Interview with Elke Hausler

Salus Wellness well into its second year in business decided to interview some of the practitioners who joined during the startup period and are now celebrating a year of activity with the health centre.

Elke, what is your specialisation and how long have you been practicing?

I believe in empowering my clients to help themselves as much as they can. That’s what I do. Since 2007, I have mainly helped people stepping out of pain, emotional or physical pain. I love my work. It is so rewarding!

I started out as a complementary health practitioner in 2004, doing Swedish Massage, Reiki and Indian Head Massage. The more people I saw, the more I realised how stressed many of them were and that they often were in emotional and/or physical pain. I went on to deepen my knowledge and get more qualifications (Thought Field Therapy, Dorn Method, Sports Massage and Rossiter System Workouts).

When did you start working at Salus Wellness and what influenced your decision to work here?

About 15 months ago, I met Luca and Massimo who run Salus Wellness clinics at a business networking event. When I mentioned I was intending to spread out my work to Cambridge in the near future, they invited me to have a look at the premises and we arranged a meeting. I loved the atmosphere straight away, the location, the rooms and easy parking seemed ideal and my gut feeling told me to go for it. I’m glad I did.

How many clients do you see in an average week?

I currently only work two half days a week in Cambridge – every Monday plus every other Wednesday and alternate Saturday. I have been able to fill most slots easily and am looking to increase my hours at Salus Wellness in the future. The rest of the week I am busy working at my clinic in Newmarket.

What is your general view of the facilities offered by Salus Wellness?

They offer a variety of rooms with different equipment, so a wide range of treatments can be offered. I like the idea of having it all under one roof.

How did the help received from Salus Wellness in terms of running your business, sales, and marketing helped to develop your business?

I was pretty impressed with the workshops they put on – free of charge or next to nothing -, Profit Dojo, a networking meeting every second Friday of the month including a free workshop afterwards, tips and tricks they give away all year long, the help with and design of my promotional material including my website etc. All of it, I am sure, has helped me build my practice in Cambridge fairly quickly.

What are your future plans at the clinic?

I am planning to be part of it for a long time. I would love to meet more colleagues with the possibility to cross-refer clients if I feel they benefit from their treatments.

Would you recommend Salus Wellness to other practitioners?

Yes, I certainly would.

What advice would you give to new practitioners?

What are you waiting for? Jump at the occasion!

Salus Wellness among the organisers of NCHS

It was outlined in a recent article on this blog that starting a complementary health business implies more than just getting a qualification and waiting for clients to knock at your door.

Starting a complementary health practice means  starting and managing a business.  It needs to have all common functions typical of a standard commercial organisation with all its aspects; from marketing to business development and accounting.

The National Complementary Health Summit (NCHS) is a one day workshop where experts of marketing, sales, social media and business development within the complementary health sector will talk about the basic concepts involved in running and growing a private practice.  The NCHS  is suitable for both professionals with an existing practice, and newly qualified practitioners that are just starting.

Salus Wellness, given its proven experience in coaching and training professionals in complementary health, is one of the organisers and promoters of this event, first of its kind.  Check the NCHS website http://www.nchs-uk.org/ and book your place now!

Getting Started in Complementary Health

An increasing number of people decide at some point in their life to get the necessary qualifications and become a complementary health practitioner.  The recession and job losses of the recent years have somehow inspired many people to make the big step and, sometimes without other choices, start their own private practice. The challenges which can be found when   working in private practice affects both professionals with university degrees like psychotherapists and psychologists, as well as other recognised qualifications.

Starting a complementary health business is similar to opening a shop, an office based service supplier or any other traditional commercial business.  Like in any other business, sales and cash flow are essential to guarantee positive results and so one of the most important things you need to do is to ensure that you  have plenty of clients  to pay your overheads  and  guarantee yourself a decent income.  Depending on the country where the complementary health business is based, it is also necessary to be familiar with legal, professional and business requirements.

What is a Complementary Health Business?

