“Few complete the journey. Many who tread this path stop along the way and are content to be healers and medicine people; but not master shamans.”
- Alberto Villoldo in Island of the Sun
What does completing the journey look like for you? Is it being satisfied with just completing your training for your own healing or development? Or are you meant to use what you know to be of greatest service to others?
Do you have a full-blown practice of clients that you’re consistently making a difference with? If that’s your intention and you don’t, then why not?
As Alberto mentions in Island of the Sun, we don’t all have to be master Shamans. For some of us, it’s enough to just be a healer knowing that you’re making a difference in the world, doing work that matters. However, what’s going to give you access to being able to do more of the work? It’s no secret that in this day and age, people find out about services and practitioners via the Internet. So how is your web presence? Do you have a presentation that is clear and compelling? Do you receive phone calls each week of people who are interested in your services? If not, why not? People need what you can provide. So why aren’t they calling or emailing you more often? What’s missing?
Perhaps it’s in the way that you present yourself online. As the creator of the Thriving Practice course for the Four Winds Society, I’ve helped a lot of practitioners to structure their websites in a way that works for them. The way I see it, there’s one major question that you need to consider that should drive the strategy of your website.
The question is: Just how broadly do you want to manifest yourself in the world?
Is it your intent to work primarily with groups, writing books and leading your own seminars with the occasional one-on-one client?
Or is it to have a full client practice spending your days doing mostly individual sessions with the occasional group presentation?
The reason why this matters so much is that depending on your answer, your website should look totally different for each.
If your primary focus is groups, then you need a strategy for your site that speaks to a broad audience with a particular approach. That means that the method that you include in your books or workshops should be relatable to many people regardless of their specific situation in life. Whether they are a 50-year old executive or a 35-year old single mom, your approach and perspective should benefit them. So if this is the case, you need a broad focus that will appeal to many people.
However, if your intent is to have a full client practice with just the occasional group presentation, then you need to identify your ideal client and tailor everything on your site to appeal to that person.
Certainly, if you’re positioned in a way that you can do all things for all people and you’re waiting for someone to google your specific type of healing or coaching in your area, then you might be waiting a while. That’s not the way to consistently attract paying clients or build a real business with your work. To me, determining a focus for your practice and letting that inform the material on your website is the way to go.
You’re probably in one of three places:
1) You don’t have a website, and you need one. Where do you start?
2) You have a site, but it’s too general. You’re positioned as a practitioner who can do all things for all people, hence the shotgun approach casting a very wide net and missing almost everybody.
3) You’re doing a good job with your website of continually attracting your ideal clients, but you need to make some changes to manifest yourself a bit more broadly.
So know where you are and what adjustments you may need to make. If you’re a revolutionary who’s ready to change the world with your practice by having the most compelling web presence and strategy possible, I’m here to help. Sometimes, being a good practitioner, walking your path, and being of service is enough.