Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/230373
BUSINESS SIDE Make the call. After you gather the information you need, don't be afraid to spell out a plan. The upside of "the buck stops here" is you call the shots. Don't make a decision in a vacuum; bounce your ideas off your trusted friends/advisors. But then make the call. Follow through. No good idea will amount to anything without effort. And it's all on your shoulders. For an individual practitioner, this is most true when working on marketing. Decision-making can be an incredible source of stress. Successful professionals will recognize that after the decision comes opportunity. KC: My recommendation is to tackle the fear of being overwhelmed by scheduling time to run your business just like you schedule time to work with clients. Schedule time every week to tackle the items on your to-do list step by step and your list won't seem so intimidating. Once you get more comfortable with each of your new tasks, you'll see they actually give you the opportunity to create the practice you really want and not one that happens by default. You may even start to enjoy stepping into that manager role from time to time. Being in the driver's seat is a whole lot more empowering than sitting nervously in the back seat waiting to see what happens. LS: Kristin, I like the schedule-your-time approach you mention here. Part of what the sole proprietor therapist needs to do is determine the amount of time available for her practice (both table and nontable time), and schedule it out separately—plugging in those tasks you mention in the allotted nontable time. Back to you, and I'll let you get more specific here. When you teach your workshops, why do you think you hear from therapists that it's difficult to run their businesses? Do they spell out what specific segments are most challenging? KC: It seems like the most stress-inducing aspects of the job are marketing and finances. Big, potentially scary topics for sure, but each can be broken down into smaller steps that make them easier to tackle. Let's talk about some ways to make marketing digestible and fun: • Get clear about who you want to work with and what type of work you want to do. • Most therapists have a limited amount of time and money to spend marketing their practice. Spend that time wisely by actively working to attract the specific groups of clients 30 massage & bodywork january/february 2014 you want to work with—maybe pregnant women, athletes, women in their 50s, people who live within five miles of your office, etc. Take time to figure out who those groups are. • Create a marketing plan for each of these groups. How will you reach them to tell them who you are, what you have to offer, and how your work will benefit them specifically? • Find opportunities to meet these potential clients in person, if you can, and offer hands-on demonstrations of your work on the table or massage chair. • Use benefits-centered language when describing your work. It's much more compelling to tell clients what your work will increase (range of motion, sleep) or decrease (pain, stress, headaches) than to list names of the techniques you use. • Marketing isn't a one-and-done thing; it's an ongoing process and I think this aspect is what derails a lot of therapists. Schedule time to market your practice each week to keep the momentum going. • Write your marketing ideas on a calendar. How many fantastic ideas have you had that you've never followed up on because the rest of your life got busy (as it always does)? Writing them down will help you stay on track and ensure you have a variety of marketing activities scheduled over time. • Once you start looking at marketing in this way—as an opportunity to attract the kinds of clients you really enjoy working with—you'll find it becomes a fun opportunity to create a practice you truly enjoy. LS: I like the saying, "How do you eat a pizza? One bite at a time." It's the same with marketing. It feels foreboding, but when you break it down, it becomes so much more manageable. Same with finances, but we'll save that one for next