Category Archives: Getting Started

Wait! Don’t Create Your Website Until You’ve Read This

Written on March 16, 2010 by Leigh
Filed in Business Matters, General, General Marketing, Getting Started, Online Marketing

Image by Graphixel

Think Before You Create

I know, I know.. the first thing you want to do when starting a new business is create a website. Before you just throw something up, put some thought into what exactly you want it to say. Think about what you want your clients to see, feel and do when they arrive. Sketch out a basic idea of what you would like your site to look like and include. Anyone can create a basic website, but a professional looking site with the right content and language for your target market will set you apart from the rest. This is extremely important in creating the right brand and image for your business.

In this digital age, your website is your storefront, make it look good.

One of the most important things to consider is making sure your site is easy to navigate. If your client isn’t sure where to go or gets frustrated clicking away to pages that don’t contain anything, they will not come back. Flow is extremely important. Getting your visitors/potential clients to the information they need will keep them coming back.

Consider WordPress

WordPress is well known as a quality, easy to use blogging platform. Not many people know that it can also be used to create professional looking websites for small businesses. And you can edit content very easily without always having to contact your web designer when you want to change something. One of the best new themes that allows you to edit content and style easily is the new Headway. It is the newest and easiest to use theme out there. And you can customize it to look any way you would like. More on Headway later..

Give It Some Personality

Make your website stand out in the sea of bland, manufactured business sites. It should look professional but it should also be interesting and eye catching. Inject a little bit of your personality into your design, content and overall feel of your site. This will be part of your brand. Are you more serious or playful? Prolific or brief and to the point? What colors do you want to use? A web designer can help you with some of this but you should have a general idea of what you want your website (storefront) to look like… if only to give the designer a starting point.

Hire Out or Do It Yourself?

Be careful with this. Some people know enough to create their own websites and they look great. However, I think most of us do not know enough about web design and creation to really build a solid and professional looking website. If you hire out, it doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive. You can simply hire someone to do a little design to make things look nice and then add the content yourself. Look around at other sites that draw you in, that make you want to visit again, and use them as a loose model.

Creating your own website or hiring someone else to do it also depends on what type of business you are running. If you’re a coach, there are certain ways to structure your site that helps point visitors in the right direction whether that be your e-mail sign up sheet, a product, etc. Someone who has had experience in this may be helpful. However, if you’re simply selling wellness products on your site, you may be able to do it yourself. Use your best judgement and just make sure it’s attractive, easy to navigate, and points your visitors in the right direction.

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How To Avoid Burnout When Running Your Wellness Business

Written on February 9, 2010 by Leigh
Filed in General, Getting Started, Lifestyle Design

Image from iStock photo

Starting and running your own health and wellness business can be fun, invigorating and interesting. It can also require a lot of work, long hours, and self discipline. It can be easy to slip into burnout before you realize what’s happening. Don’t let this happen to you. Be aware of how you’re feeling and what you’re doing from the beginning and you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever challenges come your way. While you may not always be balanced, being aware will help you realize when you need to take some time to re-energize. Here are some tips:

Budget Your Time Wisely

If you’re used to getting up and getting to an office every day, working from home will force you to self discipline. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself wandering around in your pj’s at 3:00 p.m. wondering where the day went and what should you have for dinner? Not that I would know of course…  Find out what your most productive time of day is. Is it first thing in the morning? Later at night when the kids have gone to bed? Once you’re aware of this, try and get the most important things done during this time. If you’re working with clients, you don’t have to schedule them back to back. Allow yourself a breather between clients to clear your head and prepare for the next one.

Stay Healthy And Happy

It’s really important to take good care of yourself when starting and running your own wellness business. If you work online a lot, be sure and take time away from your laptop. I have noticed that my creative energy flows more freely when I am away from my computer. If you’re training or working on clients each day, be sure and get plenty of rest and down time. Exercise, eat right and do things that make you happy. Your energy will be better and you’ll present yourself better in your business.

Taking care of yourself also means things like working with the kind of clients you enjoy. Doing this makes your work more meaningful, and joyful. If you’re not in a place yet where you’re only working with your ideal clients, be sure you’re working with kind people that don’t drain you. Have the courage to say no if it doesn’t feel right.

Find Ways To Get Un-stuck

Sometimes, a task can seem so big, that it’s easy to not do anything at all. There are also times when you’re just not sure what to do next, and are lost in a swirl of thoughts. When this happens to you, have some things you can do to remedy the situation. If you need someone to bounce things off of when you get stuck, call up a good friend or colleague. Hire a coach to keep yourself accountable to goals and actions steps. I’ve personally found this to be very helpful. Reaching out for help doesn’t make you look weak or incompetent, it actually shows that you’re determined to get things done, whatever that takes. And taking action feels so much better than doing nothing at all.

