Episode 329: 5 Things to Do to Grow Your Private Practice
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
This episode is for practitioners who want more from their private practice but aren’t sure where to start. Learn the methods Erin uses to guide herself through seasons of growth and development. These practices are tried and true, and we hope you find success using them, too.
In this episode:
Why your brain limits growth (it’s not self sabotage) [5:36]
Clear space on your calendar for THIS growth hack [12:31]
The best way to increase value to your clients (and increase revenue) [21:03]
How to know if you need more continuing education or just business mentorship [25:04]
Erin’s DLS (Dirty Little Secret) of investing [41:19]
A practice to quantum leap your practice growth [45:54]
Resources mentioned:
Funk’tional Nutrition Academy™
Podcast Interview with Jessica Marx - It Took This 7 Figure Founder 8 years to make $100K with CEO of Funk’tional Nutritionist, Erin Holt
LMNT Electrolyte Replenishing powder (Use code FUNK get a free sample pack with any purchase!)
Qualia Senolytic (get up to 50% off and an extra 15% off your first purchase with link + code FUNKS)
Organifi supplement powder (save 20% on your order with code FUNK)
Ned Natural Remedies (get 20% off your order with code FUNK)
Learn more about Functional Nutrition & Strictly Biz
Related episodes:
309: IMPACT: A Non-Traditional Way to Build a Business
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Erin Holt [00:00:02]:
I'm Erin Holt, and this is the Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast, where we lean into intuitive functional medicine. We look at how diet, our environment, our emotions, and our beliefs all affect our physical health. This podcast is your full bodied, well rounded resource. I've got over a decade of clinical experience, and because of that, I've got a major bone to pick with diet culture and the conventional healthcare model. They're both failing so many of us. But functional medicine isn't the panacea that it's made out to be either. We've got some work to do, and that's why creating a new model is my life's work. I believe in the ripple effect.
Erin Holt [00:00:39]:
So I founded the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy, a school and mentorship for practitioners who want to do the same. This show is for you if you're looking for new ways of thinking about your health and you're ready to be an active participant in your own healing. Please keep in mind this podcast is created for educational purposes only and should never be used as a replacement for medical diagnosis or treatment. I would love for you to follow the show, rate, review, and share because you never know whose life you might change. And of course, keep coming back for more. Hello buddies. I've got another practitioner episode for you today. Are you ready? We're going to talk about the five things that you can do to grow your private practice.
Erin Holt [00:01:21]:
So if that is a goal of yours, then listen up, tune in, put your sneakers on, lace them up, go for a walk, pop me in your ears, let's go. This is really top of mind for me right now as we're enrolling new practitioners into the Funk'tional Nutrition Academy, because this is such a big goal for so many people. It's why they join FNA. They want to build, grow, or even scale their practice. So this is a lot of the conversations that we're having inside of FNA. And I like to say FNA shortcuts your path to a profitable and impactful practice. We're going to talk about that a little bit today. Ways to shortcut your path.
Erin Holt [00:01:56]:
That's the goal. If that's what you want to do, make a big impact with the work that you do and make a living, build wealth for yourself, then today's episode is going to be really helpful for you because we're going to talk about ways to expedite that process. And whether you want to make millions and move the masses or simply create more work life balance for yourself, FNA has the tools, the resources, and the support that you need. It's something that I really, really, really pride myself on because I'm kind of obsessed with ROI. Return on investment. There's different types of ROI. One of them, of course, is financial.
Erin Holt [00:02:30]:
And that is one of my goals for you is to help you earn back your investment by the end of FNA. And a lot of students are able to do that by month six of the program. I was just talking about this on Instagram yesterday, and I got a DM, like, hot off the press. I didn't even know this, but one of our students, who is five months into the program, she sent me this. I just did this with my course launch, the enrollment plus one on one client influx because of my messaging, and I hit 20k this month. So five months into the program, and she paid off the program in one month. And that's really what we want to get you to do if. If that's your goal.
