For years in my living room I had a futon couch. It fit perfectly in the space and was convenient when guests wanted to spend the night. The only problem was that I couldn't sit in it! It hurt my back. So I've been on the lookout for a nice comfy couch. 

A few months ago I finally found a couch that fill the bill: the color, shape, size and comfortable for my back. BINGO! I took my sister (to get a second opinion) and had her snap this picture so I could put it on my vision board that I wanted for an entirely new living room.

This last weekend it was a great feeling to sit in my newly decorated space: couch, stereo and artwork and (as is my custom at the close of every year)look back at the goals I had for 2010. It was such an amazing feeling to see how much I had accomplished and what 'came true.' I also reviewed my vision for 2011 which included the areas of health, personal life, family, money, volunteering and of course my ideal business and Practice. Some people call it creating affirmations, or vision boards for the future.  I call it having success on your terms, and I encourage you to do the same: it's fun, it's powerful and it's the topic of the next post.

Speaking of visions...
Do you have yours laid out for 2011? Is it clear what your ideal Practice would look like if you could have it? If you lack a plan or a vision, I want to suggest taking a look at private coaching and mentorship. It's the fastest, pain-free, supportive way to grow your Practice and keep it going at a profitable level.

I'm happy to offer (at this time) f*ree consultations, which is a brief phone chat to see what your needs are and how I can help. To schedule yours, 
GO HERE and fill out the CONTACT form on the bottom.

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. ~ Joel A. Barker

I don't know who Joel A. Barker is, but if I did I would give him a high-five for this saying. I completely agree and am letting it inspire me to take inspired action. I hope you do the same! Have a great weekend.

-AnaMaria

Each day comes bearing its own gifts.  Untie the ribbons.  ~Ruth Ann Schabacker

Just got back from a brisk walk downtown. Due to relentless rain, the streets are a sea of umbrellas. And shoppers rushing to get gifts.

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is give a gift to someone who is not expecting in. I'm talking about the 'supporting cast members' in my life and for The Practice Building Institute: my assistant who handles scheduling like clockwork; the transcriptionist who does a fab job at turning audios to articles, and the garbage collector and the mail lady.

I just dashed out in the pouring rain  and handed the garbage collector a Starbucks card and said, "Have a hot chocolate or Latte on me!"

It's a good feeling knowing we are doing our brilliance work. Whatever it is! For the postman it's delivering mail, for the office manager it's running a busy office and for us Practitioners assisting in the healing of the planet, one person at a time.

Happy New Year and **clink clink** to your Brilliant Work!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a private client of mine and she said, “What do you mean... the 'sweet spot' in my Practice? What are you talking about?”  I was conducting an evaluation of sorts with her and her Practice, seeing where she was, what successes she had achieved and what areas in her current Practice were leaking time, energy, money and resources from her. I shared with her the importance of doing this type of evaluation from time to time so that she can get the bird’s eye view of her Practice and really assess what’s working and what’s not. I shared with her this concept: that an evaluation more quickly facilitates us reaching the sweet spot in our Practice and staying there. Here came her question to me, “AnaMaria, please explain what you mean by the sweet spot.” 

I’m going to share with you what I shared with her. I want you to imagine for a moment you’re coming to your office on a Monday morning, it may be a home office or a physical office elsewhere. You start the morning, your staff is there with a smile, you see a couple of patients in the waiting room, waiting for you. You begin your day refreshed and move through your scheduled appointments/sessions/treatments with patients without a hitch. You are seeing their progress, you’re noting their changes and you’re feeling satisfied as you’re going on about your day. You feel confident during your time with your patients because you know that your office, everything that needs to go on behind the scenes from scheduling, to taking payments to billing, to office supplies, to managing different situations that arise, both expected and unexpected, are being handled by well trained staff. 

As the day comes to an end you feel good knowing that as you look at your schedule book for the upcoming weeks there is a steady stream of patients and clients coming to you. Previous clients are rescheduling and new clients are being referred to you. You feel great as you close the doors in your office for the evening, knowing that you have provided a great service, that you are being well paid (because you can see that your practice is increasing in profits). You know that every 'I' has been dotted and every 'T' has been crossed. You feel satisfied and relaxed leaving the office to go home because you know that everything that needed to be handled is handled. Anything that is left to be addressed is going to the right person who knows exactly how to handle it. 

