If there is one word in the lexicon of business that has rocketed past buzzword and into the realm of cliché, it’s “disruption.”
Everyone in business wants to be a disrupter, to break the old model into pieces and fit the remaining fragments into something new. Does it always work? The jury is out on that one.
Sometimes disrupters wind up in the history books, sometimes they’re barely a footnote. For every Uber, there’s a Juicero, the overengineered device that somehow failed to revolutionize the juicing industry.
Serial entrepreneurs, Paul and Nikki McBride, are photographed at their newest venture, The Bluffs Med Spa & Massage.
As serial entrepreneurs, Paul and Nikki McBride have seen what makes a business a success and have mapped out nearly every pitfall. As former owners of Carolina Car Wash, Sea Castle Custom Homes, Palmetto Real Estate Group, K1 Speed, and a variety of other local companies, they know that disrupting the model will take you only so far. It’s what you rebuild it into – and more importantly why – that truly matters.
“Ultimately, it’s still a business. If you treat people properly, and you create that experience, it’s almost impossible to go out of business,” Paul McBride said. “Whether it’s go-karts, car washes, or home building, it’s all about the customer experience.”
To that end, the couple took a different approach to their latest venture, The Bluffs Med Spa and Massage. Combining the best of all worlds under one roof – a medical spa staffed with some of the best and brightest in the business, along with relaxing massage, a head spa and more – they’ve shown that the best way to disrupt the model is to start with the customers.
That became personal for McBride even before he and Nikki thought about opening The Bluffs. He noticed how members of his family were having difficulty with traditional laser hair removal working with their skin tones. Current machines in the market servicing those of Latin, African American or Asian descent were found to be painful, and at times ineffective.
“The goal is to look at it from a different point of view,” McBride said. “When someone says, ‘Well this is just the way we do it,’ to me that’s an opportunity to see if there’s a different way. Can we partner with a company that could fix those issues; could we find machines that have a better efficacy rate for people of color?”
The Bluffs found the solution by partnering with Cartessa, whose tagline is “Skinclusive,” and they have overdelivered on their promise of pain-free and effective solutions.
The McBrides wanted to open the door for every demographic who wanted to look and feel their best while experiencing elite level customer service.
“I thought it was important that we offer a variety of wellness solutions,” McBride said. “Traditional medical spas focus mainly on medical grade services and day spas focus on lower aesthetics and massage. … The goal was to combine these two disciplines, and until now, it has been a challenge for businesses to do that, because they are perceived as different worlds. Since opening, we have expanded into functional medicine, as it’s a logical progression to offer overall wellness by addressing root causes.”
Caitlin Cleland, PA will provide her knowledge and expertise in dermatology and functional medicine. Tyah Haro, DNP offers expertise in promoting longevity and reducing chronic disease.
Fortunately, they had help.
While the McBrides know business, they knew that the most important need was to identify proven practitioners in the medical and day spa industry. And that’s where the dream team came together.
Rebekah Mullin, Laser Specialist; Morgan Curry, Lead Aesthetic Injector; and Millie Arantes, Licensed Esthetician
Forming the Team
One of Paul McBride’s foundational philosophies of business is knowing what advice to follow and what to ignore. When a consultant told him to throttle back on the initial offerings, hiring fewer staff to start with, scaling back offerings at first, he balked. After all, how can you consider yourself open if you’re not giving customers everything you’d set out to offer them?
Instead, he leaned on another of his foundational philosophies: Develop a proper plan and surround yourself with the right people who know what they’re doing.
“We hire only team members that possess great personalities, a passion for wellness, and that cultivate an environment of loyalty and trust,” McBride said. “This is a mandate from our spa director, Lexi McBride, a recent graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship. Lexi always had a passion for business while attaining her degree, and she has managed previous family businesses.”
Jarrod Little M.D. Plastic Surgeon, Revive Palmetto Aesthetic & Surgery
Collaborating with The Bluffs Med Spa and Massage, Jarrod Little M.D., will enhance the patient’s experience by providing comprehensive care. By offering both surgical and nonsurgical aesthetic procedures, they can provide patients a complete solution to beauty and wellness needs.
In addition, McBride said, they were fortunate find Morgan Curry, a “high-level provider.” Curry moved her family to the area from Kentucky, and will help mold the vision.
Passionate about both skin health and self-esteem, Millie Arantes, a licensed esthetician, offers personalized, holistic skincare solutions that rejuvenate and empower. She holds years of experience and advance HydraFacial training. Arantes is dedicated to helping her clients feel confident and radiant in their own skin.
“And then Rebekah Mullin, who’s been here for 25 years, was our first employee,” McBride said. “She signed on before we even started here.”
It was critical to have this team develop the The Bluffs brand together, McBride said.
Adjacent spa rooms are perfect for couples massages.
Rather than simply share space, the practitioners pool their deep knowledge and resources to blend the benefits of their two philosophies together. On the medical side of things, clients can receive IV therapy, weight loss treatments, body contouring, injectables, laser treatments, metabolic wellness, or hormone therapy. Then, without missing a beat, they can go down the hall for spa treatments, massage therapy, facials or peels.
Everyone gets the same care from the range of amazing professionals who have all come together with the customer experience in mind.
As lead aesthetics injector and clinical manager, Curry came to the practice after more than a decade in nursing, the past eight in the aesthetics industry. As one of just seven CANS-certified injectors in the state, she brings a wealth of experience and a medical background that perfectly suits her in her new role at The Bluffs.
“In my higher volume practice in Lexington, we were strictly medical aesthetics,” Curry said. “There wasn’t even an aesthetician. So the fact that we blend so much together here, with our day spa offerings, functional medicine, and advanced medical aesthetics at this level, just hasn’t been done anywhere around here.”
Mullin brings over 25 years of experience at her role at The Bluffs Med Spa. She has completed specialized training in laser technology and has held the position as a laser trainer, consultant, and med spa manager. As a master aesthetician and laser specialist, Mullin has followed the evolution of the aesthetics industry. “Laser technology now offers so much less downtime with optimal results than laser aesthetic treatments of the past,” Mullin said. She says she enjoys transforming someone’s skin “because it is something you wear every day.”
Bringing two disciplines into one location is about more than the convenience of one-stop-shopping for health and beauty.
The relaxation room at The Bluffs Med Spa is elegant and calming.
“What’s been very interesting is putting these specialties together and watching everyone learn and grow from each other,” McBride said. “I believe that’s what’s going to set us apart.”
Of course, since the customer experience is the true north star, the only way to prove it is to come and see for yourself. Visit thebluffs.com to see the full suite of offerings from practitioners across two disciplines who have come together to disrupt the model just for you.
