Community Highlights: Meet Shoshanna French of Simple Spirit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shoshanna French. 

Shoshanna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The path from the start of my business to this current moment is a bit wild. I started my business in 2005 offering psychic readings at coffee shops and parties. At the time I had a day job so this was purely a side hustle to help me not be broke. I spent almost every evening and weekend working. In my wildest daydream back in 2005, I would not be doing what I am doing now so successfully. 

The first unexpected twist of my story was in December of 2009. I got a call from the Denver Post. Their regular sports columnist had the flu. They wanted to know if I would be interested in doing “Psychic Eye on Sports”? I said what the heck, why not. On Christmas Day, a 3-page article with my ‘predictions’ about sports and a ginormous picture of me appeared in papers delivered all over Colorado and online. Virtually overnight, I was invited to talk on local radio and t.v.. Prior to the article, I accepted only cash and checks. My clients were local to Denver only and we scheduled via text. My side hustle went from 8 sessions a month to 8 sessions a week within 2 weeks of the article. I had to start taking credit cards and get an online booking system. The design of my business changed. The publicity following the article changed everything. My first famous client was on New Year’s Eve 2009. A stretch Hummer pulled up in our little park Hill neighborhood. I got the chance to help an NFL coach and his family. His dream was to coach a Super Bowl-winning team. It took a few years, but he ultimately went on to coach a team that won Super Bowl XLVI – Don Martindale. 

For the next few years, I just kept focusing and learning more about how to run a business. In 2012, I decided to take a serious business course. The course facilitator helped me see that I had a big choice to make. I could either become a “Famous Psychic” or I could find a way to quantify intuition and help people view intuition more practically. There was no question for me. I had no desire to become a famous psychic. The years following the article in the paper had people relating to my work like I had a big crystal ball on my desk, which was so NOT how I relate to intuition. So, I found a way to quantify intuition. The Intuitive Blueprint changed how I shared about what I do and of course, led to a redesign of my business. 

In the process of this change, I could suddenly see how I could do this full time. Simple Spirit stopped feeling like a side hustle and I started to see myself as a full-fledged business owner. As many entrepreneurs who have started their business as a side hustle can attest, when you are both building a business and have a day job, you work a lot. I finally left my day job in August of 2014. At the time it seemed like either the best idea I had ever had or the worst. Having unlimited time was a bit overwhelming in the beginning as I formulated what to focus on besides working with clients. Do I blog? Marketing emails? Budget? Then in the Fall of 2014, I got invited to be on the board of a think tank through a client. I found myself at a board retreat in Texas at John Mackey’s ranch (former owner of Whole Foods). I was in a room with wildly successful business owners, new thought leaders, globally renowned authors, and some of the smartest people on the planet. None of them shared their “offer”. Instead, they were focused on their mission, the mission of the others in the room, and how the combined connections could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. It was that moment that I began to realize that more than growing a business my purpose was supporting leaders. It changed my view profoundly. 

Of course, after this experience, I once again needed to change my business. The changes were both administrative, like shifting my website for the 10th time since 2005. I also needed an online calendar that could adjust for time zones and a way to take payment of any currency. I also had to find courage and the willingness to align with my purpose. I went from doing psychic readings at Starbucks to training NFL coaches, Broadway actresses, million- and billion-dollar founders, and global leaders how intuition could transform their success and fulfillment. It took releasing a lot of self-doubt and false humility. I had to get in touch with my strengths and my areas of growth. 

At the core of my work is the belief that when human beings are connected to our intuition, we are more compassionate and kind. When we are trusting ourselves aka allowing our intuition to help us navigate our life, we are freed up to act on, move towards, and fulfill our purpose (vision and mission). Competency in our intuitive intelligence is the foundation of my business and life philosophy. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Choosing to start my business was an exciting and pretty smooth road. Growing the business presented some challenges. I would attend networking sessions like any new business owner. There would be lawyers, bankers, real estate agents, therapists, and business consultants. I would try to explain what I did without using the word “Psychic”. There is a lot of baggage about that word. I credit my current success to some of those awkward conversations. Explaining intuition to big-time skeptics honed my ability to talk about intuition from a completely practical point of view with zero metaphysical jargon. 

The skeptics and folks who didn’t understand intuition were not the biggest source of my struggle early in my business, however. It was actually my own inner critic and desire to fit in. I had a few daydreams about choosing a more mainstream vocation. But, my purpose on the planet is to teach others what I know. It seems like every year that I find a new layer to peel away so I can deepen my trust in myself. Plus, now I see skepticism as an opportunity to grow as a teacher and to honor where people are. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Simple Spirit?
I am a coach, a speaker, and an intuition expert. For the last 28 years, I have been discovering through my own journey and the work I do with clients how to bring intuition from something mysterious and complex into a teachable skill. Intuition can be applied to every area of life including business. The ability to use intuition can be improved through practice like any other teachable skill. 

While all of us have intuition, the way your intuition works is unique or one of a kind just like you are. The Intuitive Blueprint the way I discovered to quantify intuition has helped me guide 1,000s of individuals and teams. Your intuition and mine have the same building blocks. Each of us has an external orientation (Mental, Emotional, Physical). It is the way we most like to connect and why. Then each of us has a way our body translates the intuitive communications we get (Auditory, Feeling, Visual, Knowing). Those two things together make up your Intuitive Blueprint. For many, once they are able to recognize the mechanics of how their unique intuition works, they can begin to learn how to become intuitive decision-makers. 

Intuitive Decision making is not taught in schools or by our parents or even within society. We are trained for the most part to be data-driven decision-makers. We direct our path in life mostly by what we have learned either through experience, education, or the advice we get from those we see as authorities or experts. Data-driven decision-making is not bad however. It is great for solving problems and analysis. It isn’t great though for creating new possibilities or more deeply understanding others or ourselves. 

I offer one-on-one coaching, retreats, and training for executives, business owners, and small to medium organizations. They learn how to use their intuition to get what they most want in all areas of life. From deepening their connection in existing relationships to gaining new relationships, they redefine success and then allow intuition to help them navigate how to live a life they really love. My favorite part of my work is the ripple effect. When a CEO of a big company shifts her perspective and honors her intuition, each employee is affected plus all of the clients who her company serves. When I support another coach to more deeply understand their intuitive communications, they bring that new knowledge to impact each person they work with. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Making an impact and helping others is what matters most to me. My specific focus of help is to train as many people as I can to become intuitive decision-makers. To have more people trusting themselves and encouraging others to do the same. Some of that desire is altruistic. I genuinely love people. Some of the desire to make an impact is a bit selfish though. When I am around people who trust their intuition, I notice a marked difference. Intuitive folks are more present (or at least aware when they are not). They listen more deeply and trust themselves more. 

Contact Info:

• Email: shoshanna@simplespirit.com
• Website: www.simplespirit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoshannafrenchstokes
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoshannafrench/

Image Credits
Shana Thompson