We came, we saw, we networked!

The first of The Therapy Exchange networking events ran in Teneriffe this week, themed: The Value of Marketing for Holistic Therapists.

Such a diverse group of people brought an exceptionally diverse a range of skills - massage therapists, reiki practitioners, counsellors and beauticians. The range of business experience in the group ranged from people just starting out in their own business to those who had been running their business for a few years.

Some of the common business challenges the group members currently face, include branching out from a full time job to grow a business from scratch, understanding how to get the best “bang for buck” from limited marketing dollars, how to find new clients and how to retain existing clients.

Throughout the explanation of some of the key elements of marketing – product, place, price and promotion – a lively discussion ensued. Group members were happy to share what had and had not worked for them, and everyone agreed that it was valuable to mingle with other therapists and learn from each other.

Discussion moved onto a common desire for the various holistic therapies association to do more for their members – provide more business-based advice; more lobbying to raise the awareness of certain modalities and to gain Government recognition for particular modalities. It was valuable to hear of everyone’s experience with their respective associations.

It felt like the discussion could have kept going all evening! It was very much my intention in running these monthly networking events, to inspire discussion and sharing amongst therapists across all modalities. There is some reassurance in knowing that although we may work mainly in isolation, we have many colleagues in the same boat. I would like to thank everyone for participating with such enthusiasm. I can’t wait for the next event!

The theme proved to be so popular that we’ve scheduled a second event on 15 July. This session is filling up quickly - please register quickly if you’d like to attend. Bookings are essential. August’s event is themed Promoting Your Holistic Therapies Business Online. The 5 August session is booked out, but there are still a few vacancies for the session on 20 August.

Members of the AAMT can earn 5 CPE points by attending Revive Holistic Marketing’s networking events. Members of other associations may also be eligible to earn CPE or CPD points by attending networking events. Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries about our networking events.

Don't forget that we also offer online networking opportunities for complementary therapists at http://thetherapyexchange.ning.com/. Check it out today. It's free to join!