Entrepreneurship ~ The Path Less Traveled

There are many things that a budding entrepreneur can do to ensure optimum success.

1. Developing a website is number one. Few people, in my circle of family and friends, ever refer to the yellow pages anymore. I want to know with whom I am dealing instead of making a ‘prod in the dark’.



Review your site weekly to keep it fresh and alive. Back it up onto a CD every week, or more often, if you are updating a lot. Use PayPal or something similar to make it easier for people who want to pay with a credit card. Any links that exist on the site should be active and lead to where you want them. Check to make sure none of the info has stale-dated. Do a line edit if you’ve added a lot of text content or, better yet, let a fresh eye read it over. Link to everyone who is in harmony with your website. List yourself on the many free directories and do reciprocal links with others of like-mind.



Find someone you admire who is doing similar work and advertise in the same places. There can be no competition in our field of endeavor, as any healer worth their salt knows that it is all Spirit-guided. The clients and students that are yours will come to you. Also be aware that healing happens through us not by us, and ego should be sent on a well-deserved vacation.



2. Write a quarterly newsletter with topics you know would interest your readers. Share your personal experience with others. This helps people to identify their issues and gives them hope that they, too, can recover from whatever is bothering them.



3. Creating an image through branding is very key. By having your website, brochure, flyers, business cards, registration forms, certificates, seals, and receipts with the same colour scheme and logo, visitors will soon recognize your particular look; it attests to continuity and professionalism.



4. Work with intention. Decide what it is, exactly, that you would like your end result to be. Then write an intention surrounding that ideal. ie: “I hold the intention that (my company) is financially stable and doing well on all levels. We attract and attain new students and clients daily. We are a resource for our community. And so it is.” Say this intention at least 21 times each day. If fear comes knocking or doubt creeps in, say it. Keeping our thoughts aligned to our intention is mandatory.



5. Keep up with your daily spiritual rituals. If you do Reiki, or any other kind of self-healing, meridian clearing techniques, meditation, yoga, exercise, walking, or some other form that feeds you spiritually, keep it up; do it daily. Don’t let yourself lapse as this will affect your energy system, which will affect your ability to attract abundance and prosperity.



6. If you work from home, as most of us do, begin and end your day at a certain time. Then close the office door. Take a half hour to an hour lunch break or dinner break and relax. Read a book that is not related to your work. Call a friend. Better yet, meet a friend or your Mom for lunch. You know, just have fun. We don’t get another shot at this and it really behooves us to take care of ourselves. When I last flew, our hostess told us that we need to put the air mask on ourselves first, and then on our loved ones. This really makes sense, doesn’t it? We are not going to help anyone if are not well ourselves.



7. Keep up with the courses required to do your job effectively. Expand your knowledge base and skill set. Go for the highest rung you can reach, then reach higher. Don’t allow yourself to rest on your laurels and become stuck in a rut. Be on top of what is happening in your ‘community of interest’; join professional bodies and get involved.



8. Go out and walk through your community and get to know who lives there. Talk to them about what you do. See the people who work at health food stores, metaphysical bookshops, and other wellness centres. Leave business cards and brochures with them. Point out your website URL. Remember, this is akin to a job interview and you only get one chance to make a first impression. Be appropriately dressed, open, and pleasant.



9. Contact your local College, Continuing Education Departments, Community Services Branch, and volunteer to give free lectures on the topics of your modalities. Make up a handout for people to take home and mull over. Follow up, within three days, with anyone who seems interested.



10. Get in touch with women’s centres, homes for the elderly, or the hospice society, and share your self there.



As you go about your daily round at the bank, the grocery store, and the muffin shop, share with others who you are and what you do.



11. Check out your thoughts and ideas with a trusted friend/mentor or gather together a posse who know you well and regularly check in with them. We can sometimes feel like we’re going it alone in this business, when, day in and day out, the only people we see are clients and students. Take time to recharge your batteries, kick back, and just relax with friends.



12. To avoid burnout, balance your business life with family, friends, and other interests. Go on regular vacations and leave your work behind you for a few weeks. When we do this, I ensure my regular clients still get their sessions by asking some of my friends in the business if they would take one or two for a few weeks. This works out well for everyone. We don’t last forever and sometimes illness befalls us or we are forced to move to another area of the country. It is important to our clients that they have someone, they’ve already been to, to take your place.



13. Don’t leave home without them. Take your cards, flyers, brochures, or recent newsletters with you. Always have something on hand that you can give to those who seem interested in your work. Have extras for them to give to someone they know. Look as good as you can when you leave the house. You never know when Spirit might have an interview waiting for you.



14. Finally, save time aside in your schedule every month to just help another budding entrepreneur. Have them in for a cup of tea; share how you’ve done it. Show them this article. Encourage them. Our world needs all the help it can get.

Remember, it takes time to become known and established. ‘Word of mouth’ plays a big role in your chosen career path. Be patient and have faith. Take it person-by-person and do all you can to help that one soul. The world is a better place with you in it. Life is a great adventure; have fun with it and smile often.

These things I know for sure

Everything is Intention
Everything is energy.
Everything is connected.
Everything is changing.