Silke Harvey
Silke Harvey is the founder of The Inner Hippie Club and Inner Hippie Books. She is a bestselling author, speaker, Reiki Master, Reiki Drum and Chakra Dancing facilitator, and animal healer.
She uses her energy healing skills to help women release their Inner Hippie, that carefree teenage feeling before life got serious, and her editing skills and passion for books to publish stories by visionary women.
She has toured throughout the UK and Europe as a Rock’n’Roll bass player, managed bands, ran an indie record label and developed a successful career in financial translation working for one of the Big Four, then freelancing it.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I was born and spent my early years in Neuss, an industrial port on the river Rhine in Germany. My earliest memories are of my grandad teaching me to play the accordion and zither. I spent many happy hours immersed in music, a passion that has carried on throughout my life. My grandad is my biggest role model in life. A soldier who survived Stalingrad, he taught me to have only love for people and never to hate because hate causes wars and wars are fought by governments, not the people. I never forgot this early lesson in true compassion!
I never fitted in at school, always feeling different from the other kids. I could never relate to them as I had entirely different interests. I was listening to Buddy Holly, Rocky Sharpe and Shakin’ Stevens when all the other kids were into Duran Duran and Depeche Mode. I was bullied and made to feel like an outsider and needless to say, I was blessed the day I finally graduated.
Despite everyone expecting me to go to university, I decided against it as I’d had enough of any form of school. I felt that the system had nothing to offer that I was interested in. My interests were already different. Universities didn’t offer courses in Rock’n’Roll or spirituality and energy healing – my second passion from young – and I didn’t want to carry on wasting my life learning things that were forced onto me by society.
So this left me with the question of what to do next. When I attended various local career days, I got a shock – each and every career choice of mine, from archaeologist to radio engineer on board ships to aircraft pilot, was met with laughter and derision because I’m a woman. I was dismissed by the male advisors as a stupid girl who has her head in the clouds. I was advised to keep both my feet firmly on the ground and was offered a job as a bank teller.
Coming from a family where gender didn’t matter – my dad, a carpenter and seaman, taught me how to woodwork from as early as five and never accepted my gender as an excuse for anything – I was in disbelief. This is when my deep-rooted passion for women’s equal rights and empowerment was born.
I decided to cool off and decide on my future by taking a year out and traveling. I backpacked through Europe and met my future husband in the UK at a Shakin’ Stevens gig. We were both hunting for an autograph at the stage door of the Nottingham Playhouse. We got married and started our first Rock’n’Roll band. He wrote the songs, sang and played the guitar, and I was on bass.
We did our first gig when I could only play three chords – more than enough to “wing it” in my husband’s opinion. “Better done than perfect” has always been his motto and I learnt the importance of this very quickly. We ended up on the road for over 20 years until illness put an end to our exciting times as traveling musicians and I entered the corporate world to pay the bills.
Tell us something about your organization. What is it about and how is it helpful for people?
I founded the Inner Hippie Club in 2020 when I had to think of a Plan B for my brick-and-mortar Reiki business quickly. I started working with women in good careers who had lost their mojo and helped them to reconnect to their Inner Hippie, that carefree teenage feeling before life got serious. I quickly realized that all of these beautiful souls had one thing in common – none of them had followed their true passions in life. They had all loved the perfect life for everyone else – great job picked by their parents, husband and kids only because it’s expected, a lovely home, car and yearly holidays because that’s society’s standard of a good life.
In 2021, whilst researching how to publish my first book, I came across an online workshop by Adriana Monique Alvarez of AMA Publishing. She teaches women how to run their own publishing houses and she opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me that night. Why had I never thought of this? It was a natural progression for me – from music publishing, a deep love of books and desire to help women stand up and speak their truth – this business model has it all! I enrolled on her course and launched my first book STRONG AND FREE Vol. 1 the same week. The book went to No. 1 on Amazon in six countries and over 40 categories. Now STRONG AND FREE Vol. 2 is about to launch and I’ve never looked back.
I now publish the powerful stories of visionary women and provide them with a platform – a virtual fireside – where to share their stories. I have combined all of my knowledge and experience into a unique writing coaching package where I guide my clients through the book-writing process with the help of the energies of the seven chakras. It’s a magic formula for eliminating writer’s block. And best of all, you can write your story anywhere – you are no longer glued to your desk.
I have come a long way with my Inner Hippie business and have many more plans to expand into even more fields – wellness events, retreats, mobile app, to name but a few. My dream is to take the entire business onto Web3. I am always open to new and exciting future technologies!
Was there any turning point in your life that changed your journey? If so, what was it? Please tell us the backstory behind it.
The turning point in my life was the day I woke up and realized that I’d fallen asleep on my laptop keyboard. I had just left the corporate world of financial translating and set up my own translation agency. Even though I was technically self-employed, I was still working for the same corporate customers with their impossible deadlines and inhumane expectations. I had been working around 16 hours a day, seven days a week for the last three months just to keep up with the demands placed on me. I was too scared to turn down work because turn it down once and you’re out. The companies simply go to the next translator. It’s a no-strike rule. A cruel business.
