by William Lee Rand
One of the uniquely valuable things about Reiki is that by taking a single one-day class, you can start a business and earn a meaningful income. You heard that right, and Takata Sensei validated this idea. What I mean is that within a short time after starting your Reiki business, you could be earning $300 to $400 a week working part time! You can do this by giving sessions only, but if you go on to become a Reiki Master, you could easily earn more by giving Reiki classes too! Let me explain.
The fee Takata Sensei charged for Reiki I was $175.00, $500.00 for Reiki II and $10,000.00 for Master. Back in the ‘70s when she was teaching, the inflation-adjusted cost in today’s dollars for these classes was $1170.26, $3343.60 and $67,000.00, respectively.(1) I know your eyes are likely bugging out of your head right now, but these numbers are accurate. However, the current cost is much lower. Read on and see what I mean.
With this prohibitive cost, most students took Reiki I only, as the price of Reiki II was so high that only a very few students could afford it and only the wealthy or someone with inheritance money could afford to be a Reiki Master.
Since most practitioners had Reiki I only, and knowing that this is all you need to get started, Takata Sensei encouraged students to start a Reiki practice giving Reiki sessions and charging money, and this is what many of them did. Moreover, while currently, some Reiki Masters say you must at least have Reiki II or even be a Reiki Master to give sessions to others and charge money, this advice is not backed up by what Takata Sensei taught. Keep in mind that her teacher was Hayashi Sensei who was trained by Usui Sensei. So, this information comes from an experienced and revered teacher who had worked in Hayashi Sensei’s Reiki clinic for a year and practiced and taught Reiki in Hawaii for over forty years.(2) I repeat—you can start a Reiki business giving sessions and charging money after taking a beginning Reiki class.
A Reiki business can be started soon after taking a class because gaining experience is not necessary. The ability to give Reiki sessions comes from the attunement (also called a Placement). As soon as you receive the attunement in class, your Reiki will immediately be strong, and you will be able to give effective Reiki sessions. The only thing you may lack is confidence, and I explain how to quickly gain confidence through a simple practice method I describe below.
Currently, many Reiki teachers are teaching Reiki I/ II together and charging a fee of around $400.00, and you can take a Reiki I class for about $200.00. As you can see, because of inflation, this price is less than 10% of the price Takata Sensei charged for these two classes. So currently, the Reiki training available now is a real bargain compared with what it used to cost.
Assuming you have at least taken the basic Reiki training, I suggest that you get started with your Reiki practice right away. To do this, begin by giving free sessions to members of your family and friends. A free session could consist of a brief description of what Reiki is, followed by a 20-30 minute session or it could even be as short as 10-15 minutes. Let them know that a typical session can last 45 minutes to an hour or so, and let them know how much you charge or intend to charge for a full Reiki session. Also, when you give sessions, even the free ones, be sure to get clients’ names and email addresses and store them in an online file. You will be able to use these for marketing once you begin to promote your business more seriously.
After you’ve given ten or twelve free mini-sessions, I suggest you begin charging money. Start at a low price and over time work your way up to your target fee. Your target fee should be about the same as other experienced Reiki practitioners are charging in your area. If you don’t already know this, I suggest looking online for Reiki practitioners in your area or on the bulletin boards at health food or new age books stores for ads for Reiki practitioners and emailing or calling them to find out what their fee is. You could also look in one of the local metaphysical, new age publications to find out. These papers are offered in many areas and are usually free. However, the going rate for Reiki sessions in the US varies between $50 to $200 per hour depending on the part of the country in which you live.
Starting, I suggest that you tell everyone that you will be giving your first ten sessions for $25.00 (as an example) and after that, you will be going up to $35.00. As you give sessions using this increasing-rate method, also let people know how many sessions you have already done at that price, so they will realize that they need to see you right away before your price goes up. If you merely say you are starting a Reiki practice and are charging $25.00 people will say, “Oh, okay,” perhaps thinking they will get a session from you sometime, but they may also forget about it. However, if they know that they will be saving money if they sign up right away, they will be motivated to do it.
Another thing to do is to be ready to give out free samples of Reiki. As an example, if you are at church or a party or another gathering and someone says they strained their shoulder or some other part of their body, offer them some free Reiki. Then hand them your business card. As you are giving the person Reiki, others are likely to wonder what you are doing and come over to watch. As they do this, give them a little talk about Reiki, letting them know you are giving Reiki and that it creates relaxation and healing. Most people will respond by saying, “Oh, I need that.” While this is going on, ask the person you are giving Reiki to how it feels and let them provide a sales pitch to the others. The others are likely to ask if you could give them some Reiki too. Keep going and continue to give out your business cards.
Yes, it is always an excellent idea to have business cards with you and be ready to hand them out. Your business card needs to have your email address and web site listed and possibly your phone number. You can also indicate the city or the area in which you live but never list your physical address.
You can find an inexpensive source for business cards online. They will usually have samples of card designs on their web site and a form to fill out with the information you’d like on your card and a place to enter your credit card information and shipping address for billing and delivery.
Yes, as you continue developing your Reiki practice, you’ll need a web site and a Twitter account. Free or low-cost web sites are available with simple-to-follow instructions on setting them up. You might try godaddy.com or google.com, and there are others.
These are a few ideas you can follow to get your Reiki business going. I suggest you start doing them right away. As you do so, you’ll see how enjoyable it is to earn money helping people to relax and heal.
Thanks for taking the time to read my short article. If you are serious about developing your Reiki practice, I suggest you consider getting the book advertised below. My fondest hope is that you’ll follow through on what I’m suggesting and make your Reiki dreams come true.
Endnotes
1 "CPI Inflation Calculator." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed April 02, 2019. https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm.
2 Brown, Fran. Living Reiki: Takata’s Teachings. Mendocino, CA, USA: LifeRhythm, 1992. 28, 30.
