Summary

Gabriel Flores  0:00  

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the shades of entrepreneurship. This is your host, Mr. Gabriel Flores. Today I'm here with Jonathan. Jonathan, how are you doing?

Jonathan McLean  0:10  

I'm good, I'm good. How are you?

Gabriel Flores  0:12  

I'm good. I'm really interested about this subject because it's, it takes recruiting, but a specific type of recruiting. But before we get into that, before we get into clean aesthetics, who is Jonathan McLean?

Jonathan McLean  0:28  

Yes, yes. And I love that question. So let's take you back to the beginning. I started off by going to get my bachelor's degrees. And I, I'm sorry, I started off in getting my bachelor's degree in healthcare administration. After that I got my master's in human resources. And I figured out I had a love for staffing and talent. So I really pursued that and kept going. And that's actually why I went back and got my master's in human resources. Now I do like consulting and also staffing, and I built out my own staffing firm.

Gabriel Flores  0:59  

Yeah, so let's, let's talk a little bit about that. What is clean aesthetics? What what do you do?

Jonathan McLean  1:05  

Yeah, no, that's a good question. So McLean, aesthetics is a niche, a niche aesthetic recruiting firm. So what that initially means is, we target dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and med spas to hire talent for them. So our niche is very exclusive. Right? Not many people work in that industry. But a lot of people want to get services from that industry. So isn't very high demand industry that needs top talent.

Gabriel Flores  1:34  

So explain the process of a recruiting firm for the listeners at home? What does a recruiting firm do?

Jonathan McLean  1:42  

Yeah, so recruiting firm essentially finds the best talent in your industry, and give you the best talent in a certain amount of time. So in our case, we do 72 hours and 72 hours, we give you the best talent in your field, right to your door. So you can go ahead and start your interview process. Why is that beneficial? That's beneficial, because the hiring process is so extreme, like you're constantly finding candidates interviewing candidates, at the end of the day, you spent hours and hours speaking with candidates that are no good for your practice. So every minute that goes by, you're wasting more and more money. So you want candidates that are high level quality, top talent and ready to go.

Gabriel Flores  2:24  

And so just for clarification, for the listeners at home, your primary target is actually employers of these individuals.

Jonathan McLean  2:33  

Right, exactly. Now,

Gabriel Flores  2:35  

now, how do you start a recruiting firm?

Jonathan McLean  2:38  

Yeah. So I actually worked for a healthcare consulting agency prior to starting my own recruiting firm. And I was lucky enough to work with an entrepreneur that really didn't know too much about healthcare space and gave me the longevity to really go out there and kind of learn what I was good at and what I wanted to pursue in the healthcare space. Through that I learned about cosmetic dermatology. And I was like, huh, this is very interesting. Not only is it a rising, fast growing field, like injecting Botox and dermal fillers and lasers. That's what the stock market is for people that may not know it, not only if it's a fast growing field, but there's no one in this space leading providers to jobs. There's no big indeed, there's no like, job source that people can go to to find jobs. So I learned as much as I could just really got into deep dive learning as much as I could. And I started my own recruiting agency and started building my team. So started finding recruiters under me start building relationships with clients and start providing a premier service that really helped them to grow their business.

Gabriel Flores  3:48  

What what does that look like? Take us through the process of what kind of paperwork or things that you need to file to become a recruiting firm?

Jonathan McLean  3:58  

Yeah, so I started an LLC first. And then I initially just started with contractors. I didn't even start with W twos. Yeah, a lot of people don't realize like, I think everyone thinks you have to have a W two on your team, for it to be like a official company. But no, you can use contractors to start your team. So that's the kind of the route I took. It's just getting the LLC, branding myself and then really hiring contractors to build up that team.

Gabriel Flores  4:28  

Now, one of the things you mentioned, you know, aesthetics, right, you're talking about the Botox, you're talking about things needles in your face sometimes. Right? And what would you say to the skeptics out there that are concerned about it? What is it safe and how safe is it?

