Hey y’all!
Savanna Bell here with My Massage World.
You may have noticed I haven’t posted my usual videos for a few weeks and there’s
a good reason for that.
I have been completely immersed in a huge project I think you’ll be excited to see.
And it just launched today!
So today’s video will actually be a little sneak peek of that.
Instead of my usual video content, you’re going to see a little bit of one of the classes
included in my 30-Day Business Transformation program.
If you’ve been flying by the seat of your pants as a business owner, still struggling
to get clients, reach your financial goals, and grow your business the way you want, this
is the program to help you fix all that!
And I’m not hiding it all behind some discovery call or trying to act like it’s some super-secret
formula.
But if you like the content I usually share and want to dig a whole lot deeper and in
a more structured way to give you a real framework to building and running a successful massage
business, that’s what this is all about.
Just to give you a super quick understanding of what’s included, it’s broken down into
7 modules; these 7 core, foundational pieces to building and running a successful massage
practice…
Develop Your Mindset Develop Your Business Plan
Develop Your Brand Get Legal
Know Your Numbers Develop Your Marketing Strategy
And Build Your Systems
So for the next 7 weeks, that’s what these videos will be giving you a peek of.
Each week you’ll get just a few minutes of the actual class content from each module,
along with a free worksheet download to work through whatever that segment is all about.
So we’ll go in order.
This week we’re kicking it off with a peek at module 1: Develop Your Mindset.
Grab the worksheet download in the description and without further ado, here’s your peek.
Now it’s time to talk about the fears you have around being a business owner and how
to overcome them.
There seems to me to be four main types of fear that I see in business owners that lead
to self-sabotaging behaviors where you end up getting in your own way.
Fear of failure.
Fear of success.
Fear of overwhelm.
Fear of inadequacy.
Obviously there’s a lot of other fears that can be mixed in or stem off of these, but
these four seem to be the most prevalent, and usually what has the biggest impact on
stopping you from doing the right things in your business so that’s what we’ll focus
on.
Fear of failure is probably the biggest one so we’ll start there.
The idea of starting and working so hard on this business only for it to go up in smoke…that
stops a lot of people right in their tracks.
It stops a lot of people from ever even starting, and it stops a lot of people from growing
in the right ways; making those regular advances toward their dreams.
Most motivational speakers aren't going to get up in front of an audience and scream
"You're a failure!
You're a failure!
And you're a failure too!", right?
They probably wouldn't sell a whole lot of tickets to events or many books on the subject.
But failure is something that as a business owner you have to learn to embrace.
It is absolutely inevitable that you are going to fail at some of these goals you set for
yourself in some way.
I'm not talking about embracing complete failure, that you can’t possibly ever reach an income
goal you set or something like that.
I'm referring to those small failures that trip up so many business owners that then
become an excuse for giving up and going down the negative, fear-filled rabbit hole into
complete failure of their business.
Just like we talked about working your anxiety muscle by doing dangerous things carefully,
this falls in that same line; small exposures to failure allow you to rewire your brain
to accept that because you’ve been capable of overcoming these small failures again and
again, you’re more capable of wisely handling bigger failures that may come your way, and
that fear isn’t such an obstacle anymore.
You set a goal and that first day, the second, and maybe even the first week, you're completely
motivated and stick to your plan.
You get up early, do all your self-care, get your work done, learn some new stuff, and
you're just generally on a roll, right?
It seems like you've got this perfectly under control.
But then life happens; you wake up late, you get sick, your car breaks down, clients don't
show up, an event gets canceled, or you're just not up for it.
Whatever it may be, life happens and you'll skip that daily or weekly plan.
That’s a failure, and it’s part of life.
But it's not that day or week of failure that’s important.
It’s the day or week right after perfection and failure that's the real test; the slip-up
in your plan that results in you throwing in the towel and declaring it all for nothing.
But just as a dieter who binges on a bowl of ice cream shouldn't eat the whole pint
and then give up on getting healthier altogether because “what’s the point?”, you can't
think that one or even several instances of trouble along the way means you should give
up on your goals.
