The owner, Pam, has 8 massage stations for 3 days and we are generally full. She's been doing this for a couple of years and every year her organization and management of the setting gets better and better. I was really impressed with how well it went today.
We are all lined up along the wall of a foyer where the parents come in and register for all the different activities of the weekend. There are people passing through the hallway the whole time we're there. There are people on our chairs the whole shift (with appropriate breaks; thank you Pam!). It is a people-rich environment.
I came home from the event, fixed myself a sandwich, and slept in the recliner for 3 hours. I wasn't physically exhausted but psychically / energetically you could stick a fork in me because I was done. See, I'm an introvert. Touching 14 people in 4 hours while surrounded by MTs and strangers will drain me, every single time. I know how to prep myself, I know how to ground, clear, shield, etc. etc. etc. But at the end of the day, I'm still an introvert who gets wiped out by that much people-contact.
It's why I no longer do corporate massage every week. While it's profitable (and a great steady stream of income) it takes too much out of me. Even when I have a lovely private room and have complete control over my schedule, I can only interact that intentionally with a limited number of people in a day. This happens when I teach too.
I learned through trial and error (the best teacher there is) what my limits are. I don't care how much money there is in corporate work, I don't care how much bigger my client base I would be if I saw more clients in a day or a week, how much more money I would make if I turned clients around faster. I am who I am and only a fool ignores that.
We've all got hard limits on what we can do (or at least do well). Maybe we can only see so many people in a day. Maybe we really stink at long-range planning or bookkeeping or writing session notes. Maybe we're a terrible public speaker or just not a good writer. You need to know what your limits are and honor them. Get help doing the things you can't do.
Lots of "success" advice out there in the world is based on some mythical "average" business owner (or, worse, on what the writer is really good at and enjoys). It may be couched in terms of "you have got to [fill in the blank]...". If you're self-employed, you don't have to do much of anything (OK, except pay taxes and you can get help with that!). Your business, your rules.
Yes, there are things that have been proven, over time, to be smart, effective, or useful. You still get to decide what you want to do, what you don't want to do, and where you need to get someone else to do it for you. For example:
- When I know I'm going to have intensive people-contact time, I make sure there is at least a 3-hour block of time after that for me to sleep or at least be alone.
- I am pretty good at bookkeeping but when something requires absolute precision, especially around numbers, I get help.
- Filing is the same. I know how to do it but I don't like doing it so I ask for help when it's time to clear that stuff off my desk.
No one can do everything. Learn how you really work -- your best and your worst -- and honor that. Pretending you can do everything (or pretending that you don't have limits) is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.
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