RDS 2026 

Have a business workspace. A desk, a notebook, a decent laptop, a decent phone and internet, in a space where your body knows it's time to concentrate. A candle or incense, and a ritual of setting an intention each time you start, can help.

Schedule business time in your Google Calendar. If you don't, life will just keep happening and taking priority. Business time means taking strategic action on your business. It's separate from time with clients and time at courses.

Keep those appointments like you would your day job. Allocating time to work on your business is one of the main factors in getting it off the ground.

Cowork and get accountable. Meet a friend on Zoom, say what you'll work on, mute and get to work, then feed back at the end. Focusmate.com is free for 3 sessions a week. Or send each other your goals on Monday and check in on Friday.

Build a second brain. One Google Doc with a tab for each idea, so everything is in one searchable place. If you prefer paper, use a ring binder with a plastic sheet for each topic.

Make a business vision board. Keep it separate to your life vision board, with a section for each aspect of your business. It's a simple, holistic business plan. Tweak it as your clarity emerges.

Your business model is the way you make money. What you offer, the price, who it's for, where, and what marketing you do. It's completely unique to you, and it's shaped by both you and the market.

You figure it out by trying. Learn, try things out, gather data, decide, then start again.

Inner work is part of the job. It's a personal development course you didn't realise you signed up for. A business won't grow beyond the capacity of the person running it. If nothing changes, nothing changes.

Add the word yet, and run experiments. "I'm no good at videos" becomes "I'm no good at videos yet". Business is one big experiment, so keep "I wonder..." in mind. There's no such thing as failing, just lessons learned.

You become the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with. The spiritual path can be lonely, and so can the business path. Find business friends who truly understand what you're going through.

Make business friends with Zoom tea or coffee dates. Reach out to people you meet at workshops, people you get to know through Instagram, or someone you met ages ago and still have their number.

Find a mentor. A mentor is an experienced guide who has walked the path you're on. Your Local Enterprise Office, membership groups, YouTube mentors and Audible authors all count.

Think it through with someone. Having someone to share your ideas with, who shows you other perspectives and asks questions, helps you move forward more easefully than going in circles on your own.

Business is a skillset, not a personality trait. Many holistic practitioners avoid business and tech skills because they feel icky or hard. That's a big mistake, because you need business skills to run a business. If you haven't learned them yet, that's not a flaw.

Solid foundations give you confidence. Avoidance creates anxiety. When you don't have a handle on your income and expenses, your business doesn't feel legit yet.

Register as a sole trader with Revenue, and get your insurance in place. OBF, Burke Insurance, Brian Mullins and Balens are all options.

Open a Revolut Pro account. Set up a paypal.me link to send to clients, and keep track of your income, expenses and receipts.

A 1-hour session is not just 1 hour. Price for your overheads (tech subscriptions, insurance, accreditation, accounting fees), the training you've paid for, and the time you spend administering each client.

Work out your basic living expenses, plus some extra. Then either work part-time to cover them while you build your business, or don't quit your job until your business consistently covers them. Security and safety come first.

Your modality can help everyone, but you can't market to everyone. When you're speaking to everyone, you're speaking to no one.

A niche is a problem, not a demographic. Niche is the French word for nest. Working mothers in their 40s are not all the same, so choose a specific problem a group of people have, one your work is very effective with.

People buy solutions to real problems. Your problem needs to be specific, something real humans are struggling with and willing to pay to solve.

Niching makes everything easier. You become known as an expert, you feel more confident, clients trust a specialist, and marketing gets simple because you know who you're speaking to.

Ask what people google for help with. Your niche is where what you're passionate about helping with meets what people will pay for. You may love your idea, but if there's no demand, it won't sell.

Your offer is the transformation you provide. Draw two boxes: before working with me, and after working with me. Get them crystal clear.

Say it in one sentence. I help [people] struggling with [problem] to achieve [result] via [method].

Offer single sessions and packages. A single session is a low-commitment way to find out if you're a fit before either of you commits to a package.

Manage expectations. Tell people in advance that 4 to 6 sessions are recommended to see results. Holistic therapies work incrementally, not like pharmaceutical medicines.

Talk about benefits, not features. A benefit is better sleep. A feature is 90-minute sessions. Give your offer a name, try it and change it in a few weeks, and skip the expert-speak. Use language that normal people understand.

Map the client journey and experience. Onboarding, follow-up, feedback and boundaries (your rules of operation) are all part of it. Map the whole journey from first enquiry to after the last session.

Systematise your admin. You'll feel more confident and less drained. Client notes, booking, payment and reminders all need a system.

Ask for testimonials and referrals. Ask for feedback while the experience is fresh, and ask permission to use it. A great client experience leads to referrals, testimonials and repeat bookings, so give happy clients a link they can send to their friends.

Build your inner circle. For working locally, a WhatsApp group for holistic therapists to post announcements. If you work online with people, an email list becomes your inner circle, and a welcome email sequence helps new subscribers get to know you.

If people can't find you, they can't work with you.

A website is like building your house. Start very simple, and keep it easy to edit, because lots of your business isn't nailed down yet. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Build it on Google Sites. Fancy branding and fancy websites are best done when things are more settled, and you know what you're about and have solid offers. Your first website only needs to be good enough for now.

Write the words first. Put your website words into a document before you build. Decide which pages you want, and note examples of websites you like and don't like, and why.

Create your Google Business Profile. It helps you be found on Google by the people searching for the help you provide. Expect a learning curve with the tech, and allow time and patience.

Business grows through relationships. If you're not actively connecting, you're relying on luck by hoping strangers find you.

Connect generously. Helpful, generous connection builds referrals, visibility, and trust. Peers, collaborators, groups, past clients and community networks, online and offline, are all part of it.

Short-term marketing is client-getting. Send an offer, post your availability, follow up with someone, or run a local intro event.

Longer-term marketing is discoverability and authority. Google Business listings, blog posts, guest features, podcast guesting and PR. Run both short-term and longer-term, so you attract clients now and build long-term opportunities too.

Choose marketing that plays to your strengths. When it connects to your purpose, it's a natural extension of your mission, not a chore. Visibility isn't shouting. It's resonance.

Social media is just one marketing tool. Don't use it as your sole source of business.

It gives you immediate feedback. What you post is a good way to gather data on what people are interested in.

It's a space to practise. Writing and making videos is the only way you become more proficient. Think of it as evolving out loud. The very act of expressing your ideas makes them clearer and helps you know what you're most passionate about sharing.

Watch the downsides. It can leave you feeling fried, with an over-activated nervous system. It can be a black hole of time and energy. And comparison can make you feel less than.

Start with your bio. Then look at collaborations and shout-outs to get new eyes on your work.