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

Tracey, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Interestingly, my idea for Mindful Soul Wellness grew organically out of my own healing journey. Founding and owning my own business was never on my radar. I was a third-grade public school teacher intending to retire after a lifelong career as an educator. However, life had different plans for me. Although I loved teaching and my students, that time period in my life was the most stressed out I had ever been. I, like most teachers, was severely overworked and underpaid. I worked 10–12-hour days, including most weekends.

I was getting to the point where teaching was becoming a “job” I dreaded instead of the career I was once passionate about. Then, during the second week of what would become my last year teaching, my grandmother died unexpectedly. This was a tremendous loss as my grandma and I were very close. My grief was overwhelming as was my own children’s grief, with whom I hardly had enough time for due to my teaching responsibilities. That’s when I decided I would resign and upend my life completely. My children needed me more and I needed to heal and regain work life balance. In addition, I had also been dealing with late-stage Lyme Disease which had crippling symptoms.

As part of my healing, I decided to return to my love of Eastern traditions. I had always wanted to learn Reiki, so I took a class and became certified. My goal was not to become a professional practitioner, but rather to work on my own physical and emotional healing. This is when my spiritual awakening had begun. Over the course of a year, I deepened my studies and eventually became a Reiki Master. Those classes exposed me to other healing modalities that interested me, as well. Following my heart’s intuition, I continued learning and became certified as a Licensed Vibrational Sound Therapist, Soul Coach, Past Life Regressionist, Hypnotist, and Astrologer.

During all of these courses, I found myself becoming whole again, feeling more balanced and happy. I had also healed physically, becoming Lyme free. As a teacher at heart, I wanted to share not only what I was learning with others, but also my healing experience. I had become a walking, talking, breathing example of the power of alternative healing methods. I wanted to help others enhance their wellbeing as I did mine. That desire turned into a passionate mission that I couldn’t deny, and Mindful Soul Wellness was born. The best part is that education remains the foundation of what I do. My students are now my clients…learning how to heal, transform, and empower themselves.

Tracey, 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?

Mindful Soul Wellness is an alternative wellness practice I founded in 2017 as a way to promote holistic healing. I provide services that aim to help people balance their energy, connect with their soul, and trust their intuition. I do this by offering the very same healing modalities that helped me reclaim my life, find peace, and thrive. Those modalities include reiki, vibrational sound therapy, past life regression, soul coaching, and astrology readings.

What sets me apart from others in the metaphysical healing space is my commitment to helping my clients harness their own innate healing powers. At heart, I’m a teacher, so all of my services include an element of education. My purpose is not to be the sole healer but rather to help my clients learn to heal themselves. Every session, regardless of the chosen modality they see me for, includes tailored suggestions or resources so my clients leave not only transformed but empowered to create their best life.

Ultimately, healing is a personal journey – one that must be owned, and my role is to guide and facilitate that process. I believe this is why my business grew so quickly and organically. My approach is authentic and comes from a place of experience. I know what it’s like to need healing, as I’ve experienced my share of trauma, both physically and emotionally. My story is what made me the intuitive healer I am today. Taking my pain, healing from it and then turning it into wisdom so I can help others do the same is what I’m most proud of.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

What helped me build my reputation at first was my strong work ethic. Starting a new business takes a lot of work, especially when no one knows about you. I began by working vendor booths providing Reiki and Vibrational Sound Therapy at numerous metaphysical expos. I would also teach mini seminars on Past Life Regression at different events. This initially got my name out into the community and is also how I slowly grew my clientele. However, it has always been my clients that have helped me build my reputation the most. Beyond the expos and my webpage, I do very little advertising. Word of mouth is how I gain new clients, and that’s exactly how I prefer it.

I spend a lot of time with my clients, and some would say I spend more time than I should. Helping my clients learn how to heal, transform, or empower themselves does not really make sense from a business perspective, especially if you want to have clients continually returning for more services. However, that’s not my mission. Just like when I was a third-grade teacher, the point was not to keep my students forever but rather to help them progress to the fourth grade. With education as the foundation of my business, my philosophy remains the same. Although I do have clients who like to return on a regular basis for energy healing sessions, most clients are like students. They come for a certain amount of time for the services they need during a pivotal point in their own spiritual awakening journeys. Then they graduate.

Of course, some return for “refresher” services, but most move on in their journeys and along their paths they share their experiences with others. Having a solid, warm, kind, knowledgeable, authentic reputation is key to a successful business in the metaphysical healing industry. So, it goes without saying, current and former clients consistently providing 5-star reviews and sending me new clients is something I’m very proud of!

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

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is not putting myself first. Growing up with the limited belief that validation comes from external sources did not help. This is how I became so stressed out and ill when I was teaching elementary school. I never made time for myself. Many people, especially women, tend to put themselves last. Often times this is a subconscious response, coming from a deep place within begging to be acknowledged and loved. Truthfully, that’s what we all want and deserve. Saying “yes” to everyone and all the asks, especially when you want to say “no” doesn’t really help anyone, at least not in the long term. I learned this the hard way, but I have found I’m not alone in that lesson.

Through my own healing journey, I have learned that authentic validation comes from within and taking care of myself first is not selfish but rather necessary. I can’t help everyone all the time, and that’s okay – I’m not meant to. When I’m fully rested, have carved out daily “me” time, and created boundaries to have work life balance, then I can be fully present as a mother, teacher, and healer. When I fill my cup then I have much more to give without depleting myself. I can’t help others to the best of my ability if my self-care practice is lacking or non-existent. This is why “NO” is my favorite word now and I set boundaries that prevent me from overworking. Maintaining balance is my modus operandi and I live by Buddha’s teaching – “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Embracing this philosophy has changed my life in the best ways possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mindfulsoulwellness.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulsoulwellness/

Image Credits
Mamaratzy Photography (https://www.mamaratzy.com/)