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.

What do you imagine? Are you living what you imagine doing? If not, how does that help you live your life?

I say this all the time, but life is WAY too short to not do the things we imagine doing.

I’ve shared that we will be moving out of state within the year. It’s time. Sure, it’s MUCH easier to stay put and ‘wait’. Wait until the economy is better. Wait until we could get a better price for our house. Wait until my mother is ready to move with us…. But I totally believe that the last thing we should do is put off what we want to do in our lives. I do NOT want to be looking back at my life and saying, “I wish I had…”.

Whether it’s your health or your career or a business, I can’t encourage you strongly enough to NOT put off what you imagine.

Dreams are easy. Moving into them can be a challenge. BUT, moving into dreams can also be the greatest expression of LIVING there is! Don’t let life pass you by. What is the worst that can happen if you move into living your dream??

Margie

Need help moving into that dream? If your dream is business, come join us in the Just Jump into Business coaching membership program. No risk, because the first month is FREE!

One of my action items for when I was done with school was to get involved, as a volunteer, with the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center . I’ve recently had several conversations with their training manager and they are now taking me up on my offer! Naturally, as a business coach, this is a good fit for me, and I’m excited to work with a wider range of women who wish to start a business.

In 2006, shortly after starting my MBA program at Cal State, I took part in their “It’s Your Time” business plan competition and education program. That was my first ‘real’ business plan, incorporating cash flow projections and a SWOT analysis, neither of which I had ever even heard of before. Naturally, since my MBA emphasis was in Entrepreneurship, after that, I did multiple business plans and marketing plans! In fact, it helped me better map out what to discuss in my book, Just Jump,  and how better to help clients.

The project I am currently working on is evaluating business plans that have been submitted for this very same program that I took part in, as a student, in 2006. I love seeing the fruits of all my labor (school) now paying off!

What I am seeing is a wide variety of clarity, focus and purpose in these plans – good and bad. I also better understand what was being considered when MY plans were submitted for evaluations! Some plans are excellent and I have graded them very high. Others… well, they have more work to do. It is said that in order to increase your likelihood of success with a business, that you have to put a business plan together, and these plans really bring that point home for me!

If you are working on starting your business, be sure to definitely put a plan together! As with the Women’s Center, mentioned above, there are many low-cost or free programs to help you create your plan. The first resource I often point people to is the Small Business Association. Play around on there because they have a LOT of tools to help you! You can also just do a Google search for ‘business plans’, and get TONS of help. Granted, some are better than others.

When clients come to me, or members join the Just Jump into Business membership program, I do things differently than a ‘traditional’ business coach. They have preliminary work to do before they even THINK of starting a business plan because, as professionals who specialize in what THEY do, they can quickly become overwhelmed with the thought of a business plan. They do not know ‘business’. Terminology is different. Focus is different. However, by addressing all the important PARTS of what goes into a business plan from a different perspective, by the time they have completed that preliminary work, they are ready!

We have several different services to help people move forward, and if the one-on-one coaching, small group coaching, or the membership coaching program are not for you, the business planning services, provided by our Business Plan Specialist, Mike Capps, MBA, might be the best route for  you.

No matter what you do when putting ideas and thoughts together for your business, do take the time to put a business plan together. It does not have to be a novel, but it does need to help you focus on what you want to create, what you will offer, who you will target and how likely it is to succeed. For a better sense of why a business plan is important, read Mike’s article, “Business Planning and Business Plans: What’s the Big Deal“. Creating a business plan is a tool for success; use it and benefit from it!

Margie

Now that I’m done with school, I am ready for the next step, which is to expand my speaking career and create new and more valuable services for my clients.

And as I consider these next steps, my initial plan is to update my marketing plan. But, even before I do that, it dawned on me that I need to follow my own process that has been so successful for my own clients, which involves re-evaluating my vision, identifying my ideal clients and clarifying my unique essence.

What am I talking about and why are these important? Many of the people I work with are health, fitness and service professionals. They know nothing of business plans and marketing plans. In fact, it sends shivers down their spines thinking about such things. However, in order to succeed in business, and I mean REALLY succeed, you must first determine your vision, then develop a goal, then map out the plan. This is the focus that every business must have, preferably in the beginning, but if not then, at least at SOME time!

If you have a business, or are dreaming of, or starting, a business, take a step back and ask yourself if you have worked through this process:

1- What is your vision? What is it you really want to create? Who do you want to be known as?

2 – Who is your ideal client? What makes that person tick, what are their pains and challenges?

3 – What is your unique essence? Your competitive edge? Why would your ideal client come to you instead of someone else? What is great about you?

4 – Do the planning. A business plan is putting your goals and objectives down on paper. A marketing plan is an action plan for how you will achieve these goals and objectives.

5 – Make sure to have a process to measure your progress. You want to know what works and doesn’t work. The last thing you want to do is keep doing the same things that do NOT produce results.

Owning and running a business is a process. It never ends. And, above it all, you want focus to keep you fresh, fulfilled, and successful.

If you’re curious about this process I talk about, I would first suggest that you check out my book, “Just Jump“  at http://www.californiabasedpublishing.com, or my coaching services at http://www.meg-enterprises.com.

I would also like to invite you to register for my free weekly eblast. Not only do readers get a short email that highlights pertinent business information, but also health information they can either use for themselves or for their clients. I also include special offers that are not always available from the website.

Margie