Planning a quarter… a business essential

Once upon a time I used to think business planning belonged in the corporate world, but over time I realised that continuing to do things as and when I needed to meant I left a lot of things on the table. Undone. Mostly things I didn’t like to do. And it was affecting my practice.

Starting to do some basic business planning was part of the turn around from being a struggling practitioner to having a thriving practice. This is a simple process to follow anytime you want to focus and get results.

Super simple business planning for your practice success!

For the last couple of years, I have been using the Best Self Journal system because it has all the elements that are needed to stay motivated and create meaning and joy along the way.

I highly recommend it as a system, they generously share the full pdf of their diary here and they have heaps of free support available.

If you are a handwriting sort of person you will probably want to buy a hardcopy at https://au.bestself.co – they often have great offers on but if there isn’t you can use our code Cr8! at the checkout for 15% off.

Here is to a successful quarter full of perfect clients! 😉

******** This was written with the intention of helping you to live your best life, if you want to know more about how I can help you Create The Life You Want To Live please get in touch! ********

Compassion, Empathy, Courage – And Marketing

Posted on October 1, 2019 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta Leave a comment

Recently I was listening to a podcast with Paul Gilbert OBE who is the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training. His talk started me thinking about our capacity as practitioners to market ourselves and shed some light on why often the better a practitioner the less effective the marketing!

One thing I have observed over my 22 years in practice any my 11 years helping practitioners create businesses they love is how hard it can be to create marketing that gives results and feels good to do. I know some of this is introvert vs extrovert, understanding the process, having the resources, etc, but it is also much more than this. Sometimes the better a practitioner the less effective their marketing! and by that I mean, the more generalised their content (to help more people) and the less compelling their call to action. Neither of which contribute to effective marketing.

Gilbert has developed a huge body of work around the human capacity for suffering and how wired we are for inner conflict and even cruelty. That sounds intense, but our ability to think is what separates us from our mammalian brothers and sisters.

An animal may do something that appears to be cruel, such as a cat playing with a mouse, however that is their nature. They are not thinking ‘how can I hurt this mouse’. It just what they do. Whereas human beings have the capacity to think about causing pain, make plans to do it and then carry it out. And sadly tend to use it far too often.

So how does this relate to marketing?

Gilbert was talking about three qualities that we each have and how we can cultivate them to live with more purpose and joy. As he dissected his model and shared how certain careers need a greater capacity for one or the other I could see how practitioners often have a particular combination.

I also could see that this combination can easily make effective marketing difficult. Once we understand them we can harness them and use them more effectively as we wear our marketing hat.

the better the practitioner the less effective the marketing!

First, empathy.

Empathy is the quality of being able to feel what others feel. We have transformed this quality into a virtue, however it is not. It is simply the ability to put ourselves in another shoes. Disturbingly Gilbert said that the best torturers are the most empathetic. Creepy but makes sense.

Second, Compassion.

The quality that the torturer is missing is the quality of compassion. Compassion is concern for another, not wanting them to suffer. Gilbert points out that compassion is actually not love as we often perceive it to be. We do not have to love another to be compassionate, we don’t even have to know or like them. We just need to not want them to suffer.

Third, Courage.

The third quality to consider is courage. The courage to do what is needed when it is needed. I think about our Rural Fire Service who we are seeing a great deal at the moment. These people not only have the empathy and compassion to want to help but they also have the courage to take action

As a practitioner you will have all three of these qualities in abundance. It will be in part, why you feel called to do your work. You do not want people to suffer, you want them to enjoy their life.

How can we cultivate these to help our perfect potential clients to see how we can help?

You probably want your marketing to be uplifting so your potential clients will understand that the work you do will help them. You probably do not want them to feel worse about themselves or their life. However this is where your compassion is letting you down! As I say – the better the practitioner the less effective your marketing!

Like it or not we move away from pain much faster than we move towards pleasure. By trying to help them without reminding them of what the problems are they will have no impetus to change. Your message passes them by. Your compassion in your marketing is preventing them from experiencing your compassion in person!

So cultivate more of the quality of courage when you market. You will already be using that with your clients every day, to help them to see what has to change, to hold them accountable, to help them to live a better life.

Draw on that quality, together with your empathetic skills to write materials that your perfect clients can resonate with.