Jonathan McLean  4:44  

Yeah, so with aesthetics, with anything with healthcare, you're practicing medicine, right? So it's practicing medicine, nobody. I mean, they're experts in this field, but mistakes happen. So I will say in every aesthetic procedure 90% of the time, it is say They have done this for years in terms of Botox, dermal fillers, things of that nature and get new stuff comes out every year. So you got to give it a grace period for it, see if this is a really good product or if it's not a good product. But even with things being around services being around products being around for years and years, if you don't go to an experienced injector provider, or someone that's experiencing administrating this medication to make the product, how you would like it, then you have a downfall of maybe getting a vascular occlusion which they which is essentially, where blood is not able to pump through those veins inside of your face. So it will essentially turn black and fall off or, you know, things of that nature.

Gabriel Flores  5:43  

That sounds pretty scary. My face, I don't want my face fall on.

Jonathan McLean  5:51  

Someone experience and that's why, you know, what I do is so essential, because I find the most experienced people and place them at the best type of spas that really want to work with the most experienced people.

Gabriel Flores  6:02  

Yeah, that's that's a very good point. Now, you mentioned to you went through this process, and you didn't bring on, you know, w two employees, you know, full time employees, you brought on contractors, how do you go and recruit contractors?

Jonathan McLean  6:16  

Yeah, I would say recruiting internally is one of the hardest things you can do, possibly, and you really want to take your time with that. Because, again, it's your day to day, I've learned so many lessons with recruiting internally, like if you're working with someone and you're playing at a level 10 And the person coming on board is not at a level 10 Or even close to that it's not generally going to work out because you're going to be so like 10x, and the other person is going to be like calm down. So you really want to find people that are essentially like you people that are going to grind and really want success for you. Now, again, no one's going to work hard for your business, like you, you are always going to work the hardest for your business, and nobody you bring on is but when it comes to recruiting internally, what I say is really build relationships, conferences, that you go to meetings, like always look for people to hire, in those type of situations, you know, those are gonna be the best people to hire, because you're already they're already in a place where they're succeeding, they're already in a place that you are in. So you know, they're in the same similar mindset, probably that you're looking for.

Gabriel Flores  7:22  

Takes to that first client. Who was that? First? How did you land that first client?

Jonathan McLean  7:28  

Yeah, so landing my first client, it really is the grind. Like I called and called and called and called and called and emailed and showed up and really did not go away, I knew the value that I had was so important, I was doing them a disservice if I did not show them that I exist. So through calling and through emailing and really branding and building a relationship, I was able to land my first client, which I still have the same client to this day, and that client ended up growing and opening massive locations, they almost 80 locations, so I was able to grow with the client and grow my business.

Gabriel Flores  8:06  

Now, you mentioned business, is this your first business?

Jonathan McLean  8:10  

Well, you know, when I was a kid, I have a snow a snow business where I used to go around the neighborhood and shovel neighbor's snow and make money. And that lie essentially, I would say was my first business because I was making I would say just as much as a lot of adults, I know at that time just on those days and no snow days that I would go around and shovel, shovel driveways. But yes, this is my first business initially as an entrepreneur.

Gabriel Flores  8:39  

Now, you mentioned some of the difficulties of internal recruiting. Let's let's let's dive into that. What what are some of those difficulties?

Jonathan McLean  8:48  

Yeah, so when you're doing when you're recruiting internally, it's extremely hard because you really want to find a good match that matches with your personality, your work ethic, and then also close it with your team. You want to know exactly a little bit about what's going on in your employee's personal life or your contractors personal life. Because if you don't, then you're not building a relationship. And they potentially might just leave you one day, you'd be like, Oh my gosh, I didn't know they felt any way away about my working environment, but they just left. So it's really important to build a relationship. Step one, step two, it's really important to find people that are like minded to you, like I just said, and then step three, is extremely important that find people that have the drive that you look forward that's inside of you.

Gabriel Flores  9:32  

You don't you mentioned this kind of being your first business outside of the snow shovel, right? What Where did you learn to go through the LLC process and those things because you mentioned you didn't go to business school?

Jonathan McLean  9:47  

No, I didn't. I did not go to business school. I actually I have my masters in HR. I mean, it was some business courses, but essentially no, I didn't get my MBA, but what I really am, I think a key Master is is really good. learning, learning through you to learn through podcasts, learning to conferences, learning through connecting with people and getting that mentorship and taking those tools and using them for my business for my life, whatever I'm trying to accomplish. So really, always being a learner, I think will get you a far, far away.

