You Can Make Money Doing What You Love!

TWELVE dynamic steps in building a holistic business from the ground up

By Charlotte Irwin

Growing Your Holistic Business, Part II
Part I of this article appeared in the May 2004 issue of HGJ (Click here to read it) ...

6. ENERGY FLOWS WHERE ATTENTION GOES (importance of setting goals).

Manifestation is about where you put your attention. Be truthful about how much time and energy you really spend focused on starting your business. How much are you willing to invest every day? 10% (2 hrs.), 20% (4 hrs.), etc. See if it matches up with the progress of your business plan and where you expected it to be by this time. Remember, seeing clients and business goals are very different. You have to give time and attention to planning. Start today by writing down three people who can help you start your business and a deadline when you will contact them. I found I had to identify with what I really needed to do. I could not see clients everyday and start a business. You need to take a day or two specifically for business planning.

7. BE IN THE NOW!

Wake up every day and ask yourself what exciting thing you are going to make happen today. All abundance comes from God. It shows up in the appointments people make, gift certificates people buy, and messengers calling to see if you can do a presentation. Stay in the creation of it all every day and your energy will become multiplied from the positive energy. Every morning I pray: Give us this day our daily bread (for all concerned). I show up at the office ready to do whatever the tasks are on my list and then I watch how the energy flows. Where there were no appointments on the book the previous day, the book is filled!

8. DISCOVER WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE IN THE MARKET PLACE.

Why do people come to you and not someone else? What is your uniqueness? Ask your clients or your friends to describe you. They will let you know. You may be pleasantly surprised; it may not be just the service you provide.

9. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE ALREADY ESTABLISHED IN BUSINESS.

Don’t look at similar businesses as competition, rather look to a support network that can enhance one another. Build those relationships with strong professional ethics and respect for each other. Help each other be better. There is room for everyone.

10. STAY FOCUSED — MANAGE YOUR TIME.

People tell me every day, “I don’t have time to...” Managing your time and staying focused is a great skill to achieve. Find a process that works for you. I write my list every day of the most important things I need to accomplish and set my sights on completing that list before the day is over. I focus on the list and stay away from people or phone calls that may cause a distraction. I don’t answer calls while I am working on an important task or project because I know that will delay me or break my concentration. I am always very courteous to people who try to drag me away from what I was supposed to do by saying the truth, “I would love to hear all about that. Can I get with you later? I need to stay focused on my project today.” I asked a woman one time during a stress class about her stressors, and she answered, “People call me all day long and I can’t get anything done.” This is a perfect example of how we allow others to distract us and become the stressor, when all we have to do is have good boundaries about what we need to accomplish.

11. CREATE RESOURCES TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

Want to do a presentation for your business? Create it first, then the phone will ring. I write letters to a specific group telling them what I can present and a similar group will call. You put the energy forth and something will happen. When you do a presentation remember the ten people there will tell four more people, so you really had forty people there to hear about you!

12. BECOME THE TEMPLATE.

Discipline yourself to stay balanced yourself. Practice what you preach. Plan your day to include positive habits like exercising, working, loving and playing. Remember it takes a lot of energy to start and build a successful business and it can only happen if you take care of yourself. Eat right, keep in balance with yoga, massage, tai chi, or other healing modalities, and most of all be in joy with what you are doing as you are doing it, even if it’s cleaning the toilets.

Charlotte Irwin is the proprietor of Center for the Healing Arts in Sterling Heights, (586) 268-5444. www.center4thehealingarts.com.

Part I of this article appears in the May 2004 issue.