Business Tips to Build a Successful Healing Practice (in 2021)
I recently had the opportunity to interview Angela Carroll, a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncturist, and naturopath. Together, we discussed the importance of switching our mindset from “what” to “why” and "who" in business and how an energy shift following that, invites in more opportunities and wins, as a practitioner in the holistic wellness industry.
In this blog, I will share with you the key points of our interview, including mindset shifts, how to onboard new wellness clients without overwhelming them, the one question you should be asking yourself as a wellness practitioner, and more.
If you want to watch the full interview on how to grow a successful energy healing business in 2021, simply click play on the video below. And please show your support by subscribing to my Youtube channel and liking the video!
Grow and Scale Your Wellness Business Without Burnout.
As you grow your healing and wellness business, there comes a time, often around the 10-year mark, when practitioners start to think about the next big goal.
Angela, also, started to feel the itch and wanted to know what was next for her in her healing practice.
“I didn't really know what else it was that I wanted to do. And I was looking at more courses I was looking at going in and doing a lot more in-depth stuff around Herbs. I was looking at doing more Chinese medicine. I actually moved from Chinese acupuncture to Japanese acupuncture. And I was just loving the whole aspect of it. But there was something else I wanted to do,” Angela admitted.
After years of searching, Angela found her calling. Now, she coaches natural healthcare practitioners to grow and scale their business, without burnout.
Tip 1: Understanding Your “Why”
For Angela, her “why” shifted from her what she was practicing, to who she was serving.
You can find your “why” by thinking about your “who”.
Think about the following questions:
Who are you seeking to serve?
And how can I serve them better?
Tip 2: Don't Forget You are Running a Business
As a practitioner, you might be familiar with this feeling: being passionate and giving away so much time and energy without expecting compensation since we truly seek to help and heal.
But this will eventually lead to overwhelm and burnout, which then actually becomes a disservice to your clients.
Practitioners need to learn to value what they're doing and hold that value. Some good business skills can help achieve this.
Because here’s the reality. We are not taught how to build successful wellness businesses when training. We generally do not learn how to market our services as wellness practitioners.
For this reason, many natural medicine businesses struggle to demonstrate their capabilities and make that positive impact on the world.
So the mindset has to change to identify the first thing that has to happen is running a successful business. This way, you keep your head above audit and your doors open, you can be there for your clients without being exhausted or losing confidence in your passion.
It's about working smarter, not working harder. And getting out of our own way.
“Who can I serve? Who am I here to serve today? Who am I open to? I'm here and available, I'm ready. And allowing that abundance to come in, as you say, I’m here of service.”, Angela added.
Tip 3: Being Aware of the Energy You are Holding
From the Vedic principles, the Chakras tell us so much information about what's happening in our subconscious layers.
So those negative self-belief patterns that we hold that keep us stuck, are likely going “Oh no, but are we going to get any clients?” or “I need more clients”
That's the energy that we are holding and this is causing us more harm than good in being successful as holistic health practitioners.
On the other hand, when we are open for service, full-hearted, thinking about who we can serve, there’s a shift in our energy. That's the energy that people are attracted to rather than holding on to and projecting lack.
And I recognize how difficult it is to shift that paradigm, but it is necessary to avoid the eventual burnout.
And there's a very big difference. Giving from abundance is different from giving from a lack of perceived value until there's nothing left.
Tip 4: Learning How to Give Strategically
Giving too much to your wellness clients too soon might be causing them more harm than good.
Giving too much information to your clients too soon can lead to overwhelm. They may be consulting with you to talk about period pains, chronic back pain, or a rash.
But as alternative health practitioners, we understand that the issue can be much deeper than that. We seek to help find the root causes instead of treating symptoms.
This often leads us to overshare and overwhelm our wellness clients with questions and information that they are not ready to receive yet.
So how do we give out information more strategically to benefit the patient-practitioner relationship? A system where the client is not overwhelmed and the practitioner does not find herself giving to the point of burning out.
“The really great practitioners meet their clients where they're at, they give them what they want, and then they give them what they need,” Angela explained.
In order to give the best value to your clients, you have to lower the bar, not raise the bar. By taking it step by step, you can more easily guarantee results and empower your clients to continue to the next step in their healing.
Tip 5: You’re Probably Not Charging Enough
Many natural medicine practitioners feel that they are overcharging and that’s the reason their clients eventually stop coming back or why it’s so hard to find new clients.
The truth is, you are most likely undercharging. And the reason clients are not staying is that you have not been over-giving! Go back to tip 3 and reflect on whether you have been overwhelming your clients and not creating small enough goals that can help feel empowered to continue.
Money is just energy.
“I often encourage practitioners to think of the money as thank yous. So the dollars are a Thank You. And we can't barter anymore. It's not like clients are going to come in with a chicken and two bushels of wheat anymore. So I'm going to work that way. But what they can do is give you the money as a thank you, and it's an energy exchange.” Angela continued.
If you find it hard to charge higher rates, Angela’s quick tip is to invest in yourself and your business. Practitioners who invest in themselves understand better that their own clients are also investing in their health and it makes sense to charge accordingly.
How do we do this? Angela has a process that can help:
“A technique for practitioners is to have a ritual in the morning and a process of abundance. So, visualizing who it is you want to attract, making sure that you're connected from the heart, seeing those people, seeing the fact that they're coming in to see you, asking for what you want, how much money you want to earn per month? How much money do you want to earn per year? What kind of clients do you want to have coming in? And that process over a period of weeks to months will actually start to bring those clients in.”
If you are still struggling to raise your rates as you want your clients to be able to afford to invest in their health, there are other ways to do it.
You can offer limited-time discounts and offers. You can invest in the charities and causes you believe in. If you charge what you are worth, you will be empowered to help more people, instead of less.
Now, it’s your turn
I hope these tips from Angela and myself will help you in your goals of building a successful energy healing business, without overwhelm.
And if you feel it’s time to add more holistic process tools to your clinical practice, I have exactly what you need!
I will be facilitating my 5-part webinar series, Metaphysical Clinic Skills For Practitioners from 5th October to 2nd November.
During the 5 live online sessions, you'll be introduced to both traditional medicine concepts and how they interrelate to common health issues. I will be sharing simple tools to support rebalancing energetics that you can implement into your practice straight away.
We'll also discover how modern scientific evidence has been supporting traditional medicine concepts in recent years and where we are headed next.
This is a great workshop for those who want to add more holistic awareness to their clinical toolkit that they can action straight away.
If you have any questions, read more about the workshop here, and don’t hesitate to send me a message at drniikee@vitalitytime.com.au.
Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful day and send you plenty of good vibes.
Dr Niikee xo
