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Q I
had not long qualified when the pandemic hit and I’m now struggling to get my therapy business back off the ground. Can you offer any tips and advice? A: Marie Duggan, founder of Butterfly Touch Therapies (butterflytouchtherapiestraining.com), says: Due to the impact of the pandemic, it’s more important than ever that we share ideas for building up new or existing therapy businesses and promoting the benefits of our services to clients and healthcare organisations. I would like to kick this off with some approaches I have used in the past. In 1998 I set up my business offering massage, Indian head massage and reflexology, and like most newly self-employed therapists, I was short on income but had time to invest in promoting my services. The sort of questions I asked myself back then, which apply equally well today, are: n Does your marketing material need an update? What does your brochure say about you and your services? Are all your professional memberships included, along with your insurance status? This demonstrates your professionalism. If you are listed on a professional register, add the link for this, too.
care, you may be able to volunteer your services in return for guidance, training and experience at a hospital or hospice. I created a Clinical Practice Pathway where therapists can do exactly that, helping them to gain confidence and experience under a clinical or complementary therapy lead. n Do you have a peer or mentor you can bounce ideas off? If not, why not join a local business club? You will meet people from all kinds of business with experiences and connections to share – this can often lead into an avenue of work you hadn’t previously thought to explore. n How do you sell your business? Research the different pathways on how you can access and connect with your chosen field and how to approach organisations. Explore each option carefully and note the head of departments and contact details. n Create professional documents for organisations you’d like to approach, such as: a) A one-page document with your name, business details, qualifications, insurance, and professional status, with links to where that can be verified, as well as a professional code of conduct. b) Write covering letters outlining how your therapies and services will bring value to their organisation and workforce. c) Package the above with your literature as an introduction to your services. n Brainstorm where you can promote what
n Have you thought of expressing your
vision? Create a vision statement and put it out there. It should embody who and what you represent and will resonate with the clients right for you. n Who is your client base? Are you wishing to branch out into other fields? Write down who you want to attract and what health areas you would like to work in. n Have you trained sufficiently? If you require further knowledge in certain areas, research appropriate training and how to gain experience in that field. For example, if you are interested in working in cancer 20 International therapist
you do at low cost. At the beginning of my business, I offered taster sessions of Indian head massage and reflexology once a month at my local Body Shop and Holland & Barrett. This was in effect only four hours of my time, once a month on a Saturday, which was prime time for customers. I was not selling any products, only my services, which complemented both of these businesses. I contacted local radio stations and papers to let them know I was offering ‘free’ taster sessions. I did this for approximately a year and made some amazing lifelong clients this way. n Demonstrations and talks are always a great way to meet local people and get your
business known. You could offer to do this at healthcare events, for example, that are promoting mental health, women’s health or cancer care, or at Women’s Institute group meetings. Sometimes there may be a small fee involved, other times not, but I usually ended up with at least one new client from these sorts of events. I hope you find some of these suggestions useful. It is a lot of hard work starting from scratch and I appreciate there is so much more to be explored, but I have always found that sharing ideas and approaches benefits everyone. A: Dawn Morse, founder of Core Elements (coreelements.uk.com), says: Starting your therapy-based business can be both exciting and nerve-racking, as there are many aspects to consider. Here are a few tips to help you move forward… n Think about your business name, images and logo that you want to represent you, as these will be with you for years to come. Do your research and ask family and friends for their opinions on your name and images, as they will offer honest feedback from a consumer’s perspective. You could also share these with your friends on Facebook and do a poll on a couple of proposed business names to see which one is more popular. n Consider the phrasing you will use to describe your therapy services. For instance, if you are a sports therapist, bear in mind that lots of people still think their problem needs to be sports-related to see a therapist who has ‘sport’ in their business title. Aim to provide short and concise explanations of your services where possible. n When you’ve developed your business name, it’s time to develop your logo, which should reflect your name and the industry that you work within. There are many websites that offer a free or reduced-price service, such as tailorbrands.com, freelogoservices.com and logomaker.com, which will enable you to create a basic logo. Winter 2022