Erin Holt [00:03:08]:
And by the way, if you're new to the show, hi. And you're not a practitioner, there are over 300 episodes of health related content that you can tuck and roll into. But today's really going to be for my practitioners who are looking to build their practice. So today I'm going to map out five specific things that you can do to grow your private practice. And this is based off of what I'm seeing in FNA. We've had over 100 students go through this program, practitioners go through this program. So I see some things, but then I am also doing business coaching and talking to a lot of entrepreneurs and colleagues in the space. So I just have a kind of good insight into some trends that we might be seeing and ways that I am actively positioning myself to grow my business.
Erin Holt [00:03:52]:
So I'll share those five things. I'm also going to talk about the concept of investing in your future self and talk about future self timelines. So make sure you stay to the end because we're going to get into some real good stuff. This is certainly not the first time that I've spoken into investing or even ROI here on the show, but today is going to be a little different because it's really, really easy to talk about the power of investing when you're on the other side of the investment and you're recouping that investment. Like, when you're actually seeing the ROI, it's so easy to be like, yeah, just invest in yourself. But right now, I am being called to make the biggest investment of my career, and I don't have evidence that there will be an ROI. So this is where I really have to tuck into faith and all of the limiting beliefs, all of the fears, all of the BS storylines, they're all coming up for me right now. So I thought this would be a really good time for me to speak into investing when I'm in an acute season of being really, really afraid to take the next big investment for myself.
Erin Holt [00:04:59]:
And I will share with you how I'm working through a lot of those limiting beliefs and storylines right now. So this is one of the episodes that you're going to want to listen to all the way through to the end and maybe even take some notes at the end, because I'll give you a little practice that you'll probably want to return to. All right, so let's get into it. Five things to do to grow your private practice in. Number one is mindset support. So, probably not a shock that I'm starting here. If you know my work, you know how big of a deal this is. You can't build something if you don't believe you can build something.
Erin Holt [00:05:36]:
Okay, let's just start there. So the limiting beliefs can and must be addressed in order for you to grow. And I've talked about this a lot. I believe that I've been able to build a very successful, very profitable, very impactful practice and business using a lot of strategy. But what I have found to be true is that strategy rarely works if there is a limiting mindset behind it. So here's the deal. Entrepreneurship. It's hard.
Erin Holt [00:06:07]:
It's hard. And also, it is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done and continues to be quite rewarding. So it's the type of hard that's worth it. But when you're in the shit, you need to be reminded of that fact. Remember, it's worth it. Remember, it's worth it. And so this is where it's helpful to build out some type of support system. Whether you take courses that help with your mindset or you hire a coach to help with your mindset, or you have a community of people that can rally around you, some type of mindset support is critical.
Erin Holt [00:06:42]:
Jessica Marx from the Millions Were Made Podcast refers to it as mental toughness. In order to be an entrepreneur, a business owner, a private practice owner, you need to have some degree of mental toughness. I she actually interviewed me on her podcast, and so I will link to that, that episode for you if you want to check it out. But so much of building a business or a private practice is personal growth and development. I am sure this is not the first time that you've heard this, but it's really important to understand. And it's not like the type of work where you just do it once and then you're all set. It's not like you get to the top of the mountain and then you're there just coasting. There's always another peak.
Erin Holt [00:07:22]:
And usually every time you're growing, evolving, changing, transforming, upleveling, there is usually more inner work that needs to be done. And that is just because of how our mind and our brains work. When we're taking steps toward any type of goal, any type of transformation, any type of up level, those limiting beliefs pop up. You know this. You know this because you've experienced it. And those limiting beliefs that pop up are essentially telling us why we shouldn't take steps forward, why we shouldn't do the thing that is going to lead to that goal. And there's a real clear cut reason for it. And it's not self sabotage.
Erin Holt [00:08:02]:
It's because the brain and the nervous system want to keep you exactly where you are because that is what it has deemed safe. I heard Kate Northrop describe it as the narrow band of reality that we've experienced before. That is actually where our brain is trying to keep us. And anything outside of that narrow band of reality, anything that is unfamiliar, is going to be labeled as unsafe. And your brain tries to keep you from doing the things that are unsafe. Your brain wants to keep you safe. So if you're trying to build, grow, scale your practice, if you're trying to do something you haven't done before, your brain is most likely going to label it as unsafe and come up with a whole host of reasons of why you shouldn't do that.