You will falter.
You won't feel motivated to do this stuff every day.
You will have days where it's just plain hard because...well....life.
You know, we talked a lot about self-discipline already.
And self-discipline isn't some magic state of never struggling, of never faltering from
a plan.
True self-discipline comes in those moments that you have to push through when you don't
feel like it, when you get back up after you've inevitably been knocked down, and when every
single morning when you wake up, you simply try again to do your best, even if the day
before felt like a total failure and you’re not real sure about the day ahead either.
So embrace those small failures.
Get used to them.
My absolute favorite quote is by Ed Catmull, founder of Pixar, and it is something I’ve
come to repeat to myself over and over again throughout my business journey…
“Failure isn't a necessary evil.
In fact, it isn't evil at all.
It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.”
If you’re not failing at something, you’re way too comfortable.
Those small failures help you learn, grow, and keep you steadfast; and like I said before,
like that anxiety muscle we talked about working on day one, it’s the same kind of thing.
Building up your resilience to those small failures will inevitably help you overcome
that fear of large-scale failure.
So let’s go through some exercises to help you work through and overcome these fears.
On pages 20 and 21, you’ve got some questions to answer.
I’m going to go through each one, so feel free to either pause as needed as I go or
just wait til the end and do it all at once.
Even if you don’t think you have one of these fears, go ahead and work your way through
the questions because it might reveal a little bit of hesitation around things you may not
have even been consciously aware of just yet.
First, that fear of failure…
What would failure look like for you?
For some it’s the entire business being shut down and going back to being an employee
for someone else.
For some this may be having to leave the profession entirely.
And any mix of things in between.
So for you, what is it that you’re really afraid of when it comes to failure?
Next, what’s the worst that would happen in that situation?
Would it be the financial strain?
Would you lose your house?
Or maybe even that you’d just feel really embarrassed or ashamed?
And side note, honestly, if it’s the latter, I want you to be sure to refer back to what
success looks like for you and be sure you’re building the business you want because it’s
what you want, not what you think you should do to please others or because it’s what
success is “supposed” to look like based on society standards instead of your own.
Anyway, moving on…
What would still be good?
So even after that kind of failure, what in life would still be going good for you?
You’ve still got your family and friends, you’re not destitute, you could find a job
pretty readily or open another business, you’d have more time to pursue other things, whatever
it is, what would still be good?
I think too many people focus so much on the bad that could come from failure that you
miss anything at all that would still be a positive in your life.
Like if your business was to fail, life is over.
No.
It’s a business.
It’s not your life.
And lastly, what would you do after the failure?
So how would you move on?
Get another job, learn more and try again later, start a different business, move to
a different area, whatever.
How would you move on after that failure?
Thinking through this fear of failure by breaking it down into truly considering the different
aspects of what it would look like and how it would play out is a great way to get a
grip that it’s probably not nearly as terrifying as you may have considered before.
You’ll feel more prepared to handle if, heaven forbid, that large-scale failure was
to happen…and that’s how you’re able to push forward without self-sabotaging from
this fear.
Alright, now moving on to the fear of success.
For some this doesn’t compute but for others this is a very big deal.
It’s not necessarily that success itself is to be feared, but rather the potential
consequences of that success.
And this is why I stress so much on defining your version of success and building your
business for that and making business decisions with that in mind at all times.
So, what stresses would success give you?
Is it maybe too much time commitment, too much pressure from outside forces, too many
people needing you, leaving “behind”, so to speak, other people you are close to,
naysayers, things like that?
Then what benefits would success give you?
A big boost financially, a great reputation in town, whatever it may be; there’s obvious
benefits to success.
Next, how are you getting in your own way?
Whether it’s procrastination, a lack of healthy coping mechanisms when you’re anxious,
or some other self-sabotaging behavior, it’s common to keep getting in your own way if
you’re afraid of success.
And lastly, how can you keep control?
