We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikenya Hall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikenya, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I was living in my home state, Oklahoma, and had begun to realize after I came home from travelling, I would get depressed. And not the “omg, that was a great vacation, let me do it again” depressed, more like a “I really don’t want to be here in this city” depressed. By this time, most of my friends from undergrad had moved out of the state and I was the only one left in my friend circle. I planned a weeklong summer trip, where I flew into NYC, Amtrak ride to DC and then back home. I had friends in both DC and NYC, so this way I could spend time with everyone while I was on the East Coast.

When you are a transplant, you can not take off work every time someone comes to visit, or you would not have any PTO time. So, my NYC Soror was at work, and I had a mission to go to Forever 21 in Times Square to try on clothes, so I know what sizes to order online. In Tulsa, OK Forever 21 didn’t have plus size clo0thing, so I had no reference. I walked out of her Harlem Studio, with my Cricket Blackberry in one hand, determined to take the 2/3 train to times square. What is so comical now is that  train ride is one of the easiest routes.

I was standing on the corner, trying to navigate myself, when a petite young Asian woman asked me for directions. Of course, I could not help her. But, in that moment, I said “if *she* thinks I know my way around, that means it looks like I belong here.”

I moved 6 months later.

Nikenya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I remember being early on in therapeutic journey and seeing how people would bring their religion and/or spirituality into their processing. At times, their beliefs were at odds with their thoughts and thus behaviors. I would witness people go through such agony trying to streamline all parts of themselves. That is when I decided that I could not separate the therapeutic journey any longer.

Years later, when I was still new to New York City, living on my Sorority sister’s couch, my personal spiritual journey began to take off. We were attending seances and one circle the conductor asked if any of the attendees saw anything. I knew this was an exception and not the norm. I through my hand in the air and with trepidation in chest, said, I saw a unicorn and a woman sitting in the corner wearing 1850s clothing. That is when I had my first Spirit Communication experience with the support of the conductor. I now am a Certified Psychic Medium and Intuitive Consultant.

Those two pivotal moments are the foundation blocks of my business Achieving Balance Counseling and Holistic Center, I intersect the therapeutic process with spiritual modalities in 1:1 sessions and group “circle” experiences. In addition, I offer Corporate Grief and Loss Workshops, using my book, Letters to Grief, A Guide to Understanding and Normalizing Loss as the primary curriculum.

I am most proud of seeing the complexity of being a human on this Earth journey, seeing the gaps in traditional healing care and providing an integrated and h9olistic approach, especially to Black and Brown women who are seeking a safe place to process, heal, grow and return back to balance.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I love this question as there is an unspoken belief, when you start a business, you will be successful very quickly. You post on social media every day; you will get followers that will turn into a grand revenue, and that is not necessarily true. All the perceived small events, sessions, networking that happens is all a part of building your reputation, expertise and business.

Simultaneously, I climbed the non-profit ladder and worked on my business. Before leaving corporate world, I supervised twenty employees with a 2-person team. I gained management and leadership skills that directly translated into building a reputation of professionalism, compassion and business minded. Even before I took the 9-month certified psychic course, I was attending the seances, and the spiritualist church. After graduation, I served on the Boach of Directors for the New York City Spiritualist Church. I took the ordained minister course and even taught the same 9-month course that I took before. The combination of advancing and networking in both worlds directly influenced my reputation.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am unsure if I have exactly unlearned this, but I am unlearning it. I am not my business. I have a tendency to believe that when my business is failing, I am failing. I feel very called to live in my purpose. I know I chose to come to Earth to create moments of healing for the hard times during Earth. My business can (and should) pivot at any time. The way I live out my purpose can vary. And when I do not know where my business is going or how to live out my purpose gets hazy, I – Nikenya Hall – is not a failure or failing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://abcholisticcenter.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhallmhr/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikenya.hall
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikenya-hall-mhr-a1215245/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/achieving-balance-counseling-and-holistic-center-new-york-4
• Other: https://linktr.ee/NHallMHR