What is proper business hygiene?

As holistic practitioners, many of us are “right brained,” or more in touch with feelings than actions. Yet the healing services you offer represent only about half of your business. The other half (administrative, marketing, and operational tasks) requires that you put good business systems in place. Taking care of those practices are what we call “good business hygiene.”

Ok, we know that if you are the more right-brained type of holistic practitioner, or if the word 'systems' makes you contract, we might already be losing your interest in this blog! But this blog is exactly for you - and we promise we'll be speaking your language and offering genuine opportunities for growth and empowerment if you read on.At HoloBeing, we believe you should only put 'business systems' in place that WORK FOR YOU. You’ll find the most success in doing what actually supports your flavor and your style. Proper business hygiene may look quite different for different people! Ultimately, you must figure out what works best for you and do these tasks your own way. But do them.Concept.Have you developed a set of practices to preserve the health and wellbeing of your business? In our work, we face a lot of routine tasks that are — much like flossing — necessary, but not altogether enjoyable.  However, establishing patterns to clean up your act — your business hygiene — can be tailor-made to you. On a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, are you on top of your tasks?GoalsFirst, one of the most important aspects of business is goal setting. Specifically, it’s useful to start with a clear income goal.Now, if you’ve grown up with the idea that exceeding a goal is “success” and not meeting it is “failure,” it’s understandable that you would avoid goal-setting altogether. This all-or-nothing “pass/fail” thinking can lead solo healing practitioners to hold unnecessarily harsh standards and highly emotionally charged moments of self-evaluation.What if you could view the income goal primarily as a way to measure progress and evolution?  As merely feedback and a way to “course-correct” what isn’t working and do more of what is working well?TrackingMoney tracking means you’ll want to set annual, quarterly, and monthly goals, then ensure that your daily and weekly actions are aligned with your bigger targets.For example, tracking provides you answers to questions such as: Are you saving enough for taxes? Are you double-checking that you are getting paid and that, for example, the credit card processor worked — even if it’s automated?  Do you actually know how much money you are bringing in on a weekly, monthly basis? Many practitioners don't want to look at the actual numbers of what they are bringing in, and yet we always witness a huge amount of relief, clarity and empowerment when someone sits down to do this for the first time. Knowledge is power, we promise. So many doors open when you can own the material, tangible realities of your holistic practice.Benefits of tracking operations.You’ll want to track your business operations on a regular basis to:

• Understand what's working
• Ensure accountability
• Evaluate the client experience
• Gain feedback on how you are doing.
• Continued education
• Understand your professional “shadow” or the hidden barriers holding you back.

Your felt experience is not always a realistic view.Good business hygiene can help us not get so lost in the “felt" sensations that we develop an unrealistic view of how our business is doing. The marketing tactics you use — the ways you make yourself visible — are good examples of this. If you track where clients actually come from, you’ll know more about where to invest your resources. The felt impression of where people are coming from often differs from the actual source when tracked in a more concrete way.Similarly, if you don’t track income, your impressions about how much you are making may differ wildly from the reality found in your books. Which of your efforts truly make an impact? Yes, sometimes if you think you haven’t had decent income in a given month it could be true, but sometimes the numbers tell a different story.Sometimes we only see part of the picture until we have a practical check. We can’t emphasize this enough, that these solid systems and practical ways of tracking are going to help you be more effective and successful at creating a livelihood for yourself. In right relationship with your finances and your business.Break through your fears to find empowering energy.Fear plays a large role in avoiding operational tasks. It’s easy to become scared to look closer at finances and budget — and to face what we really need to be bringing in to make a living. Our avoidance instincts can make it tough to look at the facts. It may seem easier to pretend money isn’t real, or that financial issues don’t matter—such as the need for a balanced budget or to track and be in relationship with our money.Some people are more guarded against facing these tasks than others, but every single person we’ve worked with in the Fellowship Program at HoloBeing has benefitted hugely from getting into the details. The process can be challenging, but every practitioner has been happy that they’ve taken a closer look at the practical side of business.We know it can be scary to look at details, but we’ve only seen true empowerment on the other side of it.By tending to the details can we become empowered in our businesses.We’ve never seen anyone worse off or in a less stable emotional state after facing the facts.You can find a way to make it fun more enjoyable.Frankly, it’s a huge drain on your energy to avoid business hygiene. We urge our members to “get real” with each other, and we urge you to “get real" with the current state of your business. But it doesn’t have to be boring, depressing or painful.If you don’t like to do these tasks, find a way to make it easier on yourself. Be around supportive people. Make it a “special occasion” to do administrative work. Whether it’s a song, a some pricey dark chocolate or a cup of special tea, find a way to make the “must do’s” a special part of your business. This is YOUR business and you should run it in a way that feels good to you.

HoloBeing's Fellowship Circle supports holistic businesses owners of all kinds - especially healer-types - to find their business strengths and the business growth strategies that resonate deeply with their being.  We support you through exploring your business and money light and shadow so that you can move past deep-seated blocks and grow the business and life that you are capable of.  Read more about the one-of-a-kind Fellowship Circle here, the benefits of our group and how you can join.