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7 tips to help you organise your practice

I admit it, I love planning and I love to plan my work and my practice!

I have a bullet journal for notes and planning that I use most days. I set it up each month so I have a sense of what my goals are.

This system helps me keep on top of my work-life balance generally, as well as keep my practice moving forward.

I think better with a pen in my hand, and when I make written notes, I am more likely to remember them.

When I was at CHE I had a Practice Planning notebook, a simple A5 notebook from Muji. I carried it around with me so I could capture any ideas for how to grow my practice.

I remember getting to the end and starting a new one by copying out the best ideas from the first notebook.

Here’s a quote I wrote inside the cover. It’s one that still resonates with me.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

Calvin Coolidge

Planning and persistence

My first career was in primary teaching and my first classroom had a blackboard and chalk.

By the time I left teaching I was using an Interactive Whiteboard for all my lessons!

As an Assistant Head Teacher, I was part of a leadership team that had to plan and implement change and innovation at a whole school level.

Planning and persistence were the foundation of my work as a teacher and it’s helped me so much in my work as a homeopath too.

Planning routines

I have a ‘word’ to guide me each year, and I write it at the front of each journal.

One journal lasts me around 4 months, and I start new ones in January, May, and September each year.

Quarterly (or termly) goals are built on a simple pen-and-paper exercie. You could call it a Practice Audit.

This is partly looking at data, and partly developing strategy.

I start with a review of my client list and think about what types of cases I’ve seen, and how they are going.

I total my numbers, my income, my outgoings, and my overall ‘wins’.

I ask myself what I can learn from my review. 

I look for patterns beyond the obvious.

I consider what I need to stop doing, start doing, and where I need to adjust.

I make a note of any insights in my journal so I can refer back to it when I plan for the coming months.

This is how bullet journaling helps me stay on track with my goals.

I make time for a weekly review which helps me be organised as well as strategic.

7 tips to help you plan your practice

Here’s what I’ve learned from 15 years of practice planning.

  1. Plan each day the evening before. If you know what you are doing, you’re less likely to get ‘derailed’ by other people’s demands and priorities. Block out time for different types of work.
  2. Start a bullet journal. Use it for all plans, notes, and reflections. You can do this very simply. No special tools or drawing skills are needed! See the end of this post for my favourite resources.
  3. Make time for a weekly review. Even half an hour is valuable. Sit with your journal, and your calendar and think back a couple of weeks, look forward a couple of weeks. Sift through your commitments and get organised! Recognise your accomplishments, no matter how small. Notice where you got stuck, and think about what you would do differently next time.
  4. Don’t spread yourself too thin! Focus on one or two goals per quarter, break them down into smaller actionable steps, and block out some time to do them each month. Big goals take a while, so give yourself some smaller, more achievable ones too.
  5. Don’t compare yourself to other people. This can be really demoralising. Focus on your own path, and celebrate your own wins.
  6. Find someone you trust to be your cheerleader. This could be a colleague, your supervisor, another friend in business, or a coach or mentor. The Radiant Business courses I offer always have the loveliest people join. (Just saying…)
  7. Try free-writing. I highly recommend morning pages at least a few days per week, and maybe even work through The Artist’s Way or The Artist’s Way at Work to help with confidence and self-growth.

Best bullet journal resources

I’m always being asked for Bullet Journal Resources, so here they are all in one place!

I hope this article has given you some ideas and inspiration for how to plan your practice.

Tools and rituals for better photography

 

Your photography adds a personal touch


The easiest way to personalise your blog and newsletter is to use photos you’ve taken yourself.

If you are on social media, you most likely share photos there already.

But do you use your own photos elsewhere?

Commercially produced photos are tempting and often free.

They can seem like a useful short-cut to add a quick image to a blog post or newsletter but the truth is that it’s not easy to find the ‘right’ photo when you need it.

The stock photo dilemma

This was my dilemma when I started to write regular newsletters and blog posts for Homeopathy with Tracy and Your Radiant Business.

I didn’t really know what kind of images I wanted to use, but I knew I didn’t want to use stock photos.

