Natural News

(First published in The Herald Express, Devon - 21-04-07)

I mentioned last week that I was on my way to the Natural and Organic Product show in London. Now back, thoroughly up-to-date with the latest developments, and with the sweet taste of many a healthy treat dimming in my memory, I’m delighted to say that we have reason to be proud here in Torbay.

It’s a real pleasure to let you know that local health store - 100% Health in Paignton – have been crowned “the UK’s Best New Health Store”. The results were announced at the show and as you can imagine, proprietors Heather and Mark Hamilton are over the moon.

“Everyone at 100% Health is buzzing at the moment,” Mark tells me, whose retail outlet beat off hundreds of competitors from all over the UK, missing out by just half a point on becoming the UK’s overall Best Health store – a staggering achievement considering they’ve only been 100% for just 8 months.

“The award itself is testimony to all the staff’s hard work and efforts,” says Mark. “One thing we do is give our customers total customer care, time, and knowledge. I believe that one thing that wowed the judges was not just the great service, the phenomenal knowledge of the staff, or even the range and diversity of quality products, but the obvious passion we all have for helping people in a natural way.”

It seems the team at 100% don’t just sell products to people, or merely advise, they empower the customer with knowledge, lifestyle changes, information and sometimes just a shoulder to cry on. I know - I’ve been on the receiving end of their winning ways, although my nutritional requirements haven’t caused any tears as yet.

I have, however, got to be honest and tell you that I didn’t have Paignton down as the home of health-based retail innovation. But that’s just my conditioned thought processes at work. Why shouldn’t we have the best of what’s on offer in retail and in many other areas of our lives in the Bay?

We have a location, atmosphere and vibe to die for – it was great to see Devon being promoted so proudly in the national press last week - and I suspect the energy Mark and Heather bring to their business is exactly the sort of thing that’s needed to make Torbay a healthy living haven – where more people come to live life to the full.

100% Health is proactive and very modern in outlook - a little different to what a lot of people would expect from a stereotypical health store - a transferable lesson that I feel could make the Bay “a little different to what a lot of people would expect from a stereotypical” English seaside destination.

Their business seems to turn customers into friends; blessed as they are by a service ethic not only often missing round here, but across the whole country. Their award was apparently not only based on the recognition of this outstanding level of customer service, but also their range and quality of products, staff knowledge, shop design and layout, plus local community involvement.

For me, they represent the long-awaited evolution of health food retailing, which has shifted from the marginal domain of people with allergies, committed health-freaks and home-brewers, into an exciting environment that can, as Mark says, empower a more vibrant and vital way of life for everyone.

And their clientele are living proof: “Of our best selling products, there are those that help with the menopause to alleviate night sweats, hot flushes and improve libido. There are sports and bodybuilding products, as we are probably the biggest stockists in the South West, and it helps that three members of staff are qualified fitness instructors and personal trainers. And recently there has been a huge increase in our organic, natural body care ranges which are free of chemical nasties that can get absorbed into our skin,” recalls Mark.

It hasn’t been a breeze however. Despite interest in all things green, natural and ethical right now, health store industry insiders reckon this is probably the quietest time it has experienced since the early 90’s. Bucking that trend, 100% Health are clearly successful in attracting the sort of people who once may have feared an alien abduction or cult membership when setting foot inside a health store, attracting customers from 16 to 90 years of age.

Their aim “to make the health industry funky, modern and fresh” is now a reality; and, as Heather points out, they’re living up to their name: “we are 100% passionate and 100% committed to what we do.”

Building confidence by offering the new and nervy customer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on any products and a no quibble refund on anything returned for whatever reason, these guys – as the old cliché goes – “deserve to do well”.

I congratulate them on this prestigious award and admire their vision and contribution to the evolution of how we see food, make better nutrition choices and incorporate more natural products into our lives. They are there to help with the responsibility we all can take when it comes to investing in our own vitality. Well done to all involved; it’s great for them, but it’s also great for the Bay.

If you pop into 100% with your congratulations, they say they’ll give you a 10% discount on any purchase. Go on, give it a try and share in the celebrations!

(Originally published in The Herald Express, Devon - April 14th 2007)

If all goes according to plan, I’ll be at the Natural Products Show in London tomorrow, where I’m destined to see the largest trade show of its kind in the UK. I’m told around 6,000 specialist buyers will be bringing along a staggering £2.7 billion worth of naturally-oriented budget, looking to splash out on the latest innovations in wellbeing.

Now, with the show its eleventh year, I reckon it’s safe to say that natural products have come a long way. Organic, wholesome and ethical are no longer the exclusive domain of the knit-your-own muesli, sandal-toting tofu mafia.

In the press, on the TV and in every supermarket, healthy living is everywhere and it’s sexy too with no end of celebrity endorsements. Sales are up, the marketing men have moved in and natural products are here to stay.

But behind the health-based hype and commercial appeal of feel good foods and the fast-growing array of non-edible life-enhancing gadgets, is it all good news?