Always remember that your perfect client is looking for the solution you offer because of the pain that they are experiencing right now.

Make sure that is expressed clearly in all your marketing, what you do or how you do it matters less (for reasons that I will talk about next time). Make your marketing speak specifically to your perfect client, help them to see you understand both their pain and their dreams. Help them to see that your solution will get them there faster or easier than something else and those perfect potential clients will hear you.

And don’t forget your call to action! You would be surprised by how often that happens!

If you want help in writing marketing that works, developing strategies that get you more perfect clients and building a sustainable practice doing what you love fast have a look at my free live webinar.

Or just get in touch. 🙂

******** This was written with the intention of helping you to live your best life, if you want to know more about how I can help you Create The Life You Want To Live please get in touch! ********

Introducing Lisa ….

Posted on June 20, 2019 Posted in Case Studies and Success Stories, Create your Business!, Gay Landeta Leave a comment

Meet Lisa, here are the steps she took to create her dream practice.

Click here to make a time to talk about how you can do it too.

Don’t Know Why You Are Not Succeeding?

Posted on February 15, 2019 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta, Hints & Tips for Creating & Goal Setting 2 Comments

I posted this message this week in my Confident Practitioners Formula facebook group, I think looking at how we create our reality and redesigning it is one of the most powerful things we can do, so I thought I would share it here. This process is adapted from Bob Proctors brilliant work.

We all get stuck in our own personal road block hell. The thing is, if you wait for it to clear it will not. Because this is your own personal paradigm – your world view that underlies your operating theories and methodology…

“Paradigms keep people operating at 40 miles an hour even though there is infinite horse power under the hood. We never get up to the speed we are capable of and…if we did, we’d astonish ourselves. When you understand paradigms it will become obvious that high achievers are not successful primarily because of what they know, but rather because of what they do. Their paradigms, one way or another, have been aligned with the results they desired. It’s their paradigms that are producing the results. When you focus on the paradigm, helping you to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, everything will start to change. – Bob Proctor “

You want to tap into your unlimited potential. Build that business of your dreams. But it ain’t happening. You try a whole bunch of different things. But nothing is happening. You don’t know why things aren’t changing.

The truth is nothing will change till you change it. And while you may have worked on it a million ways the only way to actually break it is to take action. No magic bullet here. You have to have a dream. And you have to take action.

**Here is a process that will work if you do it and take action.**

Instead of saying I don’t know why I don’t do xyz. (what ever it is – thoughts, non action, over busy, doesn’t matter) write down exactly what happens. Here is a typical example :

“I say I will work on my business, I block off the time and then when I go to do it I start feeling anxious about the washing waiting to be done and the emails piling up so I go and do the laundry, and start on the emails, next thing I know I am on facebook looking at funny goat videos and I have to go to work and then I get mad at myself for not doing what I said I would do. I start thinking about how little there is in the bank account, how I don’t have any clients and then feel like everyone else in the world has what they want and I have been ripped off. Then I get really down and really don’t want to do anything at all. I hate my life.”

The important thing here is to be honest and write everything down – no one sees this but you….

Then highlight all the negatives, break each down individually and choose an action that you can do differently.

I start feeling anxious about the washing waiting to be done INSTEAD I put time in my diary to do it after or I realise I can leave it till tomorrow .
and the emails piling up INSTEAD I block off a time every day to do emails and that is all I can do.
so I go and do the laundry, INSTEAD I wait till I scheduled it.
and start on the emails, INSTEAD I wait till I scheduled it.
I am on facebook looking at funny goat videos INSTEAD if I want to look at goat videos (they do distract me and make me laugh which is great) I use it as a reward after I have done 40 minutes of work. I put on the timer for 15 minutes so I don’t get caught up because they are so cute.
i get mad at myself for not working on my business. INSTEAD I am really happy with myself as I will have done some work.
I start thinking about how little there is in the bank account, INSTEAD I realistically look at whether I am doing all I can, if I need outside support, etc, etc and then take action on what needs to happen. If I know I am doing everything I can then I also remember that everything works out in the end and if it isn’t working out it isn’t the end.
how I don’t have any clients INSTEAD I remind myself every moment I work on my business I am helping my perfct clients find me.
and then feel like everyone else in the world has what they want and I have been ripped off. INSTEAD I remember that we all have sh*t happening at times, often way worse than what is actually happening to me – and then I spend a few moments being grateful for everything I have.
Then I get really down INSTEAD I feel filled with love
and really don’t want to do anything at all. INSTEAD I feel motivated
I hate my life.” INSTEAD I love my life

Now have a look at that journey – you can see you cannot get to the end of this process, loving your life, unless you take each step along the way. You need to take each positive decision along the way, each little step and you get to that beautiful big picture.

