Whether it’s for meditation, growing your business on social media, or how to declutter your home – challenges have hit the scene in an exciting, popular way. And it’s for good reason! Challenges are intended to motivate, inspire, and help you achieve quick wins.

As fun and productive as they can be, you might be wondering, “Can challenges really help me grow my practice?”

Well, my friend, keep on reading to find out…

Why Should a Holistic Health Practitioner Do a Challenge?

At their simplest, challenges are a power-packed way to get a fast win. It could be a 3-day morning stretch challenge or your 21-day detox. Whatever it is, a challenge has one specific goal or objective in mind. And you, the practitioner, provide the participants with all the info they need to make it to the finish line! 

And as a wellness clinician, challenges offer a fun, unique way to grow your practice. How so? Well, challenges…

• can get you in front of new audiences (and potential patients!)
• spotlight you as the highly credible superhero who shows participants how to get that win
• help you attract your ideal patient

But if the thought of running your own challenge makes your chest tighten a bit, don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be complicated. A little planning on the front-end will do the trick. Before long, you’ll be all set and ready to kick off your very own challenge. Here are three tips to get you going.

Tip 1: Lay the Groundwork

The first time you try something, it can feel scary. You’re creating something from nothing, and things can easily get bigger than you expected. The best way to avoid this is to keep it super simple from the beginning. Give some thought on things like:

• How long do you want your challenge to be? I highly recommend starting with a short one, maybe 5 or 10 days, max.
• Will it be free or paid? Word of advice: Free is much easier to pull off.
• What will it be about? Make it easy on yourself and choose something that is relevant to your ideal patient. If you’re feeling stuck, check out our list of 50 health and wellness challenge ideas to get your wheels turning.
• How will I deliver it? Don’t overcomplicate this one (it’s tempting!). The simplest way to deliver a challenge is to send a daily video via email (you can upload to YouTube or Dropbox). Or you can start a private group on Facebook or MeWe and go Live on social media every day.

Making these decisions upfront will save you sooo much time and reduce stress. It’ll help you get your challenge together faster AND make it much easier to rinse and repeat later on.

Tip 2: Plan for What’s Next

Alright, once your challenge is done and over, it’s time to throw in the towel, right? Wrong! 

All that hard work you’ve done can be recycled for your next challenge. So, grab a pen and paper or record a voice message in your phone and answer these Q’s:

• What worked amazingly well?
• What went wrong and never needs to see the light of day again?
• How could I make it even better next time?

Do this within the first couple of days after your challenge ends when your memory is fresh. And be specific. This will help you make the right kind of changes so that next time is even easier and more beneficial for you and the patients that join you. 

Tip 3: Decide When to Do It Again

In the flurry of running your own practice, it’s so easy to get busy with other things. Before long, a year has passed, and your challenge is covered in cobwebs and dust.

So, before the whirlwind carries you away, set the date for your next challenge. Put it in your calendar and commit to it. Next, set another reminder in your calendar about six weeks before your next challenge date. This early reminder will give you that extra nudge you need to get your wheels going on planning and promoting your newest challenge.

Grow Your Practice With a Challenge

Running your own challenge can be so exciting! It’s an amazing way to serve your patients and get in front of new ones. Whether four or 400 show up, it’s an opportunity for you to help others live a healthier life – which is why you became a practitioner in the first place, right?

Remember, my friends. You don’t have to start from scratch on this. I’ve already done some of the legwork to get you going. Check out this podcast to get a headstart on mapping out your next challenge!