Magdalena Vonk provides a guide to becoming a course provider

BOUNCING BACK TO BUSINESS

The Federation of Holistic Therapists’ Karen Young looks at some simple ways to help you return to therapy work with a spring in your step…

GETTING back to work will, for many of us, be almost like starting from scratch, so there are many things to consider as we reopen our doors.

GET YOURSELF SEEN

When you’re given the green light, let everyone know that you are open for business (or will be very soon). Clients need to know that you are running a safe practice and are on hand to help. As well as contacting your existing clients, use this as an opportunity to reach out to more of your ideal clients – where do they congregate, in person and online, and can you use these ‘meeting points’ as a way to share top tips that are relevant to their needs and will put you on their radar? If you’ve upped your presence on social media during the lockdowns, be sure to keep this up – little and often is key.

FOCUS ON YOUR CLIENTS’ NEEDS

Whether you are reaching out to clients in print, online or in person, focus on how your treatments can help them, rather than the treatment itself. For example, as the pandemic has heightened stress and anxiety in many people, so talk about how your treatments can help to reduce stress, restore a sense of wellbeing and improve sleep and energy levels. Use awareness weeks and months as a way to promote the benefits your treatments have to offer.

SELF-CARE TIPS

Good healthcare is about supporting a person to look after their own health. If you don’t already, then offer your clients tips on how to look after themselves between treatments. Not only is it empowering, it’s great ‘added value’ to the service you already provide. A client who feels truly cared for is also more likely to recommend you to others and personal recommendation is one of the most powerful marketing tools in our industry – our most recent annual survey showed that 90% of FHT members receive clients this way.

WORKING COLLABORATIVELY

Rather than view other therapists as competitors, have you thought about collaborating with one or two to increase your reach to others? Perhaps you and another therapist you have met at an FHT local group both target clients with similar needs but specialise in different therapies. Obviously you would want to ensure they have the same values and professional standards as you, and drawing up a working agreement before you join forces would be prudent, but it could be just the ticket to help your business grow.

FUTURE-PROOF YOUR BUSINESS

Looking to add a new string to your bow? Why not consider adding a modality to your therapy toolkit that isn’t hands-on? This will help future-proof your business should be find ourselves in further lockdowns or other situations that limit your ability to support clients in person. Mindfulness, nutritional therapy and talking therapies can all be done remotely, via online video platforms or telephone.

TAKE SOME ME-TIME

Finally, while it’s important to find ways to grow your business, it’s equally important to recognise we all need time to ourselves. As a therapist, be sure to lead by example and schedule in some ‘me time’. Take good care of yourself, because your health matters just as much as your clients. n

iThe FHT offers a range of membership benefits to holistic therapists and runs the largest independently Accredited Register for complementary healthcare therapists. For more information visit www.fht.org.uk