Now, does it sound like I’m describing a fairy tale? Does it sound for a moment like I am off my rocker and I’m describing something that may seem a little too airy, fairy? Well what I’m describing right now is what I call that sweet spot. When you’re in the sweet spot in your practice, you’re spending more time doing your 'brilliant work'. You’ve heard me share about this a lot. 

Your 'brilliant work' is the time that you are spending with your patients and clients during your sessions and treatments, communicating and sharing your expertise and facilitating their healing process. Your 'brilliant work' can also be sharing your expertise in classes such as community colleges or tele-classes or workshops or retreats. That also extends to you sharing your expertise in the form of training colleagues or even in creating educational products such as CD’s and E-books for your patients and perspective clients to buy. 

When you’re in your sweet spot, you’re spending less time putting out fires because there’s a system for doing absolutely everything in your Practice. You’re spending more time doing what you love and less time in administrative roles because those are handled by other people who are well trained and know how to handle the running of your Practice. When you’re in your sweet spot, your profits natural rise because you are doing what you love and you come to your work, your Practice refreshed and enthusiastic about what you do. You have more energy and vitality month after month, year after year because you are being well paid and compensated for services that are both very much needed and well received. 

So how do you know if you are in your sweet spot in your Practice? How do you know that you are doing the right things in the right order and at the right time? I want to share with you what I call a sweet spot checklist. It’s actually a longer list, but for today, I want to share five points that I would like you to take a look at so that you can assess how close you are to the sweet spot in your Practice and if you are there, how to maintain that. 

1. You are putting out little to no fires in your Practice. Because you and your staff know exactly what to do to handle circumstances that arise, whether that is the scheduling or billing or passing on new information to someone who is inquiring about your sessions and treatments, you are able and your staff to handle easily and efficiently and if there’s anything to address that the challenging situation or crisis, you’re able as well as your staff to bring order back to your Practice with minimum effort. 

2. You have little to no patient or client complaints. Your expectations are clearly communicated and your boundaries are also clearly set. 

3. When you’re in your sweet spot you can confidently and clearly answer that question you are asked, "So, what do you do?" You want to do this in a way that has the listener not only interested but asking for your business card and more information about working with you. 

4. When people look at any of your marketing materials it is very clear what you do and what solution you provide. This includes all marketing materials whether it is a brochure, a business card, your profile on Facebook, your website or in a Practitioners Directory. 

5. It's very clear how what you do is different from other Practitioners and what the benefits are for this potential client if they choose you. Most folks are Practitioner shopping so when they see your message... when they see an advertisement about your Practice, whether it's an online advertisement or a physical advertisement such as in a periodical or yellow pages, it's important they know what makes you different. 

So here’s your Practice Building assignment for this week: I want you to evaluate how close you are to this sweet spot. From the above short list circle two that you know you can sharpen up.

Taking the time to evaluate these two areas and implementing the strategies and steps for sharpening them up allows you to spend more time doing your 'brilliant work'. You'll feel more satisfied in what you are doing and meet each and every day with enthusiasm. Your Practice will grow in profits while simultaneously gaining an excellent reputation in the market place.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic of evaluating your P. You can post them by selecting COMMENTS located directly above the picture in this article.

Until next time, have a fantastic day. 

(c) 2010 AnaMaria Herrera
About the author: AnaMaria Herrera, Online Marketer and Director of The Practice Building Institute publishes 'Practice Building Success' teaching Holistic Practitioners how to get clients and build their practice. For a f*ree audio and resources go to: http://www.ThePracticeBuildingInstitute.com

This last weekend my sister's dog Lulu (she's a maltese-poodle) was belle of the Christmas ball in her new velvet frock. In case you're wondering if she has to be coaxed to put the outfit on, nothing could be further from the truth! When my sister  holds the wee outfit in front of her, Lulu starts leaping in the air and barking. 

Later that evening, we gathered at my aunt's house where we sing Christmas songs, eat lots of good food and sweets and the kids dress up in costumes and put on a pageant for everyone. I hope your holidays were wonderful! 

Speaking of sweets, that's the topic of the next post. Most Practitioners are doing their usual day to day routine with their clients and patients and all the necessary tasks to run a Practice, but rarely stop to evaluate what is working and what is not. Rather than go on autopilot, I encourage Practitioners to assess where they are at and where they are going. In that way you can hit  the "Sweet Spot" in your Practice: your Practice runs like a well-oiled machine, you spend the majority of your time doing what you love, you feel confident because your marketing continually brings you a steady stream of clients and your business grows in profits each year. Sound like a fantasy? I assure you the "Sweet Spot" is not a myth, it's attainable and you can learn how to get (and stay there!) in the next post.