So there I was, stuck.

My phone camera at the time wasn’t anywhere near as good as my current model.

I also knew my photography wasn’t up to scratch.

I decided the only thing to do was to invest time and money to improve my skills. I took courses, attended workshops, watched videos and read books and articles.

Deliberate practice

As well as making time to learn, the other thing I did was consciously improve my skills through deliberate practice.

Every time I took a photo I applied the skills I’d learned in composition and by looking for good light.

Gradually my photos improved and my style evolved.

Technology has improved too.

“The whole nature of photography has changed with the advent of a camera in everyone’s hand.”

Sally Mann

I learned to make time for ‘flat lay’ photo shoots for Your Radiant Business.

At first I would take a photo only when I needed one, but I realised it was easier to set aside dedicated time for it.

Gradually I found a good rhythm and flow so now I always have an image to hand.

Photography shares your values

I believe that it’s worth trying to up level your photography skills for life in general, but also as a way to evolve your business ‘brand identity’.

Your own photography will give your content a personal touch that you can’t get from stock photos.

Images help us show our values and can be used to convey positive emotions.

  • Photos of plants show the beauty of nature
  • Photos with blue sky bring optimism
  • Photos of water and reflections are calm
  • Photos of food remind us to nourish ourselves

Photography involves observation and attention to detail.

We use exactly the same skills in our homeopathy work.

I know everyday life can feel mundane and not worthy of photography, but I would like to encourage you to be open to a different perspective.

“In photography, everything seems so ordinary. It takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary.”

David Bailey

The truth is that the more we look the more we see.

The place where you live and the objects in your life are yours.

When you take photos you are showing the world as you see it.

Over time you can evolve your own style that is unique to you.

Everyone is a photographer

You might not see yourself as a photographer, but I would argue that you are. Everyone is!

I’m way off being a professional photographer, but I can see the progress I’ve made as I look back through the years.

My more recent ones feel more balanced, have better awareness of composition and light.

These are areas we can all improve.

It does take some time investment, as with learning any new skill, but it’s worth it.

How I use photography

When I take photos for both Homeopathy with Tracy and Your Radiant Business my approach for each business is slightly different.

I’ll explain.

For Homeopathy with Tracy, I include a photo of a local scene in each newsletter and sometimes I also use the photo for a blog post. [See my Homeopathy with Tracy newsletter archive here]

I try to take photos when there’s good light – early/mid morning or late afternoon/early evening is usually a good bet, though in the winter it can be little more challenging.

Luckily I live near a canal and a park with a lake, which is where I often take my photos. Failing this, I will take photos of trees, sometimes plants, and occasionally one of my cat or dog.

I’m aware that I need to take a reasonable photo once or twice a week, but I don’t schedule it. I simply do it when I’m out for a walk anyway.

I don’t actively use social media for homeopathy marketing for many reasons, but mostly because I don’t feel it’s in alignment with my values.

I focus on organic SEO for my website as this works best to attract new clients, plus my newsletter helps strengthen client relationships and leads to repeat bookings and referrals. [Related post: Why newsletters should be the heart of your homeopathy practice]

This is why my personal Instagram doubles as a Homeopathy with Tracy one. [See my personal Instagram here] – you are welcome to follow but if possible, follow with your personal rather than your homeopathy account

Some months I share a photo every week on Instagram, other months I might just share one or two images. I never plan it, I simply share a photo when I feel inspired and when I feel I’ve taken a nice photo.

There is some cross-over with my homeopathy work as I occasionally share a link to my Instagram on my homeopathy newsletter, so people can see a particular post.

Also, I’m aware that some of my clients prefer to follow me on social media rather than subscribe to my newsletter and I’m fine with that.

To summarise: for Homeopathy with Tracy I take photos regularly when I am out and about, and use them for my Homeopathy with Tracy newsletter and blog, and I share a photo on my personal Instagram when I happen to feel inspired.

Photography for Radiant Business

For Radiant Business I have a different approach.

My content here is about work, systems, processes, reflective practice etc. My images need to reflect that. This is why my photography for Radiant Business is taken indoors.

