A fresh cut from my barber! thoughts on how to capitalize on referrals...

So today was supposed to be a morning of catching up on “stuff” and really getting ready to kill it this week. What actually happened was four hours of trying to get the car registration done. It ended up being an excellent day though. I caught some podcasts, notice I didn’t say caught UP! Then between patients and meetings this afternoon I had a few phone calls, faxes and emails. There was a reoccurring theme that seemed to jump out at me as I reflect back on my crazy 14 hour Monday. 

This theme is built around the subject of referrals and building your network.  I think most businesses miss the mark when it comes to handling referrals. As businesses and entrepreneurs we try to do our best to take care of all of our customers. We are proud of our businesses and believe we are providing our customers with our best. This is how we build our businesses and make our living. When we get that referral we introduce them to our system and shoot a quick thanks to the referrer.  When we do this we are missing out on such an amazing opportunity.  I want to make the point that referrals aren’t just another customer. It is a unique chance to also bring value to the person giving you the referral, and that value is that you get a chance to make the referrer look like a rock star!

My barber does amazing work, if you know me you know I’m picky about my beard, and I tell everyone I know about him. He is just that good! Everyone I have sent has come back blown away, and this guy doesn’t even know I refer to him. 

I know though that I am solving a problem for my friends by introducing them to “my guy” which in turn makes me look almost as amazing as a fresh cut from my barber. 

So ask yourself, are you truly making the people who refer to you look like a rock star? Is there something you can do better? Do those people go back and tell that person thank you so much for introducing me to your guy? Why or why not? (Credit to: $180 and a Dreampodcast)

The second point I want to make is living in abundance, especially in the area of building your network. I had a conversation with a mentor about how to decide where to give referrals. Who gets your referrals when you have so many choices.  His answer was that he wants to refer to everyone.  Obviously this isn’t realistically possible, but the thought and attitude behind it really stood out.  “Have abundance in the referrals you make!” 

The more referrals you make the more referrals that will come back, thus allowing you to make even more referrals and the beautiful cycle continues. Building and expanding your network will create more opportunities for everyone within in it.  I think people are afraid to let more people into their network, they are worried about changing the status quo of what they are doing.  Business owners can be stingy with their referrals, and they are usually the ones who never have a referral to give! So I have to ask, are you limiting yourself and your entire network by limiting the number of people you refer to. 

I hope neither of these points are completely new ideas to anyone, but I think it is such a great reminder to every entrepreneur out there. So I would encourage you to make the person who refers to you look like a rockstar and don’t limit your network because you are afraid to bring more people in. 

C

Embrace the Volume and Chase Perfection One Step at a Time!

Embrace the Volume and Chase Perfection One Step at a Time!

So lately I have been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of all the things I need to get done!  As is often the case I caught a couple podcasts as well as a couple “inspirational” posts on social media that proved to be a great help in getting started on new items as well as pushing forward on the work we are already doing.

So first and foremost our minds struggle with large tasks, we see this everyday in our office.  Patients have lived with pain or health concerns for many years, and the thought of the total changes that need to be made can be paralyzing.  These changes may be lifestyle or their healthcare, but the overall picture can be a lot to process.  We see it in our own loves as business owners, as there are so many projects to work on you end up doing nothing or just “planning” what you’re going to do at some point.

In addition to being overwhelmed by the sheer volume we also get hung up by striving for perfection.  I am very guilty of this; I want things to be 100% perfect before it goes out or anyone sees it, this is true in what we do online as well within our office and how we treat and care for our patients.

Some of the things I am working on to combat these things are:

Identifying the smaller projects within the project, looking for the little tasks I can work on to chip away and get the project pushed along.  As you start putting these smaller task together the bigger picture always seems to come together.  In the office we are always looking to improve our marketing plans and our patient experience.  Not having a functional and optimized website built and online has been a project needing to be addressed for some time.  By just taking the time to work on this we have found ways to improve the overall projects of both marketing and our patient experience.

Accepting the fact that especially in the beginning it is primarily a volume game in getting these projects moving forwards.  We often strive for quality instead and end up paralyzed because we are worried that our product is not good enough.  I have a mentor of sorts who always says “done is better than perfect,” and while this may not be a unique idea or quote it is worth remembering.  Just start getting things done and worry about improving and perfecting them as you go.  There was a study involving a pottery class divided into two groups.  The first group was told they would receive their grade based on sheer number of pieces produced, the second group was told their grade would be based one single piece and to turn in only the best piece they made.  As it turned out not only did the first group produce more pieces but they also produced the highest quality pieces.  The greatest authors didn’t just write the books they were famous for they also wrote some things that no one has ever heard of.  Very few people start out with every thing they do is perfect!  It is only by sheer volume of work that your quality improves, that’s true no matter what your career or trade is.

