Mind Your OT Business

You know that old show "What NOT To Wear"? Well this episode of MYOTBiz is the OT business podcast version of that show. Here's my list of what NOT to do when starting your business. A few of these I learned from experience (you'll hear about my 10K mistake…I'm SO embarrassed to admit this one…and honestly, thought about editing it out of the recorded podcast more than once. But I kept it in to stick by my promise to always be honest with you all, even if it makes me not look good.)

(Links are Amazon affiliate links- MYOTBiz is not monetized right now- it is a labor of love, so if you purchase any of these books, please go through the link! Gives me a tiny bit of income at no additional cost to you. Thanks!)

Drum roll please…..the 9 Things NOT To Do When Starting Your Business:

1. Don't offer too many types of services. The riches are in the niches, folks...and so is your sanity. Start by offering ONE really good service and DON'T start another until that one is successful (or totally bombs).

2. Don't hire quickly. Sometimes we are growing (a good thing!) and get desperate for help. Hiring quickly just to fill the opening will usually be twice as much work in the long run. Slow growth is not bad.

3. Don't think you can do your books on your own. YOU CAN'T. Run, do not walk, to hire the nearest bookkeeper or accountant who can help manage your finances.

4. Don't price your services too low. People value what they pay for. We are all helpers by nature and want to help people. If you want to give away services, offer scholarships...but keep your prices high so people will value your services.

5. Don't pay for an expensive website or logo. I spent way too much on mine and almost immediately regretted it, even though I love it. There is no way to tell if it was helpful to my business, but in retrospect, I think learning good copywriting is MUCH more beneficial than a pretty website or logo. Read "Building a StoryBrand" by Donald Miller and "This Book Will Teach You How to Write Better" by Neville Medhora. DIY website builders work great. I recommend Squarespace for aesthetics and for ease of use.

6. Don't wait to manage your cash flow. I've said it once and I'll say it again: read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. WISH I had done this when starting out!!

7. Don't buy expensive equipment you don't truly need. Constraints make us more creative. Ask yourself: "Do I really NEED this?" before every business purchase. (Which, you might notice, I SHOULD have done before paying designers for a fancy website and logo.) :)

8. Don't be afraid to consult a lawyer. You must ask a lawyer if you're in doubt about any legal issue. Get a good referral to an honest lawyer, ask your question(s), cough up the $300/hour, and move on with confidence that you're legally in the clear. Here's the NOLO Press book I used to set up my California corporation.

9. Don't be afraid to spend money on a business coach when you are just starting out. This was extremely helpful to me in the early years (and NOW…just did a session last week with a business consultant to advise me about scaling and expanding my business to multiple locations in different states.)

In this episode, I share quick tips for creating a business logo that I learned from the (very expensive) graphic designers who did my logo and website. Hopefully this will help you NOT have to spend a ton of money! :)

Notes from this episode:

1. Make a list of adjectives/words that express how you want people to feel about your business.

2. Think in color theory. Search google for which colors express the emotions you want people to feel about your business.

3. Think about the problem you are solving for people, and incorporate aspects of this into your logo design.

4. Get the hex codes for the colors you have chosen. And use these EXACT same colors in ALL of your branding. This will help customers recognize your brand.

5. Use Canva (free online design platform) to play with colors/design/etc.

6. Decide if you want to use a serif or sans serif font. Serif are generally considered easier to read (but my logo uses a sans serif font and I love it…it is really about what message you want to communicate to your customers.)

7. Consider hiring a freelancer to design your logo after you've done some of the above things to get clear on what you want. (Fiverr, 99designs, Upwork)

ONE LAST THING I forgot to mention on the episode! Think about how people interact on social media nowadays- on their PHONES for the most part. Your logo will appear VERY SMALL on mobile devices and you should consider how your logo will look when people are viewing it as a TINY icon on Instagram or other social media platforms! One thing I HATE about my own logo is that it doesn't look good small. :(

AFTER I had recorded the podcast I found this awesome business some of you may want to know about: https://www.logolaliadesign.com/ (No affiliation or experience with their services but seems to be beautiful work for website and logo design at a great price point for start-up entrepreneurs.)

