The “B’s” of Business Success
Business Side
By Arlene Alpert
Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, April/May 2001.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
What is it that makes some massage therapists instantly successful, while others pine away praying for their business to make it? One can certainly say some people have all the luck (and maybe they do), while fate has dealt others a mediocre business existence. One can also say some people just seem to have what it takes, like a head for business to advance their practice, while the rest eke out a living day by day, never feeling they have reached the standards of success of which they dreamed. One can also believe in karma, fate or destiny -- some kind of preordained plan for each one of us.
However, regardless of which category you think you fall under, believing that maintaining a business is "luck" or "being in the right place at the right time" or having the "magic touch" or "fate," may be a detriment to your professional success. Of course, we all know people who became successful with ease. But if you ever talked with them about their success, you would most likely find they put all they had into their practice. They consistently did whatever it took to promote their business -- hard work, an unwavering attention to business detail and the discipline of planning that all go into keeping a business successful.
Just in case you are bemoaning your karma, think again. Perhaps it's not just your bad luck or someone else's fortunate break that's to blame for where you are in your business today. Perhaps it has something to do with your attitude or your expectations about the way things "should" be that is promoting negativity. I prefer to think along the lines of Norman Vincent Peale who said, "At the very beginning of your effort to overcome your problems it will be necessary to take a positive mental attitude toward them, to think and believe that you can master them and that indeed you are now proceeding to do so."
Regardless of whether you classify yourself as a star of success or see yourself as a leaf clinging to the vine, continuing knowledge and utilizing new ideas and techniques are a necessity to both grow and sustain your business. Here are eight "business Bs" to remind you how.
Belief
Your beliefs can either drive your success or sabotage it. They can put obstacles in front of you or be the reason why you won't let anything get in your way. For example, "Lorna" believed all she had to do to get business was to be good at what she did. She wondered as she sat in her office day after day why the phone didn't ring. She had sent out lots of business cards and even went to a chamber of commerce meeting to network, yet new clients eluded her.
Of course it is important to have confidence in your ability, but some beliefs tend toward the irrational or have unrealistic expectations. Check your beliefs and see if they are the horse or the wagon.
Secondly, some beliefs are detrimental because instead of instilling confidence they are actually undermining your desires. Beliefs are the stuff of high or low self-esteem. Take time to check yours and create an honest picture and appraisal of your business sense.
Boundaries
Many massage therapists I know consider themselves healers. On one hand that is a good thing. On the other hand, however, it can lead to a need to "fix" your clients and eventually cause you undue stress. It is vital as a bodyworker to have boundaries in your work. If you put too much emphasis on "having" to heal, you can create an imbalance in the therapist/client relationship. Remember that healing is very much the client's responsibility too. Some clients give lip service to your healing abilities. They really don't want to get well and will sabotage your efforts.
Bounce
From my own experience as a psychotherapist and from talking with many professionals in the healing field, I have become aware how important and how vital it is to your career to maintain your purpose for being. I like to think about Wayne Dyer's concept of being "on purpose" -- of just knowing where you are, in terms of enjoying your work. In other words, are you able to maintain your enthusiasm, your excitement and your effectiveness every day and not "lose" it when a more demanding or negative client shows up on your table? Can you keep your bounce -- your fire, your animation -- with each and every client?
Behavior
The next "B" is your behavior, or the actions you take in connection with taking care of your business. Behavior follows attitude. For example, if you feel stressed and just wish the day was over or you are not looking forward to a particular client, you may show it in your behavior. Your posture might not be quite erect or your face might not be bright. In another instance, your behavior will reflect the positive attitude you have about marketing yourself.
Body
Part of keeping the passion for your work ignited is taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Your body is the first to mirror whether you are attending to your needs or not. Are you getting enough sleep, rest, relaxation, play time, friends and family activities, including meditation, journaling and the like?
Breathing
There is so much stress in the world today. People seem to be on a merry-go-round with chores and responsibilities. The work feels endless and time for ourselves is at a premium. However, without taking some breaks (and they can be short ones) and proper pacing, I am sure you will find yourself lagging by the end of the day, so that not only does your client suffer, but so do you. The only way you will take time out is by being connected to your inner time clock, the one that says stop for a little while. So urgent is this down time for all of us that corporations are recognizing the need and giving permission (and space) for brief naps. One technique that gives your body a chance to recoup is the 15-minute nap. First, find a quiet place where you can lie down. Then put your hands on your stomach and breathe from your diaphragm: Inhale through your nose to the count of four, hold for the count of four, exhale through your mouth for the count of eight. Repeat this breathing exercise four times. Now set a timer for the 15 minutes and, believe it or not, after you have trained your body to accept this brief interlude, you fall asleep. When the timer goes off 15 minutes later, you wake up refreshed and ready to resume your work.
