Beyond The Handshake
Welcome to Beyond The Handshake, hosted by Lucy Miller—Founder of Women Connect and a passionate advocate for building meaningful business relationships. On this podcast, we dive deep into the stories behind businesses and their leaders, exploring what drives their success, what keeps them going, and the challenges they face. We’ll uncover the “why” behind their work, their biggest struggles, triumphs, and the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way.
It’s time we go beyond the handshake—beyond the business card exchange and initial introduction—to cultivate deeper, more authentic relationships.
Lucy’s experience creating Women Connect, a fast-growing professional women's networking group with chapters across Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky, fuels her love for helping others build lasting connections. What began in 2020 as local networking events has expanded into a thriving community, hosting monthly events and the annual LIVE conference—a highlight of Lucy’s year.
Join us as we take business relationships to the next level and learn from the best in the business world.
Learn more: https://wearewomenconnect.com/
Beyond The Handshake
Building a Brand Together: How Two Sisters Grew Smiley Aesthetics into a Med Spa Powerhouse
Twin sisters. One vision. Multi-million-dollar growth.
In this powerful episode of Beyond The Handshake, Lucy sits down with Mary Smiley Ford and Carla Pierson, twin sisters and co-founders of Smiley Aesthetics, one of the fastest-growing medical aesthetics companies in the region.
What started as a mobile injector business has rapidly scaled into a multi-million-dollar med spa brand with over $3M in revenue—and they’re just getting started.
We dive into:
- How they built a business from scratch while juggling family and careers
- The challenges (and superpowers!) of being sisters and business partners
- Smart decisions that fueled their rapid growth
- Advice they’d give any woman stepping into entrepreneurship today
Whether you’re in beauty, business, or just love a good founder story—this episode is full of heart, hustle, and hard-earned wisdom.
To learn more about Smiley Aesthetics, check out their website at https://smileyaesthetics.com/ to find a medspa near you! You can also follow them on IG with the following accounts:
@smileyaesthetics_
@injectorsmiley
@csmiley_business
@the_businessofaesthetics
🎧 Listen now and get inspired by how two women built something beautiful—together.