www.ManifestationCoaching.com
The old proverb of “be careful what you wish for” has really proven true for me. My recent promotion has me working harder than I ever imagined and still facing the possibility that I may not succeed. When I first considered this opportunity, my stomach did a little flip of nervousness. Yep, it would clearly be outside my comfort zone.
But throughout my life, that little stomach flip which signals the first steps outside the familiar has been a reliable guide to the best choices in my life. I’ve discovered that, for me, that little fillip of fear says I’m stretching, trying something new for me. And each one of those choices has led to major positive growth in my life. Sometimes you have to be scared to go forward. Change can be scary. There’s nothing wrong with a little fear…unless you let it get between you and your dream.
But what I really wanted to write about is a recent discovery made by one of my clients.
See, Say, Do principles say that once you’ve visualized all your possibilities, chosen your path and clearly articulated it, you then have to do something. Some describe it as acting like it’s already true. However you describe it, at some point you have to act.
My client Ben learned how that works in his own life, and I was gratified to see the
See, Say, Do principles demonstrated again. Ben is working to build his private practice. Since he graduated from school and got his license, he’d been working out of his house, seeing clients in his home office. But growing his practice was a struggle for Ben. He wasn’t satisfied with the slow pace of growth, and the low fees he was generating. He was still living mostly off his savings, and getting really worried about whether he would have to rethink the idea of being in private practice.
Then Ben came to me for help making a decision. He’d come across an office for rent in a good neighborhood, and for a really reasonable rate. It was just the right size with lots of windows. After visiting the office with him, I had to agree that it was perfect. His problem? He wasn’t sure he could make the commitment to the regular rent payment.
We broke it down. How many clients would he need on a regular basis at what hourly rate to cover the rent? The answer was “more clients than he had.” At first glance, it appeared he couldn’t swing the deal. But he didn’t want to give up. So we talked about it some more. He didn’t have a full client load, so he wouldn’t be using the office every day. That was part of the problem. But perhaps it could be part of the solution instead.
Realizing that many people trying to build a new practice were in the same position as Ben, we considered the possibility of renting the office out on his days with no clients. No deposits, no commitments longer than a month. That way, as Ben’s client list grew, he could gradually reclaim more of his office time.
At last, despite some misgivings, Ben decided to take the plunge and signed the rental agreement and dipped into his savings yet again for the deposit he was required to make. He promptly placed ads on craigslist and bulletin boards at his former school. Amazingly, within days he got a call from another practitioner looking for part-time office space, Ben made his first deal, and settled in to building his practice.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Ben didn’t change his advertising budget or strategy, though we discussed it. He sent out an announcement about the new office to his email list. He ordered business cards with his new office address and started handing them out everywhere he went. Within three weeks, he had added three clients to his practice, all at higher rates than his existing clients. He doesn’t fill his office fill time yet, but he will soon.
What happened? A scary rental agreement and some business cards. Not much right? The real change, though, was in Ben’s head. For Ben, getting an office made his business
real to him! As a result, his new enthusiasm and confidence generated new business. Ben felt more like a businessman, and his practice showed the difference. Having a physical focus for his business created the business for real in his head, and the physical world followed his lead.
You can’t truly make revolutionary choices in your life until you’ve explored your choices. Once you’ve made your choice, you need to think about it and fully clothe the idea or dream until you know all its smallest details. But
seeing and
saying your dream isn’t everything. No matter how small the effort, you’ve got to
do something. Something. Not necessarily something big, just something.
Despite all Ben’s plans to revamp his marketing strategies, to create a great web site, and to begin publishing a newsletter or blog, Ben turned made the difference without any of those things. He moved his practice from his home office to a small rented office. One small do turned the corner for Ben.
When the time comes, don’t stop just because what you’re doing is a little scary and don’t stop just because it doesn’t seem enough. It’s the
doing that matters.
Ask Ben.
www.ManifestationCoaching.com
. The reviewer listed several factoids about traffic and being caught in a traffic jam that I think apply to managing your customers and other clients.