Complementary health treatments include a broad range of disciplines. It is important to learn about the particular form of holistic health practice and  complete the necessary training before committing to opening a practice. . Examples of complementary health businesses include:

• Hypnotherapy
• Massage
• Reflexology
• Reiki
• Acupuncture
• Homeopathy
• NLP

Setting Up a Private Practice in Complementary Health

Some complementary health practitioners work from home whereas others set up a separate office/studio in which to work from.  There are both advantages and disadvantages in working  from home  as there are in working from a private studio; initial set up for a home practice may be cheaper but there will need to be enough space to work professionally and take into account:

• equipment/furniture needed
• health and safety
• legal requirements
• scheduling and managing appointments
• associated costs
• personal privacy and security

Insurance, Legal and Professional Requirements for a Complementary Health Practice

There are different insurance, legal and professional requirements in the UK. It may be necessary to obtain a business license (even if working from home) from the local authorities and comply with certain local and national laws. In addition, it may be necessary to obtain professional memberships in order to apply for an adequate professional insurance cover; different types of insurance cover may be needed.

Maintaining Tax Records and Banking for a Complementary Health Practice

It is important to keep a record of all purchases and expenses and receipt of income for tax purposes; at the end of the tax year, a complimentary health business will be expected to file a tax return either as a sole trader or an incorporated limited company (partnerships may be applicable if two or more practitioners work together).  Opening a business’ bank account is also essential in order to keep business transactions separate from personal ones.

Marketing a Holistic Health Business

I hope it doesn’t come as a surprise when I say that in the 21^st century, every business should have a web presence in addition to other direct and indirect marketing operations.   A complementary health business can be marketed through a combination of web site, blogs, forums and social networking. Depending on the skills level of the holistic health practitioner, it may be necessary to employ someone to both set up and maintain the various web marketing tools required.

Some complementary health practices, both in the UK and abroad , are not tightly regulated, making it simple for almost anyone to set up and call themselves a holistic health practitioner or practice. However, in order to maintain high standards and increase the chances  for success, it is advisable to take all accredited training in the chosen discipline, obtain insurance,  memberships to the relevant governing body and comply with the relevant legal requirements.

Working Within a Professional Health Centre

While working from home can be a simple and cost-effective way to get started, it can limit the opportunities of expansion as well as the amount of money that can be charged.  An effective alternative is to work from a complementary health centre which, a mong other basic things   can offer:

• good quality therapy rooms that are suitable for your  therapy/discipline
• a central and easily accessible location reception and phone answering service to ensure that your phone calls are answered and your clients or prospects are well looked after
• a place where you always feel  safe  when working with clients

The main advantages of working from a professional complementary health centre are:

• better image
• possibility of justifying higher fees
• building up a stronger brand

Conclusion

Getting Started in Complementary Health can be a very rewarding and life changing decision.  When well-managed, it can bring financial accomplishments, the opportunity of making a difference in many people’s lives and achieving a great level of satisfaction.

However, it should be considered for what it really is: a business venture which as such requires accurate planning and adequate business skills in marketing and sales.

Interview with Joseph Robinson

Having just celebrated a year of activity we decided to start a series of interviews to publicly ask to our practitioners what they think about working at Salus Wellness.

Joseph, what is your specialisation and how long have you been practicing?

I am an Osteopath specialising in treatment and management of chronic pain. As a keen sportsman I also hold a special interest in treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries and athletic development. I have been practicing now for 1 year.

When did you start working at Salus Wellness and what influenced your decision to work here?

I started practicing at Salus Wellness Clinics as my second practice in October 2010. At the time I had been looking to set up a second practice for a couple of weeks and had several potential sites. I chose to move forward with Salus Wellness as it offered all I wanted in terms of city centre location with good footfall and still plenty of close by parking available throughout the day, great facilities and the right professional and welcoming working atmosphere that is so important in my profession and to the Cambridge ProCare brand.

How many clients do you see in an average week?

I practice at Salus Wellness 3 days a week seeing on average 10 patients a day with peak numbers of up to 18 patients in a day.

What is your general view of the facilities offered by Salus Wellness?

Salus Wellness has achieved a high standard of facilities throughout, creating a naturally welcoming atmosphere without losing any sense of professionalism and clinical cleanliness.

How did the help received from Salus Wellness in terms of running your business, sales, and marketing helped to develop your business?

It is impossible to be a master of all things, having the business expertise and hands on assistance of the Salus Wellness management team has been vital in the success I have enjoyed in my first year at Salus Wellness and further more into the success of Cambridge ProCare Osteopathy’s development as a brand across both its clinics. The support of having the Salus Wellness team behind me has meant I have been able to focus more attention onto developing myself as a skilled and professional practitioner whilst still learning a tremendous amount of applied business skills from the highly experienced individuals that make up the Salus Wellness management team.

