Today’s post comes from a reader question but is a subject I should have written about loooong ago. Though this is a constant topic of conversation with coaching clients, I’ve never thought to post about it! So without further adieu today I talk about timing. How to tell if you’re ready to start giving paid readings.
Most mediums at some point in their lives have a few decisions to make.
1. Will you or will you not be accepting of your gifts? 2 Do you want to open and learn to manage them? If so… 3. Will you at some point be working with your gifts?
When should I start charging for psychic readings | Intuitive work | Why Do Psychics Charge
Once the choice is made to work with your gifts somewhere along the line the question comes up “should I give readings to other people too?” In that lies the burning question of the day, “Should I charge for my readings? How will I know when to start charging and if the time is right?”
The short and cliché answer is it’s different for everyone. Follow your heart. Do what feels good to you.
The longer more realistic answer comes from experience and lies within my own journey.
As you probably know being a professional medium was not necessarily in the life plan I had made for myself. Not at all. I had actually planned on being a graphic designer. Spirit had other plans for me which is why you are reading this post today.
After years of trying to shut it down, ignore it, and deny it, spirit was quite literally knocking on my bedroom door and I had a choice to make. So I answered the above questions and decided to work with my gifts when it all just got too overwhelming for me.
Find Support
Besides learning the ropes through courses, mentoring, and meditation I needed to connect with other people like me. You can too!
A good way to find support in the psychic community is to join secret Facebook groups with people who are also developing. I joined a few of these and found them for the most part, very helpful. In these groups, people usually offer free practice readings.
The way this goes is a picture will be posted of the person to be read and the reading will be posted in the comments below. For the longest time, I would give the reading, write it all down, and then compare notes to the comments after I was done. Much to my surprise, 90% of my readings were incredibly accurate. Still, I didn’t share them with anyone because of my own fears.
Eventually, I was really drawn to one person and decided to give it a go. I was going to put my reading in the comments like everyone else did! Everything was spot on and I cried as I read her incredibly validating feedback. Then I asked myself “how in the bleep did I just do that?”
So I tried again and again and again. Bam! Bam! Bam! Every single time I was getting incredible hits and validation.
The more I started working with my gifts I noticed that different things were aligning for me seemingly out of the blue. People were coming into my life that were interested in the path that I was on. Likewise, people were falling out of my life that were no longer serving me. Though no one knew about my journey it seemed that the universe certainly did.
The Universe Will Put You Right Where You Need To Be
A few months into the development process I started going to oneness blessings. At one particular blessing, I was completely drawn to the woman sitting next to me. Scared to death I told this stranger that I was a medium and for some reason, I was being pulled directly to her. This was my first push.
She was extremely receptive and invited me to do an equal energy exchange. She offered to perform reiki on me in exchange for a face to face reading. I was hesitant but given the pull could not resist the invitation. It went off without a hitch!
At a later oneness blessing, a young girl from across the circle came up to me afterward. She told me she couldn’t help but feel that we had already connected even if it was in a past life.
Given the connection, I told her that I was a medium and she told me she realllllly wanted a reading then politely asked if I would be willing. Though I was still new at the gig I trusted that she was open minded and would be encouraging and receptive. More importantly, though she just met me, she wholeheartedly believed in me and my gift.
After her extremely deep and emotional reading she started to put my name out there. She sent SO. MANY. PEOPLE. MYWAY. Not even kidding!
Thanks to her I went from giving free and random internet readings, to giving real people with real issues – real readings.
You Will Be Tested
I didn’t realize it then but this was my next big push. This was a test. You see spirit didn’t send me soul-mate readings or career readings. They sent me the hard ones, the emotional ones, the ones where you better get it right or you’re going to look like a total loon and ruin someone’s day.
I had no clue that I would be connecting mother’s to their deceased sons, wives to their deceased husbands, suicides, and overdoses. That’s a lot to throw at a girl just getting started but I am now so thankful that’s what I was given.
This was my sign that I was ready. My validation to myself that this gift was indeed real and more than just “a party trick”. For the first time, I wasn’t annoyed with my gifts or frustrated. Instead, I cried tears of …I’m not sure. Joy? Happiness? Empathy? The first time I really helped someone and felt their healing.
Still, I felt that if this was a gift from “God” wouldn’t it be unethical to charge for it?
So again, a test. This time I wasn’t just being tested by the universe but I decided to conduct a little experiment of my own.
I was at a point where I was loving my new exciting endeavors but I was left completely drained day after day. I didn’t know what was going on until I realized that I had not given myself a break in weeks. In addition to that, everything I was giving away was not really being returned. Remember that little article about energy exchange?
So I made a deal with spirit.
“If I am supposed to be charging for these sessions, send me 5 in 4 weeks at X price”
Within 1 week I had met my goal. Listen, back then, 5 readings in a month was a big deal and I did it within a week!
So I upped the ante. For every 5 sessions I had, I would raise my price until I got to industry standard IF that is what spirit thought that I should be doing.
I learned something in all of this…I was ready long before I made the commitment to charge for my readings. I had the support of spirit, the support of strangers, and of friends. The only one that didn’t really support me was…me.
I was (and still am) my biggest critic.
To see what happens when you are not charging appropriately for your services stay tuned for part two!