That day was the lowest in my entire life. I cried until I had no tears left inside. I realized I hadn’t had a break at a coffee shop, not a minute left for play and hobbies, I hadn’t even showered in a week. I was trapped in a vicious cycle of sleep – work – sleep. Eat if you’re lucky enough to have the time. I hadn’t seen or spoken to my husband for days and we were living in the same house and sharing the same bed!
I knew then that I couldn’t continue like this or I would be dead by 50 from a heart attack or stroke. The stress was killing me. When I realized that, the decision was instant. I turned the laptop off, left all of my work unfinished, defaulted on all of my deadlines and went to bed. When I woke up, I had a long and hard thought about my future. Once my brain had calmed down somewhat, I remembered that many years ago I had been attuned to reiki but had never done anything with it. Thinking that it couldn’t hurt to try, I gave myself a treatment. The effect was immediate. I relaxed and enjoyed it so much that I continued treating myself for weeks.
My mind started to clear and I decided that I wanted to pursue my second love in life after music – energy healing and spirituality. That year I completed my Reiki Master, Chakra Dancing and Creative Mindful Meditation, Reiki Drum and Seichem certifications. Later on, I also added animal healing to my set of tools. I started up my Reiki practice, treating people locally and at events and festivals. The stage was set for bigger things to come…
While the global pandemic of COVID-19 is associated primarily with adversities, it has also brought about a true boom in startups, with successful entrepreneurship in many countries. The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another. Would you like to share your experience on a personal and professional level?
The pandemic came as a shock to me. I don’t have TV and only skim the news marginally, so was unaware how desperate the global situation had become. It brought my Reiki business to a grinding halt and the only way forward for me to pay the bills was to temporarily revive my translation business. Completely unhappy with the fact that I was regressing, I looked for ways of taking my Reiki practice online. As an online business novice, I had no idea and started giving distance Reiki treatments for 15 bucks a shot. I was gunned down by the spiritual online community where the belief prevails that you shouldn’t ask money for spiritual services. I was confused and desperate to make this work. I did not want to go back to my old life as a translator!
I found a business coach who taught me the basics and slowly I learnt the difference between trading hours for money and providing training and service packages. I grew and developed my business throughout 2020.
On a personal level, I struggled with the lockdowns as this was my biggest nightmare – no more traveling and being stuck in the house all day. I had spent too many years doing that for work and was just beginning to enjoy my new freedom as an energy healer! To have this freedom taken away again so quickly felt harsh to me. I managed to keep in a good mental space by focusing all of my energies on my new online business.
What has been the response of the consumers towards your venture?
My multi-author books have been very well received. My authors see them as an opportunity to dip their toes into the world of writing and publishing. The training and companionship with other authors breaks down the initial barrier that many women face when thinking about writing a book. STRONG AND FREE Vol. 1 has been so popular that I decided to run Vol. 2, which is about to be launched. And still the enquiries are coming in, so I’m toying with the idea of a third volume to complete a trilogy.
I have become a three-times international bestselling author in the process. I have perfected the art of independent publishing and now offer writing coaching as well. I ran the Inner Hippie Radio Show for a while, complementing my first multi-author book. I am a regular speaker in Facebook groups and virtual events. I am an executive contributor at Brainz Magazine. And I will be running writing retreats in the near future. Throughout this journey, I continue using my energy healing skills for the benefit of my wonderful clients. Chakra healing works wonders for writer’s block!
The response to my publishing house and efforts to empower women to stand up and speak their truth has been so well received that I am now planning to expand the business to the next level – more books, more staff, more client love! I am here to serve humanity and the Universe speaks through me!
How has your life changed because of your venture?
My life has changed in so many ways and all for the better! I’m no longer tied to my desk 24/7 working for some anonymous boss on projects that I’m less than passionate about. I have time for my family and an independent income. I know that as my business grows, I will leave a legacy for my family and other charitable causes. I am a digital nomad and can travel whenever I want. I spend a lot of time abroad at my holiday home in Bulgaria and with my mum in Germany. My business gives me true freedom – the freedom to live life on my own terms.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I dream of the day when all humans on Earth will be truly equal – no more discrimination on the grounds of gender, origin and financial position. I dream of a world without poverty, where every human has enough of everything they need in life to be prosperous and abundant. I dream of the day when humanity wakes up and honors Mother Earth, stops ravaging her and lives on her peacefully and in harmony with all there is. No more pollution. No more hunger. No more war. Heaven on Earth!
Give a motivational message for the audience/women who are reading this.
I want every woman who reads this to know that you are beautiful! You are perfect exactly the way you are! Do not let society’s standards define you. Be your authentic self. Believe in yourself – everything is possible! If you can dream it you can be it!