What are your future plans at the clinic?

As Cambridge ProCare Osteopathy’s central Cambridge clinic Salus Wellness is going to a focal point of growth for the company over the coming years, I hope to regularly increase practitioner hours at Salus Wellness as our client base demand grows.

Would you recommend Salus Wellness to other practitioners?

Yes.

What advice would you give to new practitioners?

Salus Wellness can provide the perfect setting and all the tools a practitioner needs to grow their business but it is, ultimately, up to the individual to use those tools to manufacture their own success in business.

For private healthcare businesses in today’s economic climate success and growth are there for those who actively strive for it, there is no such this as standing still, biding time. If you are not moving forward you are moving backwards.

The 3×3 Essentials in the Complementary Health Business

Complementary health is first and foremost a business.  Many make the mistake of treating this profession as a passion for which they get paid. It must instead be a profession for which you have passion. The difference is small but critical and it often draws the difference between success and failure.

This article shows the 3 steps to take to ensure that you succeed in complementary health. Follow these steps and your chances to succeed may grow exponentially.

1 – Be professional

1. Do not work from home. Working from home underlines a lack of professionalism and lack of commitment toward your profession. It is like saying “I cannot be bothered/commit to take an office as this is really something that I do in my spare time”. Even if you only practice on a part-time basis, working from an office tells that you work part-time, working from home tells that you work on your spare time; not the same thing!
2. Specialise.  Jack of all trades masters of none belong to the past. Today people look for specialised knowledge. At first you may think that specialising in one area, whether that is weight loss, phobias, sport, back pain, or whatever you may specialise in, will reduce the number of enquiries you receive. In reality this is really not an issue. On the contrary you will get more business; there may only be 20,000 people suffering from a phobia in your county against the 5,000,000 seeking help in all areas. 20,000 people is still a lot of people and even if you only got 5% of this, you will need to see 1 client per day for 4 years before you have worked with your 5%. And that is working 5 days a week for 52 weeks of the year – eg no holiday! There are enough clients in any niche.
3. Do your homework. Make sure that you know your stuff. Don’t improvise and ask for advice from people who have done what you do for longer than you. Ask the question and you may look stupid once, don’t ask and you will always remain stupid.

2 – Be seen

Marketing is important and it is important to get your marketing right. The way you market yourself depends pretty much on what you do. In complementary health however there are a few things that are proven to work. These are:

• Networking
• Flyers
• Competitions

1. Networking needs no elaboration other than getting out there and talking to people. Let everybody know that you are the expert in whatever it is that you are an expert in. Collect business cards and send them follow up emails after you met. Do not be pushy, something light like: “Hi Greg, it was good to meet you earlier today. Just a quick line to say hi and make sure that you have my contact details. I would like to be included in your newsletter and I would like to include you in mine which I hope you can find useful.”
   You can also go the extra mile and actually ask some of the people you meet at networking events to meet again on a one to one basis to understand more about each other businesses and requirements. There is enough to say about networking for a book to be written; for now, make sure you follow the steps above and a large part of the rest will come naturally.
2. Flyers are one of those things that some people believe in and some others don’t. The truth is simple: those who believe in flyers understand how to create and use flyers, those who do not believe in them do not know this. Flyers must:
   • Include a head line, sub-headline, photo, call to action, urgency factor, benefit for the client
   • Be delivered to your neighbourhood at least 3 times (eg 3000 flyers to 1000 houses)
   • Be small and essential (not too many words and printed on A6 or A5)
   • Be monitored in terms of results
   • Here is an example of a good flyer



3. Competitions are the best way known to me to generate traffic to your website and get free press coverage. The way this works is elementary: write to the local press offering to give away a series of treatments to their readers through a competition. The competition will involve that the readers fill out a coupon or enter their details on a webpage and the winner will be given the prize. All those people who did not win can be contacted with an offer such as: “Sorry you did not win! As consolation prize here is a 50% off discount voucher”. This is an excellent way to get targeted traffic and free press coverage.