Erin Holt [00:08:50]:
So you have to have ways to override this. If you do actually want to, in fact, take your next step forward and work toward that up level, work toward that goal. If you want to grow, it's going to require growth. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is true. If you want to grow, it's going to require growth. Doing something different. You cannot get somewhere new doing the same things that you're doing right now, most likely. And so this is really top of mind for me right now, this whole concept, because of the FNA apps that I see coming through. So people applying for FNA, then the conversations that we're having, these limiting beliefs come up so much before you make a huge decision, like joining FNA and what I wish I could do, what I wish I could do for people when they're in this phase of like oh boy, should I? Shouldn't I? What I wish I could do for people and this is what I do for myself.
Erin Holt [00:09:47]:
And I'll tell you in a little while, I'll tell you how I do it for myself. What I wish I could do is plug them into the energy of their future self. Like actually take a plug and unplug it from their limiting beliefs in all of the mental mind chatter and plug them into where they will be in a few short months if they say yes. Because I actually get to see the future self of the people that do say yes, that do commit. And it is incredible. It's nothing short of incredible. This is a new post in our FNA community from a new student, Katie Brewer. She said in the first week and it's already worth the 20K.
Erin Holt [00:10:28]:
She said, is this magic? I'm part of the fall 2024 class. I just completed the pre work and I'm working through month one content and hot damn, this is the goods. I'm excited and honored to be here with all of you lovely ladies. So this is what we consistently see on our end. People work themselves through the limiting beliefs so that they can say yes, and then they're met with this like collective exhale on the other side of it of like I'm in the exact right place. I made the exact right decision. Now, the real trick with marketing and messaging, which will be point number three, by the way, is to get people to understand that or feel into that before they joined. And that's really our jobs as the business owners, as the private practice owners, as the marketers.
Erin Holt [00:11:13]:
We have to help people understand that beforehand so they actually make the investment, so they actually get the results. We have to remove as much doubt as we can. We have to remove as many of those limiting beliefs as we can. Now, I'm using FNA as an example, but it's important for you to understand that your clients are going through the very same thing themselves before they make an investment to work with you. So if you need to go back, hit that 15 second back button a few times and go back and listen to what I just said through the lens of your own customers. And you can even reverse engineer a time when you were really nervous to make an investment, but you did so anyway. And then on the other side of that was pure magic. But what did you need to do to talk yourself through those limiting beliefs that inevitably came up before you made a big jump forward because if you can do that for yourself, then you can do that for your clientele as well.
Erin Holt [00:12:10]:
And that's the whole thing that I say all of the time. You can only go as far and as deep with your clients as you've been willing and able to go yourself. So, to summarize, number one mindset support, because it is the gift that keeps on giving. And every single time you're at a new up level in your business, you will probably need different types of support. Number two is build your network. I know that the term networking can be a little cringy, but building your network is truly a key to growing your practice. And just what I've seen is that those who are unwilling to branch out of their current network tend to have the slowest or even just stalled out growth. I will admit that I'm a bit of an introvert, so networking is not something that comes very easily to me.
Erin Holt [00:12:57]:
But what I am seeing, especially lately as, as the company grows, as the business gets bigger, is that the type of support and resources I need, I actually can't find them in my own network. I have to go outside my own personal network to get the type of help and support that I need. So an example of this is I recently hired a consultant and she is entirely referral based. So I never even would have known about her, her services, her company, what they offer, if not for meeting her in a mastermind. So in a networking event, I realized that I had outgrown a lot of the coaches and the consultants that I had worked with previously, and so I really needed to go outside of my own network in order to receive the type of support that I was looking for in my company. And so that's really a goal of mine right now, to continue to expand my network. Again, not, not a natural networker. So this is definitely outside of my comfort zone.
Erin Holt [00:13:55]:
But like I said earlier, if you want to grow, it's going to require growth. This isn't advice I just give. Sometimes I actually have to take my own advice and do something different. So in a couple of weeks, I'm flying out to San Diego for a week long event with other female founders. Rachel and I are looking into some industry specific events that we can go to in the upcoming year. That's a big goal for me in the next year, is to do more events, to expand and to grow my network. And so I will share that advice with you as well. One thing I will say is this requires space on your calendar to do this.
