Podcast

Weekly Roundup

• ZOOM- hosts can set the default so attendees are muted upon arrival. And hosts can mute attendees. Use that power. 

Discussion Topic

• Why I Quit My Networking Group

Quick Tips

• Do a small thing, just one small thing, to bring back a long-lost client.
• WaterPik followup: legionnaires disease + mouthwash hack

Sponsors

• ABMP 
• The Original Jojoba Company 
• Happyface 

Transcript: 

Sponsor message:

ABMP is proud to sponsor The Massage Business Blueprint Podcast, and we are delighted to have them. One of the many, many benefits of ABMP membership is ABMP Five Minute Muscles and ABMP Pocket Pathology. These are quick reference apps designed to help you quickly find information that you need to make a decision about your massage session planning. The Five Minute Muscles includes muscle specific technique and palpation videos for the 83 muscles most commonly addressed by professional massage therapists. And ABMP Pocket Pathology can help you sort out contraindications before any treatment. These apps are included with ABMP membership, and you can go to abmp.com/apps to access them. And nonmembers can sample demos as well. Again, that's abmp.com/apps.

Allissa Haines:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Massage Business Blueprint Podcast, where we help you attract more clients, make more money, improve your quality of life, and clean your teeth better. I am Allissa Haines.

Michael Reynolds:

And I am Michael Reynolds. There's some foreshadowing.

Allissa Haines:

And we're your hosts. It's like a recall from a previous episode about a Water Pik, and there's to be more to that because that's how exciting we are.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Allissa Haines:

Michael, did you read anything this week?

Michael Reynolds:

I read some things, but I've forgotten it all by now. So I'm just going to just flake out and lean on you. What are you reading this week?

Allissa Haines:

So okay, first of all, actually I'm going to make this a two parter. I was deep into my computer last night at 9:15, and I'm truly trying to concentrate on something. And Walt's like, "What are you doing?" And I'm like, "I'm reading the tax code to see about the protocol for reimbursements for travel expenses within an S corp." And he just looked at me and he was like, "Okay, good night."

Allissa Haines:

Anyway, so I've been reading tax code as it relates to S corps. And also, I spent some time reading the Zoom support help article thingies regarding muting participants in a meeting. And let me tell you this. The year of our Lord 2022, entering the third year of a pandemic that has made most of us do a lot of working from home and communicating online, and we are still in a situation where people join a Zoom and don't mute themselves. And I'm not going to blame the participants because we're still in a situation where Zoom hosts are not using the mute defaults and powers as effectively as they could.

Allissa Haines:

First of all, to anyone who's ever run a Zoom meeting, as the host, you have the ability to set a default, so that when somebody enters a meeting, they are automatically muted. Yeah, dog, automatically. You do not have to hear them asking their partner for help on bringing up the right screen. You do not have to hear their kid screaming in the background. You don't have to hear anything because you have the power to mute them upon arrival. And the second magical sword you can wield is that as the host, you can mute anyone. If you're like, "Oh, that person obviously doesn't realize their unmuted and they're chewing really loudly", you can go to their little face and hover over the little thingy, and I think it's click the little three dots, and you can mute them of your own accord when you find them being disruptive.

Allissa Haines:

And it's usually unintentional. I have certainly forgotten to mute myself and answered a phone call or whatever, chewing potato chips, rock on. But use your Zoom power to control the room that you should be in control of, so that all of the other participants can have a supreme audio experience. Use your Zoom power, and that's what I'm reading.

Michael Reynolds:

I really love the Masters of the Universe vibe you channeled there.

Allissa Haines:

Thank you. Thank you.

Michael Reynolds:

I had visions of He-Man wielding the sword in front of Grayskull. That definitely brought me back to some childhood, so thanks for that.

Allissa Haines:

Yeah.

Michael Reynolds:

Good stuff.