3 – Business is Business

Business is business and so treat it as such. Here are the 3 main pointers:

1. Be profitable. Make sure that you are making a profit with every client you see. If you lose 1p every client and you increase the number of clients you see, you will lose more pennies. Analyse your costs including marketing, rent, disposables, taxes, transport and all your other expenses related to the business and make sure that the fees you charge can generate the desired profit for you.
2. Pricing. Charge what you are worth plus a little more! People associate the fees of a service to the quality of the same. Increasing your prices to the higher end of the scale will not only give you more profits but also more clients and more people will associate more value to your services. Investigate and see what your competitors charge and put yourself at the higher end of that scale.
3. Plan and forecast. Make sure that you have a business plan so that you have a precise goal and an action plan that backs it up. In short, make sure that you know what you want and what you need to do in order to get it.

This article gives you a good idea of the main points that you must pay attention to when running a complementary health business (or any other small business for that matter). I recommend that you elaborate on every single point and apply these notions to your business as soon as you can.

Kickstart your Practice in 2011

Last week, Salus Wellness Clinics, a Complementary Health Centre based in Cambridge,  run the 5^th business workshop for complementary health practitioners.

Initially thought just for practitioners working at Salus Wellness, it was recently opened to external ones and it saw 4 of them joining on this occasion.

Covering several key topics around business, sales and marketing this 3 hour workshop was run by:

• Luca Senatore, Sales Director of Salus Wellness and successful Sales Trainer and Mind Coach
• Massimo Gaetani, Marketing Director for Salus Wellness and successful Business and Executive Coach

Welcoming a total of 13 delegates, the presentations were developed with a strong component of interactivity involving all participants and giving them the opportunity of explaining and discussing their particular issues and getting effective help from both the coaches and the other delegates.

Luca’s presentation was about “4 aspects of successful marketing tools” and covered the following topics:

• Effective leaflets and associated campaigns
• Networking and following up in the right way

Massimo’s presentation was about “what you did in 2010 and how to kick start 2011″ and covered the following topics:

• your achievements in 2010
• plans and goals for 2011
• actions to achieve your goals

Salus Wellness is pursuing its mission of reshaping the concept of complementary health clinic by offering, on top of great facilities and state of art equipment,  hands-on help in business mentoring and coaching to allow all practitioners to thrive.

If you are a professional complementary health practitioner, Salus Wellness is inviting you to explore a new opportunity of working in a very dynamic and inspiring environment, together with real and practical help that allows you to grow your business.

For more information please contact:

Salus Wellness – 01223 300 222 info@salus-wellness.com

Luca Senatore – 07769 833 144 luca@salus-wellness.com

Massimo Gaetani – 07879 610 111 massimo@salus-wellness.com

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

Salus Wellness Clinics, a Complementary Health Centre based in Cambridge,  run last week the fourth business workshop for complementary health practitioners.

Initially thought just for practitioners working at Salus Wellness, it was recently opened to external ones and it saw 6 of  them joining on this occasion.

Covering several key topics around business, sales and marketing this 3 hours workshop was run by:

• Luca Senatore, Sales Director of Salus Wellness and successful Sales Trainer and Mind Coach
• Massimo Gaetani, Marketing Director for Salus Wellness and successful Business and Executive Coach

Welcoming a total of 14 delegates, the presentations were developed with a strong component of interactivity involving all participants and giving them the opportunity of explaining and discussing their particular issues and getting effective help from both the coaches and the other delegates.

Massimo’s presentation was about “networking, the fastest way of generating real business” and covered the following topics:

• available networking in Cambridge
• what to expect
• get the best of your networking event
• follow up and generate business

Luca’s presentation was about “closing a sale, transforming a conversation into a contract” and covered the following topics:

• the small ears syndrome – sales in therapy
• explaining benefits and value of working with you
• handling objections – fees
• closing the client – now without delay

Salus Wellness is pursuing its mission of reshaping the concept of complementary health clinic by offering, on top of great facilities and state of art equipment, hands on help in business mentoring and coaching to allow all practitioners to thrive.

If you are a professional complementary health practitioner, Salus Wellness is  inviting you to explore a new opportunity of working in a very dynamic and inspiring environment, together with real and practical help that allows you to grow your business.

For more information please contact:

Salus Wellness – 01223 300 222 info@salus-wellness.com

Luca Senatore – 07769 833 144 luca@salus-wellness.com

Massimo Gaetani – 07879 610 111 massimo@salus-wellness.com

Your Success is our Success

Salus Wellness Clinics, a Complementary Health Centre based in Cambridge,  run last week the third business workshop for therapists: for the first time this great event was available to external practitioners.

