Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/812910
C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 25 Plan ahead for expenses like taxes, state licensing renewal, association membership renewal, equipment purchases, CE classes, etc., by setting aside the appropriate amount of money each month. Nothing causes a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach faster than getting an invoice for an expense you haven't planned for. Act Make the changes that are best for your practice one by one. Need inspiration? Calculate how much you'll save each month (and year) by doing a little legwork now. Tip: keep your receipts! It helps reduce panic at tax time and allows you to maximize your business expenses, which reduces your taxable income amount. MARKETING Track Write down everything you've done to market your practice in (at least) the last three months. Include all your efforts—big to small—like giving massage at events, speaking to groups, creating a website, handing out business cards, maintaining social media accounts, promoting gift certificates, offering a referral program with incentives, etc. Look at the longer- range picture, too, and include your most successful efforts from your practice's past. Plan Since marketing your business isn't a magical once-and-done proposition, you're going to be in the marketing planning phase pretty consistently if you're trying to grow your practice. Use the data from the tracking phase to evaluate what's working and what's not. Are you still doing the strategies that led to the largest number of new clients in the past? Is so, do they need revamping? If not, is it time to bring them back? Look around at what other businesses— not just massage and bodywork businesses— are doing. Would a monthly membership plan work for your clients and you? Explore it! Is it time for you to get out into your community and provide massage at local events? Start planning! With marketing, it's important to maintain and improve what's working, let go of what's not working, and regularly try new things. Act Marketing efforts can all too easily get pushed to the side while you're maintaining a busy life and practice. Be proactive by creating a marketing calendar and planning a variety of marketing strategies each month. Partnering with a fellow therapist or complementary business helps you streamline your efforts, double your impact, and increase your marketing fun factor (yes, it's a thing). The bottom line is you need to determine which marketing efforts are the most successful for your unique business and then plan and schedule ways to implement and maintain them. Don't stop there! Let the track-plan-act fever take hold and do this same process for other areas of your business like your physical space, skills (is it time for some continuing education?), and more! Les Sweeney, BCTMB, is ABMP's president. Contact him at les@abmp.com and read his occasional blog posts on www.abmp.com. Kristin Coverly, kristin@abmp.com, is the manager of professional education at ABMP and creates resources and teaches workshops for therapists across the country. Both are massage therapists with business degrees who care about you and your practice. BUSINESS SIDE The bottom line is you need to determine which marketing efforts are the most successful for your unique business and then plan and schedule ways to implement and maintain them.