An Open Letter To All Spiritual Entrepreneurs Projects Angel

Dear Spiritual Entrepreneur,

My name is Elizabeth Jackson and I’ve had the honour of working with dozens of spiritual and holistic entrepreneurs as a strategist and VA for the past few years. During this time, my own spirituality has grown and I’ve gained a deep knowledge on the sector.

I’m writing this open letter because it is something that I would have wanted to read a few years ago, and, as far as I can ascertain, it isn’t written anywhere else.

It is absolutely okay to have a day job and for your spiritual or holistic business to be your hobby. Most people in the sector are NOT, I repeat NOT making six figures. Please etch this into your memory with immediate effect. Hospitals, schools, shops, businesses are FILLED with lightworkers helping others. They are everywhere.
The spiritual entrepreneur market is largely a cottage industry. It is chaotic to study because of all the different branches that fall under this market and all the different marketing techniques used and services offered. There are no federations that globally study the market, therefore we have no good data to study it.
There are no industry statistics on how much a Psychic Services Practitioner, for example, earns on average per year. However, the IBISWorld description of the Psychic Services in the US: Market Research Report says that the industry is worth $2 billion, divided among the reported 82,000 psychics, that comes to $24,400 per person per year. This is a rough average and doesn’t take into account that some people will be spending more than they are earning, whilst others will be making 6 figures.
There IS a figure for personal coaches in the U.S. ($51,418 ), and this number comes from the ICF (Intl. Coach Federation’s latest survey).
It is likely that you will be a Sole Proprietor Entrepreneur for your entire working life if you choose to do this full time. That is not an easy thing to do because it involves constantly adapting to new situations and trial and error. This means that you are most likely going to be in charge of finding your own clients/people.
You can price your services however you want to. There is no reason why you should price things at $97, $497, $997 and $1997 just because these have historically been the prices used for infoproducts or because someone told you to. I, personally think that my dentist is worth more than his weight in gold, but he does not charge me that. He is a healer and has amazing work ethics and more certificates than I’ve ever seen in one place.
Hay House have a well-developed business model as a case study. They have cornered the self-help (now self-empowerment market) and have a brilliant marketing and publishing business model. Originally it was a publishing house. It has now been horizontally and vertically integrated to bring together a complete ‘one-stop-shop’.
Spiritual practitioners do NOT need to be a walking talking affirmation card. We are human. We get depressed, angry, eat junk, smoke, swear….just like everyone else. Do not wait until you are ‘all healed’ to start being a helper.
You do not need to follow the Product Launch Formula and package your services as infoproducts to be a practitioner online.
A funnel can be as simple as a free gift upon signing up to your mailing list and then weekly or monthly newsletters.
You can provide your services online 1:1 and have offline lead-generation systems (public speaking, posters, etc.) This works brilliantly as a starter business model.
Social media is difficult to get a grasp of. If you feel like you don’t ‘get’ it, it’s because it’s difficult to ‘get’. It’s not a panacea to getting clients.
There are lots of different business models out there. I find that a lot of people are quite opaque when it comes to explaining the technicalities of what system they’re using. Please be aware that each system actually has a name, such as Webinar Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Website Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Article Marketing, Podcast Marketing. Once you get a grasp on that, it’s easier to understand the different systems.
If you spend all day in Facebook Groups, you will get stressed out and likely get nowhere quickly. I suggest that you go with your gut feeling and try each idea out one by one and find what works for you. Play to your strengths, whether that means you are a good writer, speaker, networker etc.
It is well worth learning how to use Google Analytics to see where your website visitors are coming from. You could be spending hours on Pinterest, for example, but only getting 5 hits to your site from that platform each month.
The theory of “there is no competition” is interesting. The theory works along the lines of, when you are in your ‘sweet spot’ you are completely differentiated from the competition, therefore there is no competition. However, by acknowledging that there is competition (from which you can differentiate yourself), the statement is contradictory and a self-refuting argument. In my opinion, it is supercilious to blithely state that ‘I don’t believe in competition’ and to rely on some telepathic form of Law of Attraction marketing.
Everyone I’ve spoken to who has told me that their clients “just find them”, has obtained clients through Search Engine Marketing, Website Marketing and Referrals Marketing. I’m not saying that Law of Attraction Marketing is fictitious, I’m simply saying that it is a gross oversimplification to state that holding an intention alone will bring you clients. My version of this is as follows: putting a good website up and getting it ranked, getting your brand on-point, working lead-generation strategies while holding the intention of bringing in clients is Law of Attraction Marketing.
Referrals from existing clients are pure gold. I suggest you make this your number one lead-generation strategy.
You do not need to start by offering group programs and webinars. IMHO that is better once you’re ready to upscale. Start small. It’s easier and you’ll learn more that way.
Don’t stress about social media marketing. Find the social media platforms you like and post whatever feels right. Just try not to post anything that is overly crafted to make you ‘look good’. Truth sells.
You do not need to have a perfect website to get clients. It is more important to create a business plan instead of playing with fonts and themes on your website.
Once you have grown a flourishing business, I suggest you look to find synergies and affinities in Horizontal and Vertical Marketing to expand your horizons further.