Making Marketing Less Cringe Worthy and More Soulful

It is often said that the exact phrase "First do no harm" (Latin: Primum non nocere) is a part of the original Hippocratic oath. Although the phrase does not appear in the AD 245 version of the oath, similar intentions are vowed by, "I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm". The phrase "primum non nocere" is believed to date from the 17th century. (Wikipedia)

Although the majority of us equine-inspired practitioners are not medical doctors, the tenant of “First, do no harm” is a foundational principle for how to hold our work sacred, care for our clients, and even conduct our business and marketing!

So many ‘soulful-service’ providers cringe at the prospect of marketing. They just can’t shake the image of a seedy, slimy stereotype of a smarmy used car salesman who wants to grab your money in exchange for a clunker car. This is an outdated consciousness that ‘to sell’ our service is ‘dirty’ or unholy in some way.

I’m going to assume that you are already ethical in your approach to your practice in respect to offering your service according to your abilities and training and that you are not offering anything you are not qualified or capable of delivering. Therefore, the ‘Do No Harm’ tenet clearly applies to your service.

So, here’s what I invite you to ‘lick and chew’ on today… approach EVERYTHING you do from the mindset of ‘Do No Harm’.

Start with YOURSELF - Entrepreneur Self Care

As you create, prepare, and invite others into your sacred space of possibility, take some time to reflect on how you are treating yourself. 

• Are you providing your physical body with adequate rest and nutrition? 
• What are the thoughts you are telling yourself about your abilities, self-worth or concerns of judgment from others? 
• Can you receive in equal measure to what you give?
  

Do No Harm In Your Marketing

• Do you understand the full value of the benefits you provide your clients?
• Can you embrace the fact that by not sharing your service that you are actually denying others the possibility of help or even transformation?!
• Can you hold the space for them to decide for themselves whether or not they can afford your service? (deciding for them is crossing their sovereign boundary)

As you contemplate the above bullet points I’d love to know what other thoughts pop up for you around ‘Do No Harm’ as it relates to building your equine-inspired business! 

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To Your Horse & Soul Success,

~author of, “The Business of Coaching with Horses. How to Reach More Clients, Feed Your Horses, and Change the World!”

My mission is to empower and educate equine-inspired practitioners in the art of profitable program design and marketing. My dream-come-true is to see equine-assisted personal and professional development be recognized and celebrated for the unique transformational modality that it is and to become as popular as yoga and Starbucks.