016: Turning a Creative Spark Into a Retail Brand | Karyss Bollen

Tiffany sits down with longtime friend Kelly Richardson, a licensed psychotherapist who has spent nearly three decades working with teenagers, young adults, and families. Kelly has watched the challenges facing teenagers change dramatically over the years. Today, many of the young people sitting in her office are not troubled kids. They are high-achieving students carrying enormous pressure to get perfect grades, build the right resume, get into the right college, and somehow keep up socially at the same time. Tiffany and Kelly talk about what parents can do differently. That includes allowing kids to fail, teaching them how to struggle, setting healthier boundaries with social media, and recognizing that success does not have to mean being the best at everything. Kelly also explains what anxiety and depression can actually look like in teenagers, why irritability and withdrawal can matter more than obvious sadness, and what she tells parents who know something feels off but cannot get their teenager to open up. They also get into how to introduce therapy without making a child feel like something is wrong with them. From parenting mistakes and academic pressure to social media, resilience, therapy, and learning when "good enough" really is enough, Kelly offers the kind of perspective that comes from years of sitting with teenagers and listening to what they actually need.  LEARN MORE ABOUT KELLY RICHARDSON: https://www.instagram.com/kellyrichardsonnnn/ https://www.facebook.com/kelly.richardson.1291421/ https://thera-mom.com/about/ https://kellyrichardsonmft.com/   FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/qZrhhB9DPPw   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Tiffany sits down with longtime friend Carlos Campos, former co-host of Sacramento's Monica and Carlos morning show, to look back at the career, family, and life experiences that shaped him. Carlos shares how he started in radio as a teenager, eventually worked his way into a successful morning show, and later made the difficult decision to leave the industry for a more stable career as his family grew. Family has always carried extra meaning for Carlos. His father leaving when he was young sent him into a period of self-destruction, and building a family of his own later became a major source of purpose. He also shares the loss of his first daughter, Madison, and the divorce that ended his 15-year marriage and completely changed the future he thought he had planned. Carlos eventually remarried and became part of a blended family with eight children. He and Tiffany talk honestly about different parenting styles, step-parenting, discipline, custody, maintaining relationships with children as they grow, and why there is no perfect formula for combining two families.   FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/tZJI_1sIXSs   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Tiffany sits down with one of her oldest friends, Sharon Benton, co-owner of Santa's Enchanted Workshop, for a story that moves from Christmas magic and entrepreneurship into motherhood, trauma, faith, and the kind of resilience that changes a family forever. Sharon shares how she and her husband Scott turned decades of photography experience into something far more immersive than a traditional Santa visit. Children receive invitations, enter through an elf-sized door, wake Santa with bells, and step into a carefully built world designed to feel gentle, personal, and completely real. For Sharon, the goal has never been just a beautiful photograph. It is creating a childhood memory a family can carry for years.  Then Tiffany and Sharon turn toward the experience that reshaped Sharon's life. Just days after turning 18, her son Kyle suffered a severe traumatic brain injury after falling from his longboard without a helmet. Sharon recounts the phone call, the ICU, the uncertainty, the surgery, and the long recovery that followed. Five years later, Kyle is married and building a life while continuing to navigate the lasting effects of his injury. Sharon also shares why she continues speaking about helmet safety, what caregiving taught her about faith and endurance, and why surviving something difficult can become an opportunity to help someone else. Along the way, she reflects on taking better care of herself, growing into a new season of life, and turning what she has learned through Santa's Enchanted Workshop into something she can teach to others. LEARN MORE ABOUT SHARON BENTON: https://www.instagram.com/santasenchantedworkshop/   https://www.santasenchantedworkshop.com/   FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ASiQ88H93dA   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Tiffany sits down with Giovanni Antonello for a raw and deeply honest conversation about military service, addiction, shame, recovery, marriage, and the long road back to himself. Giovanni shares how joining the Army at 18 took him from Hawaii to Iraq, where purpose, brotherhood, adrenaline, and trauma became tangled together. After coming home, alcohol became a way to quiet what he had not yet processed. What started as coping eventually led to broken trust, divorce, DUIs, depression, and the painful realization that he had to choose a different life. At the heart of Gio's story is redemption. Sobriety did not fix everything overnight, but it helped him become present again for himself, his wife, and his kids. He opens up about rebuilding his marriage, learning how to stop lying, forgiving himself slowly, becoming the kind of father who shows up, and believing that people really can change. FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/_7qmJcqbzZU   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Tiffany continues her conversation with John Wheeler, CEO of Alpha Aesthetics Partners, in part two of their interview. After part one explored John's path into Esthetic Center, this second half moves deeper into private equity, pressure, leadership, endurance, family, and the cost of building something at scale. John shares what changed when Esthetic Center became part of Alpha and why private equity brought both new opportunity and new responsibility. He explains what it means to steward other people's money, lead with accountability, and build a company that supports providers, partners, patients, and employees across the country. Tiffany and John also reflect on burnout, doing hard things, the value of not quitting, and why the "man in the arena" quote has shaped the way John sees leadership and life. From ultra running and cold plunging to karaoke, family, marriage, and fatherhood, John opens up about the disciplines and relationships that keep him grounded while carrying the weight of a growing company. LEARN MORE ABOUT JOHN WHEELER: https://www.instagram.com/johnwheeler.alpha/ FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ASiQ88H93dA   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Tiffany sits down with John Wheeler, CEO of Alpha Aesthetics Partners, for a personal look at leadership, culture, hiring, growth, and the early story behind Esthetic Center. This is Part One of their conversation, with Part Two continuing the story. John shares how his path moved from pastor and wedding DJ to the med spa industry, starting with a marketing project for Dr. Rice that eventually became a much bigger role. He opens up about learning the industry from scratch, writing website content by hand, studying treatments, and stepping into leadership before he felt fully qualified. Tiffany and John also revisit the story of how she was hired, the intentional interview process that shaped Esthetic Center's culture, and why hiring is one of the few things a company can truly control. John talks about building culture, listening to the people closest to the clinic, learning from hiring mistakes, and choosing people who fit the team, not just the resume. The conversation also moves into the early pressure of building Esthetic Center, the financial strain, provider turnover, creative marketing, influencers, and the shift toward Alpha. At the center of it all is the reminder that strong culture does not happen by accident. It is built through intention, sacrifice, trust, and people who are willing to row in the same direction. Part Two picks up from here and goes deeper into John's leadership journey, growth, and what came next for Alpha. LEARN MORE ABOUT JOHN WHEELER: https://www.instagram.com/johnwheeler.alpha/ FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/GQbVoXrUx4I   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Tiffany sits down with Rachel Coons, money coach, mom of four, fitness instructor, and host of The Money Mom Podcast, for an honest conversation about marriage, nervous system work, money wounds, motherhood, and learning how to feel safe with money. Rachel shares the season that brought her marriage to rock bottom, the moment that shifted everything, and the work she and her husband did to rebuild their relationship. Instead of vague advice about "doing the work," she talks about the practical changes that helped them understand each other, regulate their nervous systems, and communicate with more compassion. The conversation also gets into Rachel's childhood money story, growing up in a large family with limited resources, moving into a wealthy community, and realizing later that having more money did not automatically create peace. At the heart of her work is helping women look beyond budgets and numbers to understand the beliefs, emotions, and patterns shaping how they spend, save, and feel about money. LEARN MORE ABOUT RACHEL COONS: https://www.instagram.com/heyrachelcoons/   https://www.youtube.com/@Heyrachelcoons   https://www.facebook.com/heyrachelcoons/   https://www.heyrachelcoons.com/moneyfbad   WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE:   https://youtu.be/tAKyk0hioA4   FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast    LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/  