Gabriel Flores  10:18  

You mentioned some of the difficulties of recruiting, what is it? What are some of the difficulties of starting a business for the first time?

Jonathan McLean  10:25  

Yeah. So I think some of the difficulties, if you don't know what you don't know, one of the big things that I didn't know is one, you need a lawyer and a really good lawyer that's on retainer that you can call anytime, anyplace. So that was one of the big things into, you really got to be on top of your accounting and know exactly how to do taxes, how to write stuff off how to use your LLC for as a benefit, how to pay people, like instead of employees, contractors, I think those were the two biggest things that I really had to learn. I always say like, I had a crazy work ethic just out of college, I always had a crazy work ethic, but I didn't know how to harness that and make it into a business. So really diving in there deep, I felt like I was able to really grow a lot and grow my business once I got the the tips and the the basic sounds. But as far as like the stuff that surrounds the support services that surround the business, like I said, the lawyer, the accountant, is stuff that I really had to keep learning and learning. So I got into

Gabriel Flores  11:28  

where does the drive come from?

Jonathan McLean  11:32  

Yeah, I think the drive comes from really just wanting to do better. Honestly, drive comes from starting off in New York, and upstate New York and really worn in a big city and didn't have too much around me and just wanting to experience more I knew always knew there was more. And I always knew that I can get it if I want it. And as I grew and learn more about the world and learn more about business, I knew how obtainable it was, and it just drove me in the passion came more and more.

Gabriel Flores  12:04  

What has been easy about this process going through starting your own business.

Jonathan McLean  12:10  

Even, I think one of the biggest, easy and one of the easiest things is really connecting with people, I think that has been the easiest thing for me connecting with people, learning people and adapting to their environment, you know, every client that I bring on is a different person that have a different personality is a different person. So just to speak with them and learn how to interact with them, I think has been one of the easiest things for me personally.

Gabriel Flores  12:38  

So you talked about networking, right? Is that one of the many ways? What are the other ways you you market and brand yourself?

Jonathan McLean  12:48  

Yeah, I think social media is a huge platform, you really have to as an entrepreneur, you really want to control your own narrative. So whether you're on a social platform, or you're in a newspaper, or old school, or whatever you're doing, you want to build your audience and control your narrative. So social media is a huge way to do that.

Gabriel Flores  13:08  

What are some things that keep you up at night as a small business owner?

Jonathan McLean  13:13  

Yeah, I would say like, one of the biggest things is you're responsible for everybody that you bring on your team. And what I mean by that is, you're not just hiring somebody, you're hiring them, and you're, they're paying their Cardinal, their parent their, their mortgage with the money they're making for you. So that's always now it's a huge concern. That's always a healthy concern that, hey, I need to make sure that I'm doing what I need to do to make sure that they're paid every single week or every two weeks or whatever length they're paid. And because I'm responsible, and I made them a commitment by bringing them on board.

Gabriel Flores  13:48  

And you know, for entrepreneurs listening at home or inspiring ones. How do you stay on top of these things you mentioned? How did you learn how to find an attorney? How where do you find an accountant?

Jonathan McLean  13:59  

Yeah, so I actually found a great attorney through a networking conference event. So I was at a client's party. And I was just talking to the guest. It was like a social party for like their grand opening, talk to the guest. And I met one of my lawyers, and I was like, Oh, this guy, he was just here, because his wife knew the new The company wanted to try it out. And I met the lawyer and I connected with him. And he ended up being a really expert in my field. And I feel like a lot of the times we don't take the effort to really speak to people when we go to these conferences, or even when we're out in, in public just at a coffee shop or wherever you may be. Take the time to really speak to people and learn about what they do. And try to incorporate them if you can into your business, right because good people always know good people ask for referrals too. That's another thing to do. So those are some tips I would say, to really network and meet people.

Gabriel Flores  14:51  

You've kind of organically talked about it. But let's talk about a little more in depth. How important has networking been and to grow in your business.

