Inspiration is easy, I need Discipline.
I do not need any inspiration. I have an absurd number of ideas and projects that keep me feeling alive and excited and pleased as punch to get out of bed every morning. I'm plenty inspired.
What I need is discipline.
It's THE biggest issue with small business owners. (I can see you nodding your head right now.)
Anyone can run a business, really. It's not that hard to keep a schedule together, set up a table and provide massage. In the grand scheme of service industries, we have a pretty low overhead and require very little to run a massage business.
Our issues are not ability, but discipline. Anyone can. What makes us remarkable is when we do.
Kick ass massage therapists can become kick ass business owners by doing. What do they do?
- Send regular emails to clients.
- Research to find the highest quality lubricants and cozy sheets.
- Get hip with online scheduling and intake forms.
- Keep their office really, really clean. Immaculate.
- Send birthday and thank you cards to clients. Handwritten.
- Attend community events regularly and support other local business owners.
Raise your hand if you know you should do something for your business today but probably won't because it's easier to screw around with busywork. Yeah. I started this post in Panera 2 hours ago, got back to the office and wasted 20 minutes rearranging a shelf of sheets that didn't need it. I have a pile of work to do before I leave for Raleigh in the morning and I just rearranged sheets. Good grief.
What am I going to do about that? Well, I try really hard to walk the walk I show to you. Also, I know the power of accountability and the strength of this community. We're all in this together. So starting now Tuesday's blog posts will be about a task I need to complete for my own massage practice, (that I hopefully will have completed on Monday).
I made a list of the stuff I'm slacking on.
My very messy closet
- I get lazy about sending emails every Monday to fill any open appointments in my calendar. I put it off then all of a sudden it's Friday and I'm two clients short of my goal. And I justify that all week by saying, "I'll have more time to write," but then I just screw around instead of writing more.
- Planning my blog and email schedule and sticking to it.
- I've slacked on thank you notes to new clients. Just lame.
- My office is looking shabby. I need to fix a broken curtain, get a new file cabinet and clean the storage closet so I can put stuff from the overcrowded makeshift kitchenette into the closet. We also need new artwork in here. I want to take my favorite painting home and we'll need to replace that.
I'm sure many more items will pop up, I'll be adding to the list as we go.
I would love it if you share your own slacker tendencies in the comments. I can make an effort to put a boot in your rear if you promise to put light a fire under mine! So bring it. What's your weakness?
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- I’m smitten with the Massage Therapy Foundation
- Stealing is stealing. Even if you do it on the internet.
I sent Thank You and Birthday Cards today. But I didn’t research a blog topic I started last night. I have never sent client emails. It has been on my list of “to-learn” and execute for a year and a half. I tried to start working on the page of changes I want to make to my website. It drove me to tears. The ugly kind. So I turned off work and ironed clothes for the week and ran errands for the household. And starting at 430 I am out of commission until tomorrow. (Gymnastics for the kid, supper, bath, bed, fold the 5 loads of laundry I washed today.) I am lacking in what to do “next”. I do all of the things on the above list except for emails and I am not quite “there” yet. I am starting my community efforts this month. I wrote a monthly to-do list for Sept and completed almost all of it. Yay! This list does not include regular day-to-day things. I have made a list for Oct. Phew. I could go on but I don’t want to hog the comments
Oh, and I am planning a Black Friday Special. This is kind of a big deal because I don’t do discounts.
I think next week we’ll start with Prioritizing & making a list of what we’ll tackle!
That sounds good to me! I have a long list as well but prioritizing can be a challenge. As soon as a new client leaves my office I immediately write up a thank you or put on aside for them. Before I leave for the night they all get stamped and mailed right away. For me it’s about setting up systems so if I forget – I feel like something is out of place and it naturally becomes habit. Needing a system for birthdays though.
Amber, I just started a birthday system. It’s pretty simple, but the very first step is time consuming. You can email me if you wish
tracy at thecomfortzonemassge dot com
*typo! thecomfortzonemassage
One thing that I habitually do is focus on what I can complete before moving on to the big stuff. Then when I get to the project that needs the most attention I don’t have the little jobs saying hey, come finish me!
It works for me…
I get so wrapped up in the little stuff I avoid the big stuff. Sigh.
I was nodding vigorously through this! I do my admin work from home as I hire rooms to massage from, so there are a million distractions and other things to do, that aren’t quite wasting time, but aren’t the priority. I find the opposite to John – I tend to fill my time with the little things then not get to the big things. I have to start with the thing I’m avoiding – eating the frog – and leave the urgent things until I’ve done that. If they’re urgent I will get them done somehow, but if I leave the “big” thing with no fixed deadline, it drifts… That’s the theory anyway.
Curious what people put in their e-mails to new clients after the first treatment – never sure what to write!
I think emails will be 1st on that Priorities list! I do a handwritten note after the 1st visit. I think a welcome email would be nice in addition to that. We can work on text for that together!
If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this post was about me
I have never done welcome notes/emails as like Lucinda never know what to write, so unfortunately don’t do it, but it’s something that I have wanted to get into the habit of doing.
I write a “Thank you” note to each 1st time client. I used to freak out about it, but once I decided to keep it simple, it is now habit. Example: “Paula, Thank you for choosing massage therapy! It was great to meet you. I hope your shoulder and neck are still feeling great. Have a great time shopping with your sisters! I look forward to working with you in the future. Sincerely, Tracy Bradley” I include a business card. (The part about shopping is just something I made up as if we had a conversation about shopping with sisters.) Just a little personal note. I also might send a regular client a card if they tell me they are taking a big trip or having surgery. If I know about a death I try to send a sympathy card IF they are regulars.
Thanks Tracy, that is really great info! Yes I need to keep it simple
, thanks for your replying.
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