I use props such as journals, notepads, inspirational postcards etc.

I also use symbolic objects.

  • a plant to suggest growth
  • a bowl to represent income
  • crystals as a reminder to set boundaries
  • shells to symbolise the spiral path on the practice journey

I regularly set aside time for an indoor photo shoot using these props where I take photos for the newsletter which double up as Instagram posts, plus I take some extras just for Instagram as I post more regularly there.

Once a week I take a ‘behind the scenes’ photo of wherever I am working that day, and share that too.

Both types of photo are taken indoors. The style is quite different from the outdoor scenic ones I take for Homeopathy with Tracy.

The reason I post on Instagram for Radiant Business is that it’s a good place to keep in touch with many of the homeopaths who’ve done my courses, plus it helps me to meet student homeopaths too.

Radiant Business is all about my work as a homeopath, and the courses I offer to homeopaths, and that is what I post about.

My personal assistant Eloise creates my Instagram tiles with wording with an app called Canva. 

Eloise also sets up most of the Instagram posts for me, though I do some. (Eloise doesn’t do any of the commenting though, that’s always me!)

To make Radiant Business on Instagram work easier for both of us, we have a system of folders for each month of the year. 

Each monthly folder has the free Radiant Business planner and quote for the month, plus 4 or 5 photos that have been taken in advance by me. 

I write up notes for each post in a spreadsheet which is our social media plan. I am not always up to date with this, but I’m getting better at it.

To summarise: for Radiant Business I regularly set aside time for an indoor photo shoot where I take photos for a couple of months at a time. I use these for the newsletter, blog and Instagram. I also take extra photos ‘behind the scenes’ for Instagram as I post several times per week.

Radiant Business photo styling

My photo style for Radiant Business on Instagram is a combination of two types of photos.

  1. Flat lay (a ‘still life’ taken from above)
  2. Behind the scenes (a photo/video from wherever I happen to be working on the day)

The ‘flat lay’ photos are all taken in advance.

The photo at the top of the newsletter is a picture with all the props I used for my photography shoot for August and September 2021. 

The props are the most essential part of a flat lay photo shoot.

The best tip I have for flat lay photography is to get yourself set up near natural daylight and to turn off all lights.

The ones I used for this shoot included:

  • books
  • journals 
  • notebooks
  • postcards
  • poster
  • leaves 
  • scissors
  • bowl
  • crystals
  • shells
  • string
  • leaf shaped dish
  • cloth

Rituals for better photographs

  1. Prepare the background
    Does anything need to be cleaned, wiped, or moved out of the way?
  2. Prepare the props
    Decide which objects to include in the scene.
  3. Experiment
    Move things around, stand back and look with a critical eye. Take a few photos to see how things are looking.
  4. Take 2 formats
    For each image take photos in 1:1 format (square, for Instagram) and another in 3:4 format (rectangle, for a newsletter or blog).
  5. Review the photos
    Make a cup of tea! Favourite the best ones and delete the others. See if there are any that need to be taken again, or if there are any missing.
  6. Take the last few!
    This doesn’t take long.
  7. Tidy up!
    Clearing and tidying away completes the creative process. It helps refresh the mind ready for the next step.
  8. Edit
    Use an app to do some very light editing. (I like VSCO). Always straighten, maybe add a little exposure to brighten, or adjust the contrast or sharpening. (When I say a little, I mean 0.1 adjustments.)
  9. Upload
    Upload all the edited photos to your computer, where they are ready to use. This brings a sense of satisfaction and completion.

Does this sound like a lot of work?

Yes it is, and but it’s got easier as I repeat it regularly with the same steps each time.

I really enjoy this creative part of my work, and feel that it brings a lightness to both my businesses.

The rituals are a process that help me get it done.

You might not need to do all of these steps, but I recommend you at least try it.

I only started editing and uploading as part of my photo shoot a few months ago, and it has been a revelation. It saves me so much time.

Note: I have learned much about photography and especially for ‘flat lays’ from Emily Quinton, who has lots of videos on Youtube. Emily is now focusing on sharing her life with her neurodiverse family here.

