eponymous skin care line in 2018, with clinics in Atlanta (2020), Dallas (2021) and Charlotte (2022) following soon after.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
Sure! I absolutely love what I do, and in a lot of ways, it feels like the natural path for me, as I grew up with several entrepreneurial role models — my father owned a real estate company, my mother started a daycare out of our home, my dad’s father was a builder and owned a residential construction company and my mom’s father is ex-Navy and ran a machine shop in the 1970s.
Prior to living in Tennessee, I grew up in Arizona with two brothers, one older and one younger. I was close to my brothers and had a strong social circle. I wanted to fit in with my brothers, so I would ride dirtbikes and hold their pet reptiles, but deep down, I loved to play with dolls, throw a tea party and organize my room. Ultimately, the way I chose to express myself was through beauty, and by the time I was ten, I collected more makeup, face masks and bath robes than anyone I knew. I was the ultimate girl’s girl.
I went to public elementary school, private middle school and public high school, then enrolled at Belmont University for nursing. I had previously considered a psychology major, but ultimately decided on nursing due to the wider skill set and ample opportunities provided by a nursing degree.
After graduating with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree, I worked in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and traveled to hospitals in Nashville and the surrounding areas to meet different people and challenge myself professionally. (Of note, I lived in Scottsdale, Mesa, Flagstaff, Cave Creek, Hendersonville and Nashville by this point in my life, so adaptability was not only a strong trait of mine, but I craved frequent change — so travel nursing felt right.)
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
After two years working in the ICU, I realized this was not my long-term career path. Many of my coworkers were returning to school to become a CRNA — an appropriate successor to ICU nursing. I, on the other hand, did not love my patients being sedated and wanted to pursue the clinic setting, so I enrolled in a Family Nurse Practitioner program.
I fell in love with the nurse practitioner model right away — providing holistic care, looking at the human as a whole and focusing on preventative measures.
Prior to starting Skin Pharm, I worked in plastic surgery and was given the opportunity to lead the practice’s injectables clinic. I was part of a team with two other physicians, a plastic surgeon specializing in reconstructive surgery and a medical dermatologist treating common skin concerns. This offered a unique lens into two popular (and competitive) industries some never have exposure to. I’m grateful for the training and exposure I had during this time, as it provided a fundamental understanding of skin health — and is still applicable to how I practice today.
Simultaneously, I traveled to train other medical practices on the use of noninvasive skin rejuvenation devices. It was during this time that I noticed, while there are numerous different models and businesses in the aesthetics industry, no one was doing it the way I felt — and the way my patients felt — it should be done.
I unfortunately saw medical aesthetics treated as an afterthought; as a secondary business for supplemental income. The downside to this is lack of specialization in a field that requires meticulous skill, lots of practice and passion.
I became determined to offer patients a better experience and started Skin Pharm, a cosmetic dermatology clinic, in 2017. We now have clinics in Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte and an effective, high-quality skin care line that is created by us, and inspired by our patients.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
There are several essential qualities I’ve found good leaders possess. If highlighting only three, I would have to say:
- Kindness. As leaders, it’s important to know that being kind does not undermine authority. In fact, you can be compassionate and thoughtful and still make difficult or unpopular decisions. Being kind requires self-awareness and a mindset that ensures you can see goodness in others and positivity in challenging situations. A strong leader recognizes that being kind fosters confidence and growth in others. It takes courage to be compassionate, but the reward is incredible for leaders (and their organizations) if able to do so.
- Integrity. Integrity is essential to successful leadership. Simply put, people want to work for those who are honest and ethical. It’s important for us to remember the words, actions and decisions made by leaders not only impact the company’s values, but also the culture.
- Resilience. Being resilient is vital to being an impactful leader, too. This trait provides the ability to navigate change and guide others with emotional strength and courage. The challenges and hardships of running a company can be intense, but I’ve found that some of the most successful leaders have the ability to turn the challenges they face into new opportunities, instead.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?
Gender stereotypes unfortunately create a no-win situation for women leaders. The stereotype is that men take charge, are decisive and assertive. Women, on the other hand, should be nurturing, emotional and communicative.
There’s this double-bind that when women take charge, they are viewed as competent leaders, but disliked. Yet when women take care, they are liked, but not viewed as efficient or effective leaders.
As a result, it often feels like women have to work harder to receive the same recognition as men in the workplace.
Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?