Erin Holt [00:14:29]:
So I've been having more meetings with industry leaders, with colleagues. That requires time to do that. And I've always kind of deemed that as a frivolous use of my time. So it's requiring a reframe for me to understand, like, no, this is actually imperative for the growth of the company to build these networks and then really nurture those relationships as well. But beyond just the growth of the company, I've found that it's very helpful for my own mental health and my own mindset. So I think there can be a little bit of overlap here between number one and number two mindset and networking, because isolation is a pretty common feeling in entrepreneurship. It's something that we hear from practitioners all of the time, and it's something that is really highlighted in FNA testimonials. When I'm reviewing the videos from our grads, they, a lot of them really highlight the community piece as why they got so much out of the program.
Erin Holt [00:15:25]:
And here's why I think it's so crucial. When you're trying to change, you have to put yourself in the places and spaces where that new identity is normalized. So if you currently don't have a private practice and you want a private practice, being in community with people who own and run a private practice is really helpful for you to normalize what you're trying to create. You want to be in places where that type of growth, that type of expansion is the norm and not the outlier. So this is the benefit of joining a mastermind type group where you're in community with others doing similar stuff. So it's normalized, and therefore it feels less scary to you. It feels less risky to you. If you're just talking to the people that you know IRL in your life who are not taking big risks, who are not doing things against the norm, you're going to start to internalize some of their beliefs and start to label it as scary.
Erin Holt [00:16:24]:
Too out there, too risky. I shouldn't do this. So it's really important. And I'm speaking from experience. Can you hear the passion? I am speaking from experience that putting myself in places and spaces where the big goals, the big dreams were normalized allowed me to click in and access that for myself. That's why really building up the community aspect of FNA was so, so, so important to me. It reduces that isolation, but then it also helps to normalize big growth and expansion as well.
Erin Holt [00:19:11]:
Now, if you're like, how do I get started building a network? Think about this first. Who do you already know? Where are the spaces in the places you already know people? And are there anyone there doing similar stuff? So I have practiced yoga for a very, very long time, and I've been an active part of a lot of yoga communities. And so my very first, like, mini mastermind were people in my local community who had wellness businesses. And we would get together, there was three or four of us, and we would get together weekly, bi weekly, at a coffee shop, just to talk business. So again, it was normalizing what we were doing. So you can start with the people that you know, start with the community that you're already a part of. Later on, years later, I put a call out to Instagram saying, hey, does anybody in the local community want to start a mastermind? And again, I had four or five women that we would meet at a coffee shop.
Erin Holt [00:20:12]:
So you can start with your community. I would recommend coupling up or partnering up with people who are doing similar stuff and who have similar goals to you. And the last thing I'll say here, this is obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people don't do it. Make sure the people that are in your network, in your communities, know what you actually do. Because if they know that you help people with x, y, z, and they come in contact with somebody who is looking for that, they're going to share your name. And this is how we can start to organically build out our private practice. But if they don't know what you do, if they don't know how you can help because you're not communicating that, you're not articulating that, then that becomes a problem. And that is what's going to bring me to number three, which is airtight messaging. Ways to grow your practice.
Erin Holt [00:21:03]:
Number three, airtight messaging. Messaging is your ability to articulate your work's unique value. How do you help people? What is your value add? It is a way where we can essentially translate between the intangible ways you help people, because I know that there's so much magic that happens when people work with you, and it can be hard to articulate, but you have to take that intangible and make it tangible, use words, have ways to describe how you can help people. That's what messaging is. And again, it can be super, super challenging, but it's so important that we learn how to do this because this is what will help to build your practice. And that testimonial, that DM that I shared at the very beginning of this, where somebody said, I just made 20k with my course launch, she said the enrollment plus one on one client influx.
Erin Holt [00:22:06]:
Because of my messaging, because of my messaging. So nailing your messaging is critical. I have a five step process that I follow and teach to hone messaging. One of the big parts of this, one of the steps of the five step process is field research, market research. Talk to your people. Understanding what your clients needs are helps you understand how you can add value and articulate that value. So we're trying to get people from point a to point b. What is their point a and what is their point b? You have to know your ideal client.
