Getting discouraged

Hi:

Just wondering how you get yourself out of the rut when you become discouraged. I am regretting quitting my stable job I hated to follow the dream. I am only booking a few appointments daily and spending so much time marketing and making contacts. My bank account is dwindling and I am worried.

Any ideas or have you expereienced this also?

thanks for any advice! :)

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cindy Greenwood on September 21, 2012 at 4:43am

I too have made several purchases through Vistaprint.

The quality has been very good with everything I have ordered.

For signage I have gotten banners, lawn signs, and car magnet.

All are beautiful.

The editing options are very good - you can change fonts, sizes, add new text boxes, or move them.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Faith Redd-Walker on September 21, 2012 at 10:09am

These forums have been great! Honestly!! I just opened in June and it can be so tough. Sheila, what kinds of connections do you make when you go networking and how do you follow up? I have been going lately but I'm not sure of how to follow up. I send out handwritten cards but should I also call to do lunch? I'm at that awkward stage where I'm meeting people but I need to turn them to clients.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sheila Gordon on September 30, 2012 at 8:41pm

well they won't necessarily turn into clients right away. I don't approach my networking like that anyways...I simply find people I connect with and have like personalities, then I follow up next day with a hey great meeting you let's do lunch. Over lunch I dojn't give them a whole speech about myself and what I do , I just simply have a girls lunch. You will eventually build a friendship with them and then maybe they will turn into a client...but if they don't i can guarentee they will probably at least recommend your services to a friend or someone that asks. It's akward at first but honestly just be yourself. I don't beleive in all of these networking 101 where you have to do this step and this step and talk to every person in room and this and that. it's way too stressful!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sandra Hicks on October 7, 2012 at 12:12pm

Sheila, I think you are so right about being busy in the personal life by networking and events. I have recently been putting more effort into doing this and I think it will do me and my business some good too. Lol ! my bank account is scary too !

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jodi on September 22, 2012 at 2:09pm

Since I don't own my business, I was thinking of putting the window sticker ASCP sent me with my membership kit on my car. If nothing else, maybe someone in a parking lot would ask me about it or something. I like the car sign picture, it looks good! I also feel the same pain, I work 2 part time jobs in 2 different fields, one is a steady paycheck, the other is skin care. I'm trying to increase my skin care hours to eventually make the leap to 'full time', but that is just too scary for me right now. Great ideas out here, thanks so much to everyone for sharing!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tracy Lynn on September 26, 2012 at 4:22pm

I found an old building not too far off the beaten path and beautified it (with yard sale items, craigslist & material to cover unsightly wall issues etc.......i had somewhat Cheap rent, while i built clientele (btw, booking a few appts daily is pretty darn good for just starting ) Anyway, upon renewal, I made a great deal with the owner of the building that i rent from. Times are tough all around...even to find people to rent his building and he obviously didnt want me to move out, so i hit him up.... He cut my rent down by $200 per month ! shhh, dont tell the neighbors... Asking doesn't hurt and every little bit counts. I also make sure that my family and friends keep their skin top notch. I do free or discounted skin care for them ALL. I have gotten tons of clients from my sister (who now has great skin) and my son (who USED to have bad acne) has sent lots of his female-friends my way to help with their skin challenges.

I also Barter A LOT. These are some of my barters... a local farmer/grower for veggies, eggs etc, a dog groomer (golden retreiver...ackk ), a local handy-man (he loves back facials), supplements, super foods, essential oils etc from the gal that owns the local nutrition shop.

Make friends with owners of local businesses...people love to barter if given the opportunity. Bartering saves a lot of money and builds relationships (and referrals).

Keep your chin up honey !! your efforts will pay off.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Angela Brill on September 27, 2012 at 5:26am

thanks to everyone for the ideas and encouragement! This week was great and I actually did pretty well! I is just staying in the mindset of promoting and being positive even if you feel like doing nothing~ LOL

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kimberly Lovato on September 27, 2012 at 12:50pm

I was also a newbie in the sense of moving to a new city, and not knowing anyone created a second obstacle. I already had years of experience from working at a luxury spa in Las Vegas. Yet, I knew that I needed an edge to set myself apart from the masses. So, in my new town I searched the internet to see who was specializing in what. Thinking perhaps, with the new areas of esthetics recently emerging I could create my own niche. Such as Oncology Esthetics and a greater emphasis on Acne treatments. I gained my knowledge in both areas by seeking a class in the first and then completing an online certification with the latter. Next, I created brochures from Vistaprint and began distributing them from cancer centers to driving schools. Of course, I do offer the classic esthetic treatments such as luxury facials, microdermabrasion, chemical peels, enzymes, etc. etc.

The part that really created great exposure was by running an ad with Groupon and Living Social (I only did this once with each, now almost a year ago). I offered one treatment as a Cranberry Enzyme Facial (from SkinScripts) and had Groupon use my name specifically and had them use the title of Acne Specialist. When this ad ran, it brought in many new potential clients, of course, with acne. I could use the Cranberry treatment on mild cases, but I instantly moved the moderate to severe cases into the Acne Treatment category and cleared their acne with the Face Reality Acne line. Now, this created a chain reaction, as I cleared acne with the first round of new clients, they spread the word by raving about my services and how great their skin looked. So their friend and family began to schedule as well.

Now, working with Oncology Esthetics is a very special area. I have met many wonderful people enduring a very difficult time in their lives. I feel honored to be there to assist in decreasing stress and offering safe and soothing skin care treatments.

I had also run an ad with Living Social for a mini luxury facial, this gave everyone a taste of what the full service was like. Of course you will come across those who are just looking for a cheap service. However, you will also come across those who are truly looking for a good fit and they will stick.

That was a year ago. Now, I book on average of at least 3-4 weeks in advance and I am seeing between 5-8 clients a day. I do not run the Groupons anymore but I do offer my own monthly specials on my website.

I hope this helps and I wish you the very best in your soon to be prosperous business.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ASCP on October 1, 2012 at 9:22am

This has been such a lively topic with so many great ideas. I think ASCP should put all these ideas together and give a webinar on this subject. We could invite not only ASCP members, but open it up to anyone who is on this forum. What do you all think?