A couple of years ago, we were dealing with a male medical sales rep who would make my all-female clinical team uncomfortable when he’d visit. He would make sexually explicit comments, ogle the team and even physically cornered a manager at one point.
I confronted him and told him to no longer visit any of our clinics. Yet one year later, he visited a different clinic of mine and approached the team, asked what it’s like to work for me and called me “strong willed.” (Ironic that a man being wildly inappropriate and disrespectful of boundaries was calling me strong willed for asserting myself and protecting my employees, right?)
In the 10 minutes he was there, he made the team uncomfortable, spoke negatively about me and referred to my strength as a leader in a derogatory manner.
This is a prime example of women being damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Women are judged as being too hard, too soft and never just right.
Worth noting, he’s no longer with the company he was once representing…
What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?
We need to dismantle the double-bind. We should speak up if we hear phrases like, “she’s too abrasive” or “she’s too emotional.”
It’s a priority of mine to be a visible champion for women in business — with a focus on promoting women and actively advocating for both their personal and professional accomplishments.
What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?
We should redefine what it means to be a leader to increase women at all levels, in all professions and in all walks of life.
As leaders, we need to use the same standards for women and men when evaluating employees and challenge our thinking by reversing the gender of the person being evaluated.
In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?
While I know this is not applicable to all women — as motherhood is a personal choice and not the only path to a fulfilling life — I have found it’s exceptionally challenging for women who choose to start a family to do so while maintaining a career.
I’m a mother of three and had a different postpartum experience with each of my children. For my first baby, I was offered six weeks of paid maternity leave. While this was generous of my employer at the time, it was not nearly enough time for me to recover (both physically and emotionally) and return to work. In addition to this, my husband was running finance and operations at a start-up that was launching the same weekend our daughter was born.
Sixteen months later, I had my second child. I was 10 months into running Skin Pharm. We had two babies under two-years-old and were each engulfed in the start-up scene at two different companies. I still remember one morning when my son was sick and couldn’t go to childcare. I had a day full of patients so I brought him to work. The elevators were out of order in the building, and I carried both him and a pack-n-play up 4 flights of stairs. It was a workout so say the least.
For my third child, I was further along in my career, and we had a fantastic team in place, but it was during a time of rapid growth. I really tried to take an appropriate leave with my third, but I’d say that none of them were ideal — because even though I stayed out of the office for 12 weeks, I was still taking calls and meetings and found that my absence still had a negative impact on the company. While most might think owning your own company provides plenty of flexibility in maternity leave, it typically results in the opposite.
While it’s hard not to envy men for never being in this position, this ultimately only furthers my respect and admiration for women and all that we manage should we choose to start a family.
Creating a brand while building a family has been one of the most empowering experiences of my life. As a mother, I enjoy setting an example for other women seeking both a career and to raise a family. We’re too often told we can’t do it all, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to show women all we can accomplish.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Besides unequal pay? I’d like to see more positive female role models in workplaces. While women are almost half of the US labor force, they make up less than 5% of CEOs and less than 10% of top earners. (This is an improvement from when I started my company 5 years ago. Then, it was even rarer to see female founders and business leaders.)
To counteract this, I’m intentional about appointing qualified women to my team and offering leadership roles to these women. Taking on leadership opportunities can be scary. Women often aren’t confident in their qualifications, not sure others will support them and are worried they’re being set up for failure.
Having strong role models and powerful mentors has had a positive impact on my career. The advice and guidance I’ve received along the way has helped me figure out what I want and how to achieve it. My hope is that this will become possible for all women in business.
Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?
I tend to be all or nothing. I’ve worked incredibly hard during these last five years of my career as a founder and CEO. I was learning how to be a mom while starting my career, and it was in no way a cakewalk.
And to be honest, the pressure to support not only my family, but also those I employ doesn’t ever switch off. You care so deeply when you invest so much time and love into what you’re creating. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit some days it can feel overwhelming, but being connected to and caring about my team and customers — and making a big difference in their lives — helps me hold passion and avoid burnout.
What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?
I wanted to be the best mom and the best at work, and I had to realize it was never going to be perfect. Once I realized this, things began to change. Those who know me have probably heard me say, “balance is not part of my vocabulary.” Having balance as a goal often makes us hold regret. Instead, I like to focus on harmony.
I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?