Allissa Haines:

I've been reading a lot of Zoom help articles because I was trying to figure out how I could, if I was to play music or video on my computer, how I could make it heard in the Zoom room. So I was messing around with help articles and audio stuff. Yeah, anyhow, there have certainly been times where I am the jack hat in the room who needs to be muted because I didn't realize something was going on. But I more often am the one who is just muting people who clearly mean well, but have not been able to click that button yet. And that's what I've been reading.

Michael Reynolds:

Fair enough.

Allissa Haines:

Michael, who's our first sponsor?

Michael Reynolds:

I'm really excited about this new sponsor because every time I say it, it just brings me so much joy. It's Happyface.

Allissa Haines:

Yay. It's bringing me joy at my massage office too. So listen, people, face cradles are super uncomfortable for clients, and that pressure and the stuffiness can ruin the massage experience as a whole. Happyface is the most comfy face cradle because it makes your face happy and you can give the most relaxing massage of your client's life. There's an innovative heart shaped design that means no sinus pressure, no eye pressure. It's not going to smear people's makeup or lashes, far fewer mid massage adjustments. It is made in the USA and it is made with a seamless surface, so it's super easy to clean. There's not a lot of sketchy nooks and crannies that make you feel concerned about bacteria and such. Happyface is designed to fit on massage tables and massage chairs with a full Velcro surface on the entire back, so that Happyface is going to stay where you put it on that cradle frame. You, because you're a listener and we love you, you can get 20% off your entire purchase at massagebusinessbluprint.com/happyface using code MASSAGEBB at checkout. That's massagebusinessblueprint.com/happyface.

Allissa Haines:

When you go there, they show you the little code on the screen, so you don't have to remember it. But I have one at my office. I think I've given four or five massages on it now. People like it. I am getting a massage in a few days and I'm going to bring it with me so I can use it during that massage. I was supposed to get a massage yesterday, but my massage therapist was sick. So I'm going to see another friend on Saturday. It's going to be great. I will report back after my personal Happyface massage experience. I know we've had a couple of premium members buy one already, so I'm really looking forward to more feedback. But so far, I like it, and I don't like anything or anyone, so that's saying something.

Michael Reynolds:

I can vouch for that.

Allissa Haines:

Right. Yeah. Michael, you're in charge today. What are we doing?

Michael Reynolds:

Oh, man. I think you're going to like today's discussion. So today I'm going to talk about why I quit my networking group. So this may be-

Allissa Haines:

Ooh.

Michael Reynolds:

Ooh. Okay, too much drama. [crosstalk 00:07:07].

Allissa Haines:

But I'm hearing it.

Michael Reynolds:

Sorry, too much drama. So this'll be interesting because probably anyone who's been listening for a while knows, or knows Allissa and I, I'm pretty into networking. And by the way, this is not going to be a message that you should quit your networking group. I'm absolutely not saying that. I'm going to reiterate that at the end as well, and I think you'll kind of see why. But I did recently quit my networking group, and I'm going to share my thought process in case it's helpful to anyone else who is struggling with networking or navigating networking. And I'm hoping there will be some nuggets of insight that might be helpful to some out there.

Michael Reynolds:

And I'm going to talk about this in the context of my business, which is not massage, so I want to make sure that we can get past that because in my other business, I'm an independent financial advisor. And the same principles I think are going to be valid here for massage practice versus my business, so I want to make sure you get past the fact that it's not a massage business, the principles are what I want to focus on here. So I have been in a networking group for about over five years, actually, maybe six years by this time. I actually was one of the co founders of this original networking group. It's not a BNI chapter. It's not affiliated. It's totally independent.

Michael Reynolds:

A friend and I were just talking one day, and we used to be in a BNI chapter together for seven years before it kind of fizzled out. And we were talking and like, "Hey, you know what, we should kind of get the band back together and form a group." And we're like, "Yeah." And so he and I just kind of formed this ad hoc kind of independent group. And then we eventually got a few more people to start coming, and we formalized it into an independent weekly networking group that was run very similar to a BNI chapter with the same agenda and the same general kind of guidelines. But it was independent, a little more casual, met weekly during lunch.