What behaviors will you change so you’re not getting in your own way, what stresses
can you alleviate by building a business that suits you best, and otherwise keep control
of the situation and how you handle it as you go?
Next, we have the fear of overwhelm.
Having too many things to do can be overwhelming, but oftentimes people start to fear the potential
for overwhelm before they’re actually overwhelmed with things they have to do right then.
And even more so, overinflate what it will take to do something in their head compared
to what it actually takes.
You know, like you keep putting off making one phone call to sort something out that
would take you no more than 10 minutes but for some reason in your mind it’s this massive
thing weighing on you.
It’s the idea of future overwhelm that seems so taxing that you may start self-sabotaging.
So let’s work through this.
First, what type of tasks seem to tip you over the edge to feeling overwhelmed?
Is it mainly financial stuff, or marketing, or is it just all the business stuff that
has to be done altogether?
When is it that you really notice overwhelm or the fear of future overwhelm start to take
over?
Next, how can you design your business in a way to prevent this?
So maybe it’s that you’ll delegate out this things that keep you in that state of
overwhelm or keep things as minimalistic and streamlined as possible so there’s not so
many moving pieces.
Whatever it is, there’s ways to design your business and the logistics of how you carry
things out that will help prevent you from falling into that overwhelming feeling that
leads to self-sabotage.
Next, what systems could you use to prioritize and manage all those pieces?
So, checklists, a very specific schedule, thought exercises, having an accountability
partner, things like that.
And lastly, how can you build your resilience to overwhelm?
Just like we’ve discussed a few times now, what small things can you start putting into
regular practice that will build up your willpower and resilience to this type of thing.
Alright, now the last big fear I see a lot of therapists struggle with…a fear of inadequacy.
Imposter syndrome, as it’s often called; this idea that you’re not good enough to
do this.
So let’s work through this…
What insecurities are causing this fear in you?
Is it your hands-on skills as a therapist, or you’re “not a numbers person”, or
you’re not disciplined enough, or anything else.
I think a big problem here is that we so often attach our insecurities to our identity.
Like “I’m not a numbers person” or “that’s just how I am”.
But just like we discussed in your strengths and weaknesses, these are characteristics,
most of which can be changed.
It’s not overnight, but with focused, conscious effort, change can happen.
And that brings me to…
What adjustments can help you compensate?
You may not be a numbers person right now, but that’s something you can work on and
in the meantime you can hire out the associated tasks while you’re learning the ins and
outs.
Whatever it may be, there are adjustments you can make both to yourself and just to
how you run your business that will compensate for those insecurities.
And that brings me to…
How can you build confidence in these?
Whether it’s improving a skill or recognizing that you’re not actually as bad at something
you’re insecure of as you tend to think.
I saw someone once who kept a jar on her desk full of folded up pieces of paper.
She had written reviews, testimonials, and personal feedback responses clients had said
to her over the years and kept them in there.
When insecurities started to creep up or she was just having an off day, she’d pull out
a couple random pieces of paper and read them to remind herself of what she was really capable
of and the positive effect she was having on clients; how much they adored her and her
skills.
I always liked this idea.
And that leads me to our last one…
What strengths can you lean on?
What is it that you are strongly capable of that can either make up for some of those
insecurities or counter some of those weaknesses.
While it’s important to acknowledge the things you struggle with so that you can do
better and grow, when it comes to this fear of inadequacy you need to keep the focus on
your strengths so you’re not getting in your own way staying on a negative spiral.
And the last part of this section…
What other fears may be holding you back?
And how can you overcome them?
There may be some other fear that’s really unique to you that doesn’t necessarily fall
into one of these categories and it’s important to acknowledge those if they’re present.
So take a few minutes and consider if there’s anything else you may be afraid of when it
comes to running and building a successful business.
Thank you so much for watching today.
If you want to sign up for the program and see more of what’s included, I’ll link
that below.
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join our Facebook group, and keep an eye out for updates, business tips, free content,
and all kinds of other goodies to help you grow your massage practice.
See you next time!