What does it really mean to plan for success for your wellness business?

Many health and wellness professionals sort of cringe when they think of planning for success. They know they need to do it, and they feel lost without it. But they’re not really sure HOW to do it.

When I wrote my book, “Just Jump“, I walked people through a very thorough process of planning. And it works like a charm! But what if you don’t want to create a ‘traditional’ plan for marketing?

Here are three simple steps you can take right now to start YOUR planning for the New Year:

• Step 1 – Determine all the products and services you want to offer and how many people you want to sign up for each.
• Step 2 – Pull out your calendar and enter everything you have going on for the year, so you know when you won’t be available, or when it’s a good time to roll out a particular service or program.
• Step 3 – Create your promotional plan!

That’s it!

Now, if you feel there are details missing, next time I’ll talk more about your promotional plan and what that really means. But, meanwhile, you definitely can do Step 1 and Step 2! In fact, I’d love to hear how that goes!

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do YOU struggle with putting your plans together for your amazing 2012? If you haven’t done it, yet, I suspect the answer is YES! Imagine really defining all your products, programs and services for the year, mapping out when you want to offer them, and then creating your marketing promotional plan, so you know EXACTLY what you need to do each month! Check out the Marketing Plan in a Day private coaching session by clicking here.

You want to start a business. You have dreamed of this for years, ever since graduating or starting school. So what’s been holding you back?

Do this: Close your eyes and imagine you are at the edge of a huge cliff. You are looking over the Grand Canyon. There is a huge expanse of air in front of you and below you. And I am asking you to jump, spread your wings, and know that you can fly! Can you? Only YOU can answer that question. You really can do anything you want to do. It just takes will and planning.

Many times I hear from people who tell me they will contact me for help in starting up their business ‘when I’m ready’. There have also been times when these same people finally call out of desperation: Their need to ‘just do it’ has become stronger than waiting for that ‘perfect time’. And they are able to create their dream business, afterall.

Does this sound like you? Are you waiting until things are just perfect before you seriously start working on creating the business of your dreams? You have every certification you can think you might ever need. You attend every educational seminar on every topic you think people might ask you about. You’re sure there is something you are missing, however.

But what is really holding you back? Is it fear of failure? Many people are petrified that they will step up, or jump from that cliff, and fall flat on their face. They will look like a fool and feel like a failure, but imagine the regret they live with as they look back on their life and didn’t even give it a try. You will never look back and wish you had NOT taken action to live your dream. Many people do think about the things they did NOT do, however.

Yes, it is true that over 50% of the 600,000 new businesses that start each year fail in the first year. What is more important to know, however, is that many of those failed businesses didn’t even start with a serious plan before they opened their doors! No wonder they failed! Have you heard the phrase, ‘failing to plan is a plan for failure’? This means that if you don’t know where you’re going, you are unlikely to get there. Would you plan a cross-country trip without mapping out your plan? Then why would anyone consider starting a business without setting up goals, objectives and action steps to make it happen?

Fear of failure is the most often sited reason for hesitation to starting up a business. But, what people seldom talk about, which is a much more real concern is the fear of success! What if your business grows and becomes more than you ever imagined? What does THAT mean? Many people find that more frightening than failing. If they fail, they can at least go back to what was safe and easy. If they succeed, they will experience even more challenges as their business grows and becomes more than just ‘them’.

Margie
MEG Enterprises

Do YOU struggle with the planning to make your success happen? If so, let me help you set your entire 2012 plan up, which includes what you have to offer and how you will promote it. We can do this in the “Marketing Plan in a Day” VIP intensive coaching session. To learn more, click here.

You’ve been DREAMING about what it would be like to open your own private practice. It’s been on your mind since you were in school, and there are times, especially on Monday mornings, that you daydream about it.

But, you’re not really sure what it would look like. You don’t have the first clue how to get started, and of course you’re AFRAID that you would put your heart and soul into it, only to fail and look like a fool. You barely even talk about it out loud, because you don’t want family and friends to laugh at you.

But, anything is possible! The only limitations we have are the ones we put on ourselves! With planning and learning the steps, and doing your homework, if this is something you really want to do, you can do it, AND succeed greatly at it, too!

I’m not saying it’s easy! Nothing worth having is. I have had to learn a great deal; about myself, about business, about my clients and potential clients. And it never ends, because my interests and passions change with the years. But, how exciting!

When my daughter started kindergarten, I returned to school. It took me five years to get through school, but I had a vision: I wanted to help people become healthy and fit in the privacy of their own homes. After school, I didn’t have that plan fully in place, even in my mind, but after 6 years working in a hospital, I was ready. I opened MEG Fitness in June, 1996. It’s been an incredible ride! I’ll never look back at my life with regrets that I didn’t pursue my dream. I really have learned that the only limits are those I impose on myself, too! So, I continue to dream BIGGER and allow my vision to become more grand. Why not? What’s the worst that can happen??

That’s what you have to ask yourself. If you never try, will you be happier? If you never try, how will you know if you could have done it? Consider some of the well-known names in sports, such as Michael Jordan, the basketball player; he has thrown more MISSED shots than those that have made their mark. What if he had not taken the chance to see what was possible for himself?