Michael Reynolds:

So the group went really well for about five, six years or so, got some referrals from it, really enjoyed it. The last couple years, it changed a little bit. We had some members drop out, some new members come in, just kind of changed the makeup a little bit. Still great people, just really enjoyed it, but kind of the makeup started to gradually change. And this past year, I've been looking at it more critically and saying, "You know what, I've been kind of just going to this group as a habit. I haven't really been intentional, I've just been kind of showing up because it's on my schedule, and great. So let me take a look at what's going on here and if it makes sense for me."

Michael Reynolds:

So the first thing I did is, I had kind of a sense of what was going on, but I wanted to track numbers first. My sense was this, my sense was I'm putting a lot into the group and I'm not getting much back. And by the way, I have been the kind of unofficial treasurer of the group. I handle the dues and I track attendance and put the speaker schedule together and stuff. And the president kind of just sat there and ran the meetings. So I was definitely part of the leadership too. And so I was kind of looking back and said, "Okay, let me track my numbers. Let me see if my numbers support my hunch." And so I did track my numbers for 2021. And by the way, when I did this, I removed one member from the equation, Kim Padgitt, who is my accountant and actually our accountant here at Massage Business Blueprint. And by now, she works with a ton of our listeners because we refer her and love her. And she and Julie run a great practice.

Michael Reynolds:

And so Kim and I refer to each other all the time. I refer people to her for taxes. She refers people to me for financial planning and investing. It's like we're almost partners. I feel like we're kind of business partners in an informal sense, so that's happening anyway. And she was a member of the group, and so I kind of took that out of the equation because that would kind of dilute the real numbers I was looking for. So when I got the numbers calculated, I gave 73 referrals to the group, to people in the group last year, again, excluding Kim. And I received nine, again, excluding Kim. And most of those nine were self referrals, meaning they were people in the group doing business with me directly, which is great. I appreciate the support and I value that business.

Michael Reynolds:

But the idea behind a networking group is not just to do a bunch of business with each other. The idea is to take advantage of everyone's network and to refer people from outside to people in the group so that you have a constant kind of system of referrals being generated. So I was looking at the numbers and it was very lopsided. The numbers supported my hunch. I was giving a lot and not getting much in return. So the reasons for that, I don't think we have time to go into all that, but I think we have a lot of people in the group that were just kind of passive and not really putting a lot of effort into the giving part of it. Anyway, so those were the numbers.

Michael Reynolds:

After that, I kind of looked at my niche and how the group aligned with my niche. When I first started out as a financial advisor, I was pretty general. I was like, "Hey, I'm just kind of getting my practice started. I'll kind of work with anybody." No real focus or specialization. Over time, especially in the last couple years, I have really kind of stepped into the specialization that I want to kind of base my practice on, which I socially conscious financial planning and ESG investing. Now those words might mean nothing to you. They're jargon. It's okay. It just means I generally work with people that have a perspective to do good in the world, progressive social values, taking care of the planet, taking care of each other through equity and inclusion, treating people well in the workplace, corporate ethics. And there's a way of doing investing and planning that aligns with that stuff and that mindset.

Michael Reynolds:

And so that is where I focus my niche and my financial planning practice. So with that, there are a couple people in the group that kind of align with that as well and have that mindset actually work with them, and that's great. But a lot of the group is not, they're just different levels of the political and social spectrum, and just kind of not really in the same vibe. And so that was also a signal that maybe the group was not as aligned as it was before. So that was the next thing I looked at. The next thing I looked at was the commitment of others in the group. Honestly, a lot of the group is pretty flaky. Great people, I like them, but they just don't show up that often. Their attendance is really flaky. They kind of have long periods of not showing up, and just didn't seem super committed.

