Teleclasses Add Value on SO Many Levels

What are Teleclasses?  Quite simply - learning on the phone!

These days the technology is simple to use and generally free of charge, so starting out is very easy.  It's like anything - the more you do them, the better you get at them.  So I just encourage people to start somewhere and then figure out the finer details once they are confident in delivering their messages over the phone.

Teleclasses have been around for ages but they are still not widely used by therapists and I really want to change that, simply because teleclasses are such an easy way to get your message to many more people.

The benefits of teleclasses are wide and varied but here are Top Ten I love the best:

1.  Amazingly cheap (no room hire or travel costs)

2.  Convenience (you don’t need to leave home)

3.  100% efficient use of your time (no need to factor in traffic or public transport)

4.  Location friendly (you can do them from home or the office or the beach!)

5.  You can work with a greater audience because it is not location specific - you just need a phone or broadband.

6.  Classes are recorded so your participants can listen again until they fully grasp the concepts

7.  You can sell the recordings on your website or create CD’s and create passive revenue streams

8.  You only need a landline telephone

9.  No fuss  - you can do the class in your pyjamas if you like

10. Its fun and easy!

Anyone can do it - well almost anyone!

If you want to know more about teleclasses you can go here 

I run regular classes so you may wish to jump on board and learn how and then start to find the benefits of running your own teleclasses for your community.  Click here for details of the next class

Healthy Marketing TeleSummit

I am going to be appearing at the Heathy Marketing Telesummit on the 14th September and it was wonderful to interview the creator of the program Krishna Everson. You can listen to the interview here:



The Heathy Marketing Telesummit will see ten marekting experts interviewed over six weeks and there will be a heap of great marketing ideas and concepts shared, all for free, to help natural therapists grow their business.

I trust you will be able to join us and in particular listen to my segment on the 14th of September 2010 (whihc of course will be FABULOUS) where I'm going to be talking about Making Your Story Your Glory.

You have to register on the website so you will receive all the information regarding the calls and how to get on them.

Hear you on a call soon! 

Don't forget to register at the website www.HealthyMarketingTelesummit.com

Do you want to be a chocolate, cheese and freedom mouse?

There has been a bout of pull-out-it-is in my practice the last few weeks. 

We often don’t notice trends until they start happening more regularly and the time frame between incidents start to shorten.

I’ve had two clients wanting to pull out of sessions this week and a bout of pull-out-it-is a few weeks ago on workshops. Too many to ignore and enough to call a trend. 

So I sat down to figure out what was causing this because if I’m getting it there

a) a message for me

b) a message my people (that’s you) can learn from

I think I’ve finally sussed it out. 

It’s the new energy asking us to step up to new levels.

This month for the first time I taught Masters. It was one of my most joyous teaching experiences. However, my biggest learning from the weekend was that my pot cupboards had to get rearranged. The current set up was a logistical nightmare but on a higher level I was being called to step up and get ALL my small details sorted. 

As you know once you start moving one thing – everything needs to change and I now have a very practical purpose designed new desk (not the folding barbeque table a friend gave me eight years ago when I literally had no money to buy anything). I also have new storage shelves in the admin office and am fighting the good fight with the resident mouse before the pot cupboard can get sorted.

The mice are of course part of my lesson. You know when you get small irritating things turning up in your life – you need to take care of the small things = DUH moment!

I bought this fancy “mice device” that humanly traps the mouse and then you take him somewhere safe and set him free. This thing is the Rolls Royce of mouse catchers at $25. I have released one little mouse and left him with 4 organic almonds and a piece of cheese to help him on his journey.

His buddy though is proving more elusive. The treats are getting more extravagant in the “mice device” and now include aged cheddar and chocolate ….BUT he’s not having a bar of that and is still pooping all over the kitchen.

I’ve just had a break point where I stood in the kitchen shouting – “it’s the chocolate, the cheese and freedom OR it’s the cheese in the old fashioned trap – YOUR CHOICE BUDDY!”

All the people who have been wanting to pull out of coaching sessions or workshops have all had good excuses. They haven’t done their homework, they have been sick, busy, had kid stuff on, had conflicting appointments, were down for no reason blah blah blah on went the excuses.

