“I’m not a business person”. I’m (just) a therapist, nurse, teacher… Fill in the blank.

Do you say this?   I know I have and I hear it quite regularly too, usually from therapists, healers, teachers, creative people especially.   Maybe like me, you never expected or particularly desired to run your own business. 

It took me a long time to think of myself as a business person.  I was a nurse, then gradually became a full time complementary therapist who taught too and eventually a money coach.

I had a “practice”, I didn’t even call it a business. The clients had to be my first priority, always.  I was scared of prioritising income through fear of being judged as greedy or mercenary. This meant my business has really suffered in early days. I didn’t look at the profitability, I struggled to charge properly and increase fees regularly. It was only when I studied business coaching and began networking with other business owners that I started to think as a business owner.

Business has poor a reputation. 

Words like cut-throat, ruthless, profit not people focussed. Women especially can be worried of being branded as something they aren’t.

I’ve done so much work on this myself recently. Now I can help my clients truly embrace the holistic, thoughtful, heart centred business owner in themselves.   It doesn’t have to be a contradiction.  It’s an identity shift and finding the right people and tools to help you.

What sparked this blog was reading a testimonial from  Karen Lawrence, a therapist and coaching clients of mine.  Karen wrote.  “Rosemary knows how to challenge and to reassure, and working with her has greatly fostered my confidence as a businesswoman”.

The word “confidence” stood our for me. Over the months we worked together, this Karen, confidently adopted the habits of a successful, holistic business woman. 

We can initially feel like a fish out of water and all the “shoulds” of running a business plus the legal implications can be totally overwhelming and frightening.   With the right guidance and support, I feel almost anyone can become a business person and if you’re wondering however that can happen, here are some guidelines.

Developing as the business person you enjoy being!  

You choose how you are.  Understanding your money personality is hugely helpful. Then you know your strengths and challenges, even your superpowers and can focus on creating a business where you can lead with your strengths.  For instance, nurturer types will want to serve everyone and find charging what they are worth takes a huge amount of courage.  When we know this, we can put clear boundaries in place, fee structures.  I satisfy my nurturer need by sharing a lot of free information so I can help lot of people in a small way while focussing on my ideal clients.

Create your business the way you want it. 

Samantha Lindsay, founder of My Mortgage Angel is a great example of this.   Sam didn’t want to charge up front fees for her first time buyer clients and it wasn’t accepted practice in the industry.  However, she moulded her business to be just as she wanted and found the right people to support her. 

Find the right marketing for you.

What marketing can you do that you really enjoy?  Find the one or two methods that you enjoy and master them.  You can of course delegate when funds allow but if you are the face of your business, your voice will want to shine through and your face too!   There’s a useful quiz here to find out your marketing superpower. https://danawilde.com/marketingsuperpower/

Find the right support for you. 

An amazing example of this is Becky Shuttleworth, a canine therapist, who describes herself as more terrier than human and not a business person. 

However, with diligence, a good Virtual assistant, Caroline Payne for Admin Tick, it all works brilliantly!  Becky’s marketing, a quirky, funny blog featuring Becky’s twenty dogs, goes out each week to various websites and new clients come in!

I hope that’s inspired you! Do some research and do follow my blogs. If you’re ready for heart centred business coaching, please book a call here. https://rosemarycunninghamcoaching.as.me/

 

Rosemary is a Money Breakthrough Business Coach, helping women clear money blocks and create the profitable business they love ! She has had her own business for over twenty five years. Rosemary runs Winning Women Essex and International, a community of over a thousand heart centred business women.