Why Do You Care What The Competition Is Doing?
Most practice owners have a daily habit they wouldn’t call a habit. Scrolling through competitor accounts, clocking what other clinics are charging, watching what new memberships and treatments they’re rolling out. It feels like research, but it’s stealing your energy from your own growth.
In this solo episode, Jessica makes the case that almost none of what you see your competitors doing connects to a real decision in your own business. She walks through how she handles it with her consulting clients. When a competitor’s offer comes up, she asks one question: why do you care? Most of the time the answer is that it doesn’t apply to your goals at all, and the conversation ends there.
She also tells a story from a conference stage that quietly changed how she thinks about competitors. What shows up on someone else’s social tells you almost nothing real about how their business is actually running, who their providers are, or whether their numbers add up. Her most successful clients all share one trait. They’re so locked in on their own business that they don’t have room to think about anyone else’s.
Listen for the simple question Jessica asks every time a competitor’s name comes up in a client meeting.
Questions answered by this episode:
- How do you stop comparing your business to your competitors?
- Should you match your competitor’s prices as a med spa owner?
- How do you stay focused on growing your own practice?
- Should med spa owners follow their competitors on social media?
- How do you handle competition in the aesthetics industry?
- Why is watching your competitors hurting your med spa’s growth?
- What do the most successful aesthetic practice owners have in common?
- Is it useful to track what other med spas are charging?
- How do you set your own prices without copying competitors?
- What question should you ask yourself when a competitor catches your attention?
Jessica Hunter
Head of Aesthetic Consulting, Aesthetic Brokers
Jessica Hunter is the Founder & CEO of Hunter Consulting and Head of Consulting at Aesthetic Brokers, where she helps medical aesthetic clinics grow smarter and stronger. She’s partnered with more than 75 clinics across Canada and the U.S., guiding them to boost profits, streamline operations, and build lasting success.
Known for her energy, straightforward approach, and genuine care, Jessica believes the best advice comes from truly understanding each business, especially its financial health and unique challenges.
Follow Jessica on Instagram @hunterconsulting_
Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn
About Aesthetic Appeal
Aesthetic Appeal is where Aesthetic Brokers brings you the latest insights straight from Southern California. We break down what’s happening in the medical aesthetics world—especially when it comes to private equity and transactions with mergers and acquisitions that matter to you as a practice owner.
Learn more about Aesthetic Brokers
Follow Aesthetic Brokers on Instagram @aestheticbrokers
Theme music: Blinding, Cushy
Jessica Hunter (00:09):
So for today's podcast, I really want to get into talking about how competition is stealing your energy from your own growth and how to stay focused on your own path and just really stop noticing what everyone else is doing. I'm really passionate about talking about competition and constantly trying to steer my clients into a path of asking ourselves why we care. And I think it's because in 2026, it's just hard to ignore competition. It's hard to not follow all your competitors online and take a look at what they're doing and then make assumptions about everything that we see, which is the worst part. We see something what our competitor's doing and they've got this beautiful video and there's music in the background and we're like, oh my God, they're making so much money. They're so successful. They're selling that XERF treatment like crazy. And it's like, you've just made all these assumptions over a post.
(01:03):
You don't even know these people. You don't know anything about them. And we're constantly saying, "Oh, this person's charging $11 a unit. We got to charge 10 and this person's offering this membership. Oh God, we got to make one." And I think, again, come back to this question of like, why do we care? Why do we care? Let them do what they're doing. Let them focus on what they want to focus on. We don't know what their plan is. We don't know if they even have a plan. But if I'm sitting down with my client and you're working with me, we already know where we're going. We know that we're trying to build a business that is trying to be profitable. Sometimes I have clients that come with me that aren't profitable yet or their margins are really slim and they didn't even know it.
(01:43):
And so we're like, "Okay, what are we going to do? Here's where we want to get to and why do we want to get there? Okay, we want to sell our business in the next 24 months. Awesome. There's a couple key things that we got to be mindful of. " So we know where we're going. And so when we see something where someone's talking about a GLP-1, really cheap with semaglutide or something like that, and they show it to me, I'm like, "Okay, well, let's talk about why do we care because we've talked about how we're not interested in doing a GLP-1 unless it's a reoccurring revenue source, for example." And so I don't care that they're doing one-off medication offerings. It doesn't apply to us. We don't care. And how can we be different? What kind of value can we add? What makes us unique? That's where I'd really love the conversation to go when we're looking at competition.