I’m all for the higher profile that environmentally-friendly, ethically sound and rudely healthy natural products are getting, but there are causes for concern away from the organic lime light exemplified by the relatively unknown, yet thoroughly vital Goji berry.

A marketer’s dream in terms of product pedigree, Goji berries are found in the pristine “Heavenly Mountains” of China and have been famous and revered as an anti-aging elixir for thousands of years.

These “immortality berries”, according to whatreallyworks.co.uk have “a unique group of polysaccharides found nowhere else that are a super source of essential cell nutrients”. Apparently they help facilitate the release of Human Growth Hormone, which its thought increases concentration, offers more restful sleep, faster healing, weight loss and even increased sex drive.

Also in the Goji nutritional blueprint are germanium, selenium, carotenoids, and more beta carotene than carrots; pound-for-pound, they pack a nutrional punch and taste something like a cross between a cranberry and a cherry.

Trouble is, it seems they’ve ruffled a few food industry feathers and are likely to be banned by – what is in my opinion – a very dodgy piece of EU legislation, the ‘Novel Foods’ directive.

Don’t you just hate the fact that Goji berries and products containing them may have to be withdrawn from sales if an EU-wide investigation confirms that they are a ‘novel food’? Because under the “Novel Foods Regulation” a food or ingredient is defined as novel if there is no significant history of consumption within the EU before May 1997.

I’m keeping an eye on the investigation launched by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which says it received enquiries from food companies about the status of goji berries. Though I suspect it will leave other controversial ‘food’stuffs like sugar-laden fizzy drinks, artificial sweeteners and transfats well alone.

The FSA has put the burden of proof on retailers, health food companies and other stakeholders, asking them to demonstrate a “significant history of consumption” and I await their findings with a mixture of bated breath and incredulity. Without the evidence, Goji berries will be considered novel and cannot be sold legally until they have been formally authorised. What’s next I wonder?

What might make sense logically, i.e. protecting the public from rogue foods, does not actually add up in a world where, as the old cliché says: “you can get enough paracetamol in a supermarket to kill yourself, but you’d be struggling to finish yourself off in a health food store”.

You can get a fortnightly e-newsletter from Carl direct to your inbox by sending a blank email to: holisticroundup@getresponse.com

“The course transformed my thinking, made me braver, more positive and less fearful about making changes,” says Claire Morrissey, a Kevala Holistic Stress Management student who has started a new business.

Claire, 35, who lives in London says: “I was in a very stressful time in a previous job and did some internet searching around the word ‘stress’, looking for information on the subject as I knew I needed help”.

“The course is amazing as it exposes you to such a wide variety of thinking and experiences regarding health and well-being. I have found it invaluable, bearing in mind I’ve been in high-stress business roles involving management and frequent global travel. This is just what I’ve been looking for,” she adds.

“The course has inspired me to follow my passion and launch my own business, which is a luxury ethical shopping website - www.nocows.com – which I launched in on 1st Feb 2007, my birthday.”

Claire intends to incorporate her stress management studies somehow into her business, “although exactly how I will do this I have yet to figure out,” she tells us.

Particularly interested in the meditation, yoga and NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming), Claire says the course has introduced her to subjects and authors that have “transformed my thinking, made me braver, more positive and less fearful about making changes”.

Through her business and website, Claire wants to impact the world in a more positive way and hopes to share the knowledge she’s gained with more people.”

(From www.holisticlocal.co.uk)

We’ve a neat little e-guide for you this week - The kettle guide to PR and publicity for holistic businesss. The idea here is that in the time it takes to boil a kettle, you’ll get some basic facts on PR and publicity for your business.

http://www.holisticlocal.co.uk/prservices

The ‘therapists’ secret weapon’ Carl Munson reckons that if you want your business to work for you, and not end up exhausted working for your business, you need to face one fact and get external help.

I’m sure you’ll agree that you “you don’t know what you don’t know” (you might want to read that again). This is especially true when it comes to running your own business, because if your business is struggling or not giving you the results you want, you clearly - as yet - don’t know what you need to succeeed.

Somebody once said that running a holistic business was “the best job in the world, but one of the hardest to get off the ground”. I agree that it’s the best job in the world - helping people to be well, healthy and happy. And I believe you should make a good living - if not a great living - doing it. In fact there’s never been a better time:

Think about it:

• Interest in complementary therapies is UP
• Interest in sustainability and care for the environment is UP
• Natural health awareness is way UP
• Awareness about alternative living is UP
• Demand for ethical, fairly traded and handcrafted products is UP

Where the wind was once in our faces it’s now behind us, filling our sails. And yet…

Why is it that so many holistic businesses are setting up with the best of intentions and sadly struggling along often getting nowhere fast? It comes back to the old chestnut: “they don’t know what they don’t know”

Andy Metcalfe who started international business directory and resource Holistic Local back in 2005, knows better than anyone the challenges of starting a business that “seemed like a good idea at the time”:

“We started from nothing and know what it’s like to start a new holistic business. Although we now we have over 5,000 members, we want to share what we’ve had to learn the hard way,” says Andy who has perservered and been happy to learn the hard way. “The problems we faced, have been faced by thousands of business owners before us, and we realised the answers were all available if we searched for them.”

