My son’s first birthday is this September. This just floors me. It’s not that he’s been on earth for a year so much as that I have carried him, cleaned him, fed him and comforted him for a year.  And while some days have mercilessly dragged on (teething, indigestion, February), the year is (*blink*) over. How did that happen?

However it happened, there will be cake and noisemakers. And I will point out to everyone that I am very proud; it’s been a year and I haven’t dropped my son yet. I have to admit, I’m like this about businesses, too.

“It’s Your Baby — Celebrate!” continues »

When last we chatted, I was telling you about one of our regulars, Fran, who has the opportunity to take over directing the spa portion of a doctor’s practice. She wanted to know what to look out for and prepare for that was beyond the obvious.

Any input you care to give on that is welcome.

This time I want to talk about ways to “speak” to the spa’s existing and potential clientele.

When you go in and take over the supervision of an existing business, the first thing you must do is find out

“A Spa Grows in Brooklyn: thoughts on taking over a business (pt II)” continues »

A few days ago, I heard from a regular commenter and question-asker, Fran D. She has this great opportunity and wanted a little feedback from you … and me. When last we heard from Fran, she was thinking about leaving a clinic where she shared a room with 3 other therapists and moving out on her own. Here’s what’s going on now:

Something new has developed. I was offered an opportunity to take over a small spa connected to a doctor’s office. It contains two treatment rooms, dry sauna, use of exercise area, staff room, 1 full bathroom, common waiting, 4 therapists and 3 aestheticians on call, access to 5,000 patient data base.

“A Spa Grows in Brooklyn: thoughts on taking over a business (pt I)” continues »

Hi folks—

Whether you personalize through Natural Touch Marketing or a competitor or you print cards yourself, you need to think about your message very carefully.

When I was on the phones, I loved getting orders for personalization layouts. They gave me a chance to help hone your message to your customer. Here’s the basic information I would go through with each of you (some of you may find this familiar).

You should try to have only three parts in your message: contact information, a brief message and a call to action.

“Personalizing Your Message” continues »

Towards the end of my last entry I said I thought you should have a website. You should have one for the same reason you should have a business card or be listed in the phone book; it legitimizes you and your practice.

The only person I know at present who is in the middle of creating a site is my sister.

My sister, Margaret, is a schmancy, smarty-pants speech and language pathologist. I won’t try to describe what she does exactly because she says I always get it wrong and I know she’ll flood my comment box with corrections (don’t deny it, Margie). It is a healing art, though, so there is relevance.

“Pull Your Ego Back a Bit: designing and writing your website” continues »

Last entry I talked about intentionally putting yourself in the path of inspiration. In the entry, I also mentioned how huge, sweeping ideas can be winnowed down to fit you and your practice. So this entry is about how to tailor an idea that captivates you into a short message for a postcard or somesuch for your clients.

There’s a new commercial on Discovery Channel for Discovery Channel where they have the most popular shows’ personalities “singing” about how they love the whole world and how awesome it is. (And that’s the original “awesome” not the 80’s “awesome”.) It’s a warm and fuzzy commercial and I find myself thinking, “Yes! I love big bridges, too! I love Egyptian mummies, too!”

In the shower, I cogitated on what the real appeal of that commercial is to me. It’s a positive commercial and very well produced, but I think what speaks to me is the list of things that I love and that I think are cool.

So I made up a quick, off-the-top-of-my-head list of what I thought a massage therapist/bodyworker might love:

“How to Take a Great Idea and Make it Your Own” continues »