by Celeste Hackett
I miss my home town sometimes. I left when I was 18. I took off with my boyfriend who was my boss at the time, a radio program director. That’s a true story. He was 29, an older man. Our family priest, Father Kiley, a nice, very round, jolly Irish man about had a cow. Didn’t I know it was a mortal sin to have sex outside of marriage? He cried and took it harder than anyone else. He wanted to reside over my wedding one day when I “grew up.”
I thought I was so grown up. My boyfriend had gotten a job offer in the big city of New Orleans to be a mid day announcer for WNOE-AM the AM sister station of WNOE-FM. Both were nestled in the French quarter at that time.
In New Orleans I did get married to the radio announcer husband and it was not a Catholic wedding much to Father Kiley’s sadness. Then we got divorced one day, much to Father Kiley’s happiness. It wasn’t long before I married again. This time to a “computer programmer” husband. This husband was catholic but we eloped in Las Vegas anyway. “Father” had long since gone and passed away.
I moved with my new hubby to Dallas for HIS new job. Several years later HE and I divorced and I moved to Houston, and it was about time, for a move for a job of my own. 6 years later it was back to Dallas where I live now with my third husband (also by the way another radio announcer husband). Thank God marriage ain’t like baseball, Three strikes and your out ya know? Instead it’s been like “the third times the charm”, but I digress.
During my moving all over and my “I’m going to be somebody” stage, I can’t count the number of times I wanted to just “go home” and spend more time with my Dad and mom. I’d cry on the phone to my Daddy and tell him how sad or mad I was about something in my life and he listened to me through all the many ups and downs as did my mother.
My Dad always ended the conversations with, “when you coming home, shra?” (Cajun French word for “dear” but don’t ask me the correct spelling). He never did get over that I left. He never got over that any of his 6 kids moved off and away. Even though we’d get back every few months he never saw it coming that all his kids would move away from him.
When we were growing up I used to ask him out right, imagine a little pig-tailed blue-eyed girl playing on the kitchen table with play dough, “Daddy are you glad you have so many kids?” He’d always say, “I’ll take as many as the good Lord gives me” or “No, I wish I had more.”
Things were a whole lot different when he was growing up. Families stayed near by. All his brothers, Ardell, Roland and Maurice lived minutes away from each the whole time I was growing up. My uncles all had families that were just as big and just as catholic. I was the first one to leave town. My siblings and a few of my cousins all followed me right out of the red dirt, green pines, and alligator bayous of central Louisiana to “somewhere better.” My Dad died this past December at the age of 82. I hadn’t seen him for months before he passed.
Maybe this is the reason why I just had to write this article or maybe it’s because one day I’d love to live and work in a beautiful little small town. Somewhere where the water still is pure and there is space and trees and land.
So, If you are a small-town hypnotist who has decided to bring the light of hypnosis to your area I hope that you’ll settle in and read the this article. I think you will be excited to find that it is possible to make money as a small town hypnotist. After all the very famous Ron Eslinger lives and works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee now doesn’t he? And Geri Kein lives in Deland, Florida.
But do you have to be so famous to make money at hypnosis in a small town? No! That is the exciting answer. But there do seem to be some tricks to it. For instance, a small town hypnotist may have to have more group sessions or teach more classes. They may also have to creatively market themselves in nearby larger cities or point out how making the trip to the country can double as getaway time or a relaxing drive. My guess is there are plenty of other important pointers to “making it” in a small town too and to shed some interesting light on this subject I’d like to introduce hypnotist, Tina Shafer from Adrian, Michigan.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background before hypnosis and then what caused you to get certified?
I was the typical weight loss fanatic, searching for the answers to how to be thin. Married and with two daughters, my husband was blessed with an income that allowed me to create a couple of successful part-time businesses, but nothing that really fulfilled me. I spent most of my 30’s trying to figure out who I wanted to be when I grew up. I was always the person my friends confided their utmost secrets to. Too bad I didn’t know hypnosis at that time! I could have helped quite a few of them. I’ll just condense my weight loss story to “I was toying with serious thoughts of weight loss surgery when I found hypnosis.”
What training do you have and which training has been the most helpful to generating income in your business?
I received my first national certification with Gerry Kein thru Omni Hypnosis in Deland FL in 1999. Still seeking some answers to self-fulfillment, I found Cal Banyan’s Hypnosis Center website in Oct 2003, and went to Minnesota to learn 7th Path Self-Hypnosis®. I was so enthralled with the process and the changes I went through that day, (which is another story!) I decided to go back and do the advanced training he offers in Feb 2004 so I could become a 7thPath® teacher. 5PATH and 7thPath are the cornerstone of my business. Practicing 7thPath® has been very important to my personal development, which in turn makes me a better hypnotist. Using the 5PATH® training with my clients gives me exactly what I need to help them succeed.
Did you start a hypnosis business right away after certification? Why or why not?
Ironically at that time, I didn’t KNOW I was going to have a business or even want to open an office; I was just going for self empowerment. I used the basics I learned thru Omni Hypnosis for self improvement, but I really didn’t have the confidence to start a hypnosis business. I got excited when I discovered the transformational power of 7thPath Self-Hypnosis®. I wanted to teach it to everyone! I came home from my training in Feb, and held my first 7thPath® class in April. It’s been rolling along ever since! But … the golden nugget I hadn’t even realized I had been given yet, was the 5PATH® training.
This makes me laugh because it was backwards for me in my practice. I was doing 5-PATH® on every client, but skipping teaching 7th Path. Later when I added it I thought, what a golden nugget I have had with me all along! Well, lets move on…What is the name of your practice and how long have you been in business?
