The Real Business You Are In That Most People Don’t Realize & Act Upon: 11th Letter to BodyChance Students

My 11^th letter to BodyChance students wanting a financially successful career as a teacher of Alexander Technique poses a question that most small businesses get wrong, and fail because of it…

SUBJECT: The Real Business You Are In That Most People Don’t Realize & Act Upon

Dear Seito-san,

Recently there’s been a little revolution at BodyChance.

For those who don’t know, BodyChance Teacher Education has three stages. When you get to Stage Three at BodyChance you are already a teacher, but you need to clock up your practise hours. Currently it is 50 lessons over 10 different people, plus some group teaching.

Although it has always been the policy of the school that Stage Three students have the responsibility of finding their own pupils, up until recently BodyChance helped our Stage Three students find pupils. However, as our school grew, and there were more and more Stage Three students, finding pupils for them meant seriously jeopardizing BodyChance’s own business.

What to do?

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

I realized it was now time to integrate business building within Teacher Education. So answer this fundamental question: What business do you think you are in?

If you ask a chiropractor, she might answer chiropractic.

If you ask an fashion designer, he might answer clothes.

If you ask an Alexander Technique teacher, she might answer “Alexander Technique”

Fundamentally, that is incorrect. A chiropractor without a patient can not practise. A fashion designer with no one willing to wear their clothes is redundant, and an Alexander Technique teacher without a pupil can not teach. There is no “business” when there are no “clients”. Very simple. Stage Three students understood this: they wanted to practise teaching, but they had no pupils to practise with!

You are in the business of securing the person you need to be in business at all! It’s called marketing, and THAT’S the business you are in.

Once you see that, the whole process gets clearer. And with clarity comes power – your energies are used constructively, building a interest and following, so that by the time you get to Stage Three, you have a waiting list of people.

This is one of the secrets that successful small business owners understand – they are in the marketing business. Of course your service or product is critical, but actually not as critical as marketing. There are plentiful examples of great marketing selling low quality products, but very few examples of great products being sold by low quality marketing. It’s a one way street, and marketing is primary.

What to do?

Start reading marketing books and getting an education!

cheerfully

Jeremy

PS Join me in discussions on FaceBook with Alexander Technique teachers and students exploring how your business of Alexander Technique can grow www.facebook.com/chancejeremy