Best & Worst Business Decisions

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Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on January 23, 2009 at 10:30am

LOL on the hypnocoin!

Actually, I have a spinning disk with that pattern, about the size of a CD, and the ten bucks I spent for it were a great investment. It doesn't actually hypnotize people (usually), but I explain the optical illusion to them as a way of showing that the world is not always what it seems. It's a fun icebreaker when I'm doing promotional work, and it entertains children at street faires. I wish I could get them wholesale!

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Permalink Reply by Rob Pickett on January 25, 2009 at 7:46am

Bonnie and Eric hit it right on the head: know what your strengths are. If you are particularly bad at bookkeeping, it's worth it to hand that headache off to someone else. Myself, I'm a bookkeeper by trade (soon to get my hypno-diploma! yay!) and I guarantee you, the little bit you're going to spend on good accounting software and monthly reports from a CPA is nothing compared to the relief of knowing your finances are in order, especially at tax time.

Also, a note about websites: when I chose my hypnotherapy training course, I had little information to go on. I completely judged the course by the website. (I'm NOT saying that the other trainers in my area are lacking as teachers-in fact, a few of them are nationally known for their skills. I AM saying that the public will make purchasing decisions based on how you present your practice via your website.) Shop around when you are ready to have one created. Not all web-designers are equal...or uber-expensive, for that matter.

Best wishes!

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on January 25, 2009 at 9:14am

Hey James-

You can double your investment and the future is looking brighter because I will happily purchase your HYPNO-COIN for $2- and shipping--

Hi Buzz,

I once got sucked in to purchasing a $500 ad in the "Jewish" Yellow Pages -- the shame and total waste of money clearly ranks as my biggest professional mistake --

The best is yet to come -- and I highly recommending following your heart...

Warmest regards

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Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on January 25, 2009 at 9:39pm

I haven't been in business long, so I can't really evaluate a lot of my decisions. There are a few I can, though:

Good: Putting magnetic signs on my truck. They paid for themselves quickly and still have years of use ahead of them.

Bad: Using the online template when I ordered my magnetic signs. The print is way smaller than I would like. (I designed my own to go on the back after I saw how small the print was on the side door magnets.)

Good: Getting bandit signs to put up on rural roads. (I live in a rural area, as does much of my clientele.)

Bad: Using the online template for the signs. (See comment about magnetic signs!)

Also Bad: Putting up my bandit signs within the city limits. The local police were very polite about it. And I did get one client from the signs before the cops took them down, so maybe it was a good move.

Good: Turning down a local chiropracter who offered me the use of his storage closet for sessions--in exchange for 40% of my gross!

Also Good: Finding hourly rental office space in the nearest large city, so that I can expand my client base into that area.

Good: Scouring Craigslist and resale shops for equipment and furniture deals. I recently picked up an electric massage recliner that retails for $300 to $400--for $30! And it's practically brand new.

I'm still waiting to find out how good my other decisions have been. I've made some decisions I think were good: I opted for a very affordable office space in a more rustic setting in order to keep my overhead low. Because I'm in a rural area, I decided to gamble on a Yellow Pages ad. If I were in a metropolitan area, I would not have bothered. Likewise, being in a rural area, I kept my website dial-up friendly. I joined a local networking group and do work for local charities. I'm still waiting to see how that pays off.

Good thread,

James

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Permalink Reply by Pattie Freeman CH.t, MST on February 21, 2009 at 10:24pm

Yellow pages are good but expensive..I find I didn't get much response..so I advertised in smaller papers and got better responses.

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