To continue the theme from last week on healthy working schedules, I want to talk about client schedules.
This week, not only did I map out my client schedule January-June, 2016, but there was a question from one of our Community members about whether it was selfish or unrealistic to regularly take one or two weeks off at a time, or even spend two months a year traveling.
So many healers and other service providers, fueled perhaps by a legitimate fear of not making enough money, schedule clients whenever and however. Into the evenings. On weekends. 7 days a week.
You don’t have to do that. You can create a reasonable schedule for yourself. You can create time off for yourself.
Often the biggest challenge, whether facing a client wanting to schedule, or an entire pint of ice cream staring you in the eyes, is to control the environment.
Faced with a client who really needs the help, and you really needing the money, it can be hard in that moment to say, “Nope, can’t do Saturday night. Can’t do Sunday morning.” or “Nope, ain’t going to eat that ice cream in 5 minutes. Nope.”
To have that kind of will power every moment of every day is unreasonable. You can’t do it.
So, instead, don’t bring the ice cream home. And don’t directly schedule your own clients.
The online scheduler.
Use an online scheduler to have clients pick their own appointments. There are many of them out there. The basic idea is that you put your open slots in that calendar ahead of time, and then give clients a link to choose their own appointment.
This means they aren’t asking you directly. So nice.
If you don’t want an online scheduler?
What? You don’t? Okay, well then. You can still apply what I propose below, but just say, when you’re talking to a client who is wanting to schedule, “Here’s when I have openings.”
Creating my ideal schedule.
First I think of my maximum client load. For me, I carry no more than 7 individual clients, because I have other client commitments involved with our other programs. For me 7 clients = 14 sessions/month, which is 7 sessions every two weeks.
I then decided that Mondays are for internal Heart of Business days, that I don’t schedule clients or other client-facing delivery for Mondays.
I also decided that I didn’t want to regularly schedule client-facing appointments for Fridays, in case I want to take a 3 day weekend, which I’ve been doing a lot of recently.
I then further realized that some months have 5 weeks, and I was going to leave those client-free, too.
I then thought through the creative needs of the business. It serves me better, my particular work style, to have weeks that are lighter on client delivery, so I have bigger chunks of time to bring to other projects.
So here’s what I ended up with:
Clients scheduled between 9am and 3pm (starting time) Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursdays
1st and 3rd weeks of the month – 5 sessions/week
2nd and 4th weeks of the month – 2 sessions/week
5th weeks – no sessions.
I then went through January through June, making exceptions when other commitments conflicted with my chosen schedule. For instance, I’m traveling to Wisdom 2.0 in February, and traveling twice in March – once to my mastermind retreat and once to my niece’s bat mitzvah. Plus a family vacation planned for the beginning of June.
All of that is put into both my online scheduler, and my calendar as “client sessions.” Voila! A predictable schedule.
Exceptions are allowed.
Sometimes a client needs some flexibility. Sometimes I do. We work it out. But because the majority of my schedule is set up, some flexibility doesn’t create problems.
Also, because this schedule is something I so consciously came up with, it’s ingrained within me. So even when I schedule directly with a client it still tends to stay within, more or less, the schedule I created.
Create a 2016 schedule that works for you!
Your business needs you. You need you. Your clients need you. Make it work without driving yourself crazy.
So, how do you do it? Is this kind of approach new to you? Or do you have your own approach that you can share?
8 Responses
I love the wording of “internal business days”. It sounds so much more active than “non-appointment days” or something like that.
I’m curious if you have any thoughts for those of us who regularly hold weekly appointments? We may be able to cultivate a practice that allows us to take longer vacations, but anything else?
Thanks!
Annabelle- I’m curious what your creativity brings to you. A fourth week “integration week” for your clients? Scheduling very heavy client days Mon-Wed one week and Wed-Fri the next so you have Thursday through Tuesday off? What thoughts do you have?
This was super-timely (as usual:), Mark. Exploring online scheduling options has been on my mind this past week, and I really appreciate your specific example of how you set up your schedule.
I’ve always been pretty clear when I schedule clients, since I fit them around the morning and evening yoga classes I attend (non-negotiable happenings for me, at least for now). But soon my schedule will be changing a bit, and I like the idea of planning it out very clearly, far in advance…helping me feel way more relaxed and at ease.
Lately, I’ve found myself getting really specific when suggesting free initial phone consults too. Rather than saying, “Let me know what would work for you” (as I did previously), I say, “If you’d like to set something up this/next week, I have these spots available.” Then I list a limited number of options (and let them know that if those don’t work, we can try to figure out something else).
This keeps things so much smoother and simpler, I’m finding. An online schedule would be even better–adding a nice element of (helpful) logistical distance. Thanks for the extra inspiration to get it done!
Right on, Dana! I love the specificity in you’re offering very certain times, and then taking it the extra step to get an online scheduler! Woo-hoo! Freedom!
Mark, this is such an excellent approach, which I totally endorse.
I have my client slots so ingrained now, that it’s easy to schedule people in. I keep Mondays and Fridays free (for creative work, or to roll into a long weekend), do admin on Tuesdays and see clients on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I have an invisible ’emergency spot’ on a Tuesday afternoon which I’ll offer only very occasionally, if nothing else will work for someone, or they are travelling to see me from another city. I hardly ever use it, but it’s been very handy to know it’s there.
A more recent step has been to schedule my mid-winter (July here) retreat week, and have it in my diary early in the year. It’s so brilliant; I always obey my diary!
Juliet- so happy to hear how ingrained it is now! Doesn’t that make it so much easier? And the invisible emergency spot- ingenius!
Thanks for your sharing. I should try your method to manage my working life in 2016.
Hope we all have a good working live.
I own a spa and I have package deals and single sessions. My clients have a chioce in paying up from for all sessions which is 8 for the package or single sessions. Clients with the pakage have to 2 sessions twice a week for 4 weeks and single are they come as they pay. I need help because I am getting popular and I need to see the cash flow. Meaning how to schedule existing clients, single sessions clients and the new clients all in one. My sessions are 45 to an 60 minutes and I opened at 11am- 7pm Monday -Saturday and right now the majority of my clients are after 3:30pm. Thanks in advanced for any suggestions. I want to be organized to be a better business owner.