Bless them they made me step up and write back and give them a kick up the butt and remind them that the magic occurs in the dark times and in the hard places. These are the times the coaching will really work for them.

Yes, as a coach its great when the client turns up and it’s all love and light and everything is perfect. BUT I know for a fact that my very best learning experiences have come when I’ve showed up in those times when I didn’t feel great and in some instances when I really “should” have stayed at home. It’s the same for clients and workshop attendees – they get the best results if they have suffered a bit to show up.

I was to be seen at an event in Colorado passed out on the floor at the back from jetlag and exhaustion – but would I go to my room for a nana nap. NO because I knew I would still be in the energy of that room and picking something up.

The new energy we are moving into is bringing challenge and change with it. What I’m noticing is that it is challenging at the really basic levels, like cleaning up the pot cupboards. It is also asking us to show up in the hard places and deal with our dark side – those icky yucky horrible emotions and fears that we would rather not deal with.

Here is the segue to the mouse, the cheese and chocolate – you knew it was coming :-)

In the end the winners will be the ones who run into the arms of the people who are there to help them and care enough to have the humane trap lined with cheese and chocolate. 

They are the ones who are prepared to stand up, own their past mistakes, be seen as they truly are and be rewarded with freedom at the end of a scary experience.

However, those who keep pooping in the corner, not showing themselves fully to everyone around them and thinking they can live in an old paradigm will perish. Staying in your safe little hiding places where no one can find you will annoy someone to the point where they simply close the door on your behaviour.

You and your practice are the same. If you continue to hide behind your fears and lack of confidence, refusing to accept your greatness, in the end people are going to get sick of you and will just wipe you out of their life.

I also had someone step up to one of my high end programs today. She came onto the call stating she was sitting on the fence and she was sick of it. I reminded her that people who sit on the fence waiting for the right time to make their move will end up with one thing – pickets up their bum!

I’m really starting to understand this new energy demands us to go to the next level or get off the fence. Yes I know how hard it is to face who you really are. I’ve gone from the wimpy quiet and reserved beige girl in the corner (that no one ever noticed) to someone who is really out there now. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of nuts and guts but the rewards when they come are HUGE in every sense.

All I did to change my reality was to make a choice to change and I learnt from people who had taken a similar road to one I wanted to travel. I kept showing up even when I didn't want to. I took their advice and I took the actions they recommended. That's all.

Maybe its time for you to figure out which mouse you are. The one choosing to show up fully in the humane trap with the chocolate and the cheese or are you content to continue scurrying around the edges, hiding and setting yourself up for a nasty big bang.

This was just going to be a quick reminder for those interested in learning to teach teleclasses but it has turned into a great article with nothing to do with teleclasses. 

BUT if you want to be a chocolate and cheese mouse and run into the arms of someone who will help you step up and learn a new skill that will add another revenue stream to your business on your terms – check it out here

Amazing Things to Learn From a “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell (Audio)

You can now listen to my newsletter article here or download the file to your favourite mp3 player - I trust you take me somewhere interesting :-)



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I’ve found the best and easiest way to get clients is to interact personally with them by using small workshops and talks to grow your business BUT that is not always possible. You could be limited by distance, time, confidence or the funds to start your first live workshop. Your message might still be too murky to speak in public, but what I’ve found is that everyone knows something about something.

So the second best way is to run a workshop or course that interacts with people on the phone.

They are called teleclasses and are basically “learning on the phone”.

Read the full newsletter here

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches of 2010

I did a great teleclass this week with Kendall SummerHawk and Richard Shapiro and they shared what's Hot and What's NOT in niches or what my system calls YOUR WHO - the group of people you market to, so you can easily get more clients and make more money with love.

I was very interested in what they reported on the call from their research because I've found what they reported to be true from my own experiences and those of my clients.

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches at the moment are products and services that meet needs in:

1. Small Business owners and Entrepreneurs

2. Marketing (Anything that genuinely helps people get more clients)

3. Relationships

4. Executive Coaching which is industry focused

5. Health, Wellness and Beauty

Their research, drawn from their experiences with clients and industry sources, has shown that people continuing to offer products and services in these five areas are doing the best out of everyone, even in a diminished economy.