Michael Reynolds:

Now me, I attend every week unless I'm traveling or have some really unavoidable conflict, which is pretty rare. I'm pretty much there every week. And so I feel like when I join something or I sign up for something, I'm making a commitment. And it's on my calendar and I don't miss it, and it's a commitment. And apparently, not everybody else feels that way. And so the flaky attendance really kind of led to the group not being as strong as it could be. I felt like I was making a commitment that others were not making. And then going back to the disparity in giving versus receiving referrals, there were a few members specifically in the group that I gave a lot of referrals to just by nature of our business, the insurance agent, the attorney. Again, great people, like them, still do business with them.

Michael Reynolds:

But I would give a lot of referrals on a consistent basis to the attorney in the group, to the insurance agent in the group. And I'm pretty sure I didn't get a single referral back at all last year, if ever, from either of them. And I was like, "Well, these are pretty important roles to be partners for my business," insurance is a big important role for a financial planning practice. A good attorney is a great partner. But just was kind of one sided, and so I was thinking, "Well, this is not really working for me," especially when the centers of influence that should be great referral partners for me are kind of ... They're not working for me.

Michael Reynolds:

So lessons from this experience, so I decided to quit. I decided to stop going. I kind of made the decision. I gave notice for a couple weeks. I said, "Hey, I'll be here for next week and the week after. I'm going to train someone else to take my role doing the dues and the attendance and the speaking rotation. I found someone who would do it. He's going to do a great job." I attended a couple meetings just to kind of phase out and say, "I'm not just disappearing. I'm telling you I'm leaving and I'm going to kind of wrap things up." Last week, at the time of this recording was the last week I attended. Actually, yeah, last week was the last week. And I kind of said, "Hey, great. Let me know if I can help with anything in the future. You'll stay in touch," blah, blah, blah. And that was my last meeting, so pretty simple.

Michael Reynolds:

And I felt great about it. I felt really great about it. And so some of the lessons I wanted to share from the experience that at least I've noticed is one, I think it's really important to have really high standards. Not everyone feels this way, and not everyone's the same. But for me personally, if I commit to something, I think it's important that I commit to it and I don't just flake out. So I find myself having the same standards for other people as well. And again, not saying that's right or wrong, or right for you or not, but I just was not willing to tolerate the disparity in standards of commitment anymore.

Michael Reynolds:

Also, I valued alignment with my niche. I find that networking works really well often if you're generalized and don't have a super specific niche. Even kind of a soft niche, it can work really well. But if you're super focused and your niche is really, really direct and targeted, and you really want to only work with people in a specific niche and it's really tight, networking can be generally more difficult because it's going to be harder to get people to understand your niche and to refer because they're more restricted how they can refer, so it can be problematic sometimes if you have a very tight niche. Now if you're in a group that is aligned with your niche, then it's awesome. But if you're in more of a BNI chapter style, like a general networking group, it can be problematic.

Michael Reynolds:

Also, if you have more time than money, networking is a great use of your time if the group is right. If the opposite is true, it's often good to be more discerning. So I've gotten really busy, which is great. Everyone's in different stages in their business, but I've gotten really busy. And so I just found myself saying, "I've got to be more discerning and intentional about where I spend my time," and that was part of the factor as well. So that is why I quit my networking group. So next steps for me, one, I'm going to raise my fees a little bit, which that's not really the focus of this. I'm just kind of an aside because I'm getting busier, I want to kind of slow things down a little bit.

Michael Reynolds:

But more importantly, not today, but probably in the next month or two, I'm going to start my own networking meetup that is hand picked, [inaudible 00:17:53] of my circle of people in my life. It will include people that I am already referring to. I'm going to talk to Kim, my accountant, and a couple of people I have in mind. I'm going to kind of more hand pick the group because the group I was in before, it just kind of, we let people in by default like, "Hey, we need a banker. We need so and so. Great, you're in." It was kind of just organically let people in. So I think next time around I'm going to do this, I'm going to just maybe do a monthly lunch, a monthly something, and just really hand pick a small group of people that I know will commit to being good referral partners. And I think that's going to be a much better use of all of our time, and probably a more effective way to grow my business. So those are my next steps.