Make sure to listen to episodes 3 and 4 for the first two parts of this series on Time Management Tips for the Entrepreneur. Today we have our final installment in the series with 4 more tips, so let's jump right in!

7. Don't try to be an expert in things that you aren't or that you don't enjoy doing. Delegate!*

*None of these are affiliate links- just services I use and enjoy.

Canva- free graphic design site to make your own logos, social media posts, flyers…IF you're good at it and enjoy it!

Here are some online places you can outsource almost any design, editing, or administrative work:

o Fiverr

o Upwork

o 99designs

· Don't try to do your own bookkeeping (unless you were a bookkeeper before you were a therapist!).

o Affordable bookkeeping, accounting, & tax preparation: Mazuma

8. Know when to hire help.

Here's a photo of the list my business coach helped me make when I was feeling completely overwhelmed as a business owner!

AHHH!! How was I even doing all this? (Probably not very well…ha ha!)

One thing you can try (that I didn't mention in the podcast) if you are at this point of business ownership, is to do what Christina had me do on this poster: Make a BIG list of everything that you could outsource. This will help you get started to actually finding someone to do the work, because you'll be able to tell them what exactly you need help doing.

The genius admin brain and business manager behind Outdoor Kids OT is Nicole Storms of Your Admin Solution. Call her if you are drowning and need help! She is so much more than gifted at administrative business tasks— she has the brain of a business owner, is relentlessly positive, and really partners with you in growing your business.

9. Work smarter, not harder.

I know this is kind of a catch phrase, but there are definitely ways we can do this…and Occupational Adaptation theory explains how!

Occupational Adaptation (OA) theory proposes the primary aim of occupational therapy is to increase a client's relative mastery and adaptive capacity.

Relative mastery = effectiveness, efficiency (which we've been talking about in this series!), and level of satisfaction to self and others in completion of occupational tasks/challenges.

Adaptive capacity =

• Noticing the need to change.

• Sufficient psychosocial, cognitive, and sensorimotor skills and resources to meet occupational challenges.

• Ability to problem solve to meet future occupational challenges.

A summary table of Schkade & Schultz' Occupational Adaptation Theoretical Constructs of Primary & Secondary Energy (We NEED to know when to use each to be efficient business owners!)

Schkade, S. & Schultz, S. (1992). Occupational adaptation: Toward a holistic approach for contemporary practice, part 1. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 46(9), 829-837.

I LOVE that OA theory applies to our work as business owners and as occupational therapists. I could go on and on…but the main takeaway from this review of OA is that our efficiency affects our relative mastery as business owners! Putting one or more of these tips into action can make you a better entrepreneur…and improve your ability to adapt in the face of future challenges as a business owner!

And finally:

10. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

Do not…I repeat, do NOT….let your work take over your life so much that you lose your health or happiness. That is NOT why we became business owners. This is an efficiency tip because if we take care of ourselves, we will be more effective in our work. So decide what healthy habit you want to start doing and get started. Personally, for me it is exercise. I must move my body every single day and I do this consistently (even though I'm not an athlete by any means). I could be better at 1.) eating less sweets and 2.) giving my husband and children the love and attention they deserve for supporting my crazy endeavors. Prioritizing those changes would likely make me more efficient as a business owner because I'd be happier and more balanced.

So here is the final list in all its glory. What are YOU going to take action on today?

Time Management Tips to Empower & Equip YOU as a Savvy & Successful OT Entrepreneur 1. GET IT ALL OUT OF YOUR HEAD! HAVE A SYSTEM FOR MANAGING TO-DO'S. 2. ESTABLISH YOUR TOP 3 MUST-DO'S EACH DAY. 3. TIME BLOCK YOUR SCHEDULE. 4. DO THE RIGHT TASK AT THE RIGHT TIME OF DAY. 5. USE A TIMER TO TRACK HOW LONG TASKS ACTUALLY TAKE. 6. SHUT OFF NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR PHONE AND COMPUTER WHILE YOU ARE WORKING. 7. DON'T TRY TO BE AN EXPERT IN THINGS THAT YOU AREN'T OR THAT YOU DON'T ENJOY DOING. DELEGATE! 8. KNOW WHEN TO HIRE HELP. 9. WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER. (OA THEORY TELLS US HOW TO DO THIS!) 10. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

Make sure to listen to episode 3 for Time Management Tips #1-3. We're diving right into #4-6 on our Time Management Tips list this episode!

