Carla Pierson
Smiley Aesthetics
Dr. Carla Pierson is an accomplished healthcare leader turned entrepreneur whose passion for quality patient care and operational excellence led her to co-found Smiley Aesthetics. Raised in Nashville, Carla was an avid athlete and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Fueled by her drive for leadership and innovation, she subsequently pursued a Master of Science in Nursing Administration, a Master of Business Administration with a healthcare focus, and ultimately, a Doctorate in Nursing Practice.
Before launching Smiley Aesthetics with her identical twin sister, Mary Ford, Carla spent over a decade in nursing leadership and corporate healthcare, most notably at HCA. Her experience spanned critical care nursing, hospital operations, and healthcare business—expertise that now underpins Smiley Aesthetics’ strong foundation. Carla’s commitment to careful, sustainable growth helped the company reach an impressive milestone of one million dollars in revenue in under a year—an achievement she attributes to starting small, methodically identifying gaps, and building a robust, self-supporting model.
Under Carla’s strategic leadership and attention to quality, the company has flourished, creating a culture of excellence, safety, and genuine community in medical aesthetics. Today, she channels her passion for operational efficiency and patient care into helping others feel and look their best, proving that with resilience, adaptability, and integrity, success can follow even the most unexpected detours.
What is a personal piece of advice that you lean on and could pass on to others?
"Stay close to the mission but flexible in the method." At Smiley Aesthetics, we’ve learned that innovation and adaptability are vital when navigating a fast-growing industry. I also personally have learned something unique recently. As business owners, who often suffer from imposter syndrome, we meet someone worth learning from and spend a lot of the time preparing answers that "defend our honor" and end up wasting a lot of time with that person talking instead of listening. Learning to be comfortable enough in your skin to not feel the need to validate yourself to others can open up a whole lot of time to learn.
Best business book you’ve ever read?
Good to Great by Jim Collins – It emphasizes discipline and the importance of having the right people in the right seats, something we’ve applied while scaling our leadership and injector teams.
One misstep you took in your business that you could caution others about?
We grew very, very fast, and while we did a decent job of keeping up, it has created a lot of challenges to catch up to! Taking a breath, making sure your processes and SOPs are in place for each thing before you move on is key.
How do you de-stress after a particularly hard day?
Spending time with boys or doing something tactile—like running—helps ground and reset after a high-pressure day. My family is my safe place and my hula-hoop. Spending time in it is a healing ground
What’s something about you that would surprise everyone reading this?
My Co-Founder and Co-Owner is my identical twin sister, and we are a representation of how it CAN in fact work, and works well to grow a company with a family member. It has not come without challenges and is not for the faint of heart, but finding someone who aligns with you nearly "identically" in a partner is not easy to do. Family can be a good place to find that person if expectations are clear on the front end.
What part of EO are you most looking forward to?
The community of like-minded people who are interested in going beyond the surface, to the 5%. It's about more than business, its about friendship rooted in similar values.
Any exciting plans for the end of 2025?
Preparing to open our 10th location in January/February 2026. A men's health and wellness focused medspa in Sylvan Park on Charlotte! We are thrilled to offer a place where men can come and feel seen and heard in an environment more suited to THEM. We are breathing through the end of the year so our staff and team can enjoy holidays, but it is full steam ahead in 2026.