Jonathan McLean  15:03  

I think it's been huge. And I, in the beginning, I didn't realize how big it was or how big it would be. But after I went to my first conference, I met a person. And he was able to connect me to his businesses and give me a contract and one of his businesses and business was able to connect me to another business, and he just kept going, and it never stopped. So when I saw that, I realized, my net worth is only my network. So I need to double that triple that and keep going and going and going and going. So my goal is really to meet as many people as I can and to build strong relationships. So because you don't really just want to network with anyone, everyone is not for you, right? And I want, I want to make that very clear. Because you in business, you will think, hey, I need to be client, I need to have everybody as a client. And that's not true. You want to have great clients die, you want to have clients that understand the value that you bring to the table and respect you as a business owner. And when you network and build relationships. That's how you build strong clients that you'll have forever.

Gabriel Flores  16:08  

What is something that you may have learned throughout this process of starting your own business? That you really want? What some advice or right what's what is something you learned that you want to make sure all these entrepreneurs know?

Jonathan McLean  16:23  

Yeah, is that it's not an overnight success. I think a lot of people, when they get into business, they think, hey, like it has to happen. Within a year, it has to happen within six months, it has to happen within any duration of time. And with Instagram, and all these social sites, it seems like it needs to happen, or it has happened, like so quick for everybody else. But it's not, if you want to have longevity in your career, if you want to have a career that's going to last, you want to have a business that's gonna last for ever, that's gonna last just until you're gone, you have to really focus on being the best, and really putting in the work every single day, every single day, putting in the work coming back, not giving up challenging yourself, and going above and beyond every single time. That's the only way you can really become a great entrepreneur. So really putting in the work and going forth is what I want people to know.

Gabriel Flores  17:22  

And so where's McLean aesthetics? And the next 510 years or more? And maybe more importantly, where's Jonathan, in the next 10 years?

Jonathan McLean  17:33  

Yeah, no, I definitely love that question. So for me, I am really heading into like the speaker space, I really want to speak more and give back more advices. I feel like I've been doing sales and recruiting for a long time, and have so many great tips that have helped me to build my company, and able to, you know, help you build yours. So I think that is something that I definitely want to head into. And I'm slowly building into that space. Also, I want to automate what I'm doing. And in the future, you guys will see exactly what I'm talking about when I when I'm talking about that. But I want to automate the process to make sales and recruiting inside of all industries. Way more simple.

Gabriel Flores  18:17  

Man, if you can figure out how to automate life for us more I feel like that's one of the processes. And this is something for all entrepreneurs, there's so many automations out there that make your life a lot easier, like when somebody emails you just a quick response back. But you can also have a delayed for a couple hours. So it doesn't look like it's a automated response. I mean, there's a lot of really unique things you can do. Now, Jonathan, for listeners at home, maybe they want to learn more about McLean. How can they how can they get in contact with you? What's the website what you mentioned social media, where can they find you on the social channels?

Jonathan McLean  18:50  

Yeah, so all my channels are Jonathan McLean JONATHANMCL e a n. And if you want to check out my website is WWE dot McLean esthetics, MC L E A N aesthetics ae STHET ics.com.

Gabriel Flores  19:12  

Awesome. In fact, folks, just you know, a quick little shameless plug. You will also find this information on the shades of entrepreneurship website so you can visit the shades of e.com. You can also find this information on the newsletter which is another great reminder to subscribe to the newsletter by visiting the shades of e.com He'll go ahead and just hit the subscribe button and it will get you on the weekly newsletter. Jonathan, is there any last word you would like to leave the listeners with?

Jonathan McLean  19:44  

Yeah, go for it if you're entrepreneur kickass keep going. You're gonna get there. You got it.

Gabriel Flores  19:50  

Jonathan Mclean from a clean aesthetics. Man. I'm excited to see your team grow. Very unique research firm. In fact, last question. Whoo. You Come for if What if folks may be listening who you want to be working with?

Jonathan McLean  20:04  

Yeah, I'm looking for all creatives. Honestly, if you are amazing at what you do, and you can bring some to the table, I'm looking for anybody that's creative and able to bring some things to the table. Definitely get in contact with me.

Gabriel Flores  20:17  

You're here to hear folks and I'll have that contact information on the newsletter as well as the shades of E website. You can also follow us at the shades of E on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Thank you and have a great night.