So make each decison you take a great one and realise that each time you choose to align with that old paradigm of yours you are deviating from your dream, often quite substantially.

So take time to break down your personal hell, create your new paradigm and then live it.

♥♥♥

PS if you are haing trouble breaking yours get in touch!

******** This was written with the intention of helping you to live your best life, if you want to know more about how I can help you Create The Life You Want To Live please get in touch! *******

Marketing Complimentary Health Practitioners

Posted on November 25, 2018 Posted in Case Studies and Success Stories, Create your Business!, Gay Landeta Leave a comment

Marketing ourselves as a complimentary health practitioner is a very different thing to marketing anything else as anyone who has tried to get help from a marketing consultant knows… Lots of translations into our industry need to happen. I recently had this question on getting new clients inside my FB Marketing Group ….. “I don’t have a shop or warehouse etc so no signage. My clients are businesses… my existing clients don’t talk to others in their field.. What marketing is best that isn’t massively expensive? Thank you”

We tend to think it is the pieces of the puzzle that need to be solved … we are looking for the Magic Marketing Pill … if only right?! The thing is it isn’t the signage or the website or the best and cheapest marketing, it isn’t word of mouth or an ace marketing campaign, it is a combination of all that and more that is needed and ends up costing practitioners lost clients, time and money ….

So, if you are trying to puzzle this out here are a few things to look into :

Check in with yourself, first you need clarity (often we think it will come – and it will, but sometimes that takes years without the right prompts) – until you have that your marketing can’t be heard through all the noise anyway, it will just be too general. Once you have that then check your business foundations, do you have the systems in place to support your clients? If not then all your marketing will go to waste. Do you have the steps in place to be walking towards your vision? If not then figuring them out along the way will suck up resources including your precious time and money like a vacuum. Aside from all the rabbit holes you might fall into! Years can go by. Truly. So have a plan to make those happen and stick with it.

Then, once all that is in place, that is when you can develop marketing that works. Find out about marketing syntax and how to speak to your potential perfect clients so they can hear. Don’t try to educate them to early about your process. Speak to their challenges, tune into their channel WIIFM ‘what’s in it for me’ and broadcast on that. Develop your own authentic marketing language, similar phrases and words you use over and over again that tune into, you got it, station WIIFM of your perfect clients.Marketing before you have your own authentic marketing voice is like scattering crumbs, most are consumed without being noticed. End result? You have to scatter an awful lot of crumbs, costing a lot of time and money to get any results at all. And you can end up looking really messy and even unprofessional in the meantime which can hurt your business.

Finally, using your natural talents as well as skills, construct a marketing strategy that is easy and cost effective. You can now do that because you already have everything in place to make it successful. Think about the things you like doing that are marketing related, make sure that your perfect potential clients can see it or hear it and then do it. Then monitor your results and tweak what doesn’t work until you get the results you want.

So, in short, my answer to ‘what is the best and cheapest way to market’ is that there is no one best and cheapest way, sadly. Otherwise, I guess everyone would be doing it!!! Know that it is an individual process and once you have your own, it will be easy. Doing it yourself is possible but for most people it takes a long time – that can be shortened enormously by getting the right help.

Here is a testimonial I received this week that can vouch for that!