Erin Holt [00:22:46]:
You have to know what their starting point is, and you have to really know and understand where they want to go. You have to know what they value. You have to know what they desire. You have to understand, deeply understand what is going on for them, what are they experiencing, and then how can you create a solution to solve for that? The only way to do this, the only way to understand our ideal clients is to talk to them. Have real life conversations so you can better understand the needs and the desires of the people that you want to serve. Establish deep connection with the people that you genuinely want to help. We cannot serve people that we don't understand. So have IRL conversations, discovery calls, talk to people through email.
Erin Holt [00:23:35]:
Post a question box on Instagram. Invite people into your DM's, whatever it takes. Start having those conversations now because this is what's going to help you craft and hone your messaging so it's airtight. You're talking to the exact right people and they know that you're talking exactly to them. I will also add that messaging is earned. What I'm about to say may surprise some of you that know my work because you know that I'm a very big fan of boundaries. But in the beginning, my recommendation is that you say yes more than you say no. I know the like the whole if it's not a hell yes, it's a hell no thing that comes later.
Erin Holt [00:24:18]:
That comes later when you're starting to refine things. But in the beginning, just say yes. Like shake hands and kiss babies. Build out your community. If you are looking for fast and rapid growth with your practice, say yes to it all. This is radically different advice than other people would give. I know this other business coaches would probably not say this, but this is what I believe is going to get you that fast and rapid growth. It's going to get you experienced.
Erin Holt [00:24:46]:
You're going to get to know people. You're going to get to know yourself, what you like, what you don't like. You're going to really do that market research. So you're going to understand the needs where people are suffering, where people are struggling. Have those conversations. Say yes to a lot and go for it. Number four is continuing education, which is kind of like, yeah, no duh. But there's two key points that I want to discuss here.
Erin Holt [00:25:10]:
One is that functional nutrition, functional medicine is a huge, growing field, and some people can see that as a threat to their growth and success just because there's more competition. Right? So more competition, potentially more threaten. But at the same time that this industry is growing, something else is growing, too. Consumers, customers, clients, they're getting more savvy with their investments. They want to invest in the things that will get them results. So this is where you can be a differentiator in your industry, is your ability to get your clients results. This is the number one thing that will grow your practice. So the question becomes, do you need more continuing education to do that? And I don't know that.
Erin Holt [00:25:59]:
I don't have that answer for you. Only you know that. I was recently interviewed by Jill Coleman on the Best Life podcast. It was an awesome conversation, so fun. We talked a lot about business and entrepreneurship, but she brought up this idea that she's a business coach, and she is a business coach for a lot of health coaches and fitness professionals. And so she'll often hear, well, when I have XYZ credentials, then I can start, or I just need to do more training, and then I can start. And she was talking about how that idea can really hold people back from just getting started, which I completely agree with. But then she said on the other side of the spectrum, she's seeing certain practitioners getting really mad that health coaches, people with less credentialing, less education, are out there starting these big practices, helping a lot of people.
Erin Holt [00:26:47]:
They're profitable, they're successful, and that can feel frustrated for somebody who's, like, very credentialed, has a ton of education. And so she was asking me, where do you stand on this? What is your viewpoint? And I'm like, honestly, I can see both sides. I can and I have. But with most things, it's probably somewhere in the middle. I definitely see people in this industry who are punching above their weight and probably don't have enough training to do what they're doing. But Jill's whole thing is like, won't the market just correct themselves? If somebody's punching above their weight, they're not going to get clients great results. And so they probably won't end up with, like, a big, booming, profitable, thriving practice. And I'm like, totally, absolutely, totally agree.
Erin Holt [00:27:32]:
The likelihood that they will keep getting clients is probably pretty low if they can't get their clients really phenomenal results. So that usually just like, takes care of itself. And then I also see folks with tons of credentials, tons of continuing education, but they just can't get their work out into the world. They can't get their medicine out into the world, and so they need more business coaching. It's not so much continuing education. They need more like business coaching, business mindset, that mindset support that we talked about in the beginning, they need maybe to build their network. So that's why I say only you really know what you need to move yourself forward.
Erin Holt [00:28:12]:
But this is one of the main reasons that we build so many factors into FNA. Yes, it's robust continuing education, but it's also clinical mentorship. It's also business mentorship. It's also business training. It's also mindset support because we kind of just need all of it. But if you're in a position where you're like, I do, I think I need some more continuing education, but there's so many options and I don't know which to choose. I would say choose the continuing ed that is going to help you get your clients the best results. That is the one that I would suggest that you do.
