Clarity in Client Attraction - Free Training Call

Fabienne Fredrickson is having another great free training call on

Wednesday February 22nd 8:00 p.m. EST. 

I just signed up and want to share it with you.  She will be teaching the five part formula to get more clients.

You will learn:

• How to get clear on who your ideal client is
• How to create a truly compelling marketing message
• The secrets to closing the sale at least 97% of the time
• The exact process to fill your own practice so that you make lots more and serve way more clients
• And so much more…

Sign Up Here

The Fastest Path to Cash

 "In the beginning of your business the fastest path to cash is private clients." says Fabienne Fredrickson, client attraction expert.  She recommends creating passive income products after your practice is full.  Watch her video to see why.

How to Create a Mobile Spa Business

I love being part of Mary Lyn Miller's Fired Up for Success Network because of the great "First Monday" calls.  Right now I'm listening to the first in a series of "Do Less and Make More Money" teleclasses.  Mary Lyn is interviewing Helen Hodgson, a mobile massage and spa business owner, who has had great success in leveraging her business by building a strong team of professionals for her mobile spa business. 

If you are a massage or spa owner who wants to learn how to create a successful mobile spa business, Helen is offering a great 5 week teleclass to teach you what she has learned in her 10 years of experience.  During the 5 weeks you will get group coaching and detailed information on how to leverage your time with your own mobile spa business.  The teleclass series started February 6th, but you can still sign up and get a recorded copy of the first class.
http://www.howtocreateamobilespabusiness.com/fiveweekteleclass.htm

From Creative Tornado to Powerhouse of Productivity

Here is my latest article on goal setting for creative people which was just recently published at www.selfgrowth.com. If you are putting a lot of creative energy into building your holistic healing business, but feel like you're spinning your wheels or going from one thing to the next without accomplishing much, read how you can become a powerhouse of productivity....

Creative, holistically minded people work in circular patterns, often experiencing life in more of a spiral than a linear fashion. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with this pattern. In fact it is essential for creative expansion and it must be honored as part of the creative process. Without the help of linear goals, however, the circular approach to life and work can spiral out of control, so much so that the highly creative person runs around in circles feeling overwhelmed and achieving very little. I call this the "creative tornado". The tornado gains momentum as it spins and if it doesn't have a direct intention and linear direction as a guide, it will move randomly and in a disorganized fashion which impedes the process of true achievement.

The process of setting and achieving goals is typically seen as a linear activity of moving forward (or horizontally) on a timeline, but it is actually a vertical and horizontal activity which transforms an out of control tornado into a powerhouse of productivity. Powerful goals establish a vertical column of intention directly into the center of the tornado. Some people may see this as a vision, a big picture of what is desired. Nonetheless is an essential part of the goal achievement process. This vertical line of intention provides inner stability to the creative tornado. The tasks which must be achieved over time create the horizontal line of power which moves the spiral pattern along a deliberate path.

To use linear goal setting effectively for the purpose of directing creative energy, first establish a vision for the project. What will it look and feel like when it's completed? It's very helpful to get into the feeling aspect of a vision. As the project takes form its appearance often shifts, but the feeling of what is desired stays constant. Next set a timeframe for its completion. Then list the steps which need to happen to get to the final vision. Once the steps are outlined establish a timeframe of completion for each step along the way. These are guidelines and will need to be adjusted along the way. But without a clear idea of what needs to be done and when it can reasonably be completed, the spiral energy has no direction or momentum.

When the vertical and horizontal elements of linear goals are used in this way, the spiraling creative energy is strengthened. The creative process gains momentum in a deliberate way, picking up, incorporating and integrating the things which are most important for the creation. This turns an aimless tornado of creative effort into a powerhouse of productivity.

Author's Bio:

Sandy Freschi is a personal life coach, ordained minister and intuitive healer with over 20 years experience in the healing and helping professions. Her mission is to empower people to create the life they want with the wisdom they have. She believes that the best way to do this is by fully living the inner spirit in the outer world. http://www.coachingwithsandy.com

The Case for the Blended Career

For many years my massage business was my primary source of income.  Although I re-created and expanded it several times and managed to build in multiple streams of income from different sources within the business (a topic I'll explore int he future), it was still just one business, one career and one identity.  That got old after 15 or 16 years...probably sooner than that.  I got bored and tired of pushing my own cart uphill.  Perhaps it was the economic downturn which also encouraged me to take on another perspective.  Today I happily do several things which provide me income.  Currently my primary source of income is from massage, but instead of working for myself I've found a spa which supports my needs quite nicely.  I work much saner hours than I used to work on my own, and the clientele and services are varied enough to keep me from getting bored.  I also do distant healing which I love immensely, but can't imagine doing 8 hours a day.  And I am also beginning to do life coaching again.  I was doing life coaching when I once abandoned my massage career (sold my massage practice and walked away thinking I would never return to the profession).   Little did I realize at the time that doing massage for steady income was the anchor I needed to get my coaching practice off the ground.  Eventually, at least one of those things will bring multiple streams of income, but the most important thing is that I'm growing in many different directions.

Some people need to immerse themselves in just one thing.  In my previous life with just one source of income, I was learning how to go deep into my work...sometimes compulsively so.  Perhaps as time goes on I will find the need to go back to that method (sans the compulsion).  But we live in the 21st century where multiple things are going on all at once and life is whizzing by at record speed.  I happen to be one of those people who wants to experience more than just one thing.  I thrive on variety.  I thrive on possibility.  And perhaps the next thing I need to master is how to balance it all.