I started the Confident Practitioner Program earlier this year after hitting the lowest point in my career. I am a practicing herbalist/nutritionist/energy healer for nearly 20 years and I needed to change the way I approached my business. I had 2 children in that time so my focus had been on them for the last 10 years. This year it was time for me to focus on what I wanted to achieve. Marketing has changed dramatically over the past 20 years…when I started there was no email or social media so it was a completely different ball game.
CPF helped me to get really specific about my ‘ideal client’ and use the marketing tools to attract them to me. The practical advice and information in the modules was exceptional, but the personal growth I experienced was what I value most. To be really clear about why I am doing this work, what I want to gain from my business and having a BIG VISION to work towards…has meant I am a totaly transformed practitioner and person. I highly recommend this program to you – whether you are a new practitioner or have been working for years…to be really clear about what you want, be given the tools to get there and to watch it unfold….it is a truly brilliant process.
Thank-you Gay – I will be forever grateful. Jane Ainsworth @janeainsworthnaturopath

**************

This was written with the intention of helping you to live your best life, if you want to know more about how I can help you create a practice you love to own have a look at The Confident Practitioner Formula

Breaking Through To Business Success

Posted on August 21, 2018 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta Leave a comment

…. We need all the help we can get to build a successful and sustaining business…..

In Transformational Kinesiology we identify 7 patterns as major hindrances on our journey to spritual enlightenment. I find, as having a business is such a huge step in personal development, each of these patterns often correlate directly to the (lack of) growth and success we may be experiencing.

As such I think they are an essential lens to refect on how we operate our business. Identifying and making the commitment to break these patterns can open up opportunites you may not believe ever possible….

Dweller on the Threshold:

If this is your pattern you will be feeling stuck and trapped by circumstances beyond your control. (Ever wonder why some businesses thrived in the GFC and others didn’t?) This pattern creates a mindset of being prevented from moving forward by outside circumstances with everything feeling impossible.

It may be that another pattern is also involved, however busting out of this by committing to the big vision of your business and the journey needed to create it, opens the space for major change and synchronicity to emerge.

Illusion:

This pattern keeps you caught in an illusion of what and where your business is, instead of seeing reality. You will be lost in fooling yourself, taking action without really knowing what you are doing and just doing instead of using your powers of discernment. You will get enmeshed in ideas, opinions and information without really seeing the reality of the situation, let alone dealing with it.

To break this pattern you need to get clear about what you want and then honest about where you are – and then make choices based on the truth of what is going on instead of hiding within the illusion. This takes bravery – but breaking out of our illusions are a major step forward to success.

Uncertainty (fear) :

Many business owners feel uncertain. Even in the most bouyant of markets there are uncertain times, however when you are caught in a pattern of uncertainty, fear becomes the ruler of your business, instead of you. Everything feels risky.

Your job is to step up and take responsibility. Dare to see reality and have the courage to use your inner senses. Then, once you are listening deeply, identify the old limiting patterns (such as reacting instead of responding to situations or a lack of decision) and take action to change them!

Inertia:

If this is your pattern you will be caught in doing, doing, doing or procrastinating endlessly and getting nowhere. Nothing ever really changes.

You must identify the absolute essentials to do and then just do them. Same as in our personal life, we can do them with much moaning and groaning or simply with goodwill.

Blindness:

In this pattern you will get caught up in your beliefs about your business instead of daring to see the truth. You will be completely certain about those beliefs and not open to anything outside your paradigm. You can justify doing or not doing anything that doesn’t fit your view. The classic of this one is that we convince outselves that we are doing everything we can while we miss opportunities staring us in the face…

The way out is to be open and not listen to the little lies you might be telling yourself. Investigate new concepts and discern if they are right for you instead of knee-jerking a ‘not for my business’ attitude.

Glamour:

In this pattern you become so besotted with the beutiful picture of your business and what you do that you become disconnected from others, and ultimately reality. You can miss out on opportunities and connections because you are so centered on your own business.

The way out of this pattern is to develop altruistic thinking and a service mentality so you can enjoy allowing others to go first and succceed. You can experience the reality that we can fit into the world and that there is a perfect space for you, you don’t have to do or be it all.

Ignorance:

This is a really tricky one because you don’t know what you don’t know! If you are struggling then you are likely missing something but because you don’t know, you don’t know where to find the answers….

The answer is to firstly open up to your Inner Wisdom and listen and respond to the quiet whispers of the heart; you will be guided to the answer.

You may fnd you have one or several of these patterns, but by conciously identifying and working with breaking them you will make the changes you need to breakthrough to success!

Part of my work is helping practioners, consultants and heart centred consultants to find and break these patterns so they can create a practice they love to own.

If that sounds like you have a look at my free class for more ideas on how to get more clients and make more money while rremaininng true to yourself.