Then they listed what areas are not doing well or are swamped with people offering vague results to people who don't want or need or won't pay for those offerings.

What's NOT HOT is

1. Life Balance

2. Services to teachers

3. Vague services offering more confidence, more joy

4. Mom-prenuers because they tend to spend money on everyone else but themselves

I was really interested to hear their findings because I've noticed very similar things. All the people I see that have been able to keep going and keep their businesses alive and often thriving in the last 12 months have been active in the top 5 categories WITH a highly defined WHO & WHAT.

Kendall and Richard said the real achievers are combining the top 5 to make powerhouse niches - the example they gave was a beauty therapist who offered high end beauty services to small business owners.

There are people who are doing well in the What's NOT HOT list but in general I find those people have specific products that solve very specific problems - one client had great luck getting into schools - others report its just a dead end because of time and budgetary constraints on the teaching industry in general. So if you are doing well in those areas - don't stop - if not maybe try to figure out how you can fit what you are already doing into the What's Hot list.

It was a great call and a warning to those who continue to offer flakey bakey service offerings to people who don't want and need what you have on offer.

Success awaits those who are prepared to own a niche, be shameless in their want and need to be successful and who are willing to do what it takes and take the actions that put you in front of your audience.

Is your business suitable for the pen or the pot?

As I stood viewing the myriad of community notices on the gigantic notice board at the Hepburn General Store last week, one rough hand written notice jumped out.

Firstly it horrified me. Then it got me to thinking further about the deeper message for small business owners that was imbedded in this hastily written give away.

When I was a small child the chickens down the back in the hen house where my only pets. So I was always sad around Christmas time because they “went on holiday”.

This holiday always coincided with me being taken to my grandmothers for a special treat. Now here’s the thing - when I’d get home the chickens had packed their bags and “gone on holiday’ - leaving the hen house silent and empty with feathers all over the back lawn.

I always imagined they were having a nice time because they inevitably never came back and a few weeks later the cycle began again as 12 little fluffy yellow peepers were collected from a local farm.

You can imagine my horror when I joined the dots on the holiday lie and our Christmas dinner offerings!

The fate of my chicken friends all came flooding back as I read the sign at the Hepburn General Store:

TO GIVE AWAY = ROOSTERS
(for the pen or the pot)

As I walked the two blocks back to my house my mind began to think through the “pen or pot” analogy and why it was so relevant for business.

The reality of being in a small business draws many parallels to the harsh reality of life in the country.

In a small business if we don’t serve the needs of those around us we can quickly find ourselves in a pot of boiling water.

However, if we do serve well and can creatively communicate our message out to a group of people who want and need our services, then we will live a long prosperous life.

Roosters are like natural therapists. They walk a fine line because just like roosters a big new batch of therapists roll out of the teachings schools each year. Sadly only a small percentage will survive.

The big thing roosters and new therapists have in common is that they look similar, they talk the same and they do similar things. Until they develop a point of difference they are dispensable.

Most flocks only need one rooster because they start fighting for domination.

However, the one who gets chosen for the pen is NOT usually the one who fights the best but the one who has the best personality and can show it.

Foxy the Rooster dominated the hen house on the edge of my property for many years is a grand example.

Foxy was a stunning looking rooster with a flowing auburn bouffant mane. He kept the gals happy, crowed with great gusto and bore a striking resemble to Tina Turner in the way he would strut around the Hen Hilton.

But a dark cloud came over the pen one when day two voices started to crow…………

Foxy had bred a rival and this interloper was now brave enough to start showing his true colours and he was starting to unmercifully beat up on Foxy.

Foxy who was getting on in years now became frightened, and cowered in the corner whilst this newbie took over his “rutting and strutting” duties.

BUT because Foxy had served so well and was so full of personality it was the interloper who was removed unceremoniously from the pen, placed in a cardboard box and delivered to a local farm to take his chances in the pen or pot race.

Foxy recovered in minutes and was back in the role of "Prince of the Pen" and reigned supreme for many years to come.

