I wonder how many of you are feeling like you are back on that treadmill of doing doing doing?  You know, that place where you are so scared to stop because if you do, the idea of having to get back on the treadmill again feels harder than stopping?

It’s nearly the end of June, I know for a LOT of people the middle of the year feels hard.  The excitement of January has well and truly gone, and some days it just feels like there is no end in sight.

Here in Australia we have just “enjoyed” the Winter Solstice. (the shortest day and longest night of the year)   For me that means summer is on its way!  It feels like it is a long way away, but still it’s on its way.

I returned from a weeks leave with my husband this week, and found myself searching for inspiration and some motivation to just keep me going for the next 3 months.  What I have found is that there are a lot of people writing about how to keep going and what to focus on, and how to stop the paralysis of overwhelm, over commitment or over analyzing from stunting our business and personal growth.  This is obviously not a new phenomenon and we obviously aren’t alone.

One of these articles was this one 10 Life Hacks From a Millennial Millionaire.  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247214.  A lot of what Lewis Howes has to say made a lot of sense – then he got me thinking, what would my 10 Life Hacks be for a successful, sustainable and profitable private practice?

So, here we go

1. Stop double handling information.  Howes, talks about keeping things simple, and yes that, I would agree with completely.  One area I see clinicians making huge demands on their time again and again is by the way they double handle so much information.  The reasons for this have to do with habitual behaviour; poor systems; poor planning and just a sense of doing the very next thing without thinking far enough in advance.  One simple tip I have for you here is with all social media content you can actually create 1 piece of content and then present it 5 different ways!  Stop double handling information.  You will get back at least 5 hours in your week when you do!
2. Build relationships.  I am very big on this. I know way too many clinicians who are hiding behind the world of online – wanting to build all of their marketing online and then expecting client’s to fall into their inbox.  If you want and need clients now, then you need to be talking to people – as in using your speech!  Come on, we are health professionals, we build relationships with client’s; we know how to do this. Relationship marketing is one of the easiest skills to transfer into the Private Practice for clinicians.
3. Invest in YOU.  This one I agree with Howes wholeheartedly.  All the FREE online resource in the world will NOT get you to the business and lifestyle of your dreams. Sure there is a lot of FREE information available, but you need to get serious about YOU and YOUR development as a clinician in private practice.  This means taking personal responsibility for your own professional development, every day; week; month and year.  It is NO ONE ELSE’S RESPONSBILITY.  It is yours alone.Hire a coach; commit to training; Join a Mastermind (a properly structured one, not just one full of people too cheap to pay for the knowledge and advice they really need); create a Professional development calendar for yourself for the next 12 months.
4. Meditate. This is another Life Hack I agree with Howes in his recommendations.  I was a BIG anti- meditation advocate in 2014, but in 2015, I started watching those people I admired, who were doing what I wanted to be doing – and ALL of them extol the virtues of meditation. This came as a shocking surprise to me. So I thought I should investigate this more.  (To be honest I was going to prove them wrong.  But Nope, I can’t – since learning about mindfulness and practicing this almost daily I can’t tell you how much peace and clarity this practice has brought to my life.
5. Know what stage your Business is in. What I can tell you from all of the coaching, mentoring and consulting I do, is that different stages of a business require a different focus. However something will never change and that is your need to be consistently engaged in MARKETING and SALES. There will never be a time when you no longer need to do this. How you do it will change with the development of your business, but the need for it will never change.
6. Commit to YOUR OWN Health. Again Howe is talking my language.  We cannot be successful, sustainable and profitable in our private practice if we do not look after ourselves. This means, food, water, exercise. The more successful I become, the more growth I see in my business – the more I focus on my health and nutrition. You will be NO good to anyone if you are not well enough to be in business. Self care matters.
7. Know Your Worth.  I get so annoyed with health professionals and clinicians who refuse to accept that they have something of value to offer their client’s. Please understand this – if you are a health professional, you are in the service of giving client’s their lives back. YES YOU ARE! Unless you own your worth as a clinician, you are doing an incredible disservice to your clients.  How can you expect to empower your client’s or teach them self respect if you are not modeling your own respect of self?  #knowyourworth
8. Understand That Experience Is No Longer a Selling Point of Credibility.  Our prospective clients have access to all the same information as we do, thanks to the interwebs and Dr Google. Just because you have 20 years experience in a modality does not make you any good at what you say you do. Client’s now expect results, so we need to talk to them about results. People are rarely interested in your process, or your method – they just want to know “will this work for me?”
9. Own Your Influence.  Do you realize how much inference you have in this world?  You cannot shy away from this or wish it away. You need to own this and ensure you are doing everything in your power to be the person of influence you want to be. We help a client take back their life; that client is then healthy in their family; they model a positive example at home; at work; in their community; in turn the community benefits from this one person who has dared invest in themselves to sort through their discomfort. Families are changed; communities are changes; nations are changed – can you see your influence here? This is HOW you contribute to being the change you want to see in the world.
10. BE YOU!  I will simply quote Howes here

Be yourself because everyone else is taken. No one is you-er than you. The more different you are, the better.

Use your differences to stand out in a competitive marketplace and follow your heart in matters of life and business.

When we try to be just like everyone else; when we try to copy what looks like it is working for someone else, we lose the greatest gift we have to ourselves and our client’s. That being US. Take the time to get to know who you are as a clinician, as a person and as a business owner.

We have so many opportunities; so much information coming at us everyday – I get that at times it’s difficult to know what it is YOU need to focus on and how to implement specifically what needs doing into your practice.  But that doesn’t mean you don’t do anything, or give us permission to stay stuck.

If you are ready to work this out – to build a private practice that supports you, provides for you and cares for you – yes cares for you???? I would love to talk to you and help you to take control of your value and your worth.  All you need to do is click here and book in for a FREE consult with me.

Here’s to your success

#knowyourworth

Jo

PS Do you know someone who would benefit from reading this today – then please share the love.

PPS – here’s that link again for the FREE consultation with me click here