Why I Stopped Coaching and Why I'm Starting Again

I love this time between Christmas and New Years.  It's a great opportunity to reflect on the old year and lay out plans for the time ahead.  This year it seems particularly productive.  I've established a new theme for my life and I'm ready to move forward with confidence. After a long year of laying a stable foundation and building on it, I finally feel ready to build my coaching practice again. 

I don't know why this decision took me by surprise, perhaps because just 12 months ago I had abandoned a lot of my previous ideas about the way I wanted to build my business.  In fact I had almost entirely abandoned my business, choosing be an intrapreneur instead of an entrepreneur.  Now I see that this was a necessary step which appeared like I was going backwards, but I was really only looping around to revisit pieces of my old life and integrate them into my new one. 

In 2007 I set in motion a process which required me to entirely dismantle my old life.  I had a highly successful healing arts practice in a different geographical location.  I was in a marriage which had lasted more than a decade and a half.  And I was just beginning to get the inkling that I wanted to transition my career into coaching.  This inkling was born out of the desire to have a more simplistic lifestyle where I could work from home or anywhere I desired.  I wanted to develop more helping skills and use them in ways that my massage and energy healing practice would not allow. I also wanted to have a better partnership and had finally decided that I was willing, if needed, to give up my current husband in order to get that.  Little did I know at the time that I was asking for a change of epic proportions which left very few pieces of my old identity standing.

So here I stand, virtually on the eve of 2012, with my feet under me, free of old internal and external restraints, living in a new location, thriving in a better partnership, still doing my healing work, and living more deeply and richly than I had dared to imagine.  It was a long trip which seemed to happen in just a split second.  So I stand here at the door of where I started, ready to begin coaching again.  Only this time a lifetime has been lived in just 5 short years.  Mountains have been climbed and moved and totally leveled.  Boats have been rocked and capsized and salvaged.  Pieces of my dormant inner spirit have reemerged begging for expression.  It's no wonder that I needed to set aside my coaching business for a while.  I needed to get my bearings.  I needed to land in a supportive place so that I can truly offer the best I have to give.

In 2012 I'll will build my coaching practice again, practically from scratch.  It's going to be exciting, and I'm hoping that you will join me on this journey.  There will be free sessions, special offers and I'll also be resurrecting some of my old coaching/healing materials which were very valuable to my past clients.  Stay tuned for more.  The best is yet to come!

Tips for Holiday Gift Certificate Marketing

The holidays are the kick off to the season of gift giving which lasts well into June.  The major focal points are Christmas/Hannukah, Valentines Day, Graduations, Mother's Day and Father's Day.  Even Administrative Assistants day (in April) is a significant opportunity for some businesses to sell gift certificates.  Now is the time to put some ideas and plans in place which give you visibility, and help you create a cushion from gift certificate sales. 

1. Think of gift certificates as a marketing tool.  Massage therapists, especially, often lament the one-time nature of gift certificate services.  Think of the one time that you have with a client who comes to you with a gift certificate as an opportunity to educate a potential long term client about the benefits of your services.  It is an extension of your "word of mouth" marketing strategy.  That particular client may only come in once...or once a year, but most likely they will tell others about your good service and the benefit they received.  They also know where to get a gift certificate when they need it.  As a massage therapist, I had a whole sub-clientele of gift givers and receivers, who either gave gift certificates regularly or who came in on gift certificates that were given to them.
2. Carry gift certificates with you wherever you go.  Everyone knows it's not "cool" to push gift certificates at Christmas parties, but never show up to any event, business or social, empty handed.  Keep gift certificates in your handbag or your glove compartment.  During the holidays, people are looking for easy ways to purchase great gifts.  Don't make them wait to call you in the office.  If they ask, be ready to offer.
3. Create a "Stocking Stuffer" Service. If your services are priced in the high end range, consider offering a special mini version of something more involved.  One year when I was doing Soul Realignment, I offered a Mini Soul Profile, which was an abbreviated version of the full Soul Profile Report.  Once clients redeemed the Mini Soul Profile, they received a discount on the full report, if they choose to get it in the future.
4. Leverage the Internet.  Create an email marketing campaign for your existing clients.  Start with an informative newsletter, using one of the popular email marketing services like Mail Chimp (it's free), and follow up with timely offers leading into the holidays.  Many of the offers I've seen this year are playing on the "12 days of Christmas" theme.  If you have a website, make a holiday gift page and add a service , like Paypal, where customers can purchase gift certificates online.
5. Sell packages and give incentives for bulk purchases.  In my previous massage practice, I would offer one time seasonal packages so that my clients could purchase multiple massages at a discount.  They were also encouraged to convert a portion of those massages into gift certificates for friends and family.  My faithful clients loved the opportunity to stock up and share my services with others.  Make sure that you put a limit on the number of sessions clients can purchase, and that the amount of discount will not put you into the hole a few months down the line.
6. Give something away.  It is the season for giving, and a time to express your appreciation for your clients' business.  Offer them something useful to show that appreciation.  It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive, just in keeping with the spirit of giving.  It could be an add-on service, like extra time or hot stones with their massage.  You could give this gift as an incentive for purchasing a package, or just to your best clients.  This season I made a special meditation for my monthly newsletter subscribers to help them focus their energy and harness it for the coming year.  All my newsletter subscribers get a free monthly meditation, but this one had a special focus.