Finding Meaning In The Everyday

Posted on April 24, 2018 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta, Hints & Tips for Creating & Goal Setting, Personal Development Leave a comment

Aside from the beauty of this time of year; the seasonal change and Mercury retrograde is ushering in a time to rethink who we are and where we are going. This always brings up the concept of meaning in our life. meaning

As with many of you, my sweet spot is the balance between being and doing. Too much doing and I get caught up in the world of achievements. I start adding more and more onto my plate. Too much being and I loose motivation and get bored. As balance can never be static that fine line is the one I work with walking each day.

One of the things I find works to help keep me on track and maintaining my balance is working with 3 (only) achievable goals each month. This keeps my focus but stops me from getting into overwhelm. Choosing only 3 means that I must prioritise those that relate most directly to my bigger vision for my life. One, at least, will be personal and they all will have meaning to me.

I teach this process to my business mentoring clients and inside my Life Mastery Process but there are also other tools that I recommend – and I am always on the look out for new ideas. Last year I watched ‘Best Self Journal’ move from kickstarter to one million in sales in only a few months. It looked an amazing planning system. However I already have a system that includes a gratitude and reflection planning diary, Trello (online) for my Master To Do’s and reminders and notes for stuff so I really didn’t want to add something else. But I did mention it to several clients who I thought might gel with it.

One client recently came back saying that she had a wonderful period using it – and gifted me with one. Wow! Perfect timing to try it out this quarter! I am using it and am really impressed. The psychological processes it uses to induce positivity, motivation and habit change are magic.

The ‘Best Self” process of identifying 3 quarterly projects that are part of your big picture obviously fits with my own process. In the BSJ process you next break these down into 3 actions or steps that need to be achieved this quarter. This is great as you reallly have to start thinking how you are going to make that happen. And then each action into 3 tasks, which may be an action or a habit change. In the end you have identified 9 items to focus on over over 13 weeks. Everything must be achievable and measurable, ie you know when they are done, kind of tasks (rather than an overall intention).

Next you write a commitment to doing them – double checking that they can be done in the time frame no matter what! And your why – for motivation. You then plan a celebration for when you do it. We are often not very good about celebrating our successes unless they are a major achievement. In this process you are celebrating the milestones along the way which is a good sound psychological process.

Weekly you track your tasks and changing habits and reflect on your progress. Daily you spend a few minutes in the morning (really only a few minutes) setting yourself up to ‘win the day’ (BestSelf’s big call to action!) In the evening you spend a few more minutes reflecting on your wins and lessons learnt with a bit more gratitude for balance.

I really enjoy the regular positive reflection and the tiny steps to a big goal. Mine lives on my bedside table as a journal rather than with me as a diary and I find new insights each day. Some of them are ,glaringly obvious but until I had not seen them. Using this minimalist morning and evening reflection process means they became obvious. I really like this as a process of positive personal growth and can see it is infinitely adjustable no matter if you are a super high powered exec or someone who just likes experimenting with finding your own best self and finding meaning in the everyday.

Martin Seligmen (a guru in the positive psychology area) considers that our meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond ourself and from developing the best from within ourself. Choosing this type of reflective journalling as a daily practice will really help align yourself with this concept, bringing in more meaning to your everyday and a sense of accomplishment even with day to day tasks.

… love to hear how you go …..

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

A question, do you run your practice like a business? If not why not?

Posted on October 29, 2017 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta 2 Comments

By Gay Landeta

Did you know staying in hobby mode after you are ready to make something you love your livelihood is one of the ways practitioners and other heart centred entrepreneurs sabotage their work getting out there?

Here are a 4 keys to stop having a hobby and start creating a business:

1.Schedule time for your business. Don’t just fit it in. Create the space for it, even if you don’t have any clients to see. By space I mean the physical, mental and emotional space as well as a defined time in your schedule. And then, in that space, work on your business. Create plans, develop intentions, think about marketing, design brochures, write materials, do anything that is related to your business to officially claim that space as your time to connect to your clients. Then, once your preparations are working you will easily transition into filling that time with clients.

2.Look at your business as a business, what is not working? Don’t get caught up in your emotions at this point, feeling bad or inadequate. It is as it is. Your work may be your love but if you really want to make a living out of it, getting it out there is simply business. Business you can do with love and care and ethics, but business all the same.