Erin Holt [00:28:46]:
If your goal is to grow your private practice, how can you get your clients the best results? My personal opinion is that it's less about credentialing and it's more about good clinical outcomes because good credentialing is probably not going to grow your practice, but good clinical outcomes absolutely will. So what are the programs that are going to help you do this? For me, it was less so when I, whenever I look at continuing ed programs, it's less about what's the biggest credentialing body that will validate me. And it's more about what can I study that will actually help people get results. That has been my driving force throughout my entire career. What are the programs that will help me help others heal and what will I enjoy the most? That's a critical component of it, too. You want to be able to enjoy what you're learning. I have a lot of continuing ed and certifications under me, and not many of them are from big credentialing bodies and despite that, people still look to me as an industry leader at this point in my career.
Erin Holt [00:29:56]:
My results are my credentials. I get really, really good results, and I've been able to not just grow a private practice, but an education platform, an academy from that. So again, my opinion, but I have seen this to play out as truth. Let me add one more thing. This is going to be like 4.5 mentorship. This is really when we start to see the most accelerated growth in FNA, when practitioners are leaning on the mentorship and actually using it. Expertise and skill. We're talking about getting good clinical outcomes, right? That's what's going to grow your private practice. That comes with expertise and skill, and expertise in skill comes from building reps and it comes from experience.
Erin Holt [00:30:36]:
So what to do if you're new, if you're kind of green and you're waiting to build those reps to get that experience? You lean on your mentor. You borrow those reps from your mentor. It is a way to shortcut and quantum leap into your future self. You borrow from your mentor. So I do think that mentorship is a critical component of accelerated growth. And because the last couple of recommendations that I made often require investment, I think for number five, I want to speak into investing. Oftentimes growth does require some type of maybe scary investment. Not always, not all of the time.
Erin Holt [00:31:20]:
Sometimes growth just requires you to do something different and it doesn't require a chunk of change. Sometimes it does. For example, a lot of practitioners, myself included, wait a really long time to hire their first employee or contract worker because they're nervous about the investment. And that can definitely delay growth. I waited way too long to hire my first VA, like way, way, way too long. And I definitely could have grown my practice further and faster had I hired somebody before. But I was just too scared of the investment because I had never done that before. It just felt really scary.
Erin Holt [00:32:01]:
So let's lean a little bit into the scary investment conversation. Like I said, I've discussed investing on the show before, but also it's really easy to talk about investing when you're on the other side of it and you're recouping that investment. And I've used those examples on the podcast before, especially as it relates to continuing education programs. I will throw cash money at continuing education now because I know I will see a super high ROI on the other end. I've proven that to myself countless times. The most recent biggest investment was Stanford. It was a five figure investment and I 16 x'ed that within a year. So programs are not scary investments for me anymore.
Erin Holt [00:32:46]:
They're just not. But I am looking at a scary investment. It would be the biggest investment of my career. I don't have evidence that there will be ROI. So I am recording this in the energy of thinking through the investment, what it will entail, the fears and the limiting beliefs coming up, and then I'm working through those in real time because I'm going to make the investment. It's happening. It's just a matter of getting myself, like, emotionally prepared to do that. And luckily for me, I have like three months before I have to do it.
Erin Holt [00:33:15]:
So I have time. So this is what I'm doing. I want to share with you what I'm doing to work myself through it in real time, but it's good for me to be on this end of things because I'm so good at being the hype girl, at being like, the pep rally for people. I'm great at that. What's that quote? Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear. I'm so good at giving that advice to people in my life that I love. I'm like, just go it. Just go for it.
Erin Holt [00:33:41]:
Just go for it. And now I actually have to take my own advice. Help. It's hard. Now I have to really just go for it and carry myself through the fear and do the thing that I know will bring me to the goal that I want. And it's an opportunity to ask myself, am I really willing to bet on myself? Am I really willing to bet on myself?
Erin Holt [00:36:20]:
So these are the things that I'm talking myself through right now.
