April 2026 mentoring update: How’s your business going?
When the economy wobbles, inflation rises and uncertainty prevails. This often causes people to pull back on discretionary spending. For naturopaths and herbalists it can result in clients increasing the time between appointments, cancellations and a slow-down in new clients. Are you seeing this over the past month or two?
What the heck is ‘consumer confidence’ and why should I care about it?
‘Consumer confidence’ mightn’t be the sexiest topic, and one not usually taught in naturopathic degrees, but impacts us none the less. This ‘alltime’ graph charting Australian consumer trends is worth a look.
While it’s a reminder to be prepared for the leaner times, remember that this too shall pass. However the difference between a downturn in consumer confidence being a mere hiccough or a major impact depends on whether you’re prepared to be proactive.
Consumer confidence: what goes up must come down…again and again
Things you can implement NOW to maintain or even grow your business in uncertain economic times.
Five easy steps to take control!
- Collaborate – possibly the cheapest and simplest way to improve your visibility.
- Review your dispensing:
- In-house — do a stock take to see if there’s expired stock languishing on the shelf. Remember you can write this off at the end of the financial year but also learn from past decisions. Why did you stock it originally? Are you keeping up with price rises (especially for liquid herbs)?
- External prescribing — explore all the options. Are you getting the best rebates and choosing recommended retail pricing for your clients?
- Is there any fat to trim – review your subscriptions and other recurring payments.
- Get up-to-date with tax. If you don’t have an accountant who understands small business, it’s time to get one.
- Revisit these 8 future-proofing tips for practitioners, and commit to working through the full list this month.
Choose to be proactive rather than reactive! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop panicking and seek help.
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