Unusual Business - Opinions Wanted Please

[sydney]

I am looking for opinions and ideas from people here, thanks


I have had a great deal of success over the last 10 years working as an alternative psychological therapist.
I have managed to cure a range of health and performance issues such as phobias and addictions and
even issues that you wouldn't expect to have a psychological basis.
I have done this for free with friends rather than for money.
I typically get great results in far less time than one would reasonably expect.
I work with a range of tactics and techniques but there is one technique that I focus on.
I don't have what most people would consider "Proper Qualifications"
I'm not a recognised Psychologist or Doctor.

I have given up on the idea of making a living from this [which is ironic as what I give people is obviously worth money] but i'm really keen to promote this therapy to
other people & organisations as there are thousands of people that could learn this technique and greatly improve their lives.
I have never found anything that does so much good with so little time invested.

I have written to many organisations ,I have my own website ,put ads in the local newspaper.done Youtube videos, constantly talk to people about it but never get anywhere very much.

I believe that I can greatly improve peoples lives and even save lives by getting what I do more widely known so it's
very frustrating.

My question is.

How do you break through the conservatism?
I want to promote myself to charities and community organisations so as to help more people.
What's the best way to do this?

[Blessed]

...How do you break through the conservatism?
I want to promote myself to charities and community organisations so as to help more people.
What's the best way to do this?

It's really simple - you get involved in the framework that is already there, help meet needs that are already there, fill jobs that are already there and eventually if what you have to offer is different/better/etc... you will have established a relationship and reputation and can offer it. Then word gets around and then your business grows. It's not something simple marketing can do - you need to earn some respect from those you are trying to reach out to.

[Harold Mansfield]

Well...there are obviously people in fields like this that aren't licensed or have formal educations. To answer your question, most people consider proper qualifications education and a medical license. But that doesn't mean there's not a huge market in alternative treatments and therapies. You already know there is.

I'll leave the legalities of it to you. I'm sure by now you already know what you are allowed to call yourself and what you aren't.
You will probably never break through the conservatism of the medical or psychology industry, but as long as you aren't presenting yourself as one I don't see that being an issue.

My suggestion to you would be to write a book. It would be the first step to creating at least some perceived credibility, and if it sells anything it would create some actual credibility.
Hit the speaking circuit and speak to whoever you can who is interested in hearing what you have to say. Strip mall book store to PTA meetings. If you truly believe in what you are doing and that it will help people, you're not going to be able to sit back and wait for people to find you. You're going to need to take it to the people and tell them about it. A book is the first step in doing that and it can reach more people if it gets any traction.

Just my opinion of course.

[huggytree]

id focus on word of mouth

advertise in alternative medicine stores.....

regular avenues wont work for you since you dont have a medical license


do you think your methods are better than a licensed professionals? or just cheaper?

what things that you do makes it better?

what you call breaking through conservatism may be more breaking through common sense.......

there are too many scams out there and being unlicensed makes you a scammer to 95% of the population

find the receptive 5% or change your methods to look less like a scam (the receptive 5% may not have any $$ to give you)


i also agree about writing a book...if your methods work then 100's of thousands will buy it for $20 and fix themselves

[cathyc100]

I am no lawyer, but obviously there are a lot of people in the "self-help" industry. Look at guys like Tony Robbins he didn't have a degree and used different types of methods not necessarily his own. You should definitely want to check to see if there are any legal issues before doing this for money. Once you do it for money just be honest with your clients and make sure they understand what you're offering and that you are not licensed. Best of luck to you.

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[imodouglas]

I believe the book idea goes well and also success stories from pervious clients. Videos of other people talking about how you helped them goes a long way. Those are the most reliable way(I think) to start selling yourself.

[sydney]

Thanks very much to everyone for your opinions , you make some good points.

I guess my problem is looking at things too much through my own eyes or looking at the world through "Me coloured glasses"

I have always been someone that would give most things a try and i'm very open minded to considering new ideas but everyones not like that!
As far as i'm concerned my only question is "Does it work?"

Also I think it's a supply and demand issue.
There are only a limited number of open minded people it seems and plenty of people like me claiming to have the answer.

So I will continue to help where I can

[Harold Mansfield]

Thanks very much to everyone for your opinions , you make some good points.

I guess my problem is looking at things too much through my own eyes or looking at the world through "Me coloured glasses"

I have always been someone that would give most things a try and i'm very open minded to considering new ideas but everyones not like that!

An important quality to have it you go into business for yourself. Many things will take you out of your comfort zone.


As far as i'm concerned my only question is "Does it work?"

Ah! That's the thing. I know you, like MANY other people, want assurances that any money you spend, and everything you try will retaurn concrete positive results that you can depend on. Unfortunately, that doesn't exist. Being in business is one risk after another until you get a formula down.

The best you can do is learn as much as you can about what you are doing, and use the knowledge to execute in the best possible way for your particular business and the demographic that you are targeting. There are no assurances but one thing for sure, it won't be successful if you don't try or give up. That IS a definite.

When we give you advice it's based on our own experiences of successes and failures...or in my case and others like me the successes of work and strategies we've done for others and just common sense learned over the years.

As a small business owner most times you don't have access to the tools or the resources to run everything through a focus group, so most times you're just trusting your gut based on what you've learned, observed from others, and taking a leap.


You will have failures, but you can keep them to a minimum by learning about what you are doing. If all you do is spend wildly , jumping from one idea to another and never learning anything along the way, most of your executions will fail.