Michael Reynolds:

So my message here, I want to get to ... [inaudible 00:18:41] list of things. But my message here at the end is again, not to quit your networking group necessarily. But I think there are probably some people out there that are listening that might be struggling with similar things that I struggled with, and I want to kind of share my thought process and some of the things I thought through in case it's helpful in how you evaluate your own networking activities. So the system of networking in general, if it's done well and the group is right, is really, really effective. I still stand by my stance that networking is a great way to grow a massage practice, especially a newer massage practice, where you want to get referrals quickly. It's a great way to do that.

Michael Reynolds:

But again, I think there are probably some people out there in the same boat I was and thinking through it, so that's helpful. So that's what I got to share. I'd love to hear your thoughts, Allissa.

Allissa Haines:

I think it's great. I love the way you thought through this. I tried a networking group several, a couple years ago. I was in it for a year and I quit actually good timing, just before the pandemic hit anyway. And I put the commitment in, it just was the best group for me. And I think it's really important to weigh your time. We encourage networking groups for people, especially as they're starting up when they're time rich and cash poor. And they can be really, really helpful. I've been thinking about it on my own right now as I'm rebuilding my practice, and general marketing techniques aren't super great for me because I'm very specifically only taking a certain kind of client. So I've been looking into networking groups in my area. And the first couple I looked into the other day all have people in them that I don't like, because I've been around here for 18 years now, so I know most of the people in networking groups.

Allissa Haines:

And I'm like, "Yeah, definitely not going to be a good fit for me because I know these three people are going to try to sell me nutritional shakes." But I think I'm going to start my own, and we've talked about that before. You talk about it here. And I think it could be nice to build a really refined group. So yay, congratulations on quitting.

Michael Reynolds:

Thanks. It was awesome. Yeah.

Allissa Haines:

[crosstalk 00:20:46] a thing that you started. But really, you ran it through. But also, when you quit something, when you step away from a leadership position or just quit something in general, instead of thinking about it as the end of that thing being a failure, and you're a failure, it's not. You did a thing. You built a thing. It was good for a while. It's not. And now you're creating a void so that someone else can step into their experience of leadership and networking. That's great. That's a really good thing. I try to think of when I used to volunteers. Volunteers would get so sucked into the guilt factor. And I was like, "It's time for someone else to experience the joy of this leadership job." I'm stepping away, so someone else can have the benefits of this, as it has been very beneficial to me. So I think that can be a really positive way to think about stepping away from things like that.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah, I agree.

Allissa Haines:

And I think it's really great. I'm excited for you and your next chapter.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah. And let me tell you, yesterday was the day my group meets. And yesterday, having an extra two hours of my life, I didn't have to leave the house, was amazing.

Allissa Haines:

I bet.

Michael Reynolds:

So that was nice. I got so much done.

Allissa Haines:

That's great. Good for you. There does come a point where you've built up so many one to one referral partners, just like with Kim, or with me. Wait, I have a question.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah.

Allissa Haines:

Who has sent you more financial advising clients, Kim or me?

Michael Reynolds:

I think Kim, but it's pretty close.

Allissa Haines:

All right, I'll work on it.

Michael Reynolds:

I appreciate you both.

Allissa Haines:

We're competitive. So yeah, I think it's really great. And thank you for covering this topic.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah, thanks for listening. All right.

Allissa Haines:

Who's our next sponsor, Michael?

Michael Reynolds:

Our friends over at Jojoba.

Allissa Haines:

Yay. Thank you, The Original Jojoba Company for being our longtime, I think longest time sponsor. You know how I feel about this, folks. I love that jojoba won't stain my 100% cotton sheets. I don't have to go crazy looking for fancy detergents for stuff. Every so often, if I have a spill, or some client brings in their own oil that I hate, then sometimes I have to spray a little Resolve on my sheets. But when I'm just using jojoba, that's not a problem. So my linens are looking better for longer, they smell fresh. They ain't rancid. They're not going to combust. That's always nice. The Jojoba Company is the only company in the world that carries 100% pure first press quality jojoba. And that means that they don't squeeze the jojoba seed quite so hard, so they get a little less oil out of there, but they get a higher quality oil out of there. So buy your jojoba like you buy your olive oil, with some education. You, my friends, can get a 20% discount. I said that all wrong. 20% discount when you shop through our link, massagebusinessblueprint.com/jojoba.

