The biggest headache in my business journey has been setting up the boring stuff.
At the very start,
–> You don’t know anything.
–> You don’t know anyone.
–> They don’t know you.
–> You have no business skills.
–> No website.
–> No logo.
–> No offering.
–> No social media account.
–> No audience.
–> No money.
–> No idea.
Pretty much everyone starts in this position. It’s fun – you have nothing so you also have nothing to lose.
These 4 things will help you get started and build momentum.
- An offer (if the aim is to start, this is all you need)
- Business set up
- A digital presence (social media account, then website)
- Email newsletter
This stuff took weeks and months for me to set up. It was mostly procrastination. Don’t do what I did.
My challenge to you – set everything up in a few hours.
It’s possible, if you know what to focus on.
- An offer
There is only one essential to get started. One. That my friends, is an offer.
Your offer is this sentence:
I help A person with B problem achieve C outcome with D product or service for E price.
A = Who you help
B = Their lifestyle related problem
C = What happens after you sprinkle some Lifestyle Medicine goodness
D = Lifestyle medicine related product or service
E = How much your charge
Here’s the weird thing about an offer – it can just be words. You don’t actually have to build the offer, to offer it.
A 3 week sleep program that helps menopausal women sleep better.
A 1 hour workshop that teaches retirees how to age healthy by understanding the gut microbiome.
Telehealth consults for busy women who are struggling with menopause.
As crazy as it sounds, these can be offered, without having anything set up.
Why in the world would you do this?
Simple – to see if anyone cares.
Here’s a harsh reality. Just because you think you have a great idea, doesn’t make it so.
In business, it’s only a great idea if people buy it.
The traditional approach is this – “Build it, and they will come”.
You spend hours, days, months building something amazing. You finally decide to sell it and…crickets. Ouch! Been there.
I prefer – “If they come, I will build it.”
This way you don’t invest time, energy, and money into building something no one wants.
So what if they want to buy it and you haven’t built it yet?
Firstly, congratulations! You are onto something.
Just tell them, “Amazing. I am building it. It will be ready soon. Shall I put you on a waiting list? I will let you know when it’s ready.”
If no one or only a few people show casual interest, quietly put down that offer.
If there is plenty of interest, build that thing!
But they won’t take my offer seriously because I don’t have a website or a social media account?
People want their problems solved. At the start, they don’t care about the fluff.
I learnt this in the best way possible – it changed my life forever 🙂
My first coaching client came after doing a podcast about Do Happy – my approach to being deliriously happy.
I wasn’t even thinking about doing private coaching at the time.
The host of the podcast thought I could help him. In all honesty, I agreed.
“If we work together privately, it will be more expensive than my work as a GP.”
“How much?” he asked.
“$5,000 for 6 months.” I replied, fumbling my words and holding my vomit in. That is the most $ I have ever asked for.
His reply?
“Sure, sounds good.”
I didn’t have a 6 month coaching program planned.
That was the offer – ‘6 month coaching program to help you become much happier for $5000”.
When he said ‘yes’, I started to put everything together.
If he had said “no”, I wouldn’t have wasted my time and energy.
A reality check
Although you can offer something, without building the offer, most people don’t.
It’s scary and uncomfortable.
So, setting up a few basic things at the start is useful. More useful for you, than your future client who probably doesn’t care as much as you think.
It will give you the conviction that you have something concrete and real.
If this sounds like you and honestly, this would have been me at the start too, keep reading.
- Business set up
This is the stuff that I find confusing, overwhelming, and slows down everything.
Upon reflection, it’s because I didn’t know whether I was doing the ‘right’ thing.
–> Business structure – Sole trader, company, partnership, or a trust?
–> Should I do it as a GP (sole trader) or separate it from my GP work (company)?
–> How do I register a business name. Is it different to what I will trade under?
–> How do I set up a website and a domain? Wait, what’s a domain?
–> Do I need to register for GST?
–> Do I need Tax file numbers?
–> What insurance should I get?
I found a useful resource that may help you. It will help you to determine a suitable business structure, and decide what business registrations you need. Shout out to the Aussie government for this – https://business.gov.au/registrations/work-out-your-business-registrations
There is a quicker way. Have one conversation with your accountant.
My accountant set up everything within an hour. It took me months of dragging my feet trying to decide what to do before I just asked for help.
The accountant’s offer was very attractive – “I help Gihan stop losing his hair by helping him to set up the boring business stuff for a few hundred bucks”. DEAL!
Something important will happen once you complete these things. You will have confirmation that you have made a decision.
A decision to start.
The word decide originates from the latin words ‘de’ and ‘caedere’ which translates to ‘cut off’.
When you decide to do something, you ‘cut off’ everything that stops you from doing that thing.
This includes the idea of not doing it.
In its purest form, a decision is made once.
You make it, then you don’t need to make it again. In a world full of uncertainty and obscurity, the certainty of making a decision is courageous.
- A digital presence (social media account, then website)
If the aim is to get started, a social media account is enough.
Start with a social media account. Don’t try to post on all the different channels. It’s hard enough to understand one platform. Pick the channel where your target market ‘hangs out’. Dominate that channel.
“Diluted focus gets diluted results” – Rory Vaden (Entrepreneur, author)
Social media accounts are a great place to start. They are free, don’t need anyone’s permission, and you can set up quickly.
Eventually, you will need a website. Your website is like a virtual storefront where people can go to ‘window shop’ you and what you offer.
Websites are great to set up but you do not need it to start making money. My first $5k client came before I had a website.
- Email newsletter
When someone gives you permission to email them, it means that they trust you to enter a sacred place – their inbox.
This is a privilege. Treat it as such.
Ask yourself, does this newsletter meet at least one of the I’s?
Is it inspiring?
Is it informative?
Is it interesting?
If the answer is ‘no’, don’t send it.
If your aim is to make money doing meaningful work that you love, an email newsletter is a powerful tool.
People buy from people that they know, like, and trust.
A consistent newsletter that inspires, informs and interests your readers, does this.
There are many newsletter platforms. Just pick one. The valuable asset is not the platform but rather, the email list that you build. You can always take your email list to another platform (which is exactly what I am considering).
There you have it. Everything you need, including a little bit more, to get started with your LM business quickly. If you dedicate a few hours, you could do all of it on this side of Xmas.
If you loved this, SUBSCRIBE to the ‘Business of Lifestyle Medicine’ newsletter. Plenty more to come.
Much love to you and of course, myself.
Dr G
***
P.S If you want help with setting up and beyond with your LM business, reach out.
My mission: Help 100 LM practitioners build something beautiful in the world and get paid well for it 🙂
Previous articles
–> 7 steps to build a Lifestyle Medicine business
