Upcoming Events: 2012

Happy new year!! Have you made resolutions, or just decided on some goals for the year? I prefer to think along the lines of goals or changes I want to see in my life, as opposed to resolutions. Resolutions bring with them the shadow of doubt and failure, but goals speak more definitively to me--something I really want to have happen. My goals this year are ... mostly to be more committed. Those things I wish I did better or more consistently--those are the things I plan to focus on. Flossing. Exercising (did you think I was perfect at this? I'm not!!) Blogging. Journalling for my boys. Reading for pleasure. Spending time with friends. Sharing love with everyone. Paying it forward. All of these things. It sounds like a lot when you put it all together, but I think it's really more about tightening up the strings that hold life together and which have been a little too sloppy in my life, and I'm ready to cinch up a bit. What are the things you want to work on this year? Write it down. Share it. Commit. 

I'll be taking some time off this month. Hubby has (paid--jealous!!) vacation from the 9th-13th. I was on the fence about whether I would also be taking that week off and blocking out my schedule or not. We didn't make plans to go anywhere or anything, so I didn't HAVE to. Sharing that with a client that was planning to book his next appointment in that week, he suggested I take the week off, that money will always come, but you never get the time back. He convinced me. Blame him. ;) But really, it won't hurt to call or email me if you're really hurting that week. I have blocked my Clickbook calendar out, so you will have to come at me more directly if you need some attention that week. 

I'm planning on having my next Save Your Hands! workshop on Sunday, March 11. I admit I have not been marketing for these workshops as well as I should, and that's another goal I have this year. I'd like to be utilizing and sharing the knowledge I've gained, so I'm buckling down and planning on doing at least 4-6 workshops this year. Some will be on weekends, some on week days, because therapists have different availabilities with their schedules too. Check my website for a list of dates. They'll be posted soon.

Please share your goals in the comments below. I'd love to help if possible.

Upcoming Events: Open House

Update on my study/mentor programs: I'm almost caught up with reading my massage magazines--chugging away impressively at a week and a half per magazine. Just 2 1/2 more magazines to read, then I'll be all caught up (until the next one arrives!). Once I'm caught up, I will be able to pore my attention into these programs. I feel confident that I can be ready to launch and begin really marketing for the study/mentor programs by the end of the year.

Ah, the end of the year. It is September now, so be careful--in the blink of an eye, it'll be January!

The tail end of this month marks my 5th anniversary as a licensed massage therapist. I've decided to celebrate by hosting an open house in the office on Saturday, October 8th from 9am-6pm. I plan on having a drawing for at least one free massage. Stop in and get one entry. Bring a friend with you (who is not an existing client of mine) and you both get two entries. Book a massage appointment within the month of October or buy a gift certificate and get another entry. If your friend books their first massage session with me within the month of October, they'll get 2 entries into the drawing. I'll have some light refreshments. This will be a great opportunity to ask any questions you might have about anything massage related, or specific to my business. Or just come in and peek at my new room!

Rumor has it we'll be having an acupuncturist joining the team at Heidi's soon--into my old room downstairs next to my new room. As I find out more information about that, I'll see if he'd like to participate in my open house event as well. 

Are you following me on Facebook? If not, you'll really want to start! As my clients from years past may remember, I had a pretty fantastic offer go out for Black Friday last year. I plan on running the same special (with minor provisions)--but I think I may only be announcing it on my Facebook Page this year--and that's why I'm emailing this post to everyone as well. I'd also love to have this blog be more of a back-and-forth between us, so your comments are always welcome and appreciated. Subscribe to my blog & follow me on Facebook now. You won't want to miss this!!

If the Black Friday tease isn't enough reason for you to follow me on Facebook, try this: I often post my same-day open appointments at $15 off. This is good news for those that aren't able to book in advance due to complicated/inconsistent/irregular schedules. There's often only a few hours' notice for these appointments, so you really have to keep your eye out.

Product & Service Spotlight: Spa Treatment Closeout!