It's quickly coming to a close...


Wow the New Year is just around the corner, are you ready? While we're still in an uncertain time, the fact remains that there are Practices that are thriving... will yours be one of them? 

It's here!
What does 2011 hold for you? Do you have a plan to create your ideal or will this year be the same as the last?

If you've been at certain level in your Practice for some time but want to grow more, gain more patients and clients and increase profits, then you'll need a plan with the support and mentorship to guide you every step of the way.

Currently I have a few spots open for private coaching to get you the guidance you need and I'm offering f*ree consultations, which is a brief phone chat to see what your needs are and how I can help. To schedule yours, go to this page and fill out the CONTACT form on the bottom. 

Wow the New Year is just around the corner, are you ready?  Here's a quote I recently read: "If you always do what you've always done, you will always be where you've always been." 
 
While we're still in an uncertain time, the fact remains that there are Practices that are thriving... will yours be one of them?

If you're feeling like you've been at a certain level in your Practice for some time but want to grow more, gain more patients and clients and increase profits, then you  have to do something different or 2011 will just be a repeat version of this year.
 
Currently I have a few spots open for private coaching to get you the guidance you need.

Not sure if it's for you?
 
I'm offering f*ree consultations,  which is a brief phone chat to see what your needs are and how I can help and answer your questions about private coaching.

Here's how to schedule our informal phone chat:

1. C*lick here
2. Read how I work and about those I've assisted
3. Fill out the CONTACT form on the bottom.
 
Supporting you and your Practice-
 
AnaMaria Herrera
Director
The Practice Building Institute
http://www.ThePracticeBuildingInstitute.com
 
PS: I'm here to assist but you have to reach out too. Here's the link to get info:  Click here
http://www.practicebuildinginstitute.com/interview-with-anamaria.html

Are you giving your patients and your staff SANDWICHES?

No I'm not meaning the lunch time favorites for folks, but the way you deliver instructions and (when necessary) corrections?

It's an easy, effective and non-threatening way to communicate, especially in tense situations. Here's how to do it:

1. Top piece of bread: praise your staff for doing a great job, or when handling a challenge acknowledge the difficulty.

2 . Meat (or tempe for vegetarians!): the dilemma or problem, why it occurred and what you're doing to resolve it and the solution you have come up with. Include instructions here on what the receiver needs to do to assist in the resolving of the problem.

3. Bottom piece of bread: Thank them for their understanding and cooperation.

I think you'll find that serving sandwiches in the form of clear and concise communication will smooth out even the most challenging of situations and   keep your Practice purring like a content kitten.

Let me know how it goes!

Okay, so there wasn't snow (it was about 70 degrees that night)... but over the hills we did go, laughing all the way. I'm talking about the annual entourage of red trolleys taking passengers through the streets of Santa Barbara to view the stores and houses strung with lights, ornaments and holiday cheer.

I went with my friend Amy who charters one of the trolleys every year for Alpha, a non-profit corporation which provides services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families. Years ago I worked with developmentally disabled adults and it brought a lot of good memories seeing my friend with her group.

We spotted Santa seven times in front of different houses (how DOES he get around so quickly? ) and Mrs. Claus too and loads of folks waving as we sped by singing holiday songs. We had so much fun, I hope they invite me again next year.

It's quickly coming to a close...

Wow the New Year is just around the corner, are you ready? While we're still in an uncertain time, the fact remains that there are Practices that are thriving... will yours be on of them?

If you're feeling like you've been at a certain level in your Practice for some time but want to grow more, gain more patients and clients and increase profits, then you  have to do something different or 2011 will just be a repeat version of this year. Currently I have a few spots open for private coaching to get you the guidance you need.

Not sure if it's for you? I'm offering f*ree consultations,  which is a brief phone chat to see what your needs are and how I can help. To schedule yours, go to this page and fill out the CONTACT form on the bottom.

I want to spotlight a client, Catherine Brau Pouget originally from France now living in the UK, who just  received acknowledgment in her local news paper for her work.

Way to go Catherine!

Are you celebrating a success in your Practice? Drop me a line, I'd love to know! Email me: anamaria@ThePracticeBuildingInstitute.com