Foxy was a winner on five levels because he:

1. Delivered on his promises and could be relied upon by all in his kingdom

2. Built relationships in and around his pen (we all loved Foxy)

3. Was not afraid to show his vulnerable side (he was a real wimp)

4. Stood out from the crowd with his beautiful auburn coat of many colours and consistently and clearly churned his message (crowed all hours except dawn)

5. Outsmarted the competition by simply being his wimpy self but his heart and authenticity saved him on many occasions.

Therapies can learn a lot from Foxy!

By being authentic and real, figuring out what makes you unique and then standing strong in your message and your ability to clearly communicate that message to others will help you stand out from the crowd and show how different you are from the competition.

Even if you are a wimp cowering in the corner, these whimpy virtues can be enough of a difference todetermine your entry to the pen or pot.

In business things can move quickly. Technology changes, trends change, new laws can impact or even just keeping up with your every day marketing AND seeing clients can become exhausting.

But if you have built strong relationships with your clients you will find they are loyal so long as you keep giving and improving your service to them.

One way of standing out from the crowd is learning to speak in public. In fact it’s imperative to your success. The gentle art of creating good stage presence in fact saved Foxy’s life on every level.

I am running a f*r*e*e Teleseminar

Wednesday 11 August 2009 at 8pm (Melbourne Time)

to promote my live event called Your Next BIG Leap which commences in 10 days.

There is only ONE seat left for the live event - jump in here if you want to jag it

BUT there is a heap of space on the free teleclass for everyone so jump in here and register now so you get the workbook and the audio recording.

How to Avoid Ending Up Burnt Out & Broke When Organising Your Event

Events are a wonderful way to get your message out to a larger audience and also to start positioning yourself as an expert in your chosen field.

What I have worked out is that events are risky at best and you MUST know what you are doing or you will lose your blouse on an event and end up with tears before bedtime!

Many find the thought too daunting and never have a go because there is so much to learn and do and......well......it does involve the one thing most would rather die than do, which is public speaking. We are not saying there isn’t a lot to learn and do but if you are prepared to follow a process and do some early leg work, then the rewards on every level can be huge.

Like everything the answer is to start early and to start small and take on the challenges in bite sized chunks.

Samantha Richardson and my good self ran a teleclass last night that gave some quick and dirty tips and strategies to help you gain the confidence to get your own events started.

“The action happens at the front of the room”
Margaret Gill, Abundant Private Practices

When I first started out in my small business I knew I had to network but I was totally useless at it. As it turns out this became a wonderful strength because it made me realise that at a networking event you are very lucky to get ten people knowing what you do but everyone goes home knowing who the speaker is. That realisation changed my life and still today I rarely go to networking events in any other capacity than the speaker (yes, I’m still a rubbish networker!),

I went from someone who was petrified of speaking to someone who loves to speak in front of an audience.

The biggest thing I learnt was the importance of clarity. We discuss this on the audio below.

The audio will also give you the following three marketing tips you can use to start to put bums on seats at events

1. The importance of building a strong database

2. What are affiliates and how can they help get people to your events

3. How to leverage other people’s events to get exposure for your event and still have the event organiser love you

But please burn Sam's wise words into your brain because these tips are only meant to be a taster - there is a whole lot more you need to know.

“There is no one way to get lots of people to an event
but there are lots of ways to get one person to an event”
Samantha Richardson, Evolution Events

You can listen to the audio here:


MP3 File

If you feel you are ready to take the next big step you will love our live event YOUR NEXT BIG LEAP which is running in Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane – you can find out more here. http://yournextbigleap.eventbrite.com/

If you live in Adelaide don't forget we are speaking at two networking events at the end of May 09 more details here

Oh and BTW - little Harry was just fine, although he did spend the next few days looking like an extra from a Rocky movie - he has hopefully learnt about playing in games with your big brother - the injury factor grows! You will understand when you listen to the audio.

Serious About Success Makes Its Debut in the Northern Hemisphere

Have you ever had a secret dream of world domination (in the nicest possible way of course!).

Well I have had that dream ever since I learnt that you could have an international business that consisted of a phone, a laptop and an internet connection.

