My first job came at age 15 and by age 16, I had my own apartment. I started in the fast food business and quickly moved into management and purchased my first business when I was 17 years old. With the help of my father as a co-signer, I became the proud owner of a steak house with dreams of financial freedom. Freedom came in the form of being free to work any 14 hours of the day that I chose (lol). Between working two jobs, employee theft, and a general lack of maturity, I stuck with it for over a year before finally closing the doors. That failure in business was one of the best lessons of my young life.
My restaurant experience did fire up the passion to be a successful entrepreneur, while simultaneously making it challenging to work for others. After trying different careers in the industrial battery business and the world of semiconductors, I settled into the construction field where I remained for over thirty years.
During that time, I took one hiatus to help Beckie (my wife) with a new company she purchased named Texas Spice Company. Together we built the retail and wholesale food sales business from the ground up, and that growth continued after she sold it to reach over 2 million in sales. I returned to construction after helping her business off the ground and a few year later, she sold the business and joined me in construction.
The day Beckie came on board, she gave me ten years notice (lol). She worked several years before leaving the company and starting a de-clutter/organization/small business management operation. I continued with historic restoration until I transitioned into our current adventure in the intuitive/energy healing and intuitive training field. We have grown as a light table manufacturer, workshop facilitator, online school, and retail store, while providing an average of 7-900 one-on-one sessions per year.
Looking back, I realized that the construction business required trusting my intuition, knowing how to read people, and tremendous faith in my skills. Beckie and I have never had anyone to support us financially, in the event that we couldn’t pay our bills. Contracting is very risky with no guarantees. This lack of a safety net, did provide the need for a certain level of focus, planning, and discipline as the only path to success. Forced learning does have it’s benefits! (lol)
Since I began this journey of building a successful intuitive-based business, I have maintained an approach that has remained unchanged in many ways. Allowing people to choose the amount they pay for a session, has worked well for several years. This model does not work for everyone and does have advantages, like the time a person gave $1500 for a two-hour session. It also carries disadvantages, like times when people need services but have no money, or the millionaire who flipped me forty dollars for a session. This type of business model requires strong policies that must be followed, strong boundaries that must be adhered to, and strong discernment that must be trusted. Without a doubt, my previous experiences prepared me for this type of business.
Building an intuitive-based business is much the same as in any field of interest, but a niche business will always demand the need for business models that are specific to the individual. I have helped many people design their business model, mainly through my own entrepreneurship experience from the past, my knowledge about operating a business, and my use of intuitive skills.
In the midst of my intuitive reading work another opportunity was presented, which was using intuition to help people in all types of businesses and with all kinds of decisions. I have helped developers, financial analysts, small business owners, and corporate giants with their business decisions. One client once told me that everyone should have an intuitive business adviser, one that offers different perspectives than could be normally reached.
Overall, I enjoy offering business sessions to my clients, IEL students, and seasoned pros looking for a higher power of discernment or some type of affirmation regarding their decisions. I like the collective brainstorming, the business intelligence of the spirit realms, and the grounded common-sense approach to creating success. The bottom line is that some people, especially those that are artistically inclined, can be extremely challenged in the area of attention to business details.
Beyond the bundle offered by the IEL Institute for the Spiritual Arts that focuses on business, I keep a blueprint that can be modified to provide the framework of success for any business. I see business building as a challenging but fun opportunity, to be creative with spiritual artists and like-minded people who carry a desire to be in service to others.
by Russell Forsyth
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