Set Up Systems

Learn how to set up your office so that it allows you to work efficiently. This may take some time to learn but that’s o.k., the payoff will be worth your effort. If you can set things up right at the beginning, it will save time and frustration later. Streamline your e-mail accounts, social media, and payment methods. Have everything ready before working with your clients. We’ll be talking about this more in future posts so stay tuned.

Delegate

If there is something you really hate doing or just don’t have the skills for, consider hiring someone else to do it. You can spend weeks or months learning how to set up and design a website or you can hire someone to do this for you and concentrate your efforts on helping your clients. This might require some money up front, but you can usually find a good website designer for a reasonable price. And having a professional looking website will be worth what you’re paying.

Not good with accounting? Hire an accountant to keep your books straight. You’ll feel confident that your finances are being taken care of and won’t spend energy worrying on if they’re incorrect.

Bottom line: Focus your efforts on your strengths and the core of your business, and delegate the rest.

Remember Your Purpose

When you’re feeling stuck and frazzled, it may be helpful to physically leave your office and clear your head. Remember why you decided to work in the wellness field and what feelings you wanted to experience by taking this journey. It’s easy to sometimes get caught up in the day to day things that you forget why it is you wanted to start your own business. Remember that this too will pass and if you keep working towards your goals, you will get there.

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Secrets From a Highly Successful Wellness Coach

Written on February 5, 2010 by Leigh
Filed in General, Getting Started, Inspiration & Interviews

When I was first considering starting my own wellness coaching business, I did some research online and came across Kristin Keffeler of Kinetic Enterprise. I was very impressed with what she was doing and found we had a lot in common. Since I first discovered her, Kristin has grown into a highly successful and sought after coach. Recently I had the privilege of interviewing Kristin about her success secrets in her wellness coaching business and am happy to share them with you.

Leigh: Tell us a little about who you are and what you do Kristin..

Kristin: Sure! My name is Kristin Keffeler and I am heading into my fourth year of business doing coaching full time. I have two main markets I focus on which are interrelated. I work with highly sought after wealth advisers who are ready to differentiate their services in the market by building the courage and capacity to bring their big ideas to life. I also work with wealth inheritors who are building the confidence and competence to think big and take action on those ideas. I usually get my wealth inheritor clients by referral from wealth advisers.

Leigh: What steered you towards that specific group while doing health and wellness coaching?

Kristin: When I first started coaching, I wanted to coach entrepreneurs around the idea of using their health as wellness capital. However, I found that market wasn’t specific enough and entrepreneurs don’t often have the funds or the time to hire a coach and see the value in it. I eventually found myself in a circle of entrepreneurs in the financial services industry, and then families of affluence. I found I was working with wealth advisers who were entrepreneurs but it was a more focused market. When I started focusing on this group, my business really started to grow because I could zero in on their issues and problems.

Leigh: What do you think has been the main key to your success?

Kristin: Two things…The first is getting very specific on a target market. There is a difference between having a niche and a target market. My niche is health and wellness but my target market is wealth advisers and inheritors. I’ve found that I can help them in not just health and wellness but in other ways that utilize my full skill set. I’ve been able to broaden my services and making myself more valuable to my clients. I ask them how are they peak performing in their lives? This involves more than just coaching them on health and wellness.

The second is really wanting to be a business owner. Many coaches just want to coach and don’t want to do the other pieces that come with owning a business and it isn’t as viable. The tenacity to keep at it until I got traction is another key.

Leigh: What kind of lifestyle does your business (and success) now enable you to enjoy?

Kristin: I love this question. Just today I had a real reminder of how blessed I am to be what I’m doing. I work hard. I work about 7:30 to 5:00 but when I’m not working, I’m not working. Today was one of those days where I had a series of other things going on and I took the entire morning to take care of myself. And I can do this because I chose this life. I have a sense of freedom and great quality of life which is huge for me. It allows me to be the best we can for my clients and walk my talk. To create a life that matches up with your values is really amazing. It makes earning money feel like a joy of possibility rather than a goal to attain. I love running my business so it doesn’t often feel like work.

Leigh: What were the biggest hurdles you faced when starting out? How did you overcome these?

Kristin: At the beginning, it was how do I set up a home office? I had to learn how to set it up, make it functional and set up systems to have it running smoothly. The first year was a steep learning curve with this! But luckily my lighter client load allowed me to take the time needed to learn.

Another hurdle was the fact that my business was slow to take off. The main challenge for me was believing that what I was doing did matter and was going to get traction even though I couldn’t see it tangibly. Also, being willing and able to examine the mindsets and beliefs that were keeping me stuck and in the way of  me really launching my business.  It’s a delicate balance to believe that what you are doing does have a place in the world while also realizing that you may need to be flexible enough tweak some of your own beliefs and mindsets.

