Have you ever heard of the “Marketing Rule of 7”?

In the 1930s, the movie industry researched a sample of moviegoers and discovered that customers needed to see or hear an ad for a movie AT LEAST 7 times before they decided to go see the movie at the theatre.  

The same rule applies to email marketing today, though experts argue that you may need to make contact with your potential customer MORE than 7 times on social media before they purchase your products and services.

Why does social media marketing require more effort to reach your ideal clients than email marketing? Think about it.

With email marketing, your content goes directly to your audience's inbox. You can't control whether they read it or not, but at least you have peace of mind knowing your message was delivered. General rule of thumb is to get in your audience's inbox weekly to stay on top of their minds

On the flip side, content you post on social media...

Anyone who knows me in the online business world knows that my absolute FAVORITE type of side hustle is course creation. There are so many reasons why… but I’ll save them for a future blog post  

The focus of today’s blog is to delve deeper into why it’s so important to involve your audience or “ideal clients” in the creation of your online side hustle. Since course creation is my forte, I’ll be using it as an example throughout. Feel free to substitute “online course” for whatever side hustle applies to you.

Before we dive in, let’s see what involving your audience can look like:

• Hosting a brand logo contest 
• Polling your audience on their favorite course platform
• Surveying your audience’s course learning preferences

These examples are just scratching the surface, but you get the gist. Now that we know how to involve our audience when creating an online course, let’s explore...

Have you been thinking about starting a side hustle, but don't know where to start?

I was once in your shoes so I know how overwhelming it can feel sometimes.

Over the past two years, I've gathered a bunch of side hustle tips that I think everyone should know when starting out.

Here are my top 5 favorites!

1. Choose a business name that'll last.

Many of us don't think long-term when starting our first side hustle. Truth be told, I never imagined having eight side hustles! But plenty of people end up having multiple side hustles to replace their full-time income. So, it makes sense to choose a broad enough business name to group all your side hustles under. This simplifies your business (oh, and your taxes too ).

The best advice I've gotten is to name your business after yourself if it's not taken already. This way you can build a unique brand that adjusts well to any of your new side hustle ventures.

2. You only need to be a few steps ahead of your ideal client.

...

Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve noticed telehealth became a big deal in 2020. Every healthcare organization, system, and clinic implemented some sort of “virtual care” option for those unable to obtain in-person healthcare services during the height of the covid-19 pandemic. Now, many of these telehealth rollouts checked the box as “minimally viable”, but they lacked some important and necessary pieces to make them sustainable for the long-term. 

In fact, when I was consulting for Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities, one of my projects involved developing the operational and clinical guidelines for telehealth service delivery across the statewide integrated clinical support services (a Telehealth Roadmap of sorts).

That project, coupled with my consulting work in the private sector highlighted two great struggles that many organizations face when implementing...

For nearly a year we have used digital communication platforms for most of our interactions with other human beings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This means your work meetings and personal connections likely involve a screen of squares filled with smiling faces looking much like the opening of the Brady Bunch. In pre-pandemic times we associated certain activities with a place or time - we commuted to work, went to the gym, had brunch with friends or walked to school. Now, it’s all done on one screen and boundaries have become mucky, transitions quick, and multi-tasking has become the norm.

Our interactions as and with healthcare practitioners occurs via Telehealth too. For some this will be temporary but for many, they may choose to continue to provide Telehealth services. How does one take care of their own wellbeing while working in a Telehealth environment?

It takes some intentionality, but these 6 steps can help!

1. Schedule movement breaks...

Hi, my name is Janet Ottersberg and I have worked as an Occupational Therapist for over 30 years. I have had the pleasure to work with clients from neonates to 104 year olds and have worked in all settings that OT’s practice. I am so grateful for this career that has allowed me to be flexible and work according to my lifestyle needs at the time. As a single parent, this flexibility allowed me to be there for my child as much as possible and still have a flourishing career. All the shifting I learned to do as a single parent afforded me the experience to create the changes necessary to continue to work, despite a global pandemic. 

As this global pandemic drags on and on, many of us in the rehabilitation field have had to make accommodations to stay afloat in the field of Occupational Therapy. Some people have left the field, some have changed their practice to a hybrid model and for many of us that shift included moving to a telehealth model of treatment. I...

#1 Logitech Headset 

This USB headset with a microphone is noise canceling which enhances both focus and patient privacy during sessions.

#2 Ring Light

A ring light ensures better quality lighting for video calls. The tripod stand allows for adjustments, portability, and an easy setup. This ring light is USB powered and has different light modes to create a welcoming environment.  

#3 BetterTelehealth

A user-friendly platform for both the therapist and the clients! With no signup fees, no subscription fees, no application fees, it’s as easy as a click of a button for just 3 cents per minute for calls. Better Telehealth is a HIPAA compliant, secure platform where all of your administrative work is done for you, including automatic reminders and digital consent forms. Access Better Telehealth from any device with easy functions such as screen sharing, recording, and text chats!

#4 Trello

Trello is a free way to stay organized! The easy...

If you are just starting out as a Telehealth OT provider, the question of which platform to use for sessions can be a hard decision. Do you need a platform with electronic medical records (EMR)? One that can handle billing? Scheduling options? Specific tech features? These are all things to consider when shopping around for a new platform.

When browsing through platforms, here are a few things to consider when choosing what’s best for your practice.

1. No matter what type of platform you are looking for, whether it be telehealth-only, EMR-only, or a combination of both, a top priority is HIPAA compliancy. Ensuring that the platform you select is HIPAA compliant is important for both your patient’s privacy and your own liability. When researching platforms, look for the companies Signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which indicates that they are HIPAA compliant.

2. Platform tends to have tiered pricing, which typically follow a free, basic, and...

It’s a Monday morning in September, the new school year is only a few weeks underway, and you’re still getting comfortable in your new routine. You have 20 minutes until your first client. They are doing virtual school this year, which is new to them too. 

As you boot up your computer you think to yourself, I love this job, at home, steps away from my coffee pot, I can cross my legs at my desk, my pup is sleeping under my desk, and I’m helping people from the comfort of my home. How could I get so lucky? 

As you boot up Zoom and plug in your headset you make sure you have your props and water within reach and get ready to start the call. 

You go to dial in and Zoom crashes - it’s okay, just breathe. “I still have time”, you say to yourself. 

You reboot your computer and try again… 

This time it works, but no audio - great, now what? I can’t not have audio during my session,...

I LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE MY JOB. 

Yes, that’s true. I LOVE my job! Being an entrepreneur is one of the most gratifying elements of my career I have ever experienced. From being home and available for my girls to making my own hours and being able to take vacation time without having to run it by someone other than my family. It is so freeing! 

Yes, this is enough! This is really all of it, but entrepreneurship in and of itself is my favorite and it is so much more than that!

Yes, it’s daunting to start, but as I said above, it has freedom, which leads to happiness and self-exploration. Above all, entrepreneurship has opened the door to friendships! 

Who would have thought friendships or relationships would have been my favorite thing about the entrepreneurial side of my practice? Not me, but I am so glad I’ve found them. 

What’s even wilder, is that these friendships are strictly online. People I’ve never met in person....