Do you want to get rich quick? Then stop reading right now and go get a lottery ticket! If you want down-to-Earth honest advice about how to build a successful holistic business from the ground up, then keep reading.
I'm constantly speaking to women who are brilliant at understanding holistic concepts like the mind-body connection, but clueless about the mindset you need to build a valuable thriving business. Here's the real deal on some common myths that I see over and over again with holistic practitioners:
1. Build it and They Will Come
When I first started out as a massage therapist back in 2001, I thought that all I had to do was set up my massage table and bodies would magically appear on it. I didn't know the first thing about getting new clients or building a business. When my massage instructor insisted that I had to do 100 massages if I wanted to graduate, I was in a panic. I thought: "Where am I going to find 100 people who want massages?!" I was living in a high-rise building at the time so I decided to go door to door, like a Girl Scout selling cookies, and ask people if they wanted a massage. I got about 100 no's and one yes - an elderly woman who lived in a dusty one-bedroom apartment. She was my very first client.
Fast-forward a few years and my massage practice was so full that I had to turn people away. Bodies did not magically appear on my table, but the more that I put myself out there and promoted myself, the more my practice grew. I offered free chair massage at gyms and special events. I went to all the hotel concierges and gave them a business card. I worked part-time for some high-end spas and wellness centers. And my business grew and grew one client at a time.
If you think that you can just set up a website or roll out a yoga mat and clients will manifest out of thin air, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's going to take a lot more work than that! You CAN build a thriving prosperous business, but you will have to roll up your sleeves and make the magic happen yourself.
2. How do you eat an elephant?
Some people read my bio - which says all kinds of flattering things about me like I am a Ph.D. Professor, an "expert blogger," featured in national media, traveled to 40 countries and so on - and they think: "How the heck am I going to do all that?!" I used to think the same thing when I would read the bios of my professors or others that I admired. It seemed like they had accomplished so much and I was SO far away from my goals.
Things take time! You don't eat an elephant all at once - you eat it one bite at a time. My Ph.D. took 10 years of college and grad school to accomplish. My media appearances span another decade of teaching, writing and presenting. You will not manifest that national media appearance during the first week of your business, but you can definitely get there after a few years of building your personal brand (and connecting with the right producers and editors).
3. Self-Employed equals DIY
As a solopreneur, there are so many things that we have to juggle on our own - clients, bookings, classes, marketing, networking - it can seem totally overwhelming and draining. After I completed massage school, I did several additional trainings in yoga, meditation and energy medicine. I started adding more and more services to my website and spreading myself out in all different directions. Then I finished my Ph.D. and added a dozen university courses a year to my schedule. It was craziness!!! No matter how much busier I got, though, I never felt like I was doing enough or earning enough to justify hiring help. I thought help is for rich people and I'm not rich (yet).
Last year was the first time that I said screw it! I need help. I hired a web designer, a social media marketer, a book editor. Wow! What a difference a team makes! Just because I am self-employed does NOT mean that I have to do everything myself. I need support. I need people to do the things that I don't know how to do or don't like to do so that I can focus on the things I love - like writing this blog post to tell you about myths of building a successful holistic business!
If you are super self-reliant like me or if you pride yourself on being an "independent woman," you may need to ask yourself: "How much more effective and productive would you be if you had a team of people helping you?" There is no way I could DIY my business anymore - and I wouldn't want to.
4. You Must be Perfect
This is one that has been surfacing a lot lately in my conversations and interactions in the Women in Wellness Club. If you've ever cried about getting a B+ or winning second place in a contest, there's a good chance you're a perfectionist. I know that I am. I've procrastinated on all kinds of things because I was afraid that they wouldn't be good enough - I couldn't possibly write a book if it isn't going to be a New York Times Bestseller. HA! That's so ridiculous. We must act in order to improve. We must write bad books before we can write good books. We must give terrible classes before we can sharpen our teaching skills. It's par for the course.
I guarantee that the first time you try something, you're not going to be good at it! Who cares!? You're driven by passion, a mission to serve, a deep longing to help others. Get out there and be your imperfectly perfect self.
You don't have to do it perfectly, you just have to do it.