Michael Reynolds:

I love jojoba.

Allissa Haines:

Yay.

Michael Reynolds:

Yay.

Allissa Haines:

Quick tip, you do yours first.

Michael Reynolds:

Okay, all right. So my quick tip is a continuation from my previous quick tip, which is when I mentioned a few episodes ago that I got our family Water Piks for Christmas and have been using them. And by the way, I just have to say, since owning a Water Pik, I feel like my adulting has leveled up two whole levels. I feel like this is really next level adulting. This Water Pik is amazing. So if you didn't hear the episode, the Water Pik is a fancy thing that helps you floss using pressurized water. It's really cool. You stick it in your mouth, it helps you floss better. Anyway, I really enjoy it.

Michael Reynolds:

So in the episode, one of our listeners actually reached out to us this morning via email and said, "Hey, loved the episode. Just FYI, I'm not sure if you're filling your Water Pik with water from the shower head, but that can lead to this thing called Legionnaires' disease," which apparently can be horrible and deadly. And I was like, "Yeah, I definitely don't do that." And Allissa was like, "I didn't know about that." I'm like, "Yeah, I fill it from the tap. Don't worry." But it reminded me that maybe that wasn't clear. And so I've got two things to share today on the Water Pik as a continuation or an add on from that episode. First of all, do not fill your Water Pik with shower head water. Fill it with tap water so you can avoid Legionnaires' disease.

Allissa Haines:

Or bottled or distilled water, she said.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah, she tap water, or bottled, distilled. I use tap water because whatever, it's just tap water. It's easy. And then the second thing is Water Pik recommends this kind of mouthwash hack that I think I forgot to mention last time, which is instead of filling it with water, you can fill it with mouthwash, and therefore have a flossing experience that is extra minty and fresh, and it's also amazing. So I wanted to add that little mouthwash hack on as an add on.

Allissa Haines:

Well, I think we know what Walt's getting for Valentine's Day.

Michael Reynolds:

There you go, minty fresh breath.

Allissa Haines:

Actually, that's not true, but any who, any who, that's a good tip. Thank you, Michael.

Michael Reynolds:

Thanks. What about you?

Allissa Haines:

So as I mentioned before, I'm trying to reboot or reinvigorate my massage practice. I need a handful of new clients. I need eight new monthly clients is what I would really like to round out my numbers. And I was feeling a little morose about this the other day, and then I was like, "Okay." Look, see I already last year, I sent an email to, I don't know, 10 people or so who had not come back since the pandemic. And I sent an email individually that said, "Hey, haven't seen you. I know I moved to a different town, if that commute's not too rough for you, I would love to hear from you or see you. You can schedule here." Sorry, the email was more concise than this, but I'm just going from my vague memory.

Allissa Haines:

And it was very much like, "Hey, I'm going to do a push to get some more clients in my schedule, but I want you to have first pick if you're ready to come back." So I sent that to 10 people, and two of them booked, and one of them responded and she's like, "I'm going through some health stuff, but I'll be back eventually." And I didn't hear from the other seven, which was sad, but it's fine. So I realized I could do the same thing. So when I was being all morose about my client numbers on Monday, and also because I had to take one week in January off because I had the sniffles, and then another week because one of the kids was sick. It sucked. It sucks for everybody right now in and out, whether you're busy or not, this kind of irregular fluctuation is really hard.

Allissa Haines:

So I emailed six people who I had seen in the last summer or fall, but for whatever reason had fallen off the scheduled. So I emailed all six of them and said, "Hey, I'm going to do a push next week to get my calendar a little more filled, but I wanted to give you first pick on appointments, so you can click here to schedule if you're ready to do that." So I did that, and then I ... And three of them scheduled and a fourth one emailed back and said, "I am going to schedule soon. Work stuff is a little wonky, but I'll see you in March." Great.

