Business Building for Hypnotherapists

Once the therapy training is over, and you’ve gained your diploma, it’s all too easy to set yourself up with a web site, an email address and a room for your practice, and wait for the clients to come in. And you might find that you wait….and wait….and wait… and wonder what’s wrong with you.


Many new therapists make the mistake of taking more therapy-related training, thinking perhaps they’re not quite good enough yet, or need more experience; well no; what you need to do is get out there and be running your practice. But what if you can’t, because no one seems to know you’re there? Throwing money at more training will just lead to you being out of pocket, and still with an empty appointment book. So, instead of chasing more qualifications, sit down and have a look at what you want to achieve with your business in your first six months.

It’s not easy to run a hypnotherapy practice, but it’s so rewarding when you get the basics in place, and the basics include ensuring that you’re visible, and potential clients know that you’re there. Whether you are running your practice part-time, or have taken the big leap to have this as your main source of income, you need to set goals; financial goals,  marketing goals, and so on, to get this practice at a point where you can justify what you’re doing, and it doesn’t feel just like an “expensive hobby.”

Business Planning

So, you need to sit down and think about what you want to do. How much money do you want to make in your first 3 months/6 months/year? Are you clear on the idea that your turnover isn’t going to be the same as your wages? Without setting goals, any new therapy practice will flounder and it will be too easy to give up, because it just doesn’t seem to be the way you thought it might be. So, let’s get clear on it. How many hours a week or month do you want to spend with clients, and how much money do you want to make. Once you take your tax and NI off, this leaves you with money you can take to live on. So, what’s that figure? Write it down, make it clear, make it a goal.

Once you have this figure sorted, you can look at what you need to do to get there. How many clients will you need to work with to reach your number? Will this be feasible? If so, what will it cost you to find these clients? Remember, you also have expenses to factor in, the cost of gaining these clients.
How are you going to find these clients? There are lots of routes to gaining new clients, including social media, face to face networking, and advertising. Beware the phone calls inviting you to take out half-page adverts in local publications. They may feel like a great idea, to advertise to your local audience; however, they’re not necessarily a captive market, and may not read this publication. To be effective and keep down the cost of gaining new clients, be savvy with your marketing. Be targeted and focused and you’ll be far more successful. For example, if you want to specialize and work with weight loss clients, then you could target your local gym, health centre, and so on. Set up a Facebook page; whether or not you like it, your potential clients are there. Be tactical and targeted and you will have a far better hit-rate.

Making your business successful

One thing to bear in mind is that you will find that the results of your marketing will start to bear fruit anything from 3- 6 months away; so while you’re waiting for this to happen, don’t get disheartened, and don’t give up.

Be consistent and keep communication channels open. Be highly visible, make sure you never leave the house without your business cards, and make it known wherever you get the opportunity that you are a hypnotherapist and open for business.

DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF OFFERING LOW RATES TO START WITH

Why should you? You’re qualified and have the right to charge; if you charge low rates to begin with, it will be harder to raise your rates later on. Charge the right rate to start with. A lot of new therapists position themselves somewhere in the mid-range of rates; bear in mind, if you do this, then you’re layering on top of the mistakes other people have made, which just has the effect of squeezing rates down. Go for the top end of the charging scale. You can justify it; you’re not offering your time, you’re offering life-changing, amazing transformations for your clients.

Your first six months will be the most trying time for a new therapist,  but you’re laying the groundwork for a great therapy practice. Take your time, set goals, document everything you do, and it will come together the way you want it to.


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Author: Paula Jones. Paula has been qualified as a hypnotherapist for three years, and a life coach for 5, and has worked in training and development for nearly 20 years. She specializes in working with business owners who need to increase their confidence and hypnotherapy clients who have phobias holding them back.
You can find out more at www.paulagreenjones.company