7 tips for better photography

If you’d like to improve your photography skills, here are some tips for you.

  1. Think about light
    If you are going to take photos outdoors, you will get better light in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. If you are indoors, you’ll need to be near a window, ideally not north-facing.
  2. Keep your camera straight
    Ensure your camera (or phone) is completely vertical (or horizontal if you are shooting a flat lay).
  3. Move around
    Always try taking a photo from a few different directions. Hold your camera higher, hold it lower, move to the side.
  4. Focus
    Choose one thing to be the ‘subject’ of your photo. If you are using a phone ‘tap’ on the subject so it will be in focus. Try not to have it in the centre, but either mid-left or mid-right.
  5. Use the gridlines
    Your photo will be better if you divide it visually into thirds. Try to have any horizon on one of the gridlines.
  6. Practice
    The more you take photos, the more proficient you will become.
  7. Edit lightly
    Photos look better when they appear natural. Filters are always too strong. Use a light touch when editing for best results.

Photography resources

I hope this article has given you some ideas and inspiration. If you’re on Instagram, please feel free to follow and tag me @radiantbusiness if you’d like me to see how you put these ideas into practice. I would love to see and hear how you get on!

Why Newsletters Need to be at the Heart of your Marketing Strategy

When the pandemic started just over a year ago, I decided to send my practice newsletter weekly instead of fortnightly.

Lately I’ve been wondering whether to go back to fortnightly, or even monthly.

This would save me time, for sure.

But, I like writing my newsletter and it’s something I look forward to.

I like having people write back (which happens a lot!)

Plus, it’s a creative and joyful practice for me.

It makes a change from working directly with clients.

It’s also my best tool for keeping my practice busy.

Every tool in the book

I have tried pretty much every tool in the book to promote my practice, especially in the first few years after starting out.

Most of them involved me ‘putting myself out there’ in different ways.

You can’t get away from that while you’re growing a practice.

There is no ‘magic bullet’ and they all helped me grow the practice I have today.

  • Advert in my local NCT quarterly magazine
  • Workshops on Homeopathy for Childbirth
  • Workshops on Homeopathy for the Family
  • Talks about Homeopathy at my local Women’s Institute
  • Talks on Hormonal Wisdom
  • Stalls at summer fayres
  • Consultations and kits donated for raffles and auctions
  • Therapy swaps with other therapists
  • Talks and treatments on retreats for carers
  • Low Cost Clinic at my local Carers’ Centre
  • Poster pinned on local noticeboards
  • Fliers in local coffee shops, children’s centres etc.
  • Networking group meetings
  • Free ‘self-care’ email course
  • Paid ‘decluttering’ email course
  • Editorial in local listings magazine
  • Online listing on Findahomeopath.com
  • Online listing in Therapy Directory
  • Online listing on the Hip List
  • Facebook page (until 4 years ago)
  • Instagram page

Two types of marketing

I started my practice newsletter around ten years ago, but it was very sporadic for the first few years.

Gradually I started to write it more often, but I used to find it quite hard to think of what to write about.

Then I attended an incredibly helpful workshop run by David Hieatt from the Do Lectures.

I learned there is one big difference between the list of things above and my practice newsletter.

They are/were designed to attract new clients.

My newsletter is designed to build relationships.

My newsletter strategy is now to keep people in touch with me.

This is why my newsletter strategy is to give value by sharing things I feel will be of interest.

I want my newsletter to make people feel warm, optimistic and inspired.

Sure, I include news from my practice and I might include information about products I’m promoting.

But I don’t focus on sales messaging.

There’s enough of that everywhere else.

Client-centred marketing

After 14 years of practice I have seen hundreds and hundreds of people.

I still see clients who have been with me since the very first year I was in practice.

They don’t come back every month, or even every year, but they do come back when they need me.

These long-term relationships help make my work more enjoyable and feel more meaningful.