(02:31):
Use it as fuel to how can we be better. I'll share with you guys that a few years ago, and I actually have never said this out loud, but a few years ago I was at a conference, I'm on stage and I'm sharing the stage with two other consultants who I knew. I wouldn't say we were super close or friends, but we had met a few times. We were definitely friendly. And the three of us are on stage and so they're sitting behind me. I'm up at the podium, I'm talking, I'm doing my thing. And at some point, and I can't remember what I was talking about, but at some point at the corner of my eye, I can see the two of them kind of lock eyes, kind of laugh, giggle, kind of like, make fun of me, is what my assumption was.
(03:08):
And I remember just thinking like, "Oh my goodness, I can tell you're making fun of me. And then this whole audience probably can tell you're making fun of me. " And I obviously kept going, kept talking about whatever it was I was talking about. And we got off the stage and had a couple people come up and talk to me, ask me questions. Obviously they were interested. They wanted to talk about consulting and all the things that we do and offer. And nobody came up to either one of these people who I think they're probably fine consultants, but I'll never forget that lesson of honestly, I looked to them to be equals to me and I really realized how you show up, who you are. You can say that you're this and that, but your actions just come out and never to believe what you see on social, never to believe what you see on a website.
(04:00):
It's just you don't really know what's actually behind the scenes. And that was a glimpse to both of those people of ... It made me feel bad actually. It made me feel kind of bad for them that they felt like they had to do that. And so I guess it sounds ... I mean, I sound like sort of like a high schooler talking about it. And I never told anybody. I was like, "Whatever." And I still see them and it's totally fine. Not a big deal, but I don't think it helped them. And so when we talk about competition, I just don't even bother. I mean, in my business, I don't care what they're doing. I honestly actually don't follow anybody who would be a competitor to me because I'm just not interested. I genuinely am not interested. And I find that for me, if I see something right in front of me that someone else is doing, it does derail my focus.
(04:46):
And so my suggestion to you is if it does the same thing to you, stop doing it. Just understand and feel really confident in who you are and what you're doing and what you're trying to accomplish because the rest of it is just distractions and there's enough distractions as there is. And so I think I am really, like I said, really passionate about understanding competition. We want to know who's who in the zoo, sure, but constantly taking a look at what they're doing, comparing ourselves, not just in a business world, but in a professional or personal world, it's just so exhausting. I would just really encourage you that if you need to remove yourself from those sort of environments, just do it. I have not been following some of my competition for a long, long time, and it just makes me feel better. It just actually makes me feel better.
(05:38):
So yeah, it's worked for me. I'd suggest it for you if you're finding it to derail you. Don't let it derail your focus. I do think that there's aspects to understanding who your competitors are that can be helpful. I think you don't want to be naive to know that there aren't other practices within your demographic and your area to know sort of the technologies or the services they're offering. I think that's helpful, right? You do want to know what other people are offering, but I think it stops there because your prices aren't going to be aligned with theirs probably. And honestly, probably shouldn't be. Your prices are defined and determined based on what you're trying to do. And so things like prices I don't care about. Things like TikTok videos or Instagram trends that they're doing don't care about. I don't even really care about who their providers are.
(06:31):
Honestly, I think those things just don't really matter and they really don't impact your business. The most successful clients I am working with today right now, I will tell you, they're so laser focused. The last thing they're ever talking to me about is social. The last, they're so dialed in to what our goals are. They're extremely hardworking, of course, but they're just also really focused on them and their business. They never talk to me about what's happening with so- and-so or what so- and-so just did. And they're just really, really dialed and I've seen that as a consistent pattern. And that's the next level up. I will tell you, like when I'm talking about these clients that are at that level, that's the next level up is how do we grow? How do we keep growing? And they're so hungry for that, that they don't have room to think about and worry about anybody else but themselves.
(07:26):
I think if you're catching yourselves looking at a competitor's Instagram and then kind of going down the rabbit hole of watching all the reels, just ask yourself, "Why do I care? How does this impact me? " And those questions will be like, "Well, I don't really care and it doesn't really impact me. " And I think when you answer those questions, you'll know that it is just a waste of your time. Is it helping you grow? And the answer's always no, it's not helping you. It's not helping you get to where you want to go. So ask yourself those questions and I think that will get you back on track. So if you're ready for this mindset shift to really change how you kind of think about the competitive landscape in your business, reach out at Aesthetic Brokers. We're happy to help and kind of talk to you about how we can support you in growing your business the right way.