Erin Holt [00:37:00]:
Number one is, I'm reminding myself that big investments can be portals into new timelines. Which is a little esoteric and a little far out. But if you know me at all, you know I love esoteric and far out. But it is like saying when you put a chunk of change down, especially a significant chunk of change that you haven't done before, it's like you are saying, I am choosing this. I'm choosing this to step into a different version of myself. And to be clear, this investment that I need to make will require me to become a different version of myself. So I'm doing a lot of future self work right now. I'm tapping in to that future self, the version of myself that I'm looking to become.
Erin Holt [00:37:49]:
So this is something that I do often. And you can absolutely do this, too, the version of me that already has. And then fill in the blank with whatever your goal is, your big goal, the version of me that already has that. What do they need from me right now? What decision do they need me to make right now? And this is especially useful if you're going back and forth on a decision. But this is kind of like quantum leap style. You actually make the decision of the person that you're becoming. So a question that I might ask myself is, what would the $5 million CEO do? I am not currently a $5 million CEO, to be clear, but what would that version of me do? What decision would that version of me make? And then I'm going to make that decision, and that's how I step into that role. That's how I step into that.
Erin Holt [00:38:35]:
That's how I call that reality closer and closer to me is by making decisions from that identity. I have done this countless times, so I can tell you that it works really, really well. So that $5 million CEO, what team do they build for themselves? Who do they hire? What seats do they hire for? Are they settling for comfort, or are they actively stretching their comfort zone? These are the questions that I'm asking myself in real time right now. So you might say the version of me that has the booming, successful, impactful, profitable private practice, what kind of investment does she make? What mentors is she hiring? And then you do those things. That's the way to click into that timeline. You make those decisions now. What decision would she make? And then I'm going to make that decision.
Erin Holt [00:39:22]:
Another thing to think about is predictability versus possibility. So I love talking about this. And you'll catch yourself playing in the field of predictability when you make a statement. So, for example, I can't afford this. Okay. You are now playing in the field of predictability. You are making a statement, and that is it. You are saying it as though it is fact.
Erin Holt [00:39:44]:
Like there's no other opportunity, there's no other potential on the table for you. There's no other possibility. It is fact. You cannot grow. You cannot create something that you have not created before. If you are only playing in the field of predictability, you must open up to the field of possibility. In the way to do this is by asking questions. So rather than saying, I can't afford this, instead ask, who would I need to become to be able to afford this? Instead of saying, this is not possible, you can ask, how could this be possible? What if I could make it work? If other people have gotten to the point where they can make that investment, why shouldn't I be able to find a way? How could I find a way? So we move out of the field of predictability, which is just going to get us more and more and more what we have.
Erin Holt [00:40:37]:
We begin to play in the field of possibility by asking questions. So again, I will say investments we make can be portals into a new timeline. So I'm going to say something again, kind of far out, but bear with me. This will land with the people that it's meant to land with. There is this idea that investing can unlock different energies, frequencies, codes, downloads that can lead to expansion. Now not everybody loves this idea. And I have definitely seen the coaching industry get a bad rap for people talking about like, oh, you're just going to pay to be in my energy, which is like, I know, I know it sounds like a little bit yucky, but also, I'm going to be very honest with you and tell you my DLS.
Erin Holt [00:41:23]:
My dirty little secret. Some of the coaches that have been dragged publicly for this, I've actually invested in their work. It's like two coaches I'm thinking of right now. I've invested tens of thousands of dollars into each of them, and I actually experience what they're saying as truth. For me, investing in their programs, investing in their offerings, actually did unlock something in me that I don't think I would have been able to unlock in myself without their guidance, without their courses, without their words, without their energy, without their frequency. For real. I remember this one time, it was a few years ago.
Erin Holt [00:42:06]:
I was grappling, going back and forth because the investment was significant. It was $18,000. The investment was significant. And this is not continuing education. This was just more like mindset, like the energetics of business type of stuff. And I remember my friend saying to me, you should do it, because there's something about her that really unlocks something in you. And she was able to reflect that to me, and that was all it took, her saying that, and I'm like, I'm in. And I put down the investment.
Erin Holt [00:42:35]:
And sure enough, her energy was just an amplifier to everything that was latent inside of me. It woke it up. It. It sparked something. I have also trained my mind to look for the value in every single investment, which is a very useful tool. So rarely do I walk away from an investment saying, oh, I got nothing out of that, because I've trained my mind to see the value in everything. I also witness something very similar in FNA. Something happens in FNA that I can only describe as, like, an energy activation.
