We’re looking forward to introducing you to Danielle Gronich. Check out our conversation below.
Danielle, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day is waking to the sunlight around 7 am (I try to avoid alarms whenever possible but if I need to get up by a specific time I set a music alarm to Frank Sinatra or Billy Joel 🙂
I wake up, brush my teeth, hug my amazing boyfriend, do the “Five Minute Journal” (highly recommend!), get a celery juice w/ parsley, and make a matcha with clean vanilla protein powder & electrolytes.
Then I go outside for an enthusiastic greeting from my two puppies and get ready for a workout. If it’s a non-workout morning I’ll spend an hour reading (I generally have around 4 books at any given time, ranging from fantasy smut to spy thrillers to biology themes. A girl’s gotta keep it interesting.
I start meetings with my team around 9:30, taking calls walking whenever possible. Meetings for a CEO who also oversees product innovation range from team-building to financial analysis to lab/chemist correspondence to product naming. I am grateful I get to have a wide rage of functions and a killer team to handle CLEARSTEM’s explosive growth!
At night I’m either with my boyfriend or having some family or friend time. I try to have at least 2 friend dates a week or host a girls night once a month because friends are the source of so much joy & health.
Before bed we usually re-watch something funny like Silicon Valley or Veep, then fall asleep around 10. I try to do the evening portion of the Five Minute Journal to seal in the day with gratitude and let my mind know that it’s time for deep rest. Then I have dreams about the books I’m reading 🙂
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I own San Diego Acne Clinic and am co-founder of CLEARSTEM Skincare, and am affectionately known as The Acne Guru. I have extremely acne-prone skin and did Accutane 3 times, spend decades on medications, and nothing worked so I transitioned into a career an acne specialist esthetician about 11 years ago and am obsessed with solving people’s acne puzzles while pampering them and making them feel seen.
San Diego Acne Clinic is my first love and I have a very talented team there that works with me to care for our clients. We go over their diet, vitamins, skincare routines, and habits that are affecting their skin. The level of depth we go to is the highest possible, going over every single factor that could be impacting them. People see results incredibly fast and if there’s something off internally we have an outside functional lab wing of CLEARSTEM to refer them to.
At CLEARSTEM we just did a major brand refresh to update a few formulas (we love to innovate) and we also increased the size of our serums for free so people can treat their face, neck, and chest. We are always one with our customer and crafting formulas to get them the best possible results in the least amount of time!
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that I needed to let die was the “lone wolf”. I grew up very independent and always felt that those in authority hadn’t really earned it, so I took to making my world out how I thought it should be. This meant not relying on anyone an having full autonomy and freedom. Then I started to scale CLEARSTEM. Me and my co-founder created something so special that both of our minds contributed to, and wen we started attracting incredible people to work with us I realized that 1 + 1 can equal 5. Letting go of certain control elements was very difficult at first but now I’m at this lovely place where I can celebrate my teammate’s talents and fully appreciate that I cannot (and should not) do everything myself. It’s beautiful and far less lonely!
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering can be the biggest teacher, because pain is one of the strongest motivators. Suffering in my own happiness taught me to really analyze the role I was playing in all situations. Anything we don’t like, we are about 80% responsible for. Perception, gratitude, self-work, and communication are absolutely crucial to all types of success and when one of those if off, the result is suffering. Now when I am unhappy about something, or even mildly disappointed, I get back to those basics.
A fun tip that I share anytime I can is asking yourself “How do I always get what I want?”. The mind ruminates on questions so asking this little question any time anything goes your way (whether it’s a perfect cup of coffee or a funny meme or getting a good parking spot) will train your psychology to celebrate & create more of life’s daily joys. I only learned this trick after coming out of a deep depression and it was the biggest gift that turned out to bring a ton of lasting & recurring joy.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They’d say being the best is very important to me. They’d be right. I do have the classic founder’s curse of perfectionism but that’s just part of my DNA so I use it to my advantage.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
They would miss my authenticity for sure. I speak very candidly & clearly to people about any topic at hand, and a lot of women do not have that in their relationships so it’s a breath of fresh air for many. Saying what we mean is its own adventure.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sdacneclinic.com
- Instagram: @danielle.the.acne.guru
- Linkedin: Danielle Gronich
- Yelp: San Diego Acne Clinc
- Youtube: CLEARSTEM Skincare
