Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Keane, founder of Sleeping Serpent, located in Bristol, United Kingdom.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
'Sleeping Serpent' refers to the potential within all of us, particularly the Spiritual potential that is realised when we awaken the life force, commonly known in Yoga as the Kundalini Shakti. The Kundalini moves in a serpentine way and is usually in a primarily dormant form until steps are taken to awaken it, which is why it is symbolised as a Sleeping Serpent. I attract people from all over the world who are interested in the many ancient and re-imagined practices I draw from to establish a genuine spiritual connection. In fact, I have students in every single country in the world that I am aware of. My foundation is in Kundalini Yoga and Kundalini Dance which I have been teaching for around 20 years, but I have branched into many other disciplines that might come under the broad umbrella of Yoga, Spirituality, and Esotericism now.
Tell us about yourself
I had a Spiritual awakening in 2003, which led me to train in Kundalini Dance in Australia and Kundalini Yoga in India in 2005. After returning to the United Kingdom, I felt so passionate to begin to teach these incredible practices for getting back into the body, healing wounds, and feeling connected to spirit whilst having a lot of fun. In 2012 after taking my personal practice through a real period of transformation through a real dark night of the soul, I felt to reach out to the whole world to share my profound realisations. This was when I began to establish my online course business. I have a strong sense of destiny that I am here to do what I do and that I am guided by Spirit to teach what I teach. I start the day with some self-Reiki and Kundalini Yoga and a long walk in the forest, and then I am ready to be of service.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
On the ground, as it were, I am very proud of pioneering Kundalini Clubbing. These are very high vibrational conscious events that combine ritual, cacao ceremony, Kundalini yoga, Kundalini dance, conscious clubbing, and a gong bath. These events have been going on for ten years now and are going from strength to strength, and I really love seeing firsthand the impact this material has on changing people's lives. I am particularly blessed to have been the conduit for decoding a practice that I find very powerful, which I call 'Dragon Yoga' which is a shamanic approach to Kundalini Yoga, where we ride our inner Dragon to encounter the Celtic Chakras. I feel this is what our ancestors would have been doing, as Shamanism and the memory of Dragons were both universally part of the human story. I am also very happy with the Ancient Egypt Serpent Shamanism, whereby the shamanic journeys take on a more cosmic theme, and again I feel confident that this is what the priests and priestesses were up to in Ancient Egypt.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing, which is also the most rewarding, is that it is my life is fully responsible. I have to work; I can't just turn up and wing it as you can in many jobs. If I don't do my job, then I don't get paid, but then I really want to do what I do because I love to share my passion.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do what you want to do. You will always encounter these people along the way, along with all sorts of challenges. I am here to tell you that you can make it. Just keep on overcoming every challenge that you face.
- Just start. Take the first step, then the second; just take "baby steps." Rome wasn't built in a day.
- Hold the vision, see the outcome clearly and strongly in your mind's eye, and never doubt yourself for a second, and success is inevitable.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: http://sleepingserpent.com/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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