Realize that when you first start very few people are paying attention and more than likely these people are already your biggest fans or they wouldn’t be paying attention at this point.  Producing volume is the “grind,” we all see the people who have “made it” talking about the grind and everything seems so perfect.  The “grind” is all the volume of work that went into getting them to where they are now.  In the beginning it wasn’t perfect, probably wasn’t pretty and for most people it down right SUCKED! 

Every piece, every try, every task, every step all work together to make it better each time! 

We need to shift our focus...

As a pair of entrepreneurs, we have to shift our focus on the things that allow us to grow. Focus on the good, learn from the bad, and keep putting in the work to grow our vision and mission!

C and I have recently been putting a lot of time and energy (AND FINANCES) into a "side" project in our chiropractic practice. It was something we thought would help grow our practice and be available to our awesome patients. 

Long story short... It was a HUGE FLOP. 

-embarrassing, disappointing, frustrating.

What did we take away from that?

~ Our VISION was on the right path, but our time and energy was not. We put more time and energy into a small part of our chiropractic practice, instead of putting that work towards our wonderful patients or growing OUR side of the practice. Increasing patient education, patient compliance, doctor education, and having a fluid system in place as we grow. Those are the things we will NOW be putting more energy towards.

I told someone the other day "I really feel like God does NOT want us to incorporate this project into our office!" haha... And that is OK. 

We have to be ok with change, with failure and with FOCUSING on what IS working. What is worth our energy, our time and our money. 

So as this new year progresses we will take every "failure" with stride and maintain our FOCUS on our MISSION. We will take care of our marriage, our business and ourselves. 

Happy 2018

xoxo E 

Life's like a Saguaro Cactus

{Saguaro Cactus- The symbol of Arizona and the southwest, pronounced "sah-wah-ro." Blossoms in May and June, and "lives" to be about 200 years old!} 

Since C and I moved to the desert southwest, we have seen an abundance of these types of cactus. There are many other types, shapes, sizes and blossoms that come from those cacti or "cactuses," but I feel the ultimate symbolism which comes from a Saguaro is so beautiful. 

Every time we go hiking we see these cactuses and I ALWAYS tell C that the ones with multiple arms and "whacky" looking arms in all different directions are my FAVORITE! They have such character. Then again I also have respect for those 50 foot tall Saguaros that are straight up with either no arms, or only a couple that are "picture perfect" pointed towards the sky. I find myself day dreaming about how life, mother nature, the elements, etc have "etched" their fingerprints into these beautiful creations. This is where the idea of a saguaro cactus becoming a simile for life as humans came from. 

Lets step back and think of all the creative analogies:

*A saguaro cactus, under the right conditions, can grow VERY tall (over many years) and thrive in it's environment, just like humans. 

* A saguaro cactus can have "holes" or "scars" all over due to the woodpecker birds and many other creatures or elements that "rely" on the cactus for nutrition or that wear down the outer spines. In my mind I think of mothers; all of those hard working and nurturing mamas out there who GIVE GIVE GIVE all day for their babies. If they are nursing, they are literally relied on for food and nutrition. After pregnancy, moms can be left with scars on their bodies, and after countless nights without sleep and stressing about EVERYTHING they are worn out and sometimes their arms (among with other body parts haha) start to fall and hang low. 

All of these scars, moments of nurturing and long nights give you CHARACTER and are making you more tough by the day. Don't give up mamas! You got this.

*A saguaro cactus can have many arms. I can see this as a "family tree" so to speak. A family or just a couple in love, recently married, and ready to have a baby starts to "grow" one of those arms to their tree. Or like C and I~ fur babies! We have 2 arms on our cactus/family tree right now. As life grows, so do these arms. If your cactus/tree is only the 1 base, straight up and proud, that is also a beautiful life. MAKE YOUR LIFE BEAUTIFUL, JUST THE WAY YOU WANT IT. 

*A Saguaro cactus has a flower that blooms in early summer. It is such a fun thing to see. For life as a human, there may be only a couple times a year that you REALLY bloom. That's ok. That's what makes you unique. Just don't lose sight of the reason's you bloom, you grow, you thrive. Be grateful for the elements in your life that allow this transformation, and if you are struggling with an aspect of your life that needs to grow or develop, reach out for help.

So my finishing thought on this subject of Saguaro Cactuses is to let your "story" shine through the scars, the blossoms in life, and the arms you grow or don't grow! 

Make it your story and be proud to show it off! 

Xoxo

E