Business start-up progress
The past few months have been a whirlwind. Between running my own chiropractic and rehabilitation business and returning to shifts at the local golf club as lockdown eased, it’s been a lesson in juggling, patience, and learning what really helps a small business thrive. This post pulls back the curtain on those realities: the early optimism, the frustration, the grind, and the glimmers of genuine progress. Whether you’re just starting your own practice, wondering why the phone isn’t ringing after a blitz of Facebook ads, or feeling like you’re shouting into the void, you’ll find first-hand lessons here that are as practical as they are honest.
Why This Matters
When you’re starting out, especially in healthcare or any service where trust is everything, the gap between effort and reward feels enormous. You pour time and money into advertising, only to find that your carefully crafted Facebook post garners more likes from extended family than bookings. You hand out business cards until your wrist aches, check email compulsively, and still the client diary has more white space than you’d like to admit.
This situation goes beyond inconvenience. Every empty appointment slot is lost revenue. Every spare afternoon spent twiddling your thumbs weighs on your motivation. Add on the uncertainty of a post-pandemic landscape, the return of former jobs to make ends meet, and the never-ending balancing act with home life, and even the most enthusiastic new business owner may wonder where things are going wrong.
For me, the heart of the matter was this: I was spending time and money in places that didn’t actually move the needle, while overlooking the channels that really brought people through the door. If you’re trying to build a business from scratch and keep missing your own expectations, chances are you’re caught in some of the same traps.
Common Pitfalls
It’s natural to think that throwing more money at digital marketing means more bookings will magically appear. “Everyone’s on Instagram, so if I just shout louder…” or “Surely if I boost one more post, I’ll fill the course.” In reality, the world is absolutely saturated with noise, and the people who actually need your help may not be the ones scrolling past your ad.
Here are the most common mistakes I ran into, and I see them again and again in conversations with other new practitioners:
1. Relying on advertising over personal connection
There’s nothing wrong with advertising. The trouble comes when you assume it’s a silver bullet. My painstakingly crafted online back pain course was promoted in every local Facebook group and Instagram story I could muster. Result? Three sign-ups. One was a family member, and another only turned up because we’d chatted at the gym.
2. Underestimating genuine informal conversations
I found myself surprising people at the golf club who mentioned a back niggle in passing, or chatting to parents on the school run who hadn’t the faintest clue what a chiropractor actually does. These unplanned, organic moments led to more client enquiries than any amount of carefully-branded content ever did.
3. Thinking ‘being busy’ equals ‘being productive’
Juggling shifts at the golf club and sessions at the clinic made my calendar look full, but I soon realised that time spent on fruitless promotion was simply draining. Without perspective, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of doing more, not better.
Step-by-Step Fix
If you’re nodding along ruefully, the good news is there are practical ways to steer your ship toward calmer waters, and they’re grounded in what actually works in small, service-based businesses. Here’s the approach that started to make a real difference for me.
1. Blend your professional life into your daily spaces
When you run a local service, visibility is half the battle. Handily, you don’t need a four-figure ad budget to be seen. I ended up back behind the counter at the golf club as things reopened, and I’ll admit my initial worry was that it would distract from my clinic work. Instead, it proved a blessing. Why? Because in this everyday setting, people see me as a real person with skills, rather than just an ad on their newsfeed. Conversations flow naturally. Staff mention to members, “Oh, you know Sam is actually a chiropractor?” Suddenly, I’m not cold-calling or pressuring anyone. I’m filling people in over a cup of tea or when they’re waiting for their tee-off.
Wear your work with pride, wherever you are. If you’re at your other job, the gym, or a community event, don’t be shy about mentioning your side hustle (or main hustle, for that matter). Keep business cards in your pocket. Look for opportunities to help, not just to sell. If someone mentions a bad back waiting in the coffee queue, that’s a better lead than twenty cold email addresses.
2. Focus on face-to-face interactions (even if numbers are small)
One of the more humbling moments this month came with launching my online back pain course. My original hope was for ten or fifteen sign-ups. Reality: three. At first, I saw this as evidence that I’d failed to make a splash. But talking with those few participants (and remembering that one signed up because her friend told her, not Facebook), I realised something important. The right conversation, in the right context, carries more weight than any broadcast. So I doubled down on offering free taster classes: an outdoor mobility session at the local gym, open mornings, casual seminars where people can try-before-they-buy.