Benefactor
No, I am not talking about a patron or someone who will finance your business, although I am certainly not opposed to having monetary support. The kind of benefactor I am referring to is a colleague, a caring friend who will let you know the truth of how you are living your business journey, a mentor who can show you the way from their own experience. You can have an abundance of these kind of people in your personal and professional life who help light your way through the dark places and to resolution.
Breakthrough
The last of the "B's" is the "ah-ha" experience. It is a term coined a number of years ago to indicate the excitement of how a union of insight, intuition and inspiration create a singular moment of incredible discovery. It could be the discovery of a new way of perceiving or an unearthing of a new aspect of yourself or a completely novel idea for increasing your business success. Whatever truth may emerge from your inner wisdom, trust what you sense, feel or understand, and then, put the knowledge revealed into action. While it is okay to give some thought to what you learned and compose a sensible plan, these moments of awareness are precious and do not happen every day, so the key to making good use of this information is to move forward with it.
- - - - -
It is wonderful to be living in an age where there are unlimited ways to seed, nurture and grow a flourishing business. Wayne Dyer said if you believe it, you will see it. Napolean Hill believed that whatever you can conceive you can achieve. There is a lot to be said about faith, hope and conviction in your innate abilities.
My last thought is -- decide what you want, make a plan, get support from others and never give up.
Arlene Alpert, MS, LMHC is president/CEO of Jupiter Consulting & Training Institute. She is a business relationships specialist, educator and author with more than 23 years of education, experience and expertise. She has presented workshops and retreats in the United States and abroad. Her latest books are Traveling Beyond Life's Roadblocks: Creating A Life Of Choice and Helping Clients To Heal. For information, call 561/744-4988, e-mail to alpert10@aol.com, or visit www.arlenealpert.com.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
What is it that makes some massage therapists instantly successful, while others pine away praying for their business to make it? One can certainly say some people have all the luck (and maybe they do), while fate has dealt others a mediocre business existence. One can also say some people just seem to have what it takes, like a head for business to advance their practice, while the rest eke out a living day by day, never feeling they have reached the standards of success of which they dreamed. One can also believe in karma, fate or destiny -- some kind of preordained plan for each one of us.
However, regardless of which category you think you fall under, believing that maintaining a business is "luck" or "being in the right place at the right time" or having the "magic touch" or "fate," may be a detriment to your professional success. Of course, we all know people who became successful with ease. But if you ever talked with them about their success, you would most likely find they put all they had into their practice. They consistently did whatever it took to promote their business -- hard work, an unwavering attention to business detail and the discipline of planning that all go into keeping a business successful.
Just in case you are bemoaning your karma, think again. Perhaps it's not just your bad luck or someone else's fortunate break that's to blame for where you are in your business today. Perhaps it has something to do with your attitude or your expectations about the way things "should" be that is promoting negativity. I prefer to think along the lines of Norman Vincent Peale who said, "At the very beginning of your effort to overcome your problems it will be necessary to take a positive mental attitude toward them, to think and believe that you can master them and that indeed you are now proceeding to do so."
Regardless of whether you classify yourself as a star of success or see yourself as a leaf clinging to the vine, continuing knowledge and utilizing new ideas and techniques are a necessity to both grow and sustain your business. Here are eight "business Bs" to remind you how.
Belief
Your beliefs can either drive your success or sabotage it. They can put obstacles in front of you or be the reason why you won't let anything get in your way. For example, "Lorna" believed all she had to do to get business was to be good at what she did. She wondered as she sat in her office day after day why the phone didn't ring. She had sent out lots of business cards and even went to a chamber of commerce meeting to network, yet new clients eluded her.
Of course it is important to have confidence in your ability, but some beliefs tend toward the irrational or have unrealistic expectations. Check your beliefs and see if they are the horse or the wagon.
