About Global Psychics
Our Story of Miracles
The Global Psychics story really begins with the story of the friendship between its owner, Danielle Daoust and Mary-Anne Alvaro - and a host of miracles that still occurs around the business. One of those miracles culminated in the formation of Global Psychics Inc. and the building of this web site... Here's the short version of how this company began.
It all really started in December of '95, when my friend and client, Elaine Singleton, mentioned an idea that she'd been playing with for an events broadcasting system. The third time she brought it up in a reading, she insisted that I consider taking it on as a business project - little did she know that I had a 20-year career in systems design, and that all of our lives would change dramatically as a result of this simple request. I spent the next few months in research and soon discovered that I was designing my first Internet application. After a 10 year hiatus, I was back in the technology business, now immersed in this exciting new world.
By the summer of '96 I was getting very excited, I could see an opportunity for my close friend, Mary-Anne and I to set forth on a course we had been dreaming of for some time. By this time, we had been in business together for several years, running an agency, Oracles, providing readers to corporate events, fund-raisers and private parties. The longer we worked together, the more we dreamed of a time when our business was not geographically-based. Each of us had long-range plans to move closer to our families, me west to London and she north to Barrie, or thereabouts. But the more our business and private practices grew, the more dependent we were on Toronto for our livelihoods. The Internet would enable us to work from wherever we wanted and it would be easy for our clients to reach us from wherever they are... the perfect solution for us. Except for one thing, it would take a good chunk of money to get a first site built and after more than a decade of struggle to re-engineer our lives, we had just reached the point where we could pay our bills comfortably ... there was nothing left over for a new venture like this.
But it was such an exciting idea, reading for our clients by email seemed such a perfect way to deal with our business, and we had so much more we wanted to do and share with our clients... we couldn't resist at least formulating our dream. Mary-Anne took on the job of translating my loose flow diagrams and notes into a formal site description. She bought a big piece of posterboard and carefully drew out our first web site plan. We presented it to a few friends for ideas and support, but there the idea sat... waiting for the resources. We laughed at ourselves for going so far with what seemed an impossible dream, knowing we couldn't follow through, at least for now. Still, we carried the dream and talked about it often.
Then the first big miracle happened. At that time, I home-stayed mature foreign students who wanted to learn to speak English and to experience Canadian family life. Late in the fall of 1996, one of my students organized a gathering of his friends for a feast at our house. I was preparing the dessert that day, so I was in the kitchen, watching out over the group and half listening to their discussions of business and politics. As I looked up at one point I noticed one man in the group - sparks seemed to be flying from his eyes, I realized he was a little older than the rest of the group, and that he was talking about the Internet and seemed to know a lot about it. I was inspired to speak with him of our plans....When the opportunity came, I asked him about the projects I was working on and to my surprise he was especially interested in the idea of putting up a metaphysics site. Unfortunately, he was leaving in a few days for an extended visit to Asia, but he promised to stop in before he left to get more information and give me some advice.
I was quite surprised when he called the very next morning to arrange an appointment, and even more amazed when he concluded the meeting with the promise of $10,000, if I came up with a good business plan which I was to email him within the week. Mary-Anne and I were suddenly propelled into action. We produced the plan as required and surprised ourselves again with the very real viability of our idea... (although we've since been embarrassed at our naivete, the original plans in their basic form are still driving the business...) With the plan we also defined a shareholder structure. By this time we found that our friend Elaine was also interested in supporting the project and there were several other individuals around us with significant amounts of cash willing to invest. The impossible idea was becoming more real, literally by the moment. We emailed the plan to our friend in Asia, and that's when the biggest miracle of all occurred. He replied within two hours. Our man in Asia liked the plan so well that he was prepared to put up almost all of the cash we needed to get the business off the ground. By January/96, Global Psychics Inc. was incorporated, by February our first site was built and up http://lovepsychics.com/, by April, the core site, http://globalpsychics.com/ was open for business and by June we had started generating revenue on-line. That's when the real fun began, but that's another story.
In the years since then, Mary-Anne has moved on her to a very different type of business.... This business has taught us so much, not only about business, but about being psychic, about living with and in love, about going with the flow, about letting go and Letting God... We've had to face our fears time and again, and keep on going. We've had to accept our mistakes, and keep on going. We've had to break down and keep on going, and break through and keep on going. And most importantly, we've been pushed to living our full potential, to being all that we can be, all of the time.