Tiffany opens her first solo episode with a topic close to her heart: family, parenting, traditions, and the small choices that helped her children become close as adults. After years of people asking what she and her husband did to build such a connected family, Tiffany shares reflections from her four children and the memories that mattered most to them. From yearly Carmel trips and Sunday dinners to high-low-silly around the table, backyard camping, swim meets, holidays, Valentine's Day traditions, and road trips, the common thread is not perfection. It is consistency, effort, and making each child feel loved and cherished. This is a vulnerable look at parenting, family culture, sibling loyalty, doing hard things, and the little traditions that become lifelong memories.    FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast    LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/  

Some dreams start long before they make sense to anyone else. Tiffany sits down with Karyss Bolin, founder of My Trendy Trailer, to talk about the quiet beginning behind a business that now feels like part of the Folsom community. Before there was a trailer, there was a farmers market booth, handmade jewelry, and a woman trying to prove to herself that she was creative. Karyss opens up about motherhood, self-doubt, confidence, cash flow, theft, family, leadership, and the moments when building something beautiful still feels heavy. Her story is honest about the cost of growth, but also about the gift of creating a place where women can walk in and feel seen. For Karyss, beauty is not about becoming someone else. It is confidence, the kind that lets people feel more like themselves. LEARN MORE ABOUT KARYSS BOLLEN: https://www.instagram.com/karysslikeparis/   https://www.instagram.com/mttcollective   https://www.facebook.com/karyss.bollen/   https://www.mttcollective.com/   FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast    WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ASiQ88H93dA   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/

Alec Nethercott has spent his life building things, from a childhood cookie business and a teenage gutter-cleaning crew to a company that grew from a handful of people to more than 500 employees. That growth did not come from chasing quick wins. Alec believes in playing long-term games with long-term people, creating a culture others want to join, and leading with kindness, respect, and consistency. He also shares the story of the accident that broke 15 ribs, collapsed a lung, and forced him into a year-long recovery. The experience challenged his identity, slowed down a relentlessly driven life, and gave him a deeper understanding of pain, discouragement, and empathy. Alec and Tiffany also talk about fatherhood, raising four daughters, redefining beauty, protecting the quality of your inputs, and choosing your attitude when life does not go according to plan. "The quality of your life equals the quality of your relationships." LEARN MORE ABOUT ALEC NETHERCOTT:    https://www.instagram.com/alecnethercott/?hl=en   https://www.instagram.com/thestormventuresgroup/?hl=en   https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-nethercott-8bb49427/   https://www.svgcommunity.com/     FOLLOW TIFFANY:  https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyellison https://www.tiktok.com/@deartiffanypodcast    WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/bQfi9ZLGpuI   LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE ALPHA COMMUNITY: https://www.partnerwithalpha.com/ FOLLOW ALPHA AESTHETICS PARTNERS: https://www.instagram.com/partnerwithalpha/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-aesthetics-partners/