Erin Holt [00:43:08]:
This is not something that I can sell. This is not something that I can market because it's not something that someone's coming to us and saying, I want an activation, right? That's not. When I do my market research, nobody's saying, I need an activation, so it's not marketable, but it is something that I notice. When we're talking to people in the program, when we're listening to testimonial videos, when I'm reading comments and shares from our students and grads, there is this underlying current or theme of something got awoken inside me. And of course, this has to do with the curriculum and all the mindset work that's woven in, all the business trainings that they get access to, but there's also something about the fact that when they decided to invest, they plugged themselves into a new timeline. They walked themselves through a threshold. And this is why I see people taking big steps that before they had convinced themselves were unavailable to them, they truly have.
Erin Holt [00:44:14]:
They were like, oh, I can't do this. And then they, like, click into this new timeline. They're like, wait a second. Yes, I can. Whether that's pivoting their career, leaving a hospital job, starting their own private practice, joining a functional medicine clinic, or a team like things that they had pulled off of the table for themselves, they decide that they get to put it back on the table. And this comes from being so committed to your future that you are willing to invest yourself into it. And when I say invest, I'm not just talking about money, but your willingness to meet the parts of yourself that want to stay the same. The parts that are scared of change, the parts that are scared of growth, the parts that are scared of visibility, of being seen, of expansion.
Erin Holt [00:45:08]:
At this point, over a hundred practitioners have invested into FNA. And what I can tell you after witnessing people cross this threshold is that what is holding them back from getting started? It's rarely about the money. What is holding most people back from getting started? It's rarely money. People will say that. People will say, well, I don't want to invest because what if I fail? What if I can't do it? What if I can't keep up? People will say that. But when we tuck into it, when we actually have conversations with people, what a lot of people are actually afraid of is succeeding. It is, they're afraid of their own growth. They're afraid of becoming more visible.
Erin Holt [00:45:55]:
Whatever comes along with success, they're afraid of some aspect of that. And so I want you to close your eyes, because if you're here, if you've made it this far, chances are your goal is to grow your private practice. And sometimes in order to do that, you have to meet head on the subconscious fears that you might not even be aware of that are linked up with growth. So close your eyes for just a minute. If you're driving, please don't do that. Come back to this when you're not driving. But if you can safely close your eyes and imagine that, that you become the happiest, fullest expression of you in your work.
Erin Holt [00:46:45]:
Imagine you give yourself permission to shine your brightest light. Fully express yourself, fully express your creativity. You're doing the work that you came here to do, the work that's on your heart to do. Imagine embracing your gifts and fully owning them as yours. Just picture this. Feel into this. And now I want you to ask yourself, what are you worried will happen? What are you worried people will say about you. If you step into this work that you really want to do, if you do this thing that's on your heart, if you actually execute on this, the thing that you're really being called to do, what are you afraid it's going to prevent you from doing? Being? Having? And so just give yourself some space. You might even want to write these down and these questions down and journal on them because this is often the inner work that is required to actually grow.
Erin Holt [00:48:04]:
This is why I say for me to experience the type of growth in my practice, in my business, that I desired, I had to be so committed to my future that I was willing to invest myself into it. Money? Finances? Sure. Yes, totally. I invested a lot of coin into my future, but also I had to be willing to meet the parts of myself that wanted to stay the same. I had to be willing to meet the parts of myself that were scared of change. And I had to acknowledge those first and foremost. So if you want to do this together, FNA is open for enrollment, but only for one more week. So you gotta get your applications in.
Erin Holt [00:48:46]:
I'm sure I'm speaking into a lot of people who have already applied, and that application is kind of just sitting in purgatory. Maybe you click the link to join. Maybe you actually, like, go for it. Maybe you actually do invest your energy into your future self. Maybe you take some time tonight and tap into that future self and say, that version of me that I'm trying to become, what decision does she need for me right now? And then let's just see what happens. All right, love you guys. I'll see you next week.
Erin Holt [00:49:17]:
Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast. If you got something from today's show, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, share with with a friend, and keep coming back for more. Take care of you.