After I realized I really could have a business, it took me forever to decide upon a name. Right now the business name is The Hypnosis Success Center. When our approval for state licensing to be a private trade school comes back, I may add to the name to let people know we are a training center as well as a provider of private services.
Tell us a little bit about where your office is (town and state and population)
Well, Celeste, I really am “the country hypnotist”! The business is located in Adrian, Michigan, and if you look on a map of Michigan you will see we are located in the SE corner of the state in Lenawee County. The population is just over 100,000 for the whole county! We are in a rural pocket located between Toledo, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan, a little over an hour from Detroit Metro Airport. It’s not hard to get to us; it’s just a nice scenic country drive. There are no freeways or four lane highways in our county. I like to tell out-of-town clients on the phone, “Your sessions begin with the relaxing drive to our facility.”
So the population is a little bigger than I thought, but by all means still a small town. Tell us a little bit about the office itself and what kind of environment you do your work in for instance how much room do you have? Do you have a class room? Do you have anyone working for you?
Our office is nestled inside one of the most prestigious businesses in the community, my business mentor’s office building; The Joe Ann Steele Insurance Center Building. We have our own street level private entry on the side of the building that opens into a reception area (shared with a licensed social worker). I have one private office, our shared reception area, where clients also view our pre-talk video. And we just recently built a training room on the second floor of the building for workshops/seminars and certification training programs. I have a part-time hypnotist working with me, Lucile Satterelli. Luci too, enjoyed the process of change with the 5PATH® and 7thPath® systems and trained to become a hypnotist and teacher. Luci is retired from the State of Michigan Department of Human Services and brings with her a love for children.
Where is your office located and how did you choose this location?
Our office is located in Adrian’s downtown district. The city is giving incentives for businesses moving into the downtown area and because of the locality we are in a good place in the community, near the local mall would be equally advantageous. We are looking into purchasing our own facility.
Why did you choose this office location?
I didn’t choose the location, it chose me! My mentor told me I needed a better business location and offered the space in her building. I believe in Divine Timing and it was perfect! At that time I was in three locations around the county, traveling and trying to decide exactly where I wanted to set up an office. I was renting space with a massage hypnotist, a tanning salon, and a metaphysical bookstore.
What approach do you use in your sessions?
I use 5-PATH® and offer 7thPath Self-Hypnosis® to my private clients. I consider 5-PATH® to be the Christmas tree of my practice and all of the other techniques I know the ornaments. I change up and add ornaments periodically, but I always stay in the frame work of 5-PATH®. It just works.
Being in a small town you have to be a little more creative about services to make money. What have you found to be effective?
I think the thing I’m the most proud of is the free services I’ve donated to the community. I’ve given talks for the Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, (which led to my first paid speaking engagement), I’ve given workshops teaching self esteem for Women in Substance Abuse Programs, seniors and Veterans talks, provided free services for children of domestic abuse in Foster Care Programs, and have been the keynote speaker for a Women’s Wellness Day. People seem to trust you more when you are giving of yourself, and it definitely helps to get your name out there. I continually teach 7thPath Self-Hypnosis® Workshops. I’ve taught a variety of workshops thru the Adult Education Program, all of which are now taught in our training room at HSC. I’m excited about some of the more recent and upcoming things we are doing with the medical and community mental health groups.
How do you get the word out about your services?
It’s funny. I sometimes will wish I had back all the money I’ve spent on useless advertising. I say that and then I get a phone call from someone that cut out an ad three months ago and is finally now ready to come in. So referrals come from all over. The most effective thing I’ve found though is word of mouth. When you do a good job and people see results, they tell others. That’s the most effective and priceless advertising you can have. I have used newspaper, radio, yellow pages, etc; but the free stuff is what has generated the most calls into the office.
How do people in your area find you mostly?
Well, we have brochures and business cards everywhere. There is a contact for each of these groups: In the medical community, the community health network, human services and with senior organizations, they all know about our services. We are listed in the yellow pages, online through our website and several others in the community. But I would have to say when a prospective client calls, they generally have found us online or by word of mouth referral. None of our clients get out the door without extra business cards and brochures for their family and friends!
You mentioned having a mentor who has helped you can you tell us a little bit about her, how you met and how she has helped you?
Sure! My business mentor is Joe Ann Steele. I met Joe Ann after she read an article featuring my business in the local paper. She owns an insurance and investment agency and is a self made millionaire. Joe Ann started in the insurance business at the age of 46 with $15,000 of her husband’s retirement money and built a very successful business, before that she did books for the local church and ran a daycare out of her home. Her building downtown is home to people just like me, starting new businesses. Joe Ann mentors all of us. Her philosophy is to give back to the community and the community will provide for you, so each of us is involved in community services. I am a member of the Adrian Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the Lenawee Chapter of Zonta International, which is a professional women’s organization that works together to advance the status of women. With Joe Ann’s encouragement my business has flourished into more than I ever thought it could be. Truly it’s not about the business it’s about how I’ve grown as a person.
What are the top 10 things you think are most important for making a hypnosis business successful in a small town?
Many are the same as you would do for a practice in a small town or a larger community:
- Get good training
- Build a strong foundation
- Network with local businesses
- Join a service club
- Provide community service to a specialized group
- Find a business mentor
- Be very professional (even more so)
- Be persistent!
- Be honest
- Set Rates vs. perceived Value of service
What plans do you have for the future to grow your business?
We are currently in the process of becoming a state licensed trade school to train hypnotists as well as working on some ideas training materials for hypnotists and developing a product line for young women.
You can find more information about Celeste on her website for Hypnosis in Dallas.