Secondly, some beliefs are detrimental because instead of instilling confidence they are actually undermining your desires. Beliefs are the stuff of high or low self-esteem. Take time to check yours and create an honest picture and appraisal of your business sense.
Boundaries
Many massage therapists I know consider themselves healers. On one hand that is a good thing. On the other hand, however, it can lead to a need to "fix" your clients and eventually cause you undue stress. It is vital as a bodyworker to have boundaries in your work. If you put too much emphasis on "having" to heal, you can create an imbalance in the therapist/client relationship. Remember that healing is very much the client's responsibility too. Some clients give lip service to your healing abilities. They really don't want to get well and will sabotage your efforts.
Bounce
From my own experience as a psychotherapist and from talking with many professionals in the healing field, I have become aware how important and how vital it is to your career to maintain your purpose for being. I like to think about Wayne Dyer's concept of being "on purpose" -- of just knowing where you are, in terms of enjoying your work. In other words, are you able to maintain your enthusiasm, your excitement and your effectiveness every day and not "lose" it when a more demanding or negative client shows up on your table? Can you keep your bounce -- your fire, your animation -- with each and every client?
Behavior
The next "B" is your behavior, or the actions you take in connection with taking care of your business. Behavior follows attitude. For example, if you feel stressed and just wish the day was over or you are not looking forward to a particular client, you may show it in your behavior. Your posture might not be quite erect or your face might not be bright. In another instance, your behavior will reflect the positive attitude you have about marketing yourself.
Body
Part of keeping the passion for your work ignited is taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Your body is the first to mirror whether you are attending to your needs or not. Are you getting enough sleep, rest, relaxation, play time, friends and family activities, including meditation, journaling and the like?
Breathing
There is so much stress in the world today. People seem to be on a merry-go-round with chores and responsibilities. The work feels endless and time for ourselves is at a premium. However, without taking some breaks (and they can be short ones) and proper pacing, I am sure you will find yourself lagging by the end of the day, so that not only does your client suffer, but so do you. The only way you will take time out is by being connected to your inner time clock, the one that says stop for a little while. So urgent is this down time for all of us that corporations are recognizing the need and giving permission (and space) for brief naps. One technique that gives your body a chance to recoup is the 15-minute nap. First, find a quiet place where you can lie down. Then put your hands on your stomach and breathe from your diaphragm: Inhale through your nose to the count of four, hold for the count of four, exhale through your mouth for the count of eight. Repeat this breathing exercise four times. Now set a timer for the 15 minutes and, believe it or not, after you have trained your body to accept this brief interlude, you fall asleep. When the timer goes off 15 minutes later, you wake up refreshed and ready to resume your work.
Benefactor
No, I am not talking about a patron or someone who will finance your business, although I am certainly not opposed to having monetary support. The kind of benefactor I am referring to is a colleague, a caring friend who will let you know the truth of how you are living your business journey, a mentor who can show you the way from their own experience. You can have an abundance of these kind of people in your personal and professional life who help light your way through the dark places and to resolution.
Breakthrough
The last of the "B's" is the "ah-ha" experience. It is a term coined a number of years ago to indicate the excitement of how a union of insight, intuition and inspiration create a singular moment of incredible discovery. It could be the discovery of a new way of perceiving or an unearthing of a new aspect of yourself or a completely novel idea for increasing your business success. Whatever truth may emerge from your inner wisdom, trust what you sense, feel or understand, and then, put the knowledge revealed into action. While it is okay to give some thought to what you learned and compose a sensible plan, these moments of awareness are precious and do not happen every day, so the key to making good use of this information is to move forward with it.
- - - - -
It is wonderful to be living in an age where there are unlimited ways to seed, nurture and grow a flourishing business. Wayne Dyer said if you believe it, you will see it. Napolean Hill believed that whatever you can conceive you can achieve. There is a lot to be said about faith, hope and conviction in your innate abilities.
My last thought is -- decide what you want, make a plan, get support from others and never give up.
Arlene Alpert, MS, LMHC is president/CEO of Jupiter Consulting & Training Institute. She is a business relationships specialist, educator and author with more than 23 years of education, experience and expertise. She has presented workshops and retreats in the United States and abroad. Her latest books are Traveling Beyond Life's Roadblocks: Creating A Life Of Choice and Helping Clients To Heal. For information, call 561/744-4988, e-mail to alpert10@aol.com, or visit www.arlenealpert.com.