Ok, so now you’re ready to take the next step! First, in order to help you focus, I recommend that people start working on their business plan. The Small Business Association has invaluable resources on their website. This was the route I took. A year before I quit the hospital, I started working on my business plan. It helped me determine exactly who I was, what I offered, why, who my ideal client was, who my target market was (at that time), who my competition was, where I would offer my services, how I would offer them, and so on. As I coach other registered dietitian’s who want this dream, I now use a 3-page business plan for clients who don’t plan to look for outside funding. Regardless of the type of business plan, it will help answer many hard questions for you.

There are resources specific to dietitians, too, including other great dietitians who help others get started. Of course, the Nutrition Entrepreneurs DPG is an invaluable resource with the different specialty groups within the DPG, as well as the private listservs for each group.

Once you have your business plan in place, it’s not time to celebrate, yet! How are you going to accomplish the goals you have come up with in that plan? You next need a marketing plan. Now, although the marketing plan is also part of a business plan, it’s really just the intro! The marketing plan will become your template, your schedule, and will spell out the actions you will take to make those goals reality. If you use it seriously, it will be your day-to-day guide to making your dreams come true!

You’ve been dreaming about what it would be like to open your own private practice. Now that you have a few tips on how to get started and what you need to do, the only thing stopping you from investigating further is you! Just imagine if 50% of all registered dietitians were in private practice! I KNOW we could not only change our industry, but we could change the world! Yes, I do have a grand vision…

Margie
MEG Enterprises, Inc.

Do you dream of a thriving wellness business? Are you a health practitioner or registered dietitian who imagines not only changing the course of people’s lives, but enjoying a successful business at the same time? Then check out the Prosperity Secrets Platinum program for 2012 and see if that’s the course YOU need to take to achieve greatness for yourself. To learn more, go here.

In the previous post, I wrote about COMMITMENT being one of the characteristics that separate people who follow their dreams from those who just dream; and the qualities & traits that many entrepreneurs and successful leaders have in common.

It’s not always because they aren’t committed. Sometimes it may have more to do with BELIEVING in themselves and realizing that they really CAN accomplish anything if they want it badly enough. Not that this is easy; again, there is a price to be paid, and certainly fear and doubts are prices along the way.

I will often ask clients how they will feel if they do NOT strive for this goal, and as they ponder the alternative, they become stronger and more confident.

Do what you are passionate about. Without passion, commitment will be harder. Desire determines destiny. If your DESIRE is strong enough, you will accomplish what you dream of. Passion will increase your willpower. It helps fuel your commitment. If you follow your passion, you become more dedicated to your goal, and when you allow your passion to come out, you’ll find that others pay closer attention to you. People love passion and it can be contagious, drawing people to you. You have to identify exactly what you are passionate about and be sure that is your focus of your business.

Keep your eye on the goal. For anything to succeed, you have to have the end in sight. You have to know what the goal is. This helps you create your PLAN.

Let your courage shine through. Stepping out of your comfort zone and facing your fears is a trait that can make the difference between going for it, and just dreaming about it. Everyone has fears about something.

The difference between those who SUCCEED and those who just dream away their life is whether they take the steps and face their fears, instead of just backing away. Some may call it COURAGE. Courage begins with an inward battle. Courage is having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into NEW territory.

Margie
MEG Enterprises

Do YOU struggle with the planning to make your success happen? If so, let me help you set your entire 2012 plan up, which includes what you have to offer and how you will promote it. We can do this in the “Marketing Plan in a Day” VIP intensive coaching session. To learn more, click here.

Are you allowing time and doubts to hold you back from starting the business of your dreams? We only have so many years on this earth, so if you are dreaming, now is the time to take action, before it’s too late.

What characteristics separate people into those who follow their dreams and those who just dream? Here are just a few qualities and traits that many entrepreneurs and successful leaders have in common. If you are still in the dream stage, see how you can start to take these characteristics to heart and be one of those people who looks back at life with the satisfaction of knowing you ‘went for it’, rather than wait.

A commitment to make it happen. Your commitment must start in your heart. You have to BELIEVE it can happen and be willing to give up something in order to make what you are committed to. You then must take ACTION.

Ask yourself what kind of person you are when it comes to commitment – are you someone willing to commit 100% and do what it takes? For every goal, something must be given up to achieve something else. This isn’t a bad thing. Two examples would be:

• Giving up free time to work on your business plan or organize things towards opening the door to your business.
• Giving up the security of a paying job.

The commitment must be COMPLETE, however, in order to achieve your goal. Some people start working towards a goal, but when things get tough, they cut and run. Often this action has more to do with a person’s own confidence in what she can accomplish than with her level of commitment. If that is the case, if the person wants this badly enough, she can seek help from a coach, to help her work through the limiting conversations she may be having with herself.

I will often ask clients how they will feel if they do NOT strive for this goal, however, and as they ponder the alternative, they become stronger and more confident.

Margie
MEG Enterprises

Do YOU struggle with the planning to make your success happen? If so, let me help you set your entire 2012 plan up, which includes what you have to offer and how you will promote it. We can do this in the “Marketing Plan in a Day” VIP intensive coaching session. To learn more, click here.