True to Form Podcast

Audrey Neff kicks off 2025 with Vanessa Bird, The Aesthetic Consultant®️, bringing a fresh perspective to the table. In this exciting episode, Vanessa shares her journey in medical aesthetics from an extensive background in sales to becoming one of the world’s leading consultants known for transforming practices through ethical sales strategies. She sheds light on some of the most common challenges practitioners face globally through her 15 years of experience working with clinics across the U.S., UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and The Middle East. The discussion revolves around expert insights for aesthetic providers in generating revenue, optimizing patient experiences, improving lead conversion, and successfully launching new treatments and devices. Tune in to hear insightful perspectives, real-world examples, and innovative strategies designed to boost your bottom line and set your practice up for success in 2025 & beyond.

Audrey Neff closes out Season 7 with Dr. Jennifer Levine, award-winning facial plastic surgeon who has been featured in Forbes, Elle, Vogue, WSJ, Bravo, Good Morning America, and many more popular media outlets. The pair dive head first into building a strong personal brand and the importance of finding your authentic voice on social media. Tune in to hear their expert pearls for leveraging Instagram as a powerful driver for your business – including how to perfect before & after photo posts, carving out the time to create content, building an education-first strategy, combating influencer misinformation, and the crucial importance of always staying “true to form."

Audrey Neff and Dr. Gretchen Frieling return for an enlightening part-two discussion on True to Form. The conversation picks up where the last episode left off, as Dr. Frieling unpacks her unconventional approach of training injectors, offering insights into her unique hiring practices that prioritize personality, ethical standards, and leadership opportunities beyond injecting. Tune in to also hear expert insights on scaling to multiple locations, practical strategies for improving patient experiences, consultation techniques, launching a private-label skincare line, and more, all while navigating the evolving landscape of medical aesthetics.

Audrey Neff speaks with Dr. Gretchen Frieling (“Dr. G”), an internationally recognized, Harvard-trained, triple board-certified Dermatopathologist, and the founder and owner of GFaceMD, a multimillion dollar medical aesthetic practice. Tune into this insightful conversation as Audrey and Dr. G discuss perseverance, the power of creative entrepreneurship, leveraging social media, fostering team empowerment, and the art of balancing personal ambition with professional growth.

Audrey Neff speaks with Coverwell CEO, Patrick Tighe, and CMO, Kandis Hughes, to discuss maintaining integrity and ensuring patient safety in the medical aesthetics industry. Throughout the episode, the three delve into the prevalence and nature of adverse events within the elective medical field, highlighting the often unforeseen complications and the gap in patient care that needs addressing. This candid discussion underscores the significance of setting patient expectations, informed consent, proper education, thorough screening processes, and the essential defensive measures practices should adopt—emphasizing the role of businesses like Coverwell in providing a safety net for both practitioners and patients. 

Audrey Neff sits down with Olivia Salmen, advanced aesthetic nurse injector, international trainer, and “Best Injector of Nashville” by Nashville Scene. From excelling at the consultation, navigating patient objections, improving your before & after photo process, public speaking, and more, this episode unpacks it all when it comes to mastering the art of selling yourself…whether it's in the audience of patients or peers. With 135K followers on Instagram and 187K on TikTok, Olivia also breaks down her insights to social media success, including lessons learned along the way and expert tips for building your brand online. Having both broken into the medical aesthetics field at the ages of 22, Audrey and Olivia dive into their personal experiences over the last nine years around building credibility and trust as some of the industry’s younger speakers/trainers, plus share their advice to fellow ambitious aesthetic professionals. Don’t miss out on this insightful conversation, packed with practical advice, industry secrets, and forward-looking trends.

Audrey Neff welcomes back Dr. Sheila Barbarino for a dynamic part two episode to continue their riveting conversation around building an influential brand in aesthetic medicine, including their personal advice around being a forever student & always having a collaborative mindset. The pair also dive into their valuable insights into our rapidly evolving industry, from private equity roll-ups to trends and future predictions. As a renowned cosmetic surgeon with over 15K followers on Instagram, Dr. Barbarino also shares her unique strategy behind building a strong social media presence, giving listeners a peek into her humorous and authentic approach to content creation. 

In this exclusive two-part episode, Audrey Neff hosts Dr. Sheila Barbarino, global speaker & world-renowned plastic surgeon, for an insightful episode detailing her impressive career in aesthetics and her biggest tips & challenges of managing and scaling a two-location practice. Key discussion topics include building a strong team culture, determining your unique approach to patient care, navigating industry changes, becoming a key opinion leader (KOL), and the unparalleled power of networking. Stay tuned for part two of this episode, where Dr. Sheila Barbarino and Audrey Neff continue their riveting conversation on the evolving landscape of the aesthetics industry, social media strategies, and more.

In this special release of True to Form, host Audrey Neff chats with industry veteran, Francis X. Acunzo, President of Princeton Medspa Partners and CEO of Acara Partners, who returns for his third appearance on the show. Known for his significant contributions to the medical aesthetics industry, Fran shares a profoundly personal story, detailing his recent health challenges, including a brain tumor surgery that led to temporary facial and vocal cord paralysis. Audrey and Fran reflect on their respective medical journeys, emphasizing the critical importance of being proactive, the power of positivity, and controlling mindset in overcoming life’s severe obstacles. Fran's narrative is not just one of resilience but also of forward momentum, as he also transitions into an exciting business update for the continued growth of Acara Partners and Princeton Medspa Partners, which just completed a successful funding round of $120 million aimed at their acquisition and expansion strategy. The episode is a testament to the blend of personal strength and professional prowess, making it a must-listen for anyone in the medical aesthetics field.  

In this week’s episode, host Audrey Neff welcomes David Light, COO, and Autumn Piccolo, Co-Founder, of the American IV Association (AIVA) to discuss the current and future state of IV therapy in elective medicine. David and Autumn bring their wealth of experience in healthcare and business to the table, providing invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities that exist when adding IV therapy into an existing business model and/or starting and growing your own IV therapy practice. Tune in to hear the most common misconceptions about starting an IV therapy business, emphasizing the nationwide regulatory and compliance intricacies. David and Autumn highlight the pivotal role AIVA plays in creating one voice for the industry – offering crucial support and resources from business guidance, vendor selection, certification processes and more. The three also share their excitement about the upcoming VIBE Conference to be held in Boston, MA on September 8-9, which will provide cutting-edge clinical and business education for medical providers and practice owners in all stages of business in the rapidly growing world of IV therapy.