You have opened your doors, feeling more comfortable with your talents that you are offering and have taken on clients. Then it starts happening; you start realizing that there is another part of your business that needs to be looked at. This happened to me when I saw that I was running in circles around certain aspects of my business. I was helping people but I knew that because I jumped in really fast I was not prepared in many aspects of my business.
I began talking to spiritual friends and asked them if they had made a business plan, and they often told me, “No”. I asked why, and they often said, “Well, I’m spiritual, and I trust that spirit will guide me.” Okay, I got that but then I pushed further and asked another why, and this is when it got interesting.
What I heard was, “It will take a lot of work, and I just don’t feel comfortable talking abut my spiritual practice that way. I don’t like talking about numbers.” This ran true for me despite that fact I had worked in a bank and compiled budgets for the executives for a few years. Then it began to hit me.
I had never felt like I belonged there either because I had not taken the regular path. I could track other people’s numbers but not mine for some reason. I was not on the fast track in the banking system and had literally fallen into the job I was in, and it was repeating here again for me. I had literally fallen into what I was doing now as well. When I realized that I was in the same position again and was not thinking of what I did as a business, this was just part of what was causing me huge problems.
For one, I was a calling what I did ‘a practice’. Calling what I did made it feel softer to me than “business” but it was not until I listened to one of the many free forums that are out there did I hear someone say that this had to stop. This startled me, and my resistance came up big time. I listened in amazement when they said that when you say ‘practice’, it sounds like you are still not ready to knuckle down and take what you do seriously; and if you aren’t ready to do that, then why would anyone else take you seriously either?
What thought first comes into your head when you hear yourself say ‘practice’? Does it feel good? Does it make you feel like you are ready? I found out that practice made me feel that I was still learning and not ready yet. That I still had a way to go even though I knew I helped people feel better about themselves.
What I found when I dug deeper is this belief, “Who did I think I was, thinking that what I did spiritually was a business?” I had not taken any so called professional courses with regards to my practice, just a whole lot of certificate courses that allowed me to ‘practice’ on my friends and family.
I had always judged myself and was constantly looking at people’s biographies to see where they had come from and this made it even worse for me. Then another realization hit me like a rock that this is exactly what my own father had gone through all life because he had never finished his Engineering Degree due to the war. I had heard him complain about this since I was very young and remember him talking about people not taking him seriously despite that fact he was excellent at what he did. Once again, old beliefs about worthiness coming up: am I good enough without a degree?
It really began once again with my own ‘Root Chakra’ issues as these always relate to the chakras of your business because it’s all about security. These issues deal with patience, structure, stability, security, and of course, manifestation.
Here are some great questions to answer of our personal ‘Root Chakra’ issues and see how they reflect in your business:
Personal Questions
- Am I a person of patience or do I want things done quickly?
- Do I have family characteristics that are affecting my business?
- Do I feel I have the support I need in my life to manage my business?
- Do I feel stable in my life at this point?
- Do I feel that my life is grounded or do I feel disconnected with myself?
- Can I allow myself to dream of the life I want?
Business Questions
- Have I taken the time to plan my business?
- Is there a business owner in my family and if so, are they successful?
- Do I have the support from my family that I need for my business?
- Do I feel that my business is stable with the foundation I have created?
- Am I totally invested in my business with proper knowledge of how to succeed?
- Can I remain directed doing what needs to be done in my business and still look after my family?
To be successful even with a spiritual business, you need to have some idea of where you are going, and if not, it is like a ship without a direction. Just mapping out a rough idea will let you see where you need to start working. You need a vision.
I allowed myself time to be quiet and did a meditation to ask if I was on the right track. I had a big dream of helping others, and it scared me, and I knew it was going to take me way out of my comfort zone. The answer I got totally scared me as it told me to keep going and TRUST the process. I went to the bookstore and found a wonderful book called “Visionary Business” by Marc Allen. I should say it found me…another instance of a book falling off the shelve. It certainly got me thinking in the right direction, and I loved the advice knowing that I could do it my way with guidance and some obvious business courses.
Being a Spiritual Business owner does have its challenges for sure because it also brings us huge growth in our personal lives whether we are ready for it or not. It brings up our trust issues, our self-worth issues along with huge money issues. I suggest you take the time to answer the questions I asked myself and see what comes up. This will allow you to see any ‘Root Chakra’ issues that you may have that are affecting the Root Chakra of your business.
Here are some new beliefs that will help with your Spiritual Business and look at old beliefs that may be holding you back:
- It’s safe and appropriate for me to be successful in my business. (say this when old family stuff starts coming up)
- I am worthy of having a successful spiritual business (when you start questioning yourself about being in business)
- I fully step into the value that I bring in my spiritual business (when you question your background)