Allissa Haines:

And then I also made a little sign at my desk at my office that said, "I am accepting new clients," and very specifically bullets what I'm accepting new clients for. And as my current clients come in and out after their session, I am pointing to the sign and saying, "Hey, I'm accepting some new clients on a really limited basis, so if you know anybody with the same kinds of general aches and pains that you have, or cancer, or history of cancer, or anxiety, think about sending them to me." And I hand my client three business cards. And those are the things that I am doing right now as a startup. But just the email I sent booked me three appointments.

Allissa Haines:

So then I took that same graphic that I have printed out at my desk and I put it up on social, and just my Facebook and my Instagram, and was like, "Hey, exciting news. I have room in my schedule for a few more clients. If you know anyone with X, Y, and Z, send them my way." And three clients who are irregular clients, but they come a couple times a year, really irregularly, three of them booked immediately. They saw my ... And I know the connection because they all liked the post on Facebook, and then within an hour, three of them had booked.

Michael Reynolds:

Nice.

Allissa Haines:

And then I actually had lunch with a friend yesterday, and she had fallen off the schedule, and for a variety of reasons. And she was like, "I got to get back on your schedule." I'm like, "Yeah, you do." And I booked her, and when she comes in, she comes in with her son, and so I booked two more right on the spot. So I took two fairly, well, I guess three actions. I sent the email. I put the sign up at my desk, and I put the sign up on social, so three small things, and it has brought me three, six, eight bookings over 48 hours.

Michael Reynolds:

That's amazing.

Allissa Haines:

Yeah. I think we have a whole podcast about what to do if you don't know what to do. Just do one thing. If you are finding that your office is just a hot mess in general and you need more protocols, or better protocols, if you find that your schedule's just a little too empty, if you are overwhelmed at home, or whatever, one small step. Do one small thing to bring back a long lost client. That's it. And I was talking to a friend about this and he said his small thing is that he, in the past, that he used to do it and then he stopped, but he went back and he put all of his current clients, his current regular clients, and also his irregular clients, people who come in just randomly a couple times a year, puts all their birthdays in his calendar. And then on their birthday, he sends them a happy birthday text. And he says that results a bunch of, especially with the irregular clients, but also with the regulars who fell off the schedule for one reason or another. He's like, "It very often results in a booking."

Allissa Haines:

And I was like, "You know what, I used to do birthday cards for clients. Why don't I do that anymore?" So I'm doing that. I'm going to go through. I have a master list. I'm going to go through current clients and my semi regulars, who only come a couple times a year, but I love them, so I wanted to keep doing that. And I think I'm going to do some kind of might be a birthday email, or might be an actual card. I haven't decided yet. And that's going to be my next small thing. But one small thing to bring back a long lost client or two could be really effective, or one small thing to just create a checklist of what you do when you walk into the office in the morning. Just do one small thing, call it a day, call it a win, carry on.

Michael Reynolds:

That's awesome. I love that.

Allissa Haines:

And that's everything we have today, people. I'm going to make this plea again. If you appreciate Massage Business Blueprint, if you appreciate this podcast, if you're a massage, pardon me, a Blueprint Mastermind community member, tell a friend, that would be one small thing you can do to help us. Just teach a friend how to listen to the podcast, or show a friend our website, or perhaps mention to a friend that you're a premium member, and that is helpful to you. Sorry, I keep calling it premium member because that's what we used to call it, but it's Blueprint Mastermind member now. And tell them because we don't spend a crap ton of money on online ads or Facebook ads because we don't want to give money to the devil. So it would help us if you could do that one small thing to tell your friends about us.

Allissa Haines:

If you have questions you want us to cover, we love that. Email us at podcast@massagebusinessblueprint.com. And one of us will get back to you. And that is everything I have to say. I hope everybody has a super mellow, happy, productive day.

Michael Reynolds:

Thanks, everyone.