When was the last time you took a step back and really analysed what is working well and what could be working better in your business?
At Abundant Private Practices I strive to help natural therapists think and act like True Business Owners (TBOs :-). This is absolutely CRITICAL if you want your practice to become a sustainable, thriving business!
A key component of being a TBO is spending time 'working on the business' vs. 'working in the business.' (To learn more about the importance of working on vs. in the business, I highly recommend 'The E-Myth Revisited,' by Michael Gerber.)
Put simply, working ON the business involves activities like strategic planning, creating new products and services, automating your systems and measuring results. Working IN the business is doing the actual work like massage, sticking in needles, doing balances, marketing, administration, etc.
Many small business owners are so busy doing the work that they don't take the necessary time to strategise, plan and innovate. This is a challenge because you will never get off the treadmill. You will always be a slave to your business and unable to grow past your personal capacity.
For working on the business I like using the MISSION, VISION, STRATEGY model. This powerful discovery process is described below, and when implemented, can result in some exciting changes in a business.
For me, the result was deciding to create a low priced group coaching program called the M.O.S.H. Pit for therapists who want to be motivated, organised, successful and happy. I used to just have my high end VIP coaching packages which cost $450 per month but that is hard for someone starting out to afford so they weren’t working with me. I thought about it and figured if I create a limited number of spaces in my M.O.S.H. Pit and charge $139 per month for membership, then I know 30 hours per month are at a slightly lower rate but at least they are working with me and getting results. Eventually they will be ready to go to the high end packages as they step up and play a bigger game. Clearly I've made a major shift in strategy and, while it can sometimes be scary to act on your innovation, the Mission, Vision, Strategy model is a great way to do your 'due diligence' and gain the confidence you need to actually implement a new strategy! You see I want to help as many therapists as possible grow their business and through each and every one of those therapists have potentially millions of people all over the world living in healthy, happy and balanced bodies. I can only do that if I make my services accessible to everyone.
So, if you haven't recently, put on your TBO hat and ask yourself the following questions. I bet you'll find this a worthwhile model that can be very enlightening and powerful!
1. What is your MISSION?
WHY are you in this business? What is your purpose? The answer may seem obvious, be I've found that many therapists aren't very clear about this. TBOs know their mission and use it as a guide when determining short and long term objectives. When you are truly honest with yourself and identify exactly WHY you are in natural therapies, your decisions become a lot easier to make.
For example, at Abundant Private Practices my MISSION is to help as many natural therapists as possible gain the tools, skills and support they need to become TBOs and create sustainable thriving natural therapy businesses.
Ultimately our collective success contributes to the overall viability, sustainability and success of the human race. For every extra person you treat, we come one step closer to having happy, healthy people on the planet, which will ultimately create peace on earth.
2. What is your VISION?
* What do you want your natural therapy business to look like?
* What are the most important components?
* Do you want to build a local practice or have an international client base?
* Are you most excited about working with groups?
* Does the idea of creating viable streams of passive revenue really get you jazzed?
* Is your primary objective to have a book published by a major publishing house?
* Or perhaps you're really a speaker at heart and your vision is to command large speaking fees.
What is the true direction you want your business to go in? When you know this you will make the right strategic decisions and know where to put your energy and attention. And remember, your vision is perfect, as long as you have one, it's what you really want and you are willing to take action to make it a reality.
Just know your VISION will grow as time goes on. If you start out too big it can become too daunting. As you grow your VISION will refine, what is important is that you know why you get out of bed every morning.
In refining my VISION I began by connecting with my MISSION: help as many natural therapists as possible create thriving businesses. Remember, the vision flows from the mission! So using my mission I created a clear vision that helps me create programs for all budgets.
3. What STRATEGIES best support your VISION and MISSION?
The next step is to make sure your strategies (including your product and service offering, pricing and marketing) are in alignment with your mission and vision! For example, if your vision is to generate $2,000/month working one on one with clients, is your strategy to see them in 30, 45, 60 or 90 minute sessions? Also ask, 'WHY?' What are the pros and cons of having 2 x 30 minutes vs. 1 x 60 minute session with a client? Many times the answer is to have both options available at different times of the day.
Or perhaps you have an E-book (electronic book) you have written on your area of speciality (tell me you have one) and are thinking about passive revenue, but your primary vision is to create a thriving group program. In that case your strategy might be to offer your E-book for free in order to gain exposure to a larger number of people, a percentage of who will enrol in your group programs.
Can you see how knowing your MISSION and VISION make it a lot easier to determine the best STRATEGY?
When thinking about possible strategies ask yourself:
* What do I know about the wants and needs of my customers?
* What is the best way to price/structure my offerings in order to achieve my mission and vision?
* Am I more looking to attract more people at a lower price or fewer people at a higher price?
Continuing to use my business as the case study, I asked myself these questions and came up with the following answers:
* My customers want to learn the tools and skills they need in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
* By slightly changing the structure (no longer including lots of individualised attention and instead offering 1-1 coaching as a separate option) and significantly reducing price by seeing clients in a group I am able to better achieve my mission and vision.
* A big part of my mission is to help as many natural therapists as possible, so I am looking to serve more natural therapists at a lower price AND have individual coaching available for those that are really serious about taking their business all the way, therefore can afford a little bit more.
Working on the business is FUN! And the more you do it, the more likely you are to build a sustainable, thriving business. Successful businesses, by their very nature, are organic. If they aren't growing and evolving, they will eventually shrivel up and die.
Not right away of course, but they will in time. Don't let this happen to you! Carve out the necessary time and work on your business. Connect with your mission and vision and the rest will follow.
-oOo-
Margaret Gill of Abundant Private Practices is a business coach and mentor to health and wellbeing practitioners. Her Full Practice Building System has helped many passionate natural therapists get more clients, help more people and grow the natural therapy practice they deserve and desire.
