Founders may, therefore, be at higher risk of their venture failing if they entrust their success to the Universe, rather than creating a solid business plan.

Business maverick Katie Webster believes that manifesting has, in part, contributed to the success of her own multi-six-figure ventures; however, she says that as a spiritually-minded founder, you cannot neglect the importance of grounded action.

When a last-minute opportunity came up to fly to Los Angeles via New York for an exclusive business retreat, led by a highly respected person in my field, I asked the Universe for a sign… Should I go?

I could easily afford the ticket. The event passed my predicted Return on Investment test, but I wanted an extra push from something bigger than myself.

Logging into my next coaching appointment, I had to laugh… My client was wearing a sweatshirt with the words ‘Los Angeles’ across her chest. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m moving house and it’s the first thing I pulled out of a box.”

‘Looks like I’m going to LA!’ I thought.

If you’d told me this story six years ago, I would have rolled my eyes. Back then, manifesting was so far from how I believed I ran my business, with a firm focus