Where are all the clients??? -- Long Post

[Guest guest]

Hi all --

I have had my private practice open since mid January and am feeling very discouraged with how slow business has been. I have had exactly 2 clients in the past 3 months! One of those clients found me because she stumbled on my website and the other was referred to me by the LC who mentored me. Where are all the clients?

I've done a lot of thinking about what might be keeping me from taking off and I can't quite figure it out. I feel like I am doing an ok job of marketing myself on my very small budget. Here's what I have done...

I am teaching a free breastfeeding class at the local Babies R Us store once a month. All of the couples go home with info about my business and the store promo coordinator (who does all of the classes) has been getting great reviews from the parents who have attended. I am following up with the moms from these classes by email close to their due dates.

I have written a letter of introduction and taken it around to a number of local ob/gyn and peds practices, along with brochures and cards and given it to the head nurse or practice manager.

I have let all of the LLL Leaders in the area know that I am open and available for business.

I have an arrangement with a local peds practice where they let me use an exam room for free and they get to say they have LC services available on site. They have been very welcoming to me and have furnished my room nicely but have generated zero referrals so far. Every time they see someone who might need LC services, they are telling me that they are passing out my card and there are signs up about my business in each of the exam rooms. I have gotten a couple of phone calls from moms who got my card from the docs here but they haven't panned out into actual consults.

I've gone to the biggest hospital in the area that has LC's on staff and left info about who I am, that I provide home visits and that I could be a nice follow-up to the services they provide. The LC's at this hospital are extremely busy and have trouble getting to everyone who delivers at the hospital, little lone seeing everyone who might need follow-up outpatient services.

I have a website and have sent out at link to the site to literally everyone I know in my personal circle of friends and acquaintances.

I've listed myself on the ILCA "find an LC" list and I've also listed my name on several other websites that have a "find an LC" feature.

I've listed myself on my subdivision's electronic bulletin board in the businesses and services section

Here's what I haven't done: I haven't advertised in any of the local baby magazines or newspapers. The local Kansas City Baby magazine has a big circulation and I think it might be helpful to advertise with them but it is just simply outside my financial resources to do so. It would be almost $200 a month for a three month ad the size of a business card. $600 is just too much at this point.

I'd like to start teaching classes for pay but don't have a venue to teach in that wouldn't require me to pay a hefty rental fee. The ped office I have my arrangement with has the waiting room divided into a well side and a sick side, making each waiting room too small to comfortably teach a class. The largest healthcare system in this metro area (4 hospitals and a huge number of docs) has a possible opening for an IBCLC to work as a breastfeeding educator and I have spoken with the community ed manager about this position. I would be paid by the hour and I'm not yet sure if they would let me market my own business -- I'm guessing not but at least I would be getting paid to do something I love and would be getting connected to other LC's in the area.

I'm also thinking about asking the docs in the peds practice if they would be willing to just provide me with the names of each breastfeeding newborn, even if they don't think they need LC services so that I can make a follow-up call -- to introduce myself, ask how things are going and let them know I'm available if they need services.

I'm trying to count my blessings... I am very lucky to have a supportive husband who has a job that meets our family needs without me needing to bring in the extra income. I've been able to pursue this career that I feel passionately about. It's just very discouraging to feel like I'm putting out all this effort and not getting any return for it. Plus, I just really WANT to be helping moms with breastfeeding. On the practical side, I'm paying for childcare for the one 1/2 day per week I'm spending at the peds office and I'm also renting a scale so I have expenses related to the business and no income to offset it. We've been able to absorb this so far but it can't go on indefinitely.

I would really appreciate any ideas of other things I can do to generate some business as well as any encouraging stories from other people about launching your practice. Thanks for reading such a long post and taking time to reply.

Discouraged,

C. (ee, Kansas, USA)