Are you ready for 2007?
I am really excited about the arrival of the new year. I have been doing a lot of planning and writing and am cutting back on my massage practice even further (down to 2 days a week) to be able to focus on peer supervision groups, teleclasses and writing.
Some of the things that I have been doing that have allowed me to do that which I find to be important for any business adventure are:
- Taking the time to plan. Planning is really what will take your business the farthest the fastest. It requires thorough introspection and goal setting and then taking the time to break those things down into concrete action steps. Set up your office or house to create a planning or brainstorming room and set up a specific time where you know you won’t be bothered so you can focus on what needs to be done. I started doing this myself about a year ago and spend my mornings writing and planning while sitting at my kitchen table with a pot of green tea. It took me a year or so to actually get the hang of it and be able to really see what it is that I want to be focusing on and how am I going to do that. Until then I felt like I was just spinning my wheels and just doing whatever came up which is easy to get caught up in because of the internet and the nature of websites.
- Being self employed it is also easy to play in your free time rather than really working to develop and market your business. I am always amazed at the number of errands I seem to have to run. Setting a regular writing and work schedule even though I don’t have actual massage clients was necessary to keep me motivated and working. If you are trying to start a business or build your business you should set aside time each day where all you do is work on doing that. It is time not doing massage or billing or bookkeeping. Spend the time actually doing things - contacting people, writing letters, developing your website and other marketing materials. Spend your time thinking and doing those things that will take your business the farthest the fastest which brings me to the next point
- Doing what is hard. So often we just stick with doing the things that is easy. Writing and making websites for me is easy and very enjoyable but it isn’t really getting me as far as I would like. Doing what is hard is setting up teleclasses and other groups. For a massage therapist building a business doing what is hard may be things like marketing which is really just telling people what you do and when and how you do it. Each week if you do something that is hard which really just means that it is out of your comfort zone, pretty soon you will be ready for something that really takes you far - that big opportunity will come to you when you are ready.
- Take the time to educate yourself. I read each morning about business concepts and internet marketing ideas. I am constantly reading about how to improve my writing, my websites and myself. You can visit the amazon.com bookstore to get an idea of some of the things I am reading or have read. The other place I visit is the Sitebuildit! reference center that is full of free ebooks on writing for the web and basically everything you need to know to build a successful business using a website whether it is for your massage business or some other business you are wanting to start.
- Find a support group or start a support group. I participate regularly in peer supervision meeting once every three weeks with a few friends of mine to talk about our practices and issues we are faced with. I also participate in regular teleclasses with my coach and I have a coaching partner that I talk with weekly. The more support and feedback I get the more I can see how it is building my self confidence to do those hard things and it is helping me to become more aware that I have some dreams and I can make them happen. Participating with others has really taken me farther than any of the other things because I am able to learn and grow from my interactions. I am going to be offering peer supervision group facilitation and an inner circle coaching group starting in Jan 07. I don’t have all of the details worked out but you can find out more on the website www.massagepracticebuilder.com
Hope your 2007 is the best yet!
December 27th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
Hey Julie:
I have read so many things about massage therapists leaving the business to show other therapists how to operate a successful biz. In fact I wrote one person and asked her if I could contact a couple of her clients to see if what she was advertising was true. Her response to me was ” she did not think that her clients would like her giving out private information”.
My thought to myself was that well if I had a potential client that wanted more information about me and my practice I would make the effort to get permission to call the clients and get thier permission. I don’t know just seems basic to me
I wish you all the best in your new endeavors. It seems like you are the real deal . Just wondering what your doing with all your clients? I wrote you once and you said you had a two week waiting period.? That seem like a lot to give up.
Wishing you health, happiness and much success in 2007 Paul
December 27th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
My office is currently in downtown Seattle and that is about 40 minutes away from home. I may start something closer to home or work for someone temporarily.
I won’t be just giving it up. I will be selling my clients to someone and subleasing my office space.
I also have been doing this for 17 years which is taking it’s toll on my body.
My focus will be on the peer supervison as that is what I really feel has made me a success.
thanks
Julie
December 27th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
Julie:
Thanks for the reply You seem to have a pretty good practice, why not bring someone in who can mentor under you. This way you could keep your practice going and still expand your own horizons.
It is tough for me as someone who was in a career and decided to pursue another in the bodywork field and seeing talented well thought out people like yourself wanting out. I am sure that if I could work in the field for the next 17 years I would be happy. I left on career that I was in for about that time to pursue this.
I hope you will continue to blog for all us newbies. I have a year under my belt. I am still nervous but I look at it as an opportunity to blaze my own path. I am going to give it all I got. Thanks Paul
December 28th, 2006 at 8:32 am
I have tried that over the years and have had a few people in the office but what I have found is that the massage therapists don’t have the courage to stay with it and they don’t really want to do any marketing for themselves. They just think that people will come when they open an office.
Massage has changed alot from when I first started too. It was more of an art form and it did not focus on techniques. It saddens me to see this fading and more and more medical massage crap and education being required and people are falling for it out of fear.
I sometimes think that if I had known it was going to be like it has been for me that I would have chosen another field because no one told me how hard it would be etc. I think that’s why I do write so others can know that it can be done but you have to work harder than most other jobs or professions.
I am cutting back on my practice so I can write more.
Thanks
Julie