Business has always been second nature to me. Selling rhubarb pies at an Amish market with my family sparked my entrepreneurial spirit at eight years old.
After college, I worked in direct sales, securing a spot in the top 2% of consultants at my company. The job came with many perks: I was rewarded with free trips, designer handbags and mansion parties.
As a 24-year-old mother from a small town in West Virginia, it was more than I ever dreamed of. Still, I had this nagging feeling that something was missing. I started asking myself:
These questions would eventually inspire me to a build The Royal Shaman, a spiritual advising business for elite CEOs and entrepreneurs. Last year, my company brought in $972,000 in gross revenue.
Becoming a shaman
I've always knew I had a gift — a way of knowing and seeing things other people can't. After feeling disconnected from my sales career, I decided to follow my intuition.
So in 2013, I quit my job and began a five-year spiritual journey that led me to South Africa, where I trained to become a shaman. A shaman is a "healer" who in a variety of ways bridges the physical and non-physical realms.
"Your business or work is simply a vehicle for expressing who you are, and it will be most successful when you allow it to align with your unique self," says Candiss Pitts, who goes by the name "Makhosi Nejeser."Photo: Candiss Pitts
Initiation involves rigorous training in psychology — healing a person physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually by diagnosing their roadblocks, performing rituals that call upon ancestors to help, or guiding them back to harmony with their soul.
The process can be very expensive, as you're covering costs like travel and materials for rituals. Overall, I spent more than $100,000 and had to take>The Royal Shaman: How I started my business
In September 2018, I returned home and started offering individual spiritual advising sessions.
Spiritual advising is different than life coaching. Life coaches typically focus>From $17,000 to $972,000 in 2 years
In 2020, I knew I needed to pivot, so I narrowed my client focus by asking:
My new goal was to attract an elite clientele — particularly high income earners and high-level entrepreneurs. I stopped posting on Facebook began marketing myself on podcasts, interview appearances, and on Mighty Networks, a community platform for brands.
I later changed my prices to reflect the work I was doing with my clients; sometimes, my advising was influencing multimillion-dollar business deals.
My current product offering starts at $15,000 for a group coaching membership and extends to over $200,000 a year for exclusive, one-to-one coaching. I am much more selective about who I work with.
In 2013, Candiss quit her job and began a five-year spiritual journey that led her to South Africa, where she trained to become a shaman.Photo: Candiss Pitts
I now have an incredible team of five full-time employees — a business manager, virtual assistant, digital marketing manager, sales specialist and a mindset coach — with plans to expand the coaching staff this year.
In 2020, despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, my gross revenue grew to $209,000. And in 2021, we closed out with $972,000. We're on track to make more than $2 million in gross revenue this year, and have made an average of $119,000 per month this quarter.
All of this was possible because I gave myself permission to follow my passion and purpose. If you're looking to do the same, here's my best advice:
1. Your purpose isn't , it's .
We weren't put on Earth to just "work a job." We are here to use our unique traits and talents to better the world.
Your business or work is simply a vehicle for expressing who you are, and it will be most successful when you allow it to align with your unique self.
2. Step into your clients' shoes.
If you truly want to serve your ideal clients, immerse yourself in their world and embody their experiences in your day-to-day life.
In 2021, Candiss' company, The Royal Shaman, made $972,000 in gross revenue.Photo: Candiss Pitts
For example, if your ideal client regularly takes solo trips abroad, and you know nothing about what it's like to travel alone, there's going to be some disconnect when you work with them.
3. Know your clients better than they know themselves.
A lot of market research focuses on a surface-level understanding of demographics. You need to know not just what your clients they want, but also the deeper reason behind they want it.
Perhaps they want to make more money. There are many different reasons why a person wants to earn more. For my clients, it's to change the world, pursue their dreams, and enjoy the luxuries of life.
If you can decipher a client's "why," you will be able to know them on a level nobody else does.
4. Slow down to speed up.
It's easy to get caught up in trying to achieve your vision of success as fast as humanly possible. But I've learned that building a business is a marathon, not a sprint.
When I consciously made the decision to slow down, ask questions, and create something that will last, I was able to gain sustainable momentum because I wasn't constantly chasing that next shiny thing.
