MHM#13 The winding road to practice success

In the early days of growing your therapy practice, having at least a rough idea of your vision (what will your practice look like in 10 years?) and who your ideal clients are, helps you focus your marketing efforts and create tailored messaging that resonates and builds trust. As you have no doubt heard, when you try to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to no one. 

However, it is equally important to be open and flexible about your vision, client types, and offers (services, products, courses, etc.). 

Reflecting on my own business journey, I realise that what I initially envisioned for my business - the clients I'd work with, the services I'd offer, etc. has evolved significantly over the past 8 years. In the early days, there are so many unknowns. And so many things you don't know that you don't know :) The key is to embrace this learning process, to test, to adapt, and to grow.

Early on, one of my big mistakes was spending too much time creating an online course, which resulted in no one buying it because no one knew or trusted me. I hadn't spent the time building and nurturing an audience and then asking them what they wanted. 

The key to navigating these challenges is to focus on growing and understanding your audience deeply. Spend time interacting with them — through surveys, direct conversations, and webinars —to learn about their needs, preferences, and pain points. Ask them what kind of content, resources, or tools they find most helpful. This ongoing dialogue will provide invaluable insights that can guide the evolution of your future offerings.

If your goal is to create online offers such as an online course, consider testing different ideas through smaller, more manageable projects before committing months to making it. Lead magnets (valuable free resources such as e-books, checklists, workbooks or webinars) can serve as a testing ground to gauge interest and gather feedback. 

By experimenting with different topics and formats, you can learn what resonates most with your audience. Maybe an online course is what they want, maybe they will need more support from you through group coaching, maybe it's a different audience than you initially thought who will benefit most from your offer. 

Investing your energy in building a loyal and engaged audience is crucial. When you have a community of followers who trust you and value your insights, they'll be more likely to provide honest feedback and support your offerings. Share valuable content regularly, engage with your audience authentically, and show that you genuinely care about their wellbeing.

This iterative process helps ensure that your time and energy are invested wisely, leading to the development of services/offers that your clients are eager to purchase and will benefit from.

Balancing a clear vision with flexibility requires patience, humility, and a willingness to learn and adapt. By staying open to evolving your approach based on feedback and experiences, you'll be better equipped to create impactful, resonant offerings that support your clients' mental health journey.

All the best as you travel and learn on the winding road to your dream practice.