I’m a nurse practitioner both by training and at my core. The nursing model focuses on a holistic approach, with an emphasis on viewing the person as a whole. Starting Skin Pharm allowed me to connect with clients on a deeper level. Discussing not only skin concerns, but factors outside of work that also impact our health and wellness. It has become a platform to empower others, educating on how to best take care of our skin and feel good in our bodies. Because when our skin improves, our confidence improves and our life improves, too.
Starting in the industry activated my own self-care journey. I got into personal development, learning more about skin health and receiving some of my first skin treatments. The boost in my complexion lit me up and led to an improvement in my overall lifestyle — prioritizing sleep, regular workouts and intuitive eating to nurture my body. I’m a strong believer in practicing self-care to find a balance in inner and outer beauty, and I’ve seen firsthand that it can improve your physical, emotional and mental health, too.
It’s more than just working toward pretty skin; it’s truly about creating confidence and positivity that radiates from within!
How is this similar or different for men?
It shouldn’t be different. As mentioned, the benefits of taking care of your skin go beyond positively impacting your skin health — and this holds true for both women and men.
The ripple effect of being secure and happy in your skin naturally develops into additional healthy habits that further improve your life. And our goal is for this to be experienced by people of all genders.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
- In order to succeed, I’ve found it critical to have a support system in place and to identify a health and wellness plan before taking the leap. I started working on Skin Pharm’s business plan in 2016 and spent a year building it on my own before launch. We launched in January of 2017, and I was answering the phones, scheduling patients, building our website (more of a landing page), posting to social media, providing cosmetic injections to clients and prescribing medications to patients — all at once. Starting and scaling a company is incredibly challenging — physically, emotionally and financially — and it’s important to have appropriate support in place from the start.
- Recently, I’ve been prioritizing ways to maximize my productivity. By doing this, I can slow down, go outside and be more mindful. My days can be so packed, it’s easy to look up from my computer and realize the day has gone by in a blur. Time-blocking and refining my schedule has helped me make the most of it. I try to divide my days between social, content and computer days. I usually have about two meeting days per week (where it’s all about collaboration), two undisturbed computer days for deep work and one day for creative work.
- It’s important to focus on your own passion, not someone else’s. If it doesn’t come from your own vision or belief, it will be hard to remain positive and enthusiastic long enough to run a successful business. There’s this misunderstanding that being your own boss means never working a day in your life. Entrepreneurs know this is incredibly misguided, and that pursuing our passions typically means working more. Bringing our dreams to fruition takes a lot of effort, plenty of grit and many sleepless nights. But when the “why” behind the work is clear, it all feels worthwhile.
- One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to know my strengths, but be aware of my weaknesses. It’s okay to ask for help. When you collaborate, change happens. Hire people that you can trust; who can lead, take ownership and really help you build. I have an amazing team who thinks strategically and passionately about how we build this brand. Surround yourself with sharp, positive people who also like to have fun. You need people who believe in the vision and want to help you get there.
- Finally, trust your gut. Some of my biggest mistakes (or should I say learnings…) have come from not trusting myself. I’ve learned to trust my gut as I’ve progressed in my career. I’ve had multiple scenarios where my intuition was sending off mayday signals, which led me to walk away from wrong deals or situations. I’m still working on trusting my intuition. It’s like working out a muscle and takes time. In the same vein, make sure the decision in front of you is going to be a fulfilling one, because you’ll have to push yourself to extreme limits to get to that fulfillment.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Well first, I am so grateful for the community I get to be part of through Skin Pharm. I’ve met some of the most amazing women who are moms, sisters, wives, business women and fellow healthcare professionals.
I would love to have breakfast with Reese Witherspoon! I admire her many roles as an actor, producer, business owner and mom. It’s also fun that she’s a Nashville native.
I love listening to her as a guest on podcasts and admire her taking matters into her own hands when she became frustrated by the lack of dynamic roles for women in Hollywood. Not only did she start up Hello Sunshine, a media company, as a result of this, but she has a precious lifestyle company, Draper James, here in Nashville.
My admiration for Reese grew after hearing her on Smartless, a podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett. She playfully called them out for talking about themselves for the first 10 minutes of the podcast, referring to the male ego. More recently, she shared a life lesson on social media, saying that “other people’s opinions about you are none of your business.” This was a valuable reminder for me — and something I think so many others should be reminded of, too!
All that to say, I deeply admire the woman Reese is and all that she’s accomplished.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Absolutely. Thanks so much!