  • Women who came to see me for UTI or candida ten years ago are back for support through pregnancy.
  • Women who brought their kids to see me for eczema are back for support with perimenopause.
  • Women who came to see me for hayfever during pregnancy are bringing their young teens to see me for anxiety about starting secondary school.

The thread that keeps them in touch with me is my newsletter.

Sure, some of them follow me on Instagram, where I share pictures of my walks in the park. 

But for me, the newsletter is a place where I have a more personal connection.

Plus, when they write back to me with a question or a hello, or something else, they’re right in my in-box which is where I want them to be.

If you haven’t started a newsletter yet, why not give it a try?

Here are my tips to help you get started.

Tips to get started with newsletters

  • Take some time to look at newsletters you enjoy receiving – try to figure out what you like about them and then use that as inspiration
  • Sign up for a free trial with a few different newsletter tools: Mailchimp, Sendinblue, Mailerlite, Flodesk are four I recommend
  • Ask your designer (if you have one) to create a template for you
  • You can also have a go at designing your own
  • Choose a date as a deadline to send your first one
  • Allow a few weeks to draft, redraft and send a test before you press SEND for real!
  • Ask current clients if they would like to subscribe
  • Add a newsletter sign up on your website (if you have WordPress this is easy to do via a ‘plug-in’)
  • Collate ideas for possible content
  • Add images
  • Have fun with it!

Everything gets easier with practice

As with anything new, and especially with anything new involving tech, there is a bit of a learning curve.

The tips I’ve given you make this sound easy, but I will be honest and say there is a time investment at the start.

It take some discipline, but the more often you do it, the easier it becomes.

I recommend a monthly newsletter initially because if you only send it quarterly there is a chance you’ll forget what you learned.

Monthly gives you a nice rhythm and, most importantly, a deadline.

Try to have one day in your week when you focus on marketing and put aside some of that time for working on your newsletters. [Related post: The secret to time management for a successful practice]

I’m sometimes asked if I run workshops on newsletters. I used to, but I don’t any more.

This is because learning how to write a regular newsletter is a process, not something you can easily learn by watching a webinar or through a workshop.

The Radiant Business Meaningful Marketing Membership is where I offer teaching and guidance in the process of learning about newsletters and blogs.

The community there gives us a space to learn and support each other on the journey.

This is open to anyone who has completed one of my Radiant Business School courses.

The Membership will be opening up to new members again this June.

If you’re wondering whether this is your time to join, please drop me a line.

Or, if you’ve got a newsletter already, but you’d like some input or fresh ideas, then a mentoring call might be a good option for you.

You can get in touch via email: hello@yourradiantbusiness.com

I hope you found some inspiration here.

Good luck with your newsletter!

The Secret to Time Management for a Successful Practice

Do you want to work full-time? I am sometimes asked if I work full-time, and I always laugh.

It depends on what you mean by full-time…

I don’t see people all day, every day, five days a week, but if you include all the other aspects of my work outside of clinic… then yes my work is pretty much full-time.

I don’t want to work full-time though.

My goal is to work four days a week, with one day per week completely free.

My first career was in teaching, and one of my reasons for training as a homeopath was to get more time, and more flexibility, while also earning a decent living.

Someone recently asked me,

“How do you create good time management? You seem to find time to get so much done. You work on your business as well as in your business. How do you do it?”

I do think about how best to manage my time, and recently I’ve been making a note of how long things take. That has helped a lot.

But if there was just one thing that made a difference to how much I get done each week, it’s this …

…

The Secret to Time Management for a Successful PracticeRead More »

The 6 Stages of Practice

I’m currently mentoring two experienced homeopaths and enjoying it very much. We’ve been talking about the steps they need to take them to where they want to be in their practice.

The more experienced and the busier you are, the harder it can be to see the wood for the trees, which is why they reached out for mentoring.

Here’s something that none of us fully realise when we are starting out; your systems and strategy need to be regularly reviewed and adjusted or you may struggle to move to the next level.

Which stage of practice are you in?

Wherever you are in your practice-building journey, small changes can make a big difference once you’ve figured out what your priorities should be.

Here’s how I see the stages of practice, and I’ve also included some notes on the areas I would see as a priority for each stage.

