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I was asked this today, just as a general question and it got me thinking.
There are the obvious reasons: to support my family, financial stability, making use of my creativity in a purposeful & helpful way , flexibility to stay with my son-well bring him to work with me.
But there are alot of other reasons that go unsaid. All of these are why I really opened this business, and it always comes back to helping people and making people feel a little bit less alone.
Such as…..
Guiding and teaching the people that come to me, sometimes they come to me not so much for merchandise but for an ear to listen and a kind word or two. Sometimes to feel less alone or are seeking to feel a connection to someone who can relate to them and what they have gone through or are going through.
When most people come through my doors, it’s not about crystals or herbs or jewelry or candles or artwork or anything else….it’s just about them needing a good interaction with someone who cares. That’s where having a few extra gifts really helps out.
In the last 8 years or so there has been a stark rise in people coming to me for clearing negative entities and closing portals, warding and shielding equipment and know-how…and services. That is probably one of the more intense ways that I know how important this business is, as all of the people that come to me cannot find help anywhere else.
*A lot of times people have come through my doors at the end of their rope, kids in tow, not two bucks to rub together. These cases are handled at no charge to the family as they can barely afford to survive (that’s generally how entity attachments work, it takes you to some of the lowest places of your life). It’s Some scary stuff and the margin for error is ZERO! I work with one of the more competent clearers that I have met for these tough jobs.*
The vast majority of my clients come for help with sleep and stress related issues, and they always leave my doors with a lighter heart than when they arrived and tools to help in their day to day life. They also know that I am just a message away if they need help.
Iv taken in more than a couple of people who really needed the help, 1 in particular i knew that if she had just a week in a safe place that her and her infant sons luck would turn around sharply. And it did. She is still currently doing very well, years later.
My business has allowed me to give work to people who didn’t have anyplace to turn, the work wasn’t about cash (I couldn’t afford a lot, small businesses generally can’t) but about having a purpose when they felt that they were nothing to anyone and didn’t matter in the world.
I’ve always kept extra food at my business for when people in need came in, but when times got really bad in 2020 i officially opened the Des Moines New Age Food Pantry and then it morphed into a pantry AND supply closet (Blankets, diapers, etc.What i could afford and always brand new & unopened). Dennis and I (and sometimes Wubb) even took groceries and supplies to families over the years who couldn’t come out to get them. I remember in one lady’s apartment building I kept getting lost lols
During one of our in shop semi-monthly fairs in 2020, all of the small businesses and home based businesses at the event (including Dennis and I) did a video feed letting people of the area know that if they needed groceries and such that they could contact any or all of us. We couldn’t feed them lobster and steak but their families wouldn’t go hungry on our watch.
Then there’s….
Connecting people with each other, both other small businesses (and Home based businesses) as well as clients who are in need of their services.
Helping the multitude of consignors who purvey their handiwork through my business turn their talents into profit, many times for them it means the difference between groceries and going without- especially nowadays.
But more than that, it allows them to pursue their dreams without the hefty financial risks & responsibilities that come with having a brick and mortar location.
I love seeing the look of fulfillment in their eyes in what they are so talented at when they make sales from something that they have made themselves, the confidence and pride in themselves just lights them up.
Sure there might be plenty of other outlets for them to display their wares and I always encourage them to be as many places as they can(With an thorough inventory sheet of each place and all merchandise therein), but I know that a lot of the small and home based businesses that I host in my shop and at my semi monthly community outreach events and my larger annual events would not get considered by many of the other outlets. They would be overlooked.
Many times I have brand new businesses come to me, I always offer help & guidance getting them further on their road. I share my resources and experience and watch them blossom. And I always reach out a welcoming hand to the new businesses that open up around, as long as I know about them lols
I remember the very first large community outreach fair that Dennis & I held in 2019, I was walking through the rows of vendors (Small businesses and home based businesses , all of them..we probably had upwards of 60 in the building) at the closing of the event and checking on everyone to make sure they were doing alright, as it had been a busy weekend and some were elderly while others had kiddos there and I knew a few had health troubles, when I heard more than once- a vendor conversing with fellow vendors and they said “Thank god, This weekend paid my utility bill. I didn’t know how I was going to make it!”.
It stopped me in my tracks as I realized That The event was truly making that big of a difference for so many people.
I was so glad that I had gone ahead with it. The Fairs and events are always such a headache that I had considered scrapping it, but Dennis & I forged ahead. And I was glad.
Likewise with the business, many artists- crafters- psychics-Healers-authors and the like have gotten their start and grew from the business and the smaller events.
*I remember one person’s car broke down and Dennis and I offered to bring them to the event, they had argued that their car was loaded with their merchandise and we had said well we kind of anticipated that.*
Iv seen quite a few over the years blossom in their confidence and their skill and spread their wings. I’ve seen people grow businesses from my classes, Classes that I’ve written and taught.
Iv seen my clients reap the benefits from having a wide selection of skilled people to help them.
I witnessed the guest articles and interviews on my website touch people’s lives for the better.
I’ve had people randomly come up to me and tell me what a difference a video that Iv made or an article that Iv written has made in their lives.
I have touched many many lives for the better and that is really what I started this business to do.
I began my classes and articles and lectures to teach and dispel misinformation on esoteric subjects, and I watched as 10s of thousands of readers have gone back to my articles to read them.
Iv encouraged countless people to follow their dreams and have had the pleasure of watching them grow and succeed.
Through my readings, I have inspired, counseled and guided many souls that needed help. Far more than I thought that I would.
So why is my business important to me…. Because at the end of the day, through all of the good times and the bad times….I’m able to help people.
Whether it’s helping to shield or get rid of a negative entity attachment or to bring some peace or guidance where I can.
whether it’s to pass a person in need of help on to a fellow business that is reputable and will ACTUALLY help that person (Rather than just scamming them) and therefore helping 2 people in one go or just giving some inspiration when someone is going through dark times.
It is always about helping somebody.
Community ,network ,connection- guidance, inspiration, counseling, healing.
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“Every answer begins with a question”
Alicia Anspaugh-McCullough
-These pics are frm a few years ago-I look alot more exhausted these days haha