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best practices BUSINESS SIDE 22 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6 for yourself, like take up a new hobby or activity, such as rock climbing or conquering a triathlon. By doing so, you'll likely start hanging out with new, inspiring people— people who might end up being your clients! FEBRUARY CHANGE YOUR SCENERY Kristin Coverly: One of the easiest ways to shake things up in your practice (and life) is to change your surroundings. With daylight hours depressingly short, and therapists in a good portion of the country already several months into the cold gray winter, February is the perfect time to clean your massage room, move things around, swap out some colors, and bring fresh energy into your space. Take a good look around. Have you been adding things to your room bit-by- bit and now it needs a purge? Maybe your room needs a little rearranging: move the furniture, change your picture placement to create a collage or accent wall, or swap out the rug with one from your house. Sometimes something as simple as a blanket in a new color or texture feels like a wonderful change. If it's time to add something new or put a different color on the wall, plan your purchase to take advantage of the Presidents' Day sales. Pop on to Pinterest for low-cost inspiration, and challenge yourself to a small design project. Don't think that out of sight means out of mind! Give your storage closet and office work space a lookover and cleanout, too. A Month-by-Month List to Boost Your Business! By Les Sweeney, BCTMB, and Kristin Coverly, LMT Ready to take your practice to a new level? This handy guide covers everything from becoming a numbers nerd to embracing the crazy. Use it as a monthly resource throughout 2016 to break out of your rut and try something new. JANUARY START A NEW ROUTINE Les Sweeney: Whether you've been in practice for 10 months or 10 years, the last thing in life you want to be is boring, right? To avoid ending up in a rut, don't be afraid to juggle your schedule. Do you understand enough about your practice to know which days are less profitable than others? If you do, consider changing up the routine to see if you can stimulate some new business. Make your hours 3:00–9:00 instead of 9:00–3:00. Put yourself in a position to serve a new audience—a demographic that may grow your clientele. Do something MARCH SELL SOMETHING LS: A good way to augment your earnings is to increase the amount of revenue each client spends with you. Your options are to raise your rates, increase your frequency of services, or add additional services or products. Many professionals earn multiple streams of income—especially in the spa world. Are there products you use every day that you already talk about with friends or clients? Are they readily available everywhere, or would it be a plus if you offered them? Some therapists aren't interested in selling products— inventory is another new task to take on. But if it's a product you believe in, adding it to your offering might be an easy way for you to add revenue to your sessions. APRIL GET NEW CLIENTS KC: It's spring! Have your marketing strategies been hibernating over the winter? This is the perfect time to wake them up and put renewed effort into growing your practice. Start by giving your marketing plan an overhaul. What's working? What's not? Let go of the strategies that aren't paying off anymore and incorporate new ones. Create a marketing calendar and fill each month with a mix of community events, networking activities, email marketing, referral- relationship building, and social media marketing. Putting consistent energy and attention into your marketing efforts will bring new clients to your practice. MAY KEEP YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS HAPPY KC: Now that your marketing strategies are paying off and your schedule is swimming with new clients, give your current clients some attention. You've worked hard to get those clients; what are you doing to keep