If you’re a sole practitioner or own a health business, you probably think that the Gen Z trend of quiet quitting doesn’t apply to you. But this happens more than many self-employed people realise. Keep reading and see is you recognise any of these tell-tale signs.

Can you quiet quit if you work for yourself?

Quiet quitting is about doing the bare minimum to stay employed —  psychologically detaching from your job and only working the hours you’re paid for.

Having this degree of containment, let alone being paid for working every hour, sounds like something many small business owners can only dream of! However disengaging from activities that aren’t client-facing is all too common in our profession.

If you keep shoving admin and marketing jobs to the bottom of your to-do list, and don’t actively engage in nurturing business growth and work satisfaction, you’re probably quiet quitting without realising it.

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Signs that you’ve been quietly quitting all along

Do you recognise any of these signs?

• Not showing up or taking personal time when clients cancel.
• Failing to regularly schedule time to work on your business.
• Feeling isolated but not making an effort to connect with colleagues.
• Forgetting to create and follow through with new business goals each year.
• Procrastinating regularly.
• Staying ignorant about your client demographics, return rates and avoiding self-auditing.
• Not knowing how much you’re earning and where it’s coming from.
• Neglecting your website by not posting new content (or worse having not having a domain site at all).
• Not utilising your mailing list and rarely or never sending newsletters.
• Aimlessly spending time on social media but not posting regularly on your business pages.
• Noticing your client are cancelling more often, without following through to find the cause.
• Feeling relieved about the ‘quiet patch’ your business is going through.

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to wake up and take control of your business!  Scored more than 2/12? You’re definitely quiet quitting yourself.

Take back your resignation and be proactive in business

While not all practitioners relish promoting themselves, the reality is we need satisfied clients, ongoing referrals and visibility in a competitive market for our income to be self-supporting. Let alone creating and promoting one-to-many products.

This means having some kind of plan to both support your existing client base and continue to grow your business. Understanding your ideal client (the ones your genuinely enjoy working with and can meet their unmet health needs), targeting social media posts accordingly, sending regular newsletters and networking are all part of the job.

If you’re drifting without a plan or drilling down to find your sweet spot, then essentially you’re quiet quitting your business – and without a boss to pay you for this silent rebellion.

How to borrow from quiet quitting AND grow your business

There are a few tricks we can steal from the quiet quitting playbook. Keeping work contained to office hours is at the heart of the concept. This means refraining from checking personal emails or social media outside of work and firmly shutting the clinic door/logging off outside your business hours. Apart from balance being a key cornerstone of a happy life, it’s an important strategy for burnout prevention.

To do this, we need to be more efficient during business hours. Regardless of working part or full time, it’s important to allocate enough admin time outside of consultations. This enables us to cover the basics like replying to inquiries, research and keeping accounts up to date. Scheduling regular planning time is needed to progress from just keeping your head above water to actually growing or re-shaping your business.

The first step might be doing nothing

With so many holidays cancelled during the pandemic and far too much time spent at home, it’s easy to have forgotten the habit of intentionally switching off.

Having the headspace to dream and plan might begin with logging off and having a holiday, as quality time away from work can replenish our energy and mojo.

Create the space you need to reconnect with the passion that bought you to this profession!

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Your next step is doing something!

Firstly, take control of your finances and have a look at these tips to future-proof your business.

If you’ve been quiet quitting or feel overwhelmed at the thought of getting back on track, let’s work together to create a business you love.

Want to find your mojo? Gill Stannard has been supporting practitioners nurture their passion and grow a business they love for thirty years. To work together, please book an exploratory mentoring session.

If you’re a practitioner – sign up for the free mentoring newsletter below and jump to the Learn page check out these free mentoring resources.

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