  1. Student – busy learning and working on cases
  2. Newly graduated – building your client list
  3. Early days – getting yourself out there
  4. Pretty busy – a steady flow of enquiries
  5. At capacity – booked a week or two ahead
  6. Fully booked – struggling to keep up

If you’re at Stage 1, it’s hard to imagine ever being at Stage 6! You’ll be wondering where to find your first clients, and, importantly, how to keep them. 

If you’re at Stage 2 or 3, you might still be needing to work another job to make up for the quiet weeks. 

Stage 4 can feel good, though you will often find some weeks are busier than others. 

Stage 5 is great if you can stay there. You might not feel your income matches the time you’re spending on work. 

Stage 6 is hard. You might feel ‘behind’ most of the time and family and friends might be starting to complain that you work too much. 

4 Tips For Each Of The Stages Of Practice…

Stage 1

  • Practice using everyday language when you talk about what you do. 
  • Set up a booking system that will grow with you. [Related post: Why I recommend Timely]
  • Write a client-therapist agreement that reflects how you work.
  • Offer a free 30-minute call to any one interested in being a case study.

Stage 2

  • Start to think about some sort of niche or specialism. 
  • Promote free 30-minute introductory calls around this topic.
  • Write a list of supportive friends and family and email them to ask for referrals.
  • Offer concessions and promote this widely.

Stage 3

  • Invest in good design and a website build. 
  • Set up interviews with your ideal clients to find out more about how they found you and what they value about homeopathy. 
  • Use this information to help you write copy for your website.
  • Set up a Google Business Account and ask for Google reviews.

Stage 4

  • Streamline your schedule. 
  • See clients on just 2 days and use any spare time to write blog posts on topics that you are knowledgeable about. 
  • Optimise them for SEO. 
  • Start a regular newsletter if you haven’t already.

Stage 5

  • Increase your prices. 
  • Reflect on your client base to help you be clear about who you want to work with.
  • Use your booking system and discovery calls to filter out enquiries that are not ideal clients. Refer on to colleagues or student clinics.
  • Be realistic about how many concessions you can offer and cap them if necessary.

Stage 6

  • Reflect back each week to identify areas where you have issues with boundaries.
  • Adjust your schedule, systems and client-therapist agreement so that your boundaries are clear.
  • Consider hiring a part-time assistant for admin support.
  • Consider mentoring to help give you clarity and insight.

Have a think…does anything here resonate with you? What are your challenges right now?

If you feel mentoring would be a next step for you, feel free to contact me on: hello@yourradiantbusiness.com

Remember, wherever you are in your practice you’ve worked hard to get there.

Give yourself credit for what you’ve already achieved.

I offer regular workshops and webinars for the different stages of practice.

Sign up for the my fortnightly Practice Reflections newsletter to find out more.

Better than Boundaries

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might remember that in November 2020 I made the decision to leave my clinic and move to my own office-space instead.

Until the pandemic changed everything, my practice was largely face-to-face, and I worked from a local clinic in Bethnal Green, east London, and a co-working space in the City.

At the start of Lockdown, I moved my practice to my laptop set up on the kitchen table.

A couple of months later, my clinic re-opened and I was very grateful.

By the end of October, it dawned on me that I needed my own space. A room where I could take client calls and prepare remedies. 

Not a shared space. 

My own space.

One day I decided to do a Google search for private offices and amazingly I quickly found somewhere I wanted to visit.

It’s a co-working community with desks and offices just a mile down the road from where I live.

My new room is completely private, and I have access 24/7, should I need it.

If and when I’m seeing people face-to-face again, I can do that there too.

It costs a little more than I was paying for room rental previously, but it’s worth it.

It’s been a big transition though.

We don’t have a car, so it took two Uber trips to move my client notes, books, remedies and other supplies.

I’ve had to purchase a desk and other items to get it set up the way I want it to be.

I haven’t had a work-space like this before, and I feel very lucky to have one.

Word For The Year: Boundaries

My ‘Word for the Year’ in 2020 was ‘Boundaries’. 

