At the Lodge - 15th October 2007

Lodge Lecture |Charts Discussion

Lodge Lecture

It’s always nice to welcome Steve Judd back to the lodge. He always gives an entertaining lecture, giving us food for thoughts and insightful information. This time was no different. Steve is now a fully professional astrologer – that’s not to say he’s good and you aren’t but that that’s where his income comes from – and wants to share some of his insights and ideas with us. While not everyone wants to make their living using astrology, some people do have it as a secret fantasy, a way out of their dull little 9 – 5 lives – that’s me speaking not Steve - and there are some things you need to take into account which may come as a bit of a shock.

The first point Steve made is that you have relatively little time for speculation, research and philosophical conversations. Your first and primary focus needs to be to your clients and the amount of billable time they bring. Clients want what you tell them to be useful. Highly unreasonable of them, I know, but would you pay good money for information that you had no use for?

He then went through the standard list of considerations which any self employed person needs to consider: premises, boundaries between work and leisure time, fees, advertising, communication, finances; all need to be accounted for. Steve now had an office in Bath High Street. This was a big jump but his clientele have increased since he made the move. He uses the movement between work and home to define the end of his working day. This method may not suit everyone but you need a way of saying to yourself when you have stopped. Doing everything in the same set of rooms – your work room is also your hobby room – is difficult on the non-verbal part of your brain. Find yourself a personal ritual to define the difference.

He also gave us a couple of tricks. When you haven’t got a birthtime you can use a quick and dirty rectification method: take the range of the Moon from 0.00 to 23.59 – it’s about 14° - and work with the client to find the points when their crises match up with possible lunar positions. Yes you could do the full rectification but who will pay you to do it? What ever you do has to be quick, they ARE paying you by the hour.
On a similar vein you need to be confident and clear on what you charge. Have an hourly rate in your mind even if you charge a fixed fee for preparation and consultation. This gives you a clearer idea of your value. Don’t be afraid to charge a decent fee. This will clear off the time wasters and allow you to concentrate on those who are making the effort. Before you start worrying about people not being able to afford to use you consider this: if you charge a realistic fee for your work this will allow you to be able to waive your fee when necessary. There are a lot of very affluent people in the world, your fees don’t make a dent in their wealth.

Steve then outlined the various events which you can get involved with. From festivals to psychic fairs these events will give you exposure but you need to understand the financial model to get the most out of it. You will pay a fee up front for the space but this gives you access to a number of potential clients. Do your research is the message here.
The gist of Steve’s talk is that astrology is a business like any other. You need to earn a living to keep yourself alive and this requires discipline.

Claire Chandler

Class

This was the final week of the series of classes by Peta High on the Huber time clock method.

Charts Discussion

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Lodge Lecture | Charts Discussion