🌿 Becoming More Than a Nurse: The Journey of Building a Business, Boundaries, and Balance

Running a small business is a journey of courage — especially as a woman in healthcare, stepping into entrepreneurship while balancing work, family, and everything in between.

For me, the transition from nurse to business owner has been one of the most challenging — and rewarding — learning curves of my life.

💼 From Nurse to Business Woman: A Whole New Skillset

Nursing gives you resilience, empathy, and focus under pressure — but no one prepares you for running the business behind the care.

You don’t just treat patients anymore — you’re managing finances, marketing, social media, compliance, leases, stock levels, and policies… all while staying current with NMC and aesthetic regulations.

It’s a lot. But it’s also empowering.

Every spreadsheet you learn, every strategy you figure out, and every mistake you turn into progress becomes part of your growth as a businesswoman. It’s not about being perfect — it’s about being persistent.

⏰ Time, Boundaries, and the Guilt We Carry

When you’re building something from the ground up, time feels like a luxury you never have enough of.

You want to be present for your clients, for your children, for your friends — but at some point, you realise you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Setting boundaries has become one of the hardest, yet healthiest, parts of running South Hams Aesthetics. Learning to say no, to protect evenings, to switch off the phone after hours — that’s not selfish. It’s sustainable.

Women often carry guilt for resting, but balance isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s what keeps the vision alive.

👩‍👧‍👦 Juggling Four Children and a Clinic

As a mum of four, my days are far from predictable. There are school runs, sports kits, last-minute homework panics — and still, the clinic needs me too.

Some days I get it wrong. Some days I feel as though I should start to drink coffee.

But there’s beauty in showing your children what hard work and heart look like.

They’re watching you build something from nothing, create opportunity, and help people feel confident in their own skin. That’s a lesson in itself.

💛 The Power of Peer Support and Female Friendship

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is: you can’t do it alone.

Having other women who “get it” — whether they’re fellow business owners, nurses, or simply friends cheering from the sidelines — makes all the difference.

Women supporting women isn’t just a phrase. It’s practical, emotional, real.

It’s someone saying, “You’re not failing — you’re just doing something brave.”

I’ve found that surrounding myself with other ambitious, kind-hearted women keeps me accountable and inspired. I also am grateful for all the new and amazing women that I am meeting on this journey.

✨ Vision Over Perfection

When things feel chaotic, the one thing that keeps me grounded is vision.

Knowing why I started — to create a safe, ethical, nurse-led space for natural, regenerative aesthetics — helps me navigate the days when everything feels too much.

Vision turns overwhelm into purpose.

And when you hold that vision tight, the hard days stop feeling like setbacks and start feeling like stepping stones.

🌸 Making Time for Me

It’s taken me years to learn that rest and time for me, is part of success.

Time away from the clinic, away from emails and DMs, gives me the space to reconnect with myself — whether it’s a quiet time to read, a walk by the coast, or a swim..

Because when I look after me, I show up better for everyone else — my clients, my kids, my business, my team.

🌿 Final Thoughts

Being a woman in business is rarely straightforward. It’s messy, exhausting, emotional, and sometimes lonely.

But it’s also powerful beyond measure.

We are the generation redefining what success looks like — one where you can be ambitious and kind, career-driven and family-focused, visionary and human.

So here’s to the women still learning, still growing, still balancing — and still showing up anyway.

Because that’s where the magic happens.

Written by: Victoria Ayers, Nurse Prescriber & Founder of South Hams Aesthetics

📍 Kingsbridge, Devon – Nurse-led, regenerative aesthetics for natural, confident results.

💌 DM to chat about your skin goals or follow @southhamsaesthetics for more behind the scenes of clinic life and growth.