ADAPTATION FOR THE HOLISTIC ENTREPRENEUR:
{NATURE DOES IT, WHY CAN'T WE?}
Adaptation For The Holistic Entrepreneur
Article by John Scardina
Photo Credit: Sajas Minrah
Magazine: Issue #34
Knowing where your money comes from is one of the most important events as a holistic entrepreneur. It’s easy to start a holistic business but most difficult to maintain a profitable holistic business. Adaptation is one of the most powerful tools in nature and for the entrepreneur. Clients and customers are forever changing/adapting to new trends, new education, and new holistic ideas. You must change/adapt right along with them in order to succeed in business and keep that flow of money coming in.
As business owners we educate ourselves in our own niche market, by whatever means we have.
We have brainstormed and know that the niche market we created is the one the business that will out do all other businesses, at least at its conception. But is that enough, how long will this niche last? Who will catch on to this niche and copy every article of your efforts leaving you on the trail of little profit. People love to follow you and your money, “if you can do it” so can they. How many clients will become bored with this new niche when everyone else catches up to your business. It is always best to adapt to creating a niche that evolves, grows and changes quickly. If you are offering a single service that is your niche, is that good enough? Imagine your niche on steroids. A niche that adapts and evolves allows you to stay a head of the pack and continue to serve your clients offering them a living marketable service.
With holistic consulting or coaching we sometimes limit ourselves to whatever modality we have trained at to an expert level. This holds true for so many practitioners in the holistic field. Nutritionists, Energy Workers and coaches teach/sell one service and keep on riding this out until the business becomes lifeless. “A lifeless business is not profitable”. If you are nutritionist and you offer coaching, is that all you do? Be conscious at every level and ask yourself (daily), what else can I offer, is there an up sell to what I do? What else do my clients need? This holds true for every practitioner who is awesome at what they do, but being great at one thing limits you and does not set you apart from any other practitioners. If you plan on being profitable in the holistic realm, you need to not just practice, but manifest adaptation at all times.
I have found out through trial and error, (mostly error) that I cannot just be an expert in nutrition or just a Reiki Master, I need to be flexible and adaptable in order to better serve clients and keep the flow of money coming to me.
Some key points to breathing life into your business:
1| Treat your business as it is alive, nurture it every day ask it what it needs and provide it
2| Research the trends that bring people to your particular service and see if there is another niche available that brings new clients that not yet ready for that service.
3| Don’t wait things out during lean times, question why these times are lean and ask your business what’s missing (yes I do converse with my business)
4| Adapt and provide what’s missing
A holistic business is not a cookie cutter business, you need to apply adaptation just like nature does with plants and animals. I you want to survive time, you must always change and grow.
