How have you started and where are you now

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve on December 28, 2008 at 4:07am

Thanks for starting this thread Andreas. I am a new Certified Hypnotist, I have the tools I need to work with clients on Smoking, Weight Loss, Stress and Self Hypnosis right now but think I am lacking confidence to just do it. I too have a goal to get started in January (part time). I would like to work out of my house or go to others homes if they are set up correctly (No Distractions with phones, door bells, others in home) I don't have much to share right now but am looking to learn and get motivation from this group. Not sure if anyone else is doing part time from home and traveling but would be interested in hearing.
Thanks

Permalink Reply by Jo Moon, CHt. on December 29, 2008 at 6:19pm

When I started, I had to make the decision between a home based business and a professional office. I bit the bullet and went for the professional office - and I'm glad I did. I often get calls from people who made appointments with another hypnotist in town only to find out he works from his house. They drive by and then don't go in for the appointment (they become part of the terrible NO SHOWS). Several have said they get "creeped out" by going into someone's home for hypnosis. They call me, find out I have an office with a medical doctor and occupational therapist (great arrangement) and become my clients.

Even if you are working part-time, see if you can office share with someone else so you have a more professional persona.

Permalink Reply by Andreas Tenhagen on December 30, 2008 at 9:01am

Hello Jon,

thanks for your reply.....I thought the same, and because of the cost of a external practise I first decided to have a practise in our flat....but now, I m glad to open my practise external in a city, where more people lives than here. 20 min. to drive by car.

Permalink Reply by Emily on December 31, 2008 at 8:42am

As for working form home I asked one of my teachers about that and he told me if you think it's a problem then it is. I have this quote on my website which I find very fitting... "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right". - Henry Ford

Most of my teachers practice out of their home. One practices once per week at the school since she has an office there, but the other teachers aren't full time and don't have offices so they work from home and all have successful practices. The key is to keep it very professional. For example using a guest bedroom would be a no no as having a bed in a room can make people uncomfortable. I have my office decorated just as I would if it were in a professional office building. Also, I post on my website that I work out of a home office so folks are aware of this before they even make the call. Ideally it would be nice to have a building, but financially for those of us just starting out it's not feasible.

Permalink Reply by Steve on December 31, 2008 at 2:07pm

Thanks Emily, I appreciate the information and I believe your right about keeping it very professional.
Another good idea, letting everyone know you work out of your home up front on your web page.

Thanks and Happy New Year
Steve

Permalink Reply by Josh Tolley on December 31, 2008 at 7:10pm

I have not started using hypnosis in my practice but I have started over 6 businesses for myself and over 35 for other people as well as helped over 50 already established companies grow, and some of the biggest areas overlooked by many service oriented businesses are sales skills, networking, marketing, branding and publicity. These areas of study are equally as important as your skills with hypnotism. Matter of fact, from a business stand point a bad hypnotist with good skills in the areas I mentioned will make MUCH more money than a good hypnotist who did not develope the skills I mentioned.

When I first was exposed to hypnosis as a business I thought that the people in this industry would be the elite of the elite when it came to the skills I mentioned. To me it only made sense, you are professional mental communicators but that's not what I found. I found that most private practice hypnotists are just as lacking in those skills as anyone else who starts a business.

Most importantly, be creative. For example, if you are low on funds and in need of an office, go to your local health club and work a deal where they let you use a spare office in exchange for a percentage of your gross. This would be a benifit for them as it will allow them to make money on an otherwise money draining area of their building, their already established client base will make money for both parties, it gives them yet another "feather in their cap" when they sell their gym memberships as they can say "we offer on site hypnotherapy" as well as when you bring your own clients in, they are exposed to the gym, which may turn into new members for the club. It's a win-win.

That's just one example though.

Another great way to make money right away if you are low on funds is to pre-sell your services. For example, selling gift certificates. Let's say you sell 20 "weight loss" gift cards. Each gift card is $500 and gits them 4 sessions. This will generate $10,000 in revenue before you even open, giving you more than enough money for office set up, further training and so on.

I could keep going but that is what I would do to get started. Why spend money to make money? Instead you should make money to spend it.

Hope that helps

Permalink Reply by Andreas Tenhagen on January 1, 2009 at 2:01am

Hy Josh, thanks for your great ideas.

I must say, I thought the same, when I see a lot of Hypno-Sites...they are not really that, what Hypnosis-Experts and NLP always try to say. I m also improving my senses....and therefore my internet-presentation.

Always very helpful to get new ideas. Thanks.

But.......

my interest for this column was to hear, how others have started their business or have failed. What can "newbies" learn out of that and ......to motivate each other. I m also very interested in how long has it taken to have a successful practise?

Telling about mistakes and so to say "incongruenzy" with their Websites are very helpful and sharpens my senses to improve here. Great idea also with the "gift certificates" not really new, but always good to be remembered.

Have a successful 2009 all readers, and hope to get more ideas and tipps.

Permalink Reply by Mind Over Matters on January 4, 2009 at 8:41am

Hey Steve, congratulations on getting started this January. You mention that you wish to work from home or go to clients' homes. When I started a few years ago I only went to clients' homes. At the time I couldn't afford an office and my living situation didn't allow me to practice at home, so traveling I went. There are some pros and cons to this.