Eight people joined my taster session, including a few Zoom regulars who finally got to meet me in the flesh. Afterwards, several hung around for a chat, asked about injury niggles, or took cards for friends. The atmosphere in person was simply different: more trust, more real chat, less scrolling past content.
Don’t underestimate tiny events. Even if you end up chatting to just a handful of people, those connections are more likely to lead to word-of-mouth bookings than any costly online push. Plus, you’ll learn what people actually want, not just what you think they want.
3. Build a sense of community, instead of just a client list
A major insight from my online course was that people need connection just as much as they need information. From the outset, I encouraged participants to share their questions and setbacks in a private group, rather than simply following my movements by rote. I sent them quick videos, even outside of class time, and nudged everyone to cheer each other on. Even with just three participants, the feedback was that they felt supported, seen, and keen to continue.
Community creates accountability, trust, and a genuine sense of care about progress. That’s worth more than any slick infographic.
If you’re running any sort of course or class, add small moments for peer support: a WhatsApp group, shared progress logs, or a post-session chat. That way, your business becomes a hub, not just a transaction.
4. Learn from each trial and ignore the vanity metrics
Launching something new often means hearing a deafening silence. You’ll post beautifully designed images that your family dutifully likes, but sign-ups stay stuck at three. Resist the urge to see this as a direct measure of your worth or skill. Instead, ask: “Did anyone get value?” and “What could I try next time?”
In my case, noticing that most real bookings came out of direct spoken conversations, whether in the gym car park, at the club counter, or at the outdoor event, led me to spend more time arranging these real-life touchpoints and less time lost in the digital void. What matters is measuring the right thing.
After every effort, debrief yourself. What worked? Where did that client find you? Celebrate small wins and use what you learn, even (or especially) when the numbers are underwhelming.
5. Set routines you can actually keep up
Trying to be everywhere at once is exhausting and unsustainable. Early on, I feared missing out on any opportunity. If I was invited to run a demo or staff meeting or take an extra golf club shift, I said yes, convinced each tiny crack might reveal a gold nugget of a new client.
Soon, my calendar looked like an attempt to play bingo rather than run a business. Honest conversations with the golf club manager and my own clients helped me map out regular, sustainable shifts. Consistency and boundaries are kinder to your sanity (and your family) than perpetual hustle.
Set fixed slots for both your old job and your business. Communicate these clearly to colleagues, clients, and family. You’re less likely to double-book, and more likely to honour the appointments you actually want.
What Most People Miss
It sounds like a cliché, but people invest in people, not services. All the branding in the world can’t replace someone’s feeling that you listened, shared a laugh, or helped them out of a tight spot. In a post-pandemic world, human connection has become increasingly valuable.
One proven way to grow is recognizing that your next best client probably comes from a friend’s recommendation after a chat at the gym, instead of a polished paid advert.
Building trust leads to business growth. Often, those opportunities present themselves in places that aren’t marked “Business Opportunity” on the calendar. Having conversations, following up after chance encounters, and showing up in your community as yourself are all key steps.
The Bigger Picture
Getting through the first year of business sometimes feels like stuffing a square peg into a round hole. For months, you might work in near-total obscurity. I remember feeling like I was running sessions in my garage for a tiny audience, barely more visible than when I started. Then, as restrictions eased, opportunities and nerves arrived all at once.
Learning to spot and nurture the moments that move the needle pays off in many ways. It restores your motivation, shifts your focus from non-stop busywork to meaningful relationships, and sets your business up for the future by rooting it in your local community.
If you keep choosing the actions that build trust, engagement, and genuine value, you’ll see gains that last: more referrals, more returning clients, and work that still feels worthwhile when the novelty wears off.
Wrap-Up
Four months into running my own show, the idea that success comes from endless hustle and heavy ad spend has proven false. Instead, the conversations at the golf club, the laughter at outdoor classes, and the small wins from genuine feedback have made the real difference.
Next time you find yourself chasing views or fiddling with hashtags, pause and ask: where did my last real client actually come from? That’s where your efforts should go.
Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.