Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Erin Ryan, Founder of Crystal Lake Reiki, located in Crystal Lake, IL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My name is Erin Ryan, and I am the founder of Crystal Lake Reiki and 5 Element Dragon Fire Reiki. I am a High-Level Energy Mentor, Licensed Acupuncturist, and Certified Reiki Master, and I hold a sacred, safe space for successful entrepreneurs & energy workers who want it all but fear they can't hold it all. I specialize in Eastern Medicine, emotional intelligence, and energetic alignment.

Tell us about yourself

I have almost two decades of energy work experience, including Reiki and Access Bars, alongside my Eastern Medicine training in acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I've ALWAYS been interested in the spiritual & energy world from a young age. In fact, as a child, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a real-life Magickian (not the bunny in a hat kind of Magician, but a MAGICK-ian!), so when I heard of Reiki, I was immediately drawn to it. I didn't really understand it, but I KNEW I had to do it! It was the same thing with acupuncture when I found out there were all of these points on the body that, if you stuck a needle in them, would make a person heal; I was fascinated & immediately hooked! I HAD to learn how to do that too!

I started my business doing Reiki in 2015 while I was in school for acupuncture at the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine, and within six months, I had quit both of my jobs and was doing energy work full time because it was so successful so quickly. In 2017 I graduated with my Master's Degree in Oriental Medicine and Bachelor's in Nutrition and immediately added acupuncture and herbs to my practice. Now I teach groups of people in the online space alongside doing 1:1 energy mentoring and acupuncture in person. I also have another business called Community Acupuncture Project (C.A.P.), located in Crystal Lake, IL.

I'm motivated by the feeling in my body and heart I get when I'm able to help highly empathic, highly intuitive, spiritual souls FINALLY heal and understand who they really are. Like me, they have hearts of gold that have been broken by many experiences over their lifetimes, especially in childhood. I understand that pain since I had a Mother who struggled with an addiction that I eventually became estranged from and, in my vulnerable state, was indoctrinated into a cult until I was finally able to leave at the age of 24. It's my greatest wish to help as many people heal on all levels so that they can become the fully expressed version of themselves.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I hit six figures two years in a row (last year and this year already too), working part-time hours raising a family while doing soul-aligned work that literally changes people's lives.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I'm the sole breadwinner of my family, so it's been difficult balancing my family life with my business needs. I'm married with two kids, a 14-year-old and a three-year-old, and my husband has multiple health conditions, one of which is a low-level but constant threat to his life, so that makes things challenging on all levels.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Learn how to regulate your nervous system to help you weather the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur - you're gonna need it!
  2. Learn from someone who is already doing what you want to do at the level you want to do it.
  3. Choose to open a business in something that you are masterful at AND light your soul on fire. If you're not masterful, you'll subconsciously shrink when you need to rise because, deep down, you won't feel confident in what you're doing & if it doesn't light your soul on fire, then you'll get bored, so when the going gets tough, and you feel like quitting, you probably will.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.crystallakereiki.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystallakereiki
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinryan_energypractitioner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLReiki
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-ryan-msom-crmt-bf-00908910a/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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