4. Do the right task at the right time of day.

· When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Dan Pink

5. Use a timer to track your time so that you stay honest about how long tasks are taking you.

· Toggl Time Tracker app

6. Shut off notifications on your phone and computer while you are working.

· Brain hack: Shut off notifications, then do focused work, and reward yourself with the dopamine hit of checking Facebook, Instagram, or your own preferred social media or technology reward. J

I'll be back in 2 weeks with the final episode in our Time Management Tips series…in which I may or may not have applied an OT theory to time management as a business owner. If the word "theory" scares you…DON'T let it! I promise it is NOT boring! ANNNDDD….I've scheduled the first interview for the MYOTBiz podcast! But it's a surprise who it is…so stay tuned!

This week's episode starts a 3 part series on how to manage and MAXIMIZE your TIME as an entrepreneur. Learn tips and tricks to become more efficient in managing all the to-do's as you run and grow your business.

Here are the resources discussed in this episode! (Some are affiliate links at no additional cost to you):

1. Get it ALL out of your head!

• Getting Things Done, by David Allen. This book was life-changing in my productivity as an OT and business owner.

• TRELLO Project Management App. I seriously don't know how I ran my business before I had Trello. There are SO MANY applications for this useful tool in our businesses. I use it to organize everything in my life.

Here's an example of some of my monthly lists for managing my business. Each card can be moved, edited, have attachments, checklists, notes, etc. Check out the short video below for how I use a weekly calendar in Trello.

2. Establish your top 3 must-do's each day.

For me during the start of my business, one thing was SELF-REFLECTION. Here are the questions I used:

1. What went well? (POSITIVES)

2. What went wrong? (PROBLEMS)

3. What will I do differently next time? (PROACTIVE SOLUTIONS)

3. Time block your schedule.

Here's a link to a calendar-creation site that I use to create a color-coded time-blocked schedule each fall and spring semester.

And here's an example of what my fall semester looked like:

This was an example of an IDEAL week. I almost never hit the mark perfectly, but it served as a compass to guide me back to what I needed to do when I got off track! (And reminded me of priorities.)

That's it for this week! Jump in and take action on one of these things to help you manage your time better! Comment below if you've used any of these strategies or have other tips to share!

In episode 2 of Mind Your OT Business, we discuss 3 ways you can make your business stand out in a crowded and busy market. You'll learn how to establish your unique SERVICE proposition to customers and how to ignite your passion for what your business is uniquely gifted to offer customers.

Please leave an honest review wherever you listen to podcasts so we can reach more OTs and get this OT entrepreneur party started!

Welcome to the Mind Your OT Business podcast! In this first episode, I tell the story of my path to business ownership and share why I'm starting this podcast FOR and BY occupational therapy entrepreneurs. We talk all about what it means to be empowered and equipped to be a savvy and successful entrepreneur as an occupational therapy business owner…and what exactly this podcast will be all about. Please subscribe & let me know what YOU want to hear on the podcast when you leave a review for the podcast! This is all about getting you the info you want and need as an OT business owner!

Here are the links for you to take ACTION on any of the content from this first episode:

March 2011 American Journal of Occupational Therapy article- Wanted: Entrepreneurs in Occupational Therapy by Anderson & Nelson

April 2017 Australian Occupational Therapy Journal article- Learning Management by Self-Employed Occupational Therapists in Private Practice by Milsteed, Redmond, & Walker

***UPDATE 6/6/22: I no longer maintain an active email list for OT Entrepreneurs as I've niched my business to nature-based practice owners and offer all my free resources at www.therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com *** SO, the resources mentioned in this very old first episode of Mind Your OT Business are here (& you don't even have to give me your email!):

>>> Get the FREE Superbill template here.

>>> Access the "Are You Ready To Be An Entrepreneur?" Checklist here.