In the next month or two, I plan on phasing out the spa-section of my treatment menu. These services are underutilized, and, as mentioned in previous blog posts, my business is beginning to take a new direction into mentoring.

I've never been a real girly-girl, so the spa-aspect doesn't quite captivate me personally. My initial excitement in expanding my menu in that way was that it would allow me to bring in revenue without being as physically demanding as massage. Without my heart in it, I don't feel I've marketed it well, the economy may have an implication as well, preventing consumers from enjoying these kinds of services.

What I will hold onto will be the body butters (honey and mango) that can be added on during a massage, the aloe foot & callus rub, the aloe moisture cream, the aloe heat creme, and possibly the aloe body wash and lavender spa bath. Gift bags will still be available at this point, and I will also continue to provide the Detox Relaxation Bath packs for purchase.

Any samples on hand, excluding those mentioned above, can be taken with you at no charge as you come in for your regular massage appointments, while supplies last. Samples of the above mentioned products will be available for $1 each, or as otherwise labeled. 

Accountability!

Alright here goes...

I am vowing to nix my chronicly-late problem this year, and truly learn to take control of my time and manage it better. There are always roadblocks in overcoming any challenge, and it can be so tough to really grab that challenge by the horns and defeat it. It takes a lot of planning for sure, and prioritizing.

Already, I have promised to share the statictics on my clients and business information from 2009 (keeping everything anonymous, of course), and I will get that accomplished. Turns out it was a bigger task than I anticipated, so it's taking me longer to figure out even HOW to share that information. My tally sheets are so confusing to read, and transfer to computerized versions. Not only am I working on getting 2009 stats up and posted, but also re-creating a format to simplify the process for 2010, and not fall behind in tracking my clients and business information as the new years rolls on.

Realizing the new challenges, I feel confident in being able to share the results of what really was my first full year in business FOR MYSELF by the end of this month. Some of it isn't pretty, but it is all so helpful to help me steer my business/marketing into the right directions this year. For that, it is entirely invaluable.

I hope you will come back to my blog to see how you ranked among my other clients, and how your business has contributed to MY business. And by the way, if you are low on gratitude, I owe each and every one of my clients a tremendous THANK YOU for helping me learn how to grow my business and become a better massage therapist. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing without YOU. THANK YOU!

Bartering For Business Growth

Bartering is a fun way to obtain services from other businesses without having to unload the debit card (don't get me started on credit cards!). Bartering also helps to build business by allowing your business to reach clients/customers who may not otherwise have an interest or need in your services, but once they experience them, they are converted into walking, talking advertisers of your company. Why then, is bartering such a rarely-used marketing startegy?

My goal is to bring back the barter. Sure, there's some bartering membership programs already in place, but if you are a small business owner and don't function on a nationwide capacity and can't muster the $500 initial membership fees, then why should you be left in the dark? I see no reason.

Plenty of small business owners or self employed service providers can certainly benefit by bartering. I think this should be a first step requirement in networking. Networking is great, but just because I've met you at a networking event and heard your quick self introduction, how am I to know you really deliver quality products or services? Why not include bartering as a piece of the networking puzzle? We meet, swap introductions, you try my service, I try yours, now I'm confident in telling my clients about the great work you do, and you are able to do the same.

Do you know by talking to me that I'm a qualified massage therapist? Yes, you know I'm licensed, but what if, when giving massages, I slathered on so much oil, my clients nearly slide off the massage table, or present them with some other less-than-satisfactory massage experience? Would you know that by my self-introduction? The answer is no. I don't use excess amounts of oil, but you won't know that until you've experienced a massage from me.

I think the common networking circuit needs to be updated to allow us to make confident referrals. I can't tell you now how many networking events I have attended, heard countless self introductions, and still know nothing about many of these people/businesses. Let's work together! That's the goal in networking, yes? Help grow business by spreading the word about what we do, and being able to refer our own clients/customers to you? So let's move to the grassroots level of this goal, and start by sharing our business with each other.