Leigh: What marketing activities do you feel have been the most successful for you to date? Any that you tried that didn’t work out?

Kristin: For my markets, I found two things to be successful: The first is very high touch connection.  I am very hands on with my market in terms of being at presentations, being at national conferences and local study groups. Really being involved and being a face, voice and intellect and building trust over time of who I am and what I do has helped tremendously. It’s been very time intensive but very rewarding. There is a lot of value to online marketing. But for me and my markets, they don’t work in a vacuum and they need some face to face time.

The other piece has been writing. I write a bi weekly newsletter which I’m now transitioning into a blog. I also write quite a bit for trade publications. It really builds your credibility when you can reference a piece you wrote for a journal to clients and potential clients. It shows that other people have put their stamp of approval on what I’ve written.

What didn’t work:  I tried having half day workshops and putting on presentations on my own without another organization bringing me in to do them. It built great skills for me but was never profitable and took a lot of time and energy.

Leigh: What are your top three tips for anybody looking to get started in coaching?

Kristin:  1. Make sure to have more training than in just health and wellness coaching. The obstacles that are really keeping your clients from living the most full and healthy life aren’t necessarily just health related, they’ll be bigger things. So having a broad based coaching skill set is extremely advantageous and your services are differentiated in the market.

2. Have the courage to choose a very narrowly defined target market

3. Don’t ever stop practicing what you preach. That’s the main reason our client’s are attracted to us.  They want to know it’s possible to be health and successful and balanced.

Leigh: What would be your number one tip for getting motivated when you get discouraged?

Kristin: Go back to purpose. If you can clear the noise of everything that has to be done and all your fears and ask: Why is it that I’m doing this? What is the feeling I want to be cultivating in my mind, body and heart? What about this matters?

It was not uncommon for me in the beginning of my business to take a half a day or full day off because I would sit in my office, spin my wheels and get frustrated. I would go find a quiet spot in the park and ask myself why am I doing this ? And was I willing to put in the work to make it happen? It helped clear my head and get focused again.

Thanks Kristin!

To learn more about Kristin and how she helps her clients create and accomplish their big ideas, you can visit her at Kinetic Enterprise.

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How to Stand Out as a Health Coach

Written on January 29, 2010 by Leigh
Filed in General, Getting Started

Image by Chris Maness

Health and wellness coaching is becoming increasingly popular as a coaching niche. It’s not as mainstream yet as life coaching, but more and more of us in the wellness field are now looking into health coaching as a viable career.

Health coaching can be very rewarding and allows you to practice what you preach. Just about anyone with a strong interest in wellness can become a health coach. But the coaching field is becoming more saturated, and to be successful, you need to stand out from the crowd. Going from just scraping by to being a highly sought after coach is not as much of an uphill battle as it may seem. You simply need to embrace a few principles, and you will be well on your way to having clients lining up to see you.

While the specific types of health coaching can vary, I consistently see the following four principles in every successful health coach I’ve come across:

Cultivate strong coaching skills

Most anyone can be a coach if you know your topic, but not everyone has actual coaching skills. In order to stand out from the crowd, it’s helpful to have a basic understanding of the psychology behind coaching.

Mastering the art of a coaching conversation takes skill and practice. Being able to listen well, gauge where your client is, and determine the best course of action to take are skills that can be learned and then need to be practiced over and over again. There are plenty of places to learn coaching skills. Just make sure and do your research to ensure it is a reputable institution. If you’d like recommendations, feel free to contact me.

Know your stuff

Know whatever you are coaching inside and out, it will show. If you have the ability to take the constant stream of wellness information that comes out, and put it into simple, easy to understand terms, your clients will be forever grateful. While the basics tend to remain the same, your clients need someone that can interpret and translate that latest new study or clip they saw on the news. You want to become their go to resource when it comes to health information.

Focus on a niche or target market

As health and wellness coaches, we tend to want to coach around a particular topic, but it’s better to choose your target audience and then tailor your coaching to that market. For example, you could target your coaching practice towards baby boomer women, or to narrow down even further, baby boomer women who have just retired. This can be hard to do as it seems as if you will be turning away potential clients, however the opposite tends to be true. Doing this will help you to better focus on exactly what that market needs and it will be easier for you to become their go to resource for their specific problems. Niching also helps you to market your services in an easier, and more targeted way.

Market yourself well

Even if you’re the best health and wellness coach on the planet, no one will know unless you put yourself out there.  You don’t have to do this in ways that are not comfortable to you, but you do have to have some sort of basic marketing plan. Put yourself in front of those your trying to reach, show them you can help alleviate their pain, and let them start receiving your help. If you can market yourself well, and do a stellar job with each client you serve, you have the keys to the kingdom.

Also, be sure that your passion for wellness shines through in your coaching and that you are walking your talk. Your clients will tune into this and want to know your secrets.

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