Covering several key topics around sales and marketing this 3 hours workshop was run by:

• Luca Senatore, Sales Director of Salus Wellness and successful Sales Trainer and mind coach
• Massimo Gaetani, Marketing Director for Salus Wellness and successful Business and Executive Coach.

Welcoming a total of 12 delegates the presentations were developed with a strong component of interactivity involving all participants and giving them the opportunity of explaining and discussing their particular issues and getting effective help from both the coaches and the other delegates.

Luca’s presentation was about “Unleashing the power of your business” and covered the following topics:

• How to create a plan of action which WILL get you clients
• How to become proactive and just know what to do
• How to eliminate procrastination

Massimo’s presentation was about “How to create more time in your week” and covered the following topics:

• Make up to 4 extra hours weekly
• Complete your tasks in less time
• Reduce the workload easily by learning a “new word”

Salus Wellness is reshaping the concept of complementary heath clinic by offering, on top of great facilities and state of art equipment, hands on help in business mentoring and coaching to allow all practitioners to thrive.

Salus Wellness is  therefore inviting all practitioners interested in exploring a new opportunity to work in a very dynamic and inspiring environment, together with real and practical help that allow you to grow your business.

For more information please contact:

Luca Senatore – 07869 109 337 luca@salus-wellness.com

Massimo Gaetani – 07879 610 111 massimo@salus-wellness.com

Another step toward success

Salus Wellness Clinics, a Complementary Health Centre recently opened in Cambridge  run last week the second business workshop for their therapists.

Covering a number of key topics revolving around on line and traditional marketing this 2 hours workshop was run by:

• Luca Senatore, Sales Director of Salus Wellness and successful Sales Trainer and mind coach
• Massimo Gaetani, Marketing Director for Salus Wellness and successful Business and Executive Coach.

Welcoming a total of 10 delagates the presentations were then developed with a strong component of interactivity involving each participant and giving them the opportunity of explaining and discussing their particular issues and getting effective help from both the coaches and the other delegates.

Massimo’s presentation was about

• How to create a successful online marketing campaign
• PR on-line – The marketing that costs you nothing
• Your on-line business card
• How to use social media

Luca’s presentation was about:

• How to get new clients weekly
• How to get free advertisement
• How to get adverts 20% off
• Free marketing that works

Salus Wellness offers, on top of great facilities and state of art equipment, a fully inclusive package of business mentoring and coaching to allow all practitioners to thrive.   In fact, after only a few weeks form the opening, Salus is creating the Win-Win-Win situation

mentioned before the opening.

Salus Wellness is  therefore inviting all practitioners interested in exploring a new opportunity to work in a very dynamic and inspiring environment, together with real hands on help that allow you to grow your business.

For more information please contact:

Luca Senatore – 07869 109 337 luca@salus-wellness.com

Massimo Gaetani – 07879 610 111 massimo@salus-wellness.com

Not Just a Clinic

Salus Wellness Clinics, a Complementary Health Centre recently opened in Cambridge has run last week the first business workshop for their therapists.

Covering a number of key topics revolving around how to best run a business this 2 hours workshop was run by:

• Luca Senatore, Sales Director of Salus Wellness and successful Sales Trainer and mind coach
• Massimo Gaetani, Marketing Director for Salus Wellness and successful Business and Executive Coach.

The 5 delegates, all new recruits for the Health Centre, all had the opportunity to express their preferences of topics to be discussed. The presentations were then developed with a strong component of interactivity involving each participant and giving them the opportunity of explaining and discussing their particular issues and getting effective help from both the coaches and the other delegates.

Luca’s presentation was about:

• Motivation to buy
• Emotional Drives
• Goal Setting
• Market Targeting

Massimo’s presentation was about

• Strategic Positioning
• Planning
• Marketing
• Pricing

Salus Wellness offers, on top of great facilities and state of art equipment, a fully inclusive package of business mentoring and coaching to allow all practitioners to thrive.   In fact, after only a few weeks form the opening, Salus is creating the Win-Win-Win situation mentioned before the opening.

Salus Wellness is  therefore inviting all practitioners interested in exploring a new opportunity to work in a very dynamic and inspiring environment, together with real hands on help that allow you to grow your business.

For more information please contact:

Luca Senatore – 07869 109 337 luca@salus-wellness.com

Massimo Gaetani – 07879 610 111 massimo@salus-wellness.com