Pros:
You (and the gas prices hahaha) determine how far you're willing to travel. If you're traveling outside of your preferred work area you can add a small gas fee.

Some people have a hard time getting out (poor vision for driving, disability, etc) and are much more comfortable in their homes.

Your main overhead costs are gas, a cell phone, and business cards.

Word of mouth advertising is great because person a is referring you to person b and they've known each other for years. Person b trusts person a and therefore feels they can trust you.

Often you can take your cues from their living environment when determining what areas to work on.

In house referrals! The wife will suggest you work with the husband, her daughter, and grandma so everyone is happy, healthy, and issue free.

Cons:
You can't control a clients home environment. I always told my clients what was needed, such as a quiet room and no distractions during our session. Be prepared for anything. Kids or pets may wander in, the phone/doorbell may ring, neighbors could be loud, etc. You have to be able to work around the distractions or the clients will wonder why you're bothering to work in this manner if you're so uncomfortable.

Bring all of the materials you will need. I always use music during my sessions and the smartest thing I did was invest in a portable cd player. I didn't waste time tinkering with someones system or find out they didn't have one.

Everyone's definition of "neat" or "prepared for a guest" is different. Some client homes were so clean I didn't want to touch anything for fear of soiling it. Other homes were the opposite. I opted not to work with smoking cessation clients for this reason.

Sometimes you get lost, traffic is bad, or there's a storm.

Sometimes clients are late or they forgot about your appointment.

If your car needs a repair you can't work.

You have to put forth more effort to give a professional appearance. In an office you may be able to get away with casual attire like jeans, but when standing on someones doorstep they're expecting business casual.


There are probably plenty of other factors that I've either forgotten or didn't run into, but hopefully this gives you some ideas. Overall I liked going to my clients, but when business really picked up for me it became clear that I was going to need an office.

Permalink Reply by David Newman, D.Sc., C. Ht. on January 4, 2009 at 8:57pm

Hi Andreas, let me toss in my two cents. Experience has proven to me that people do not like going to a residence unless you have a totally separate entrance and you have a very professional office. Going to their home is also the kiss of death because of the various distractions.

You are a professional, yes I do make house calls but only in VERY rare situations. If money is an issue I would suggest you get a virtual office. It only cost about $100.00 a month and you will get a professional receptionist to answer your phone and greet your clients. Additionally you get about 30 hours a month of office and conference room time. It is a great way to start up.

Good Luck

David

Permalink Reply by Steve on January 5, 2009 at 1:29am

Hi David,

Thanks for the information. I will have to look into the virtual office, never heard of that concept before. Do you know of any links to any information on this concept? I would just like to read up on this.

Thanks again,
Steve

Permalink Reply by the grumpy hypnotist on January 13, 2009 at 10:18am

"Most of my teachers practice out of their home. One practices once per week at the school since she has an office there, but the other teachers aren't full time and don't have offices so they work from home and all have successful practices."

I'm curious if this is the accepted definition of "having a successful practice" (working part-time from home, maybe seeing clients once per week). Seems like a fairly low standard. I wonder, in general do most hypnosis instructors and trainers make their living full-time from seeing clients, or do many of them simply sell training and certifications to each other? Have most hypnosis teachers ever actually built a successful full-time practice themselves, or not?

"Ideally it would be nice to have a building, but financially for those of us just starting out it's not feasible."

This type of "poor hypnotist" scarcity mentality ("I don't have the resources, I can't afford it, I can't come up with a way around the problem, I can't figure it out") is probably the biggest reason most hypnotists *never* develop the financial resources needed to grow a practice --- they rely on craigslist or "word of mouth" to get their occasional client (often on a sliding scale or for barter), instead of looking at marketing as an investment that should, after testing and failures, easily return multiples (in both revenue and direct experience with clients) for each dollar invested. Always looking for the "freebie" that wastes more time and energy and costs more in terms of opportunity, than just spending the cash necessary to get even more cash in return.

I find it interesting that teachers in your local area are encouraging you to work part-time from home instead of investing directly in growing your business (investing in training with instructors is nice but actually not useful to starting a business). Aren't teachers supposed to encourage you to be more successful and more ambitious than them? But wait, maybe if you take just one more course with them, then you'll finally learn the key to success! Hmm, maybe not. I agree with some of the other suggestions here that you'd be better served by trying to come up with creative ways to acquire office space.

Permalink Reply by Bridget McKenna on January 15, 2009 at 1:49pm

I totally agree that house calls are pretty much a last resort. Getting people out of their familiar environment and into a place they can associate with improvement is really helpful, and being able to control distraction to some extent also, though the postman WILL rattle the mail-slot in the office door at precisely the innoportune moment.

I share office space/hours to keep costs down. I pass out cards wherever and whenever I can, encouraging people to take more than one in case "you want to pass one on to a friend" (hypnosis never sleeps :) ). I go out and talk to other businesses in my building, host afternoon drop-bys for anyone curious about what I do, never miss the opportunity to say "well, you do know a certified hypnotherapist..." when anyone mentions something they or a friend is trying to get over. I mention hypnosis and NLP in my Facebook status, chat status, and on Twitter. And I use good SEO techniques to get lots of love from Google, now a source of clients. The client load is increasing more each month. I have some other ideas I haven't tried out for myself yet, so I won't claim them here until I have.

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