3.Check into any mindsets that you may have around business or money and do work on them. Everyday if you need to. This is the personal growth that is required to step up anywhere in our life! You can do it, don’t let what others are doing intimidate you, do the work and become more of who you truly are and step into your power.

4.Once you know what is not working make the plan to fix it. Then do it. Action is the only key to this. If you don’t know how then find someone who does. This is not the time to ask friends or others who are struggling, they don’t know the answers either. You want someone who knows what you don’t to short cut your journey to success. Be brave and claim what is yours. Don’t try for perfection – that will NEVER happen except in your dreams. Just give it a go.

If you are a therapist, practitoner or other heart centred consultant and are looking for more tips on how to create a business you love click here and register for my on-line class to learn how to get more clients and make more money in your practice while remaining true to yourself. You owe it to yourself! ; )

SaveSave

Create A Successful Business Part 3

Posted on March 14, 2017 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta Leave a comment

This is part 3 in the series Create a Successful Business which explores the 5 foundations we dig deeply into with the Marketing with Heart Program, either On-line or in person.

This article focuses on your marketing language, getting this right is essential to getting more clients. So grab your pen and paper and read on….

Moving onto your second foundation, Your Offer, is the heart of what you do and Your Branding which is how others perceive you. You may not have reflected too deeply on this in the past, especially if your business has evolved from a passion. You may simply be offering your services the way you think you should. However by brainstorming this topic you might be surprised by how it helps both your clients and your business – you can follow this link to find out more.

Next it is time to think about your niche – who you serve and how you can speak directly to them. This is where you need to learn the game of marketing – how to share what you do in a way that your perfect clients can understand. You have already identified your perfect clients, you know how they think – so have a look at your exisiting materials from their perspective and see if your materials actually speak to them.

Usually we just talk at our potential clients – not engage them in a conversation that they care about. You know, “I do this and this and I can achieve all of this and this for you.” That may be all very well but are they actually looking for ALL of that? Or are they simply looking for someone who can solve their problem? Even if they are looking for the modality or service that you offer, you will still need to educate them about why you are actually the perfect person for them through your USP.

Your USP (Unique Selling Point) clearly shows who you are and why you are perfect for your perfect clients. These are your unique qualities, usually 2 or 3, that ensure you stand out from the crowd.

This is something to take the time to get clear about, but even if you are a new practitioner there will still be 2 or 3 qualities that define the way you work. This may include things like education, interest, experience, wisdom, even the area you work in or the hours you are available. Ask people you know or existing happy clients and find out why they like working with you. And then don’t be shy about sharing it. Discerning your USP is the golden nugget you need to share in all your marketing.

Always speak to your potential perfect client about their problem, let them know how you can help them with that. Stay focused on the solutions you offer rather than educating them about what you do. Practitioners, especially, get carried away with educating their potential clients about what their modality can achieve for their clients. This is because many practitioners have had amazing results with their modality and want to convince everyone that it is the answer. Don’t fall into that trap! They are not yet ready to be sold on your skills.

In reality we need to wait until our potential client is interested in who we are and the solutions we offer BEFORE educating them about how we get those results. They may not actually even be looking for what we do, but if we have the solution they are looking for they may well give us a try. Telling them too much too early about the details of your work may put them off coming to see you. Focus on them.

Finally, when you share about yourself, share the person they will be working with, rather than just a listing all your credentials. Don’t get me wrong, excellent training and experience is essential (and may form the crux of your USP) but listing it in the expectation that it is enough can just feel too clinical and impersonal.

Help people feel connected to you through your marketing materials. If you have put part 1 and 2 of this series into place they will already see you as a professional. Share the outcomes you get for your clients – this is the person they will be working with – in your materials and then just add the list of credentials at the end of your bio to reinforce all you have already put into place.

Next time we will look more about reaching your perfect clients, in the meantime if you want to find out more about my program or working with me register for my free on-line class . Marketing ourselves is a difficult thing to do and a successful approach is often a very strange process. I can help you not only learn how to do it but how to do it effortlessly so you can reach more of your perfect clients and create more abundance in your life.

