Money, Marketing and Soul for Massagepreneurs
Archive for September, 2009
Live, Living, Lived
Sep 28th
Welcome to Motivation Mondays! Here is your quote for the week.
“You’re master of what you’ve lived,
artisan at what you’re living,
amateur at what’s next to live.”
- Richard Bach
Business Lessons Learned While Riding My Bike
Sep 24th
My husband and I do a lot of biking both at home and while on vacation. I used to like the easy rides – ones where I can just sit back, relax and enjoy myself and not really think too much. I have come to the realization that you really aren’t getting the most out of bike riding on those easy rides. It’s the harder rides that allow you to improve. We went on a pretty rigorous ride the other day and here are some of the lessons I learned that could be related to running your business as well.
1. Stay Focused. Depending on where you are riding, the scenery can be very pretty and distracting. But if you are looking off at everything else, you may be surprised when you look back to the road. Your may have drifted off your side of the trail and now someone is coming straight for you or you may have hit a bump in the road that you didn’t know was there and now you are flying through the air. How is your business focus?
Lesson Learned: You want to be able to enjoy the ride, but do quick glances at the scenery (i.e. what your competition is doing, plans for new services, what you clients are saying about you) and constantly keep checking back with your current plan.
2. Easier to correct/improve while going up hill. You would think that going down hill would be a piece of cake, but it’s not.
Lesson Learned: It’s very difficult to improve your performance on the downhills. Downhill might be fast, but it’s crazy. Bicycling uphill is where the work is, the fun is, the improvement is. On the uphills, I have a reasonable shot at a gain over last time. The downhills are already maxed out by the laws of physics and safety.
These are just a couple of things I learned about business while having fun. Do you have anything to add? Write them in the comments.
Come alive
Sep 21st
Welcome to Motivation Mondays! Here is your quote for the week.
“Don’t worry about what the world wants from you, worry about what makes you come more alive.
Because what the world really needs are people who are more alive.” — Lawrence Le Shan
Balance Yin and Yang
Sep 17th
Take a walk through your workplace (or home) and note the energetic feelings you sense from different areas. Some areas may feel intense and busy, while others may seem quiet and comforting. These latter areas we call Yin in comparison to the former, which would be Yang.
Yin and Yang describe relationships of opposing, yet complementary, energies. Other Yin qualities might include dark, cool, empty, spacious, interior, receptive, small, low and moist. By contrast, light, hot, full, congested, exterior, active, large, high and dry, all describe more Yang qualities.
Yang areas tend to be more productive, stimulating and engaging, while Yin areas might incline toward conserving or resting, nourishing or introspection. Notice whether the space overall has a predominant Yin or Yang character or whether the two aspects seem to be in relative balance.
Where there is an imbalance in a particular room or space, a simple remedy is to add and subtract Yin or Yang elements until more harmony is felt. If the walls are painted a cool color (yin), choosing furniture of a warmer color will help. If the furniture is sharp and straight-sided, bringing in plush cushions, thick rugs and simple tapestries will soften the space. By nature, Yin and Yang attract one another, seeking completeness. The areas that tend to feel good and nurture you will usually have equal measure of both.
What will you do?
Sep 14th
Welcome to Motivation Mondays! Here is your quote for the week.
“We learn wisdom from failure much more than success.
We often discover what we WILL do, by finding out what we will NOT do.”
- Samuel Smiles
25 Things Your Clients Wish You Knew
Sep 10th
Clients come from all walks of life with various characteristics that make us all unique. Sometimes these characteristics are not as pleasing as we might want them to be especially when we are the client. After all, we are spending our hard earned money and we want things that we buy and do to be perfect.
Clients are the life blood of our business – of any business really. Here are 25 things your clients wish you knew about how they feel about themselves and about doing business with you.
1. I want you to be dependable and on time. I have a very busy schedule and am frantic most of the time.
2. I like it when you thank me for my business.
3. I find that I am frightened most of the time.
4. My life is extremely chaotic. If you make it less stressful for me, I would be extremely appreciative.
5. I like it when I feel like the center of attention when I come to you for a massage.
6. I like to feel like I am part of the elite crowd – give me stuff no one else – or at least very few people – are getting.
I want to known that I am getting the best value for my money.
8. I will spend an unlimited amount of money on what I like – pampering is definitely something that I want more of. But I want it to be a good deal at the same time.
I am loyal to businesses that are loyal to me.
10. I like it when you educate me about my muscles and body but don’t make me feel stupid.
11. I want to be taken care of.
12. When I send you one of my friends or family member, I want you trust you to take care of them.
13. The more money I make, the more free stuff I like.
14. I like it when you look neat and tidy. It makes me secure that the rest of your massage practice is clean — especially the sheets.
15. I don’t really like it when you talk about other clients to me. It makes me think that you like them more.
16. I don’t like feeling I am being ripped off. Give me the best deal possible.
17. I wish you would ask me how I like my massage. There are certain parts of my body that I don’t like to have touched and when you massage them, it ruins the whole experience for me.
18. I lam very self-conscious about my body.
19. Sometimes I don’t understand what you are talking about when you talk about lactic acid or my muscles, but I am too embarrassed to ask.
20. I want to know that what I tell you is confidential.
21. Sometimes I get lost on your website.
22. When I arrive at my scheduled appointment time, I want your undivided attention – not answering the phone or doing paperwork.
23. I would love to give you my opinion of how you are doing, but I want you to ask for it.
24. I like it when you remember how I like my massage and little things about my life. It makes me feel special.
25. I want to relax during my massage and feel better. If you can help me do that I will love you forever.
Some of these things mentioned above have been collected clients, friends and family as well as my own experience as a client. By knowing these things, you can serve your clients to the best of your ability. It will make them happier and your job easier.
You have the capacity for anything
Sep 7th
Welcome to Motivation Mondays! Here is your quote for the week.
“We should say to each child:
Do you know what you are?
You are a marvel. You are unique…
You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.
You have the capacity for anything.”
- Pablo Casals
Getting the Clients You Want (Video)
Sep 3rd
Recently I asked what challenges you face in your business and someone wrote in that her major challenge was “getting decent people to come in and pay for my services which are very reasonable”. In this video, I describe a very simple yet effective way to get your ideal client.
I recently coached a client who was having problems with calls from people who wanted everything but a therapeutic massage. After she completed this simple exercise, all of those types of calls have ceased.
