Meet Chelsea Thomas: Practice Manager & Patient Care Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chelsea Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I have always been an opportunity taker, or what others may call a risk taker. By paying attention to the things you are naturally drawn to and having the courage to follow them, you are naturally a risk taker. Taking risks have been vital to my life and career. Right out of college at 22 years old I took a risk moving out of state for an internship. When it didn’t pan out like I thought it would I used it as an opportunity to take another risk. I thought about how I always wanted to live in California and there were probably more opportunities there anyway. I used my current situation as motivation and a few months later I was on my way to move across the country to Los Angeles. Fast forward to 2018 and I had been working as a successful Event Production Manager in Los Angeles for several years now for a few different luxury event companies and venues. I had just started with a new company when it hits me. I am not happy. Like, not happy at all. I used to love the excitement of my job, what happened? The odd and excessive hours, the missing every holiday with my friends and family, the constant high stress environment. Suddenly it was all I could focus on. The reality of my realized dream was now failing to meet my expectations of what it should be and I didn’t want to do it anymore. When I asked myself again, what makes me happy? What are some things I am naturally passionate about? My honest answer was working in aesthetics. I now manage an up-and-coming plastic surgery office in Beverly Hills for a fantastically talented surgeon and couldn’t be happier. Changing industries from event planning to healthcare was not easy, it was a big leap and a big risk. But if you have passion and dedication and work hard you can literally achieve anything – making your risk much less risky! I LOVE my new career. The event industry has been suffering for the past year due to the pandemic so it’s crazy to think where I would be today had I not been bold and taken the risk to switch my career and industry. While it can be scary, most people make significant changes a few times through out their life. You can certainly rest assured knowing you are not alone in choosing this much more adventurous path in life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I believe I have gotten to where I am professionally by always striving to avoid stagnation. Stagnation can happen to anyone at any time and can be caused by discontinued learning or a lack of larger goals. Getting into a habit of setting goals, instead of just focusing on daily mundane tasks can help avoid the feeling of stagnation. So can putting in the extra effort to learn more in order to stay competitive in your industry. By always striving to grow and be a better you you will remain on a forward path to success in both your professional life and personal development. You owe it to yourself to be the best that you can be!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely start with breakfast at Bea Bea’s for some of the world’s best pancakes! We’d then go hiking at Griffith park and Griffith observatory to burn off the dozen pancakes we just ate! For lunch it would definitely be Grand Central Market where you can munch on every type of cuisine you can think of from different cultures and dozens of unique vendors. After that we’d then head down to Orange County to Huntington Dog Beach to hang in the sun and if we’re lucky catch a dog or two out on a surf board! In the evening we would head to downtown. Whenever someone comes to visit I love taking them anywhere with a great view, so we’d start with dinner and live music at Perch in Downtown LA. We’d then head down the street to Spire 73 for fancy craft cocktails and the most killer view of Los Angeles you can find. We’d end the night in West Hollywood at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, an iconic piece of comedic history with some of the best stand-up in the city! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The fantastically fabulous Lola Rose. Miss Lola is one of my best friends and an inspiration to many. Her and I met while working in the event industry together and both left the industry together around the same time. Her leaving to pursue other goals was a huge motivational push for me to do the same. Lola Rose is a stand out makeup artist, drag queen, and a creative genius in the SoCal LGBTQ community. She is an eclectic mix of glam, art, and rock, and is never afraid to experiment with her look. Her talent and dedication to her craft never ceases to amaze me so this shoutout is dedicated to her!

Instagram: @chelsea_tmas
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/chelsea-a-thomas