“It’s a depressing fact that, despite the ever-growing popularity of natural healthcare and conscious living, many talented therapists and other holistic business owners are not achieving the success they richly deserve,” adds Andy, “And in some modalities over 70% of newly qualified therapists quit within two years of starting out. That’s a grim statistic.”

“According to a survey conducted by HolisticPro in 2004 the single most common problem encountered by therapists and other business owners is finding new customers and clients, and the reason is almost always the same: they lack a basic understanding of sound business and marketing principles,” he concludes.

In other words: they didn’t have the skills they needed and they didn’t know they didn’t know. Sadly, like many holistic therapists who qualify from their health training completely unprepared for the realities of running their own business, they were probably forced into quitting the work they loved, just so they can earn a regular wage doing a tedious 9-5 corporate job.

So what’s the solution? Well firstly, concede that you don’t know what you don’t know, and secondly, recognise that you don’t know what you NEED to know - to not only stay in business, but make your endeavours a massive success.

As a busy business owner it’s hard to get the time to search for solutions, as well as get the support you need to make your business ‘fire on all cylinders’. But you do need to make time and you need good help.

Try the work of the people who I think are “the best in the business”:

Celia Johnson, UK author of “How To Be A Successful Therapist”. Celia has been a complementary therapist for over 15 years and so brings a wealth of experience to her writing. Celia helps therapists to bridge the gap between qualifying and running a successful business. She writes about various aspects of practice management and she aims to help therapists develop confidence in their abilities and gain credibility by working in a professional way.

Andrew Ferguson, UK life coach and author of “LifeShift”. Andrew has been pioneering holistic enterprise ideas for 25 years, with a strong focus on marketing. He is passionate about people fulfilling their potential and has supported some 8,500 individuals to turn their dreams into reality. Based in London, his main work now is coaching and counselling enterprising people on business and life issues.

Amy Roberts, Australian author of “Ignite Your Massage Business”. Amy has been a Massage Therapist since 1994, and has over 3000 clients!! She practices a variety of techniques, such as Reflexology and Reiki. The success of her business motivated her to help other therapists achieve the same results.

Stephen Kneighery & Michael Pang, Australian authors of “The Complete Guide To Business Success In The Alternative Health Industry”. Stephen and Michael are founders of Alternative Health Business Solutions (AHBS) a company that provides natural health practitioners with the marketing and business skills to build their client base and share their gifts with society.

Michelle A. Vandepas, US author of “Marketing For The Holistic Practitioner”. Michelle is a creative entrepreneur at heart and loves working with others who wish to incorporate their creativity, integrity and spirituality into their business planning and entrepreneurial spirit. Over the years she has formed a variety of companies; retail, manufacturing, medical, training, and service, and has done corporate and government sales.

Pete Dickson, the man behind the “Creating your Dream Practice” seminars and author of “How To Write Effective Adverts And Flyers That Will Attract Clients To Your Practice Like A Magnet”. Pete gives hints and tips to make your communication to your prospective clients as effective and persuasive as possible.

Ken Warren, author of “The Pitfalls of Private Practice” in which he discusses the common mistakes made by private practitioners and, more importantly, how to avoid them. You will also gain some great ideas for doing more of the work you love, marketing your services well, and gaining more clients.

Claude Hopkins, deceased author of “Scientific Advertising”, a must read for anyone who is planning to spend money on advertising, no matter what line of business they’re in.

Nick Williams, author of “Powertools for Building the Possible Dream”, an indispensable guide that reveals the secrets behind the rich philosophy of a truly successful Dreambuilder, and shows you step by step the fastest and most joyful ways to launch yourself on the fast track to turning your dreams into an abundant source of income.

Joe Vitale, author of “Spiritual Marketing: A Proven 5-Step Formula for Easily Creating Wealth from the Inside Out”, that blows the socks off everything ever done in the spiritual-material world before. This is the little book that explains how to have real magic and real miracles in your life. It’s a joy to read and casts a spell on every reader. Mind-expanding, too!

Nick Rampley-Sturgeon, author of “Marketing for Results” and “Profits Through People”, who draws on many years of expertise both as a business owner and an adviser to small business owners to provide you with practical insights you can apply to your own business.

And, not forgetting my very own guide “Extra Income for Therapists - The 7 Secrets of Creating a Successful Practice”, where I share the seven secrets that every therapist should know in order to build a successful practice. Being a successful therapist takes much more than just being a talented therapist. Talent alone will get you nowhere if you’re not savvy with your business and marketing strategies.

Search for these titles on the web, or get them free as a Visionary member at Holistic Local.

Go to: http://holisticlocal.co.uk/members/join/business