SaveSave

Create a Successful Business pt 2

Posted on December 23, 2016 Posted in Create your Business!, Gay Landeta Leave a comment

Create a Successful Business pt 2

This is part 2 in the series Create a Successful Business which explores the 5 foundations we dig deeply into with the Marketing with Heart Program, either On-line or in person.

Once you have developed your Guiding Star, which is the first of the 5 foundations you need for a long term successful business you will begin to have the clarity you need to define your branding and refine your offer. I say begin because this will always be a WIP (work in progress), the joy of having your own business is that it can shift and change as you do, but that needs to happen within clear boundaries otherwise things can get messy. (You can follow this link to part 1 if you need some help developing your vision.)

Moving onto your second foundation, Your Offer, this is the heart of what you do. You may not have reflected too deeply on this especially if your business has evolved from a passion. You may simply be offering your services the way you think you should. However by grabbing a pen and paper and brainstorming this topic you might be surprised by how it helps both your clients and your business.

Start by thinking about who exactly are your perfect clients? Describe them in detail, really get to know them, what they desire and what keeps them up at night. This is the only way you can make sure that what you offer them will work for them. Think about what the benefits of your work is for them, how your work will help them. We often get caught up in all the features or the cleverness of what we do, but it is the outcome that matters.

Once you are clear about how you can serve those beautiful people or businesses you want to serve you can start to figure out how they can find you. To stand out in crowd and look professional you need to consider the third foundation, Your Brand.

Branding is one of those areas that many people focus on first. Name, logo, colours, design … The fun arty stuff. It often feels like the first step in starting a business but can instead become a frustrating project, taking up time and resulting in something that doesn’t really authentically reflect your business. (Interesting aside, this may vary from your own, personal authenticity).

Taking time to reflect first on Your Guiding Start and Your Offer will inform the creation of your branding and will mean that you end up with something that authentically reflects you and your work, avoiding an expensive do-over down the track. Important when you consider this will be reflecting who you are for years to come!

What is Branding really? Your professional face. The way people can identify you and how you can stand out from the crowd to your perfect client. Once you create your professional face it should feel congruent all the way from the name and logo to your website and stationary and into your office and even the way you dress and work with people. Imagine wanting a massage, perhaps you have a sports injury and want a remedial massage but you also want it to be relaxing so you google and find someone who seems to offer a spa sort of environment and seems well qualified in remedial massage as well. Score!

You arrive and it is bit tatty on the outside but you don’t worry too much, that is just the outside. You go inside, expecting candles and quiet spa music and instead there is row of chairs with several well thumbed ’Who Weekly’s to read. You might start to feel a little concerned but you hurt and you want that massage and the therapists credentials looked pretty good so you sit down to wait.

Then out comes someone who doesn’t look much like the inviting picture you saw on the net, dressed in a pair of board-shorts and a t-shirt, hair still crusty from a morning surf …. Maybe the website said they had excellent qualifications and you love the beach yourself however you may well be starting to feel a little uncomfortable….

By this time some of you will already have left the building, but many will stay and give it a go, you hurt and are already here. If the massage is brilliant or you live in a place with few options you may well be sold, however if anything is much less than perfect you probably won’t go back.

If instead everything had been congruent from the spa logo and language on the website to the signage and frontage, to the waiting room and therapists appearance you would be more open to the experience, more forgiving of anything less that 110% perfect (who’s perfect anyway – really!) and more likely to go back. Maybe for years.

There is nothing wrong with being a surfer massage therapist or a clinical remedial therapist. Working in a quiet luxury spa or in a funky shack or anything at all, as long as you can identify your perfect clients and that when they find you, they can see that you are exactly what they are looking for!

Consider your logo as the face of all that you do. If you have designed it yourself get a professional graphic designer to have a look or tidy it up to make sure it will translate into all mediums. (Just Google logo bloopers to see some great blunders!).

Think about what it is you want it to reflect, decide on your colours and how you want things to look and keep that congruent over every medium you do. Don’t swap and change to be more creative on every brochure, it makes it hard to recognise you. A professional can also help you get templates in place so that your congruency is across all your stationary as well. The investment is worth it!

Next time we will explore the language you need to master to get great results in your marketing. If you want more info in the meantime have a look at my on-line program or feel free to contact me about how I might be able to support you to grow your business.