My boss, Heather, is an extremely intelligent person. She is also a loaf of french bread (I can hear her muttering about this right now): crusty on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Most of Heather’s writing is for the Natural Touch Marketing which is mostly professional stuff.

The following letter was written for the back of our Winter 2008 catalog. I want to be really sure that everyone can have the chance to read this. Heather was definitely speaking from her french bread interior (warm and caring) when she wrote it.

As we go to press, we are hearing non-stop messages of political and financial disaster. Individual purchases of health care are down and even the wealthy are cutting back on expenses — ominous indicators for the healing arts practioner.

I commented to my chiropractor recently that I sometimes feel overwhelmed. His hands on my shoulders and kindness in his eyes, he responded, “We have to rise above it.” And I felt something shift.

Our business exists to support yours. I could offer dry comforts like “the economy has cycles, this won’t last forever.” I could suggest strategies for weathering the storm, and strategies do exist. (Our free monthly articles on Natural Touch Marketing and Eileen’s bi-weekly Marketing Matters blog are a great place to start.) But I’d rather offer something else: my personal sense of hope and optimism.

Far more important than any specific marketing strategy is your core certainty of who you are and why you are doing this. You are not a jeweler or a car salesman. You have something rare — a deep connection to the profession you’ve chosen and the people you serve.

Try to remember when you first started on this path — the excitement, the discoveries, the sense of purpose that unfolded with each step. Know that you are still on that path of discovery, wherever it leads. Now is the time to trust the combination of gut feel and serendipity that brought you here. Trust yourself and your skills. And trust your clients. Keep that connection alive and strong, and trust your ability to adapt to what they need, because they need you now more than ever.

My chiropractor didn’t just adjust my neck that day. He adjusted my inner outlook. I felt stronger, more optimistic. You can do the same with your hands, your words, your heart.

You are in our thoughts all day, every day. We’re here to help any way we can. We believe in you.

Heather Nicoll, LMP, President