That dream came a step closer this week as I completed the very first Serious About Success teleclass with my new Associate Mentor, Elaine Copeland (left), who lives in Sussex England. We were joined by the lovely Wendy who is an early adopter and the very first northern hemisphere participant. We thought that was worth celebrating, so you can listen in on the call and hear us talking about the program.

One day I will get used to the fact that it is first thing in the morning there and I need to stop saying its the evening (just because it is for me!)

Listen here

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You can find out more about the Serious About Success Program here: http://www.abundantprivatepractices.com/success.html

We have Serious About Success programs starting downunder and upover so we will have a place for you now no matter where you live in the world!

It is amazing when your dreams start coming true. If I have been able to do it - anyone can because my learning curve has been massive.

To make the dream happen you just need to get the right knowledge and support and put the learning into action and be prepared to stay in the game and not whimp out and one day you wake up like I did today and realise one aspect of the dream is happening - GO THE DREAM!!

Business Stardom - How to Use the Stars to Be a Star

Audio of Business Stardom - How to Use the Stars to Be a Star Teleseminar 30/10/08

Not very many people know that everything has an Astrology chart including your business.

Many think Astrology is a bunch of mumbo jumbo but I just ask those people to have a look at the effect the moon has on the tides and then understand that most of us are made up of water. It is no co-incidence that emergency rooms and police cells are chaos during a full moon.

So to understand our Astrology and that of our business gives us an edge in the marketplace.

I’m not talking about the general astrology you get in trashy magazines and daily newspapers, I’m talking about the kind of Astrology that has been studied and observed by scholars for thousands of years.

This teleseminar co-hosted by myself, Margaret Gill and Leonie Marks was designed to help people see how Astrology can impact a chart and the learning that can come from the stages our business goes through.



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The First 15 Things You MUST Have On Your Web Site

My October 08 MOSH Pit Guest GURU was Gihan Perera of First Step Communications.

We had a great session with Gihan as he shared a lot of valuable information on

"The First 15 Things You MUST Have On Your Web Site"

You can listen to the call here:

Guest GURU October - Gihan Perera of First Step Communications
Interveiwed by Margaret Gill of Abundant Private Practices


MP3 File

Click here for a pdf of the 15 Things

You can learn more about Gihan here

How To Get On A Teleclass

I do a lot of my work on the phone and a lot of this work includes having a lot of people on the phone at once. This is called a "teleclass" or "teleseminar" or "teleconference" and we talk about "getting up onto a bridgeline" to get onto a call.

I'm always a bit amazed how people get bent out of shape when they think about using teleclass technology and bridgelines.

It is really dead easy.

So to help people I've created this 16 minute audio to talk you through the process using really basic language.

Mz Margz Talking about How To Get On A Teleclass

MP3 File

Please have a listen so it makes me feel ok about the 16 minutes I spent sitting in my office all alone talking to myself :-)

So turn on your speakers, click on the heart to start the recording and by the end I hope I will have convinced you to at least have a go.

The Benefits of Using Teleclasses in Your Business

Teleclasses are a great way to add new revenue streams to your business, but very few holistic practitioners are actually running them. Certainly it is an uphill battle to make people understand how easy teleclasses are to participate in and run but that little bit of extra effort is well worth the reward.

Even if you just ran one per month with 10 participants paying $50 each – that extra $500 per month equates to an extra $6,000 per annum. Teleclasses could pay for that overseas trip you thought you couldn't afford.

The benefits of teleclasses are many but here are Top Ten I love the best:

1. Amazingly cheap (no room hire or travel costs)

2. Convenience (you don’t need to leave home)

3. 100% efficient use of your time (no need to factor in traffic or public transport)

4. Location friendly (you can do them from home or the office or the beach!)

5. Full interaction of participants

6. Classes are recorded so your participants can listen again until they fully
grasp the concepts

7. You can sell the recordings on your website or create CD’s and create passive revenue streams

8. You only need a landline telephone

9. No fuss - you can do the class in your pyjamas if you like

10. Its fun and easy!

Check out my website to learn what teleclasses I have on offer.