How I got started in the stress management business
I got into the stress management business about 20 years ago, but had first become interested in stress many years before, while working in social work in the 1980s. At that time, I had colleagues who became seriously ill; one with a mental illness, one with cancer. I suspected that, in both cases, stress had played a part in the onset of their illness. Both had experienced severe and prolonged work-related stress and one had also been bullied at work. This piqued my interest and I ended up doing a major project on stress for a management diploma I was studying in evening classes at the time.
I became fascinated by the topic and ultimately I ended up going back to university as a mature student to study psychology. Then, when I had the chance to specialize, I decided to focus on stress management. After I qualified, I couldn't find the job I wanted to, so I became self-employed and set out on my own as a consultant. (This isn't the only route into stress management as a business - there are many routes.)
I had no idea what I was doing in business. I was pretty clueless, at least at first...
But I was determined to make a go of it. Over a couple of years, I found a business partner and then we joined up with another partnership to form a company.
We struggled. A lot. And one of the main reasons was that we didn't know what we were selling. Hence we tried all sorts of things, some of which were frankly embarrassing looking back. It took us three years before we worked out what our business was really about, and that turned out to be stress management training. By this time, we had used up all our funding. We had to work without being paid for several months and then only gradually could we increase our pay. As I said, painful.
Slowly we started to get better and make some money. It was a good feeling!
A key turning point was when we started to find ways of marketing our business that were highly effective. At that time it was mainly through email marketing and running events (which remain highly effective strategies if handled correctly). It wasn't particularly clever. But we found a formula, a business development process, that worked, and we kept on using it. Our business grew, at first slowly but then in leaps and bounds. It became profitable. We were able to pay ourselves a bit more, and eventually a lot more.
By the time I left that business in 2006 (business, a bit like marriage, can sometimes end in divorce - it happens and is all part of the learning process), it was doing very well. Since then I've developed a few businesses, including a university spin out company. My current business, Work-Life Solutions, is doing very well. It's profitable and we have some great clients. Stress management is a great business to be in.
Which brings me on to what I've learned (painfully)...
It's all about marketing and business development
If you want to develop a profitable and sustainable stress management business, you have to learn about marketing and business development. You have to apply that knowledge and those skills to generate leads and convert them into clients. In particular, you need to find and apply a business development process that works for your kind of business. Without these skills you just can't grow.
Lots of people want to get into this business (which is great by the way - there's a great need and even bigger market). Many are already involved in stress management but too big a proportion are really struggling to make enough money to live on. And that Includes highly qualified and capable professionals. Often, they have great ideas, products and services but don't know what to do to market them effectively. They haven't learned about how to follow a business development process to win large contracts.
This is where I can help. I've been in this business a long time. I've made a lot of mistakes but have learned an awful lot. And I'd like to pass this knowledge on to the next generation of stress management entrepreneurs.
I'd like to help you avoid the stupid business mistakes I made. I'd also like to help you improve your marketing, so that you can grow faster and be able to sustain that growth. I'd like to help you make more money, more quickly.
Maybe I can help you grow your business?
At the moment, the main way I'm doing that is by offering a business mentoring and coaching service. If you want to find out more about this, check out my business mentoring page. But I'll be developing some new business development products and services through the next few months. In the meantime, you might also like to check out my stress management business articles.
Good luck with your ventures. If you think I could help you develop and grow, I'd love to hear from you.
Best wishes
Alan Bradshaw, Business Psychologist
I became fascinated by the topic and ultimately I ended up going back to university as a mature student to study psychology. Then, when I had the chance to specialize, I decided to focus on stress management. After I qualified, I couldn't find the job I wanted to, so I became self-employed and set out on my own as a consultant. (This isn't the only route into stress management as a business - there are many routes.)
I had no idea what I was doing in business. I was pretty clueless, at least at first...
But I was determined to make a go of it. Over a couple of years, I found a business partner and then we joined up with another partnership to form a company.
We struggled. A lot. And one of the main reasons was that we didn't know what we were selling. Hence we tried all sorts of things, some of which were frankly embarrassing looking back. It took us three years before we worked out what our business was really about, and that turned out to be stress management training. By this time, we had used up all our funding. We had to work without being paid for several months and then only gradually could we increase our pay. As I said, painful.
Slowly we started to get better and make some money. It was a good feeling!
A key turning point was when we started to find ways of marketing our business that were highly effective. At that time it was mainly through email marketing and running events (which remain highly effective strategies if handled correctly). It wasn't particularly clever. But we found a formula, a business development process, that worked, and we kept on using it. Our business grew, at first slowly but then in leaps and bounds. It became profitable. We were able to pay ourselves a bit more, and eventually a lot more.
By the time I left that business in 2006 (business, a bit like marriage, can sometimes end in divorce - it happens and is all part of the learning process), it was doing very well. Since then I've developed a few businesses, including a university spin out company. My current business, Work-Life Solutions, is doing very well. It's profitable and we have some great clients. Stress management is a great business to be in.
Which brings me on to what I've learned (painfully)...
It's all about marketing and business development
If you want to develop a profitable and sustainable stress management business, you have to learn about marketing and business development. You have to apply that knowledge and those skills to generate leads and convert them into clients. In particular, you need to find and apply a business development process that works for your kind of business. Without these skills you just can't grow.
Lots of people want to get into this business (which is great by the way - there's a great need and even bigger market). Many are already involved in stress management but too big a proportion are really struggling to make enough money to live on. And that Includes highly qualified and capable professionals. Often, they have great ideas, products and services but don't know what to do to market them effectively. They haven't learned about how to follow a business development process to win large contracts.
This is where I can help. I've been in this business a long time. I've made a lot of mistakes but have learned an awful lot. And I'd like to pass this knowledge on to the next generation of stress management entrepreneurs.
I'd like to help you avoid the stupid business mistakes I made. I'd also like to help you improve your marketing, so that you can grow faster and be able to sustain that growth. I'd like to help you make more money, more quickly.
Maybe I can help you grow your business?
At the moment, the main way I'm doing that is by offering a business mentoring and coaching service. If you want to find out more about this, check out my business mentoring page. But I'll be developing some new business development products and services through the next few months. In the meantime, you might also like to check out my stress management business articles.
Good luck with your ventures. If you think I could help you develop and grow, I'd love to hear from you.
Best wishes
Alan Bradshaw, Business Psychologist
