Unlimited Potential Healing Center

Finding a business model that feels right to you

Today, one after another blog, podcast, newsletter that arrive at my inbox all vie for my business by proclaiming that they know best how I can make a 6 and 7 figure income as an entrepreneur even in the healing/helping/coaching business, and that this is why I (and therefore you) should listen to them. This approach to business, particularly in my profession really turns me off.

While a business cannot survive unless it does make a profit,  and everyone is entitled to be compensated fairly for their knowledge, skills, time and energy, I feel that the emphasis/focus of a business model especially in the healing/helping/coaching world but also in other businesses as well cannot be primarily about making money first. Money is NOT the real measure of success. Value to customers and their loyalty and repeat business that results from this is. Quality of life that you help to create for both yourself and others is. Mental/emotional and spiritual growth and healing is. Loving, supportive relationships and connection to the larger community is.

Everywhere in the corporate world we see the destruction that focusing on money over the long-term value and genuine well being of people is causing. And it is a part of the service to self mindset rather than service to others that is ultimately detrimental and unsatisfying even to the very self that has spent its life pursuing profit.

I think that it’s time to change the business paradigm.

My belief is that if the focus is instead on being of service, making the world a better place, creating something that will really improve the lives of others, whether through a healing intervention, a business, product, new modality or invention, this will bring the customers, sales, and good will that can lead to a viable business with long-term loyalty and repeat income. I think that it will also bring investors who want to be part of a business that is focused first on doing good in the world.

Perhaps this means that funding from some other source may need to be an initial and maybe ongoing part of the business plan. I am not suggesting that service to others is all that is necessary, nor that success invariably follows from service. And while I am still working on finding the answers for myself in my own business, I am arguing that the focus of a business needs to be first and foremost on service, not profit, even while working on profitability.

After all, most of your time will be spent working. And you will have to live in the world you helped to create through that work. Is it a world you want to live in? Is it one you want your children and grandchildren to live in? Whether you run your own business or work in one owned by someone else, can you and that business really contribute to making a positive difference in your world?

One business role model I like is Gary Craig of emofree.com. While he made money teaching and selling videos of his training, his manual and introductory videos of the Emotional Freedom Technique was put up free on the internet so that it became quickly known, learned and utilized by perhaps millions of people worldwide. Tapping is commonly recognized and practiced everywhere. There is no way he would have had that global impact if he was charging big bucks for his training.

To me at this stage in my life it is more important to leave a legacy as Gary has. If you really want to make rapid, positive change in the world, doing a portion of it free or low cost is the quickest way to go. Get the information out there.

Another example of a business model I can follow is that of George Kao. George now puts his best information free of charge on the internet, but charges for private clients and a subscription for small groups. I recommend his video of his latest newsletter here outlining his philosophy. George says “If I had one year left to live, what are the most important lessons I would teach?”

Another role model is Stephen Pollitt of Source Energy Medicine. Stephen charges a modest amount for live training, his book, and private consultations. But again you can learn and download most everything you need online free of charge or by donation to use his system that turns good quality water into medicine. Yet in giving so generously, he draws hundreds of people to his training. Stephen feels that in helping others he is really helping himself.

There are also many internet sites that do the same. The content rich but free information creates an audience that then may become private clients, come to paid events, buy books and other products. Want to get people to trust you? Give something of real value at fair or low cost or even free.

Even if you make a product that must cover research, labor and material costs, how can you make it affordable to the general population? Can you make it so it has real value, perhaps lasting much longer, being more reliable than that of the competition?

At the end of the day, each of us has to feel good about what we did with our life. That includes what we did for a living and how we did it. I want first of all to leave a legacy and succeed at making a powerful, positive difference in the world. How about you? What kind of business model is both good for you and your customers?