Sweating the Small Stuff

How many times have you been told “not to sweat the small stuff?”  

It seems like good advice right? 

“Only worry about things you can control”, 

or

“Don’t focus your energy on things that aren’t that important to you”

I’d argue that advice is actually not something you should take.  While there are good intentions behind those words, one could argue that fixing, controlling, adjusting those “small things”, will actually make you happier, provide a better experience, or even just allow you to focus better on those bigger, daunting tasks.  Of course, know what you can and cannot control. That is not up for debate.  But, having self awareness and realizing things need fixing before a complaint (internal or external) comes, is key to success.

Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, author and podcaster, has a similar belief to this.  He has become a pioneer in my mind for those looking to see behind the curtains of the business world and the financially affluent.  He truly has a remarkable skill set of growing businesses, providing value to his customers, staff, etc.  This is not a blog post about how awesome he is, but have a listen to his podcast episodes.  I am a fan to say the least.  

He wrote in his book, Diary of a Ceo: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, (also the name of his amazingly addictive, informative and successful podcast),  “If you don’t care about tiny details, you’ll produce bad work, because good work is the culmination of hundreds of tiny details. The world’s most successful people sweat the small stuff”. 

I love that quote.  I live by that quote. 

Every day at Massage Is Therapy For Me, I sweat the small stuff.  From how the room is set up, to the music playing, to the sheets being set out presentable, clean, and odor free, to even how I send reminder texts and check-ins post session, all is carefully considered.  

I obsess over all of it.  From the sounds you hear, to the smells, to the accessibility of the office location, to parking instructions given for every first appointment.  Coffee and water are always available.  Every session catered to what you are in need of.  In pain? Let’s relieve that.  Want to talk, you can. Want to fall asleep, let’s get there.   I also constantly obsess over website details, booking / rebooking  simplicities, appointment time availability, and even the temperature in the room. 

For example: Referring someone? Let’s make it simple.  Book online.  I used to have to go through my whole calendar and theirs together to figure it out.  Now it is accessible for you to see.  A little less friction, a world of a difference hopefully for both of us. 

I want every single person on my table glad they spent their money on their health, that a dollar was not wasted, and that every single one of them feels like they are my only client and that MY top priority is YOUR experience and YOUR health. 

I also try my best to be self aware.  To realize what I need to fix in myself, in my communications, my massages, and my business processes.  

At Massage Is Therapy For Me, as a client of both massages or the business coaching program, I will also ask for feedback, both live and post sessions.  This allows for future me, future clientele, and future versions of YOU, to receive more benefits from today’s version of us.  Sounds weird maybe, but that truly is how I view feedback.  “Criticisms” seem harsh, but in reality, that is what we need sometimes.  

Mastery of customer successes, mastery of business processes, and mastery of client experiences, all comes down to sweating the small stuff.

As this business continues to grow, I will continue to advance these small things. I want every single person encountering Massage Is Therapy For Me, to not even realize in the moment how much time and effort has gone into their experience. But, when they look back on their time as a client, they can see that all efforts were made to accommodate things they did not know they even needed. 

Every day I plan to get, at least, 1% better.  It can be in a variety of ways, but being self aware and hyper cognizant of my business, I aim to continue to enhance the experience of any who comes in contact with Massage Is Therapy For Me.

Sweat the small stuff.  Obsess over it.  I do.

Talk soon, 

Frank Gioeli, LMT

Owner of Massage Is Therapy For Me