Many therapists often start out with warm fuzzy intentions to an amazing practice but end up frustrated that things aren’t happening for them. Often what is lacking in these fuzzy intentions is a connection to the dream that got you started in the first place.
“Nothing happens unless first a dream is created"
Carl Sandburg
Take yourself back as you stood looking out at the crowd of friends and family gathered to watch you graduate, with your accreditation certificate in hand, the ringing of applause in your ears and a light glowing from your eyes, it seemed an easy path to set up and be successful in your own natural therapy business. After all you had flown through your training, got great grades and everyone tells you what a phenomenal healer you are.
Why then is the reality a dark place where you feel alone, unsupported and quite frankly with no idea who to turn to and learn how to make your business work?
Importance of Identifying Your Dream
Often what is missing in the gap between graduation and a full practice is a connection to the three key foundational musts to achieve a successful business:
• Decide
• Believe
• Dream
During your training you probably made a committed decision that you were going to be a therapist but did you make a commitment to have a successful practice? Don’t feel bad if this is you because most forget this step.
Then the second step is to build a strong belief in your ability as a therapist and a belief in your ability as a business person. Most therapists grabble with believing in themselves as a therapist and their reaction to that is to go out and do more training.
The third step is then to create a compelling dream or vision of what you want your natural therapy practice and life to look like. What most do is write down a few hastily thought out affirmations, cut out a few pictures to go on your dream board, write a few immediate goals and set about the task of setting up your practice. In fact if you are like me in the early days you even forgot to write in anything about money in your affirmations which meant nothing appeared. If you don’t include all aspects of your business and life, your dream quickly disintegrates before your eyes as the effort you put in does not equate to the rewards you get out.
In reality the dream component of your practice needs a lot of time and energy for it is the foundation on which your practice will be built and grown.
Why is this so important?
Perhaps Stephen Covey explains it best: Begin with the end in mind. Having a clear, specific, vivid and inspiring vision for your business and life is critical to achieving it.
I have had two past clients who have taken out major awards. One, a Chinese Doctor took out the Telstra Young Business Women’s’ Award and the other took four coveted Tourism Awards in the Spa and Wellness Industry. Both told me the very first time we met that their dream was to be recognised as the best. They had clear pictures in their mind of what that meant to them and they went about and created it. Neither follows the convention of normal and both created new dreams once they won their awards. Their point of difference in winning was their resolute focus on their dream and an unwavering commitment to stick to their own dream and not just churn out the industry standard dream.
In Your Natural Therapy Business these are the types of items that you need to be clear about so you can build them into your dream statements...
• What are you doing professionally? (One-one treatments, teaching, speaking, live workshops, authoring books?)
• How many people do you want to treat?
• What are your clients like?
• What are you treating?
• What kind of impact are you having on your clients and in the world?
• What kind of income are you earning?
• What is your reputation in the industry?
• What is your work environment like?
• Are you working alone or with others?
• Are you meeting with clients in person at a clinic or working from home?
• What is your treatment room like?
• What is your waiting room like?
• Do you have a view from your treatment room?
• Do you have an assistant or other systems in place to support your business?
• How many hours per day/week/month are you working?
• Have you become a specialist in your area?
• Do you have a media presence?
• Are you travelling and speaking to audiences?
• Are you reaching out to thousands of people who might read the books you write or attend programmes you design?
In Your Personal Life...
• What qualities do you possess?
• What are you learning?
• What skills have you mastered?
• Where are you living?
• How are your days spent?
• What are your relationships like?
• How is your health and wellness?
• How do you express your spirituality?
• How active are you in your community?
• Are you engaging in some type of service?
• What do you do for fun and recreation?
• What do you really love doing?
• How do you want to be remembered when you are gone?
• What causes do you support and how are you doing this?
As you work on your dream ask yourself:
• Is my dream a reflection of what I really want?
• Is my dream congruent with my values and priorities?
• Does my dream inspire and excite me?
• Have I been as specific as I can be about my dream?
• Does it incorporate and balance all the important aspects of my life?
• Is it a dream I REALLY want and am willing to work to achieve or is it a “pie in the sky fantasy” that is as likely to happen as winning lotto?
How vividly can you paint your dream? How clear can you get?
Your goal is to identify and write down what you really want your life and business to look like. Think about the best vision you can imagine. Don’t worry about how you’re going to make it happen. Instead focus on what you REALLY desire for yourself and your life, both personally and professionally. Be as specific as possible and dare to dream!
The Dream of a Successful Natural Therapy Business - To learn more about this author, visit Margaret Gill's Website.
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Margaret Gill
(Visit Margaret's Website)
Margaret Gill is founder of Abundant
Private Practices, a small business with a
big heart, that helps health and wellness
practitioners become more successful in
their holistic business.
Margaret has found that although full of
heart and good intentions, many holistic
and wellness practitioners often lack the
business and marketing skills, as well as
the mindset, necessary to build a
successful practice. Margaret is
passionate about helping practitioners
grow their practice and achieve their full
potential both personally and
professionally.
After fifteen years in the corporate world
in Sydney and Melbourne, Margz did a tree
change and moved out of metropolitan
Melbourne to rural Victoria to establish
her third career as a business coach. In
her own words “the move went horribly pear
shaped” and her “Dark Side of the
Australian Dream” experiences have
featured prominently in major Australian
daily newspapers and current affairs TV
programs.
She lives in Australia un a small rural
tourist town, known for its effersvent
mineral water.
Margaret Gill
Business Coach and Mentor
Abundant Private Practices
www.Abundant-Private-Practices.com
ma
rgaret@margaretgill.com
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