Moving to the office was unexpected, but once I was there I realised it was a much-needed step towards my goal of better life-work boundaries.

In December, as I reflected back on my year, I felt that while my boundaries were better I had also been working much longer hours than I wanted to.

This led me to see that my ‘Word of the Year’ for 2021 needed to extend my life-work boundaries in a way that would enable me to work in a more sustainable way.

Choosing A Word For 2021

Choosing a word of the year is hard so I tried out a few words in my journal.

I came up with ‘Ease’ and ‘Clarity’ (both of which I love!)

But, in the end, I settled on a different word entirely.

It doesn’t sound very exciting or even that inspiring, but it’s the right word for me.

My word for this year is ‘Sustainable’.

By sustainable, I mean sustainable for my personal well-being, and also as a long-term way of working in my homeopathy practice.

Putting Boundaries In Place: Sustainable Practice

Perhaps like me, you have found many aspects of our current situation quite hard to navigate.

Even though I have an office, I still need to balance my work with taking care of my family.

Luckily, my husband can work from home, and my daughter is old enough to help ‘keep an eye on’ my 12-year-old and be around if I am out at work.

I also find there are ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ to practising online.

The main ‘con’ for me is that I find it quite draining.

Plus, the time it takes to prepare remedies and get them into the post really needs to be properly factored in.

So…

I’ve realised that I need to try and organise my schedule so that I have a bit more breathing space.

I want to have regular weeks where I don’t see any clients, so I can be around my family more and hopefully get ahead with planning, writing etc. not to mention staying up-to-date with book-keeping.

Forward Planning

In order to do this, I have done a lot of forward-planning in my schedule.

  1. Blocked out several weeks of ‘No Clients’ right through to the end of the year in both my personal calendar and my booking system.
  2. I’ve made sure these weeks are outside school holidays, as I want to have time to get ahead with planning, writing etc. and to stay up-to-date with book-keeping.
  3. To help me do this I looked back through my calendar to discover booking trends. I discovered the last week of the month generally has fewer bookings, and the weeks either side of ‘Black Friday’ were also quiet. 
  4. January, September and December are the months which get booked out quickly. With this in mind, I’ve decided to only offer Radiant Business School once during 2021 – in April/May.
  5. A new thing I’m doing is a ‘Content Calendar’. This is a more focused plan for both Your Radiant Business and Homeopathy with Tracy. I want to be more organised so I can see exactly what I need to do and when.
  6. To protect my mental and emotional energy, I am also making sure I regularly look ahead at my schedule to count how many bookings I have each week. I know how long it takes for case-work and remedy preparation, and there is only so much I can do per week, especially with home-schooling at the moment.

Is This Relevant To Me?

If you’re an experienced and busy practitioner, you might be having similar kinds of thoughts to me. I have spoken to several homeopath friends who’ve needed to put in place measures like these to avoid burnout in the last year. 

If you are less experienced and less busy, you might be thinking:

”Is this relevant to me?”

My answer –

Yes.

It really is.

Here’s something to think about.

If you are not super-busy with clients (yet), it is still worth scheduling blocks to focus on your marketing work. 

Setting aside proper time to immerse yourself in research, writing and creating whatever content you are planning is a good habit and a very worthwhile thing to do.

Everything is easier when you batch it.

That’s what I plan to do during the weeks when I’m not seeing clients this year.

I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂

What changes are you planning to your practice this year?

If you feel you’d benefit from a mentoring call to help you find some clarity, feel free to get in touch.

Just email me: hello@yourradiantbusiness.com

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If you want to learn how to run a successful, heart-centred, fabulous business, I would not hesitate in recommending Tracy.
The course completely changed my practice, my online presence and my income.
If you want to learn how to run a successful, heart-centred, fabulous business, I would not hesitate in recommending Tracy.
I have a consistent stream of clients, more enthusiasm and motivation.
I am full of ideas to improve my business and myself and feeling really inspired to take it to the next level.
The guidance and attention to detail is exceptional.
I was at a recent talk with homeopaths and they all mentioned how fab your course is.

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