The best part of our story, however, is not the miracles that come almost daily, nor the steady doubling of traffic, nor the fact that some 70% of our business is repeat, nor the fact that within two years our site had become a metaphysics mega site, a psychic portal, and continues to grow almost nine years later.... nor the fact that we have each purchased homes and cars, modest, but perfect for us, nor the fact that this weirdo Internet-based psychic company has earned the respect of our bank and other main-stream businesses. No, the best part of the Global Psychics story is the love in this business... I don't know if it is possible for people to love what they do more than the Global Psychics Team does... while some days are a grind of never ending calls and trivial tasks, every day is a pleasure. We can honestly say that we have never been happier in our lives than we are now and no business has given us more joy than Global Psychics has. It is our very real pleasure to be of service, to do what we can, where we can, to live a life and a work that is as close to our purpose as we or anyone might pray for... we are blessed, and so very very grateful.
I come to work every day with loving, capable, dedicated professionals, trusting that whatever comes up, as a team, we'll find a solution... Global Psychics Inc. was founded on a loving partnership and flourishes even as the partnership changes.
The Partnerships
In late '97, Mary-Anne and her husband Daryl moved into the basement of 468 Donlands Ave. in Toronto with the objective of building the foundations on which the business could grow. None of us will ever forget that day... it's as if the universe knew that we were all under one roof finally and said, "all right, now it's time to really get to work"... I'd been telling Mare for weeks that I was getting desperate, couldn't handle the phones anymore by myself, and I was proven right on the first day.
Picture this. Mary-Anne and Daryl have just arrived with the last load. There are boxes everywhere, barely room to move. As Mare walks in the door at four that afternoon, all the phones are ringing, two different house phones and two lines in the business. My son and another room-mate run for the house phones, I'm already on the office phone, so Mare pushes her way through the boxes to reach for the second office line. She's still got her coat on, can't find a chair nor a clear space on her desk, so she opens the first reading on top of the boxes beside her desk. No sooner did we each finish our first readings, then the next came in, and the next, and the next.... it was long dark and Mare still had her coat on when the fellows brought us hot tea and supper at our desks. (Daryl had come in at some point to clear a space for his wife, God bless him...) Finally, some time around midnight, the phone stopped ringing and we could finally lift our heads up. I looked up and laughed... Mary-Anne hadn't yet taken the time to take off her coat... "welcome to our business, darling, this is just the beginning."
It took us another two months to find the time to properly resettle in the new living arrangements. It really was just the beginning.... and the beginning of more than one amazing partnership.
While the partnership between Mary-Anne and I was remarkable in itself, it is all the more remarkable when you consider it in the context of the other partnerships that enable it.
Tthere's my partnership with my son, Patrick McBride. Pat is developmentally disabled and between that and his asthma, cannot hold a full-time job... thank you Godessence, for we have needed Pat to help us ground Global Psychics and keep it moving. It took Pat awhile to accept that I could really make a good life for us working from my living room office. But when he got it, and also got that he could be responsible for making it work, he really put his back into it. Over the years, Pat has taken over responsibility for all of the heavy work around the house, and for a whole lot more. He answers phones, takes messages, runs to the bank for us, brings me tea late at night, helps me take care of the garden, and most of all, he cares, not just about me, but about our home, our business, and every one of my clients. One day I pray he finds his mate and will build his own life, but in the meantime, I am proud to say he's my son and he's been key to Global Psychics' success.
Another most remarkable partnership contained within the Global Psychics organization is the partnership between the three major shareholders in Global Psychics. "Our man in Asia", the primary investor who backed our company is a very special fellow. While he prefers to remain silent and anonymous, he has been an active and loving supporter. No matter where he is, he is watching the site, keeping us informed of new technology and ideas, and doing his best to spread the word. His trust and faith in me as the operating principal makes it easy for me to get my work done - and to believe in this work. He asks the right questions at the right time, keeps us focussed on getting the right answers when they're needed. Without his silent loving support, Global Psychics would not be.
We consider ourselves blessed in our partnerships... they represent the soul of the company... for no matter what happens to Global Psychics Inc., it's soul has nourished the people behind it, and those people will be forever marked, blessed, by the harmony and growth, the love and understanding we created as a company of partners in life and work. Mary-Anne, may have moved on, but her heart ansd spirit are still with us... We give thanks.
Now, that's our story, what's yours? Tell us what you believe about being psychic.
Do you have comments, questions? Need answers about that important someone? Talk to Us....
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