Talking to… JESSICA MEE

The medispa owner tells Eve Oxberry how she manages her time to excel in social media as well as treatments, and why allowing a team to specialise is the key to client satisfaction

When Jessica Mee opened JM MediSpa in Blyth, she wasn’t dreaming of an aesthetic empire; she wanted to build a space where clients, many of whom felt intimidated by traditional salon culture, could feel welcome. “There’s a stigma around beauty salons and aesthetic clinics,” says Mee. “So many people will stop me and say, ‘I really want to come to your place but I’m quite nervous.’ I think part of it is around the way therapists present themselves in the aesthetics sector; it can be intimidating.”

After two decades in the beauty industry, Mee’s mission is to combine clinical treatments with spa-like warmth. “My purpose is to make sure that anybody visiting us feels comfortable, at ease and safe,” she says. “That’s really all I’ve ever wanted to create.”

Mee’s journey into beauty therapy began with Cibtac and Cidesco certification from Oxford International College of Beauty, which, being internationally recognised qualifications, fuelled her dream to travel and led to her working in spas in the UK, aboard cruise ships in the US, and eventually managing a spa in Italy.

Returning home, she slowly built a business from scratch – from mobile therapy to a salon in her mum’s garage, to a three-room outbuilding at her own home. “We were fully booked for weeks on end, so one day I just thought, ‘I feel I can create something on a much bigger scale’,” she says.

That vision became JM Medispa but just as she was getting started, Mee faced an enormous setback. “Covid hit two months after we took the building on, so this grand dream and massive investment all got put on hold,” she says. “The business did struggle for a couple of years coming out of Covid but I can safely say in the last three years we are really thriving.”

Building a team

Behind the scenes at JM MediSpa, there’s a strong, culture-driven team environment that’s become central to its success. Mee credits this to leading with empathy and understanding each therapist as an individual.

“It’s really important to know your team,” she says. “Not everybody is good at everything so I’ve made sure I’ve got them specialising in the treatments they love so they enjoy coming to work and their clients love the treatment.”

This management style was developed from experience on the other side of the equation. “When I was employed, I was sometimes thrown in doing treatments I didn’t feel comfortable with and that’s not good for the client,” Mee recalls. “They probably would have got a better treatment from somebody else had I been heard and been listened to.”

For her team, Mee has also created regular opportunities for reflection and feedback, with one-onone meetings, in-house workshops, and monthly ‘therapist of the month’ rewards. “Every single day, a different one of them will come to me for something, and that’s not necessarily work-related,” she says. “If they’re ever struggling with anything, they’ll ring me and they’ll text me and ask my advice.”

This investment in staff wellbeing has paid off and JM Medispa is now recruiting its seventh team member.

Finding balance

Mee’s leadership style has evolved significantly since working with mindset coach Kay Pennington at her Resilience & Power workshop. “I’ve definitely seen an improvement in myself and how I conduct myself as a manager,” she says. A key takeaway was the “circle of power” exercise where Pennington encourages people to divide out issues they can’t control from those they can. “I really struggled with sleeping...I’m a massive over-thinker,” Mee admits. “Ever since Kay has done that workshop, I sleep like a baby.”

It was also a moment of vulnerability. “I call Kay a little white witch because just with words, she managed to get everybody to open up and see a different side to ourselves.”

Since then, Mee has restructured her diary to prioritise training, mental health team check-ins, and business development. “You have to commit. If you don’t block out that time, the month passes and you never do it,” she says.

Aesthetic direction

While it was holistic treatments and massage that were most popular immediately after Covid, Mee says it’s a shift towards aesthetics that has helped the business grow.

“Although I love my clients and was still loving coming to work every single day, I just felt like I wasn’t being challenged,” she says of her decision to transition to aesthetics. “I found such a passion for these treatments. I’d always treated skin but never on the scale that we treat it now. I think when I took on my laser and my electrolysis device, skin boosters, IPL, that type of thing, is when I found my real niche.”

However, like many clinic owners, Mee is watching the looming changes in aesthetic regulation with concern. “I completely back regulation...but the issue is not knowing what category things will fall under if and when it does come in,” she says. “It puts your business on hold a bit.” This lack of clarity is especially problematic when planning future growth. “It does panic you as a business owner,” she admits. “I’ve got one girl that really wants to progress, but I’m apprehensive to pay to send her on training if therapists are going to be banned from doing treatments like electrolysis further down the line.”

Social media wins

JM MediSpa’s online presence is another area where Mee stands out, having won the Creative Recognition Award (among others) at skincare brand Image Skincare’s UK awards in April, in recognition of an impressive video campaign. While Mee oversees the social media strategy at JM Medispa, she says content creation is a team effort. The team blocks out time for social media mornings once a month, where they brainstorm and bulk film content.

“We’ve all become a lot more confident,” she says. “When we start getting the comments and the likes, it

Her strategy revolves around seasonal content and promotions peppered with trending ideas. “Every time I see an idea, I’ll pop that in my notes on my phone,” she says. “I pick the team’s brains all the time too about trends they’ve seen on TikTok.”

Still, she’s honest about the rollercoaster of engagement. “Sometimes you can get quite disheartened because you spend hours creating a treatment reel and get 800 views, then do a 10-minute funny video and get over 6,000,” she says. “I know it’s not all about the likes but it’s important to get the balance of content right.”

Skincare misuse

While social media has been key to the medispa’s growth, Mee is concerned about how online influencers are fuelling a rise in skincare misuse among children and teens. “Unfortunately, we’re having to try to repair damage,” she says. “And sometimes...it’s irreparable.”

With younger clients using inappropriate products like strong acids or retinoids, the consequences can be serious: “They’re squeezing, they’re scarring...and the pH is off the scale,” says Mee.

She describes treating a 16-year-old with “severe damage to her skin barrier. I mean, rosacea, acne, thread veins, sensitivity, dryness.” Influenced by TikTok, she sees children unknowingly destroying their skin.

“Skin at that age shouldn’t be susceptible to that type of treatment,” she adds. “Confidence then also becomes a massive issue. They’re being bullied at school and all because they wanted the same cream that an influencer or their friend had.” It’s a problem that’s compounded by well-meaning parents. “When I’m asking, ‘Who bought you that product?’ they say, ‘My mum’,” she says. “There should be an element of control. I’m really passionate about educating on this.”

Future plans

While many might expect a successful medispa owner to have expansion in her sights, Mee’s vision is grounded in quality over quantity. “I don’t want a whole chain of salons,” she says. “I just want to concentrate on JM Medispa and make sure we’re best that we can be.” Plans this year include content days with marketing support from Savoir Social and a team trip to Professional Beauty North in Manchester in September.

Asked what advice she’d give to someone starting a salon or clinic in today’s climate, Mee says, “Find your niche. You don’t have to do everything.”

She recalls spending £800 on a course to apply long-wear mascara in her early 20s. “I felt back then if I didn’t train in every new trend I’d lose a client.” Now, she’s far more selective. “I do my research a lot more, and that comes from making those mistakes,” she says.

At its heart, her philosophy is about staying grounded. “I’m so grateful I have managed to find a job I absolutely adore,” she says “In the last 20 years, hand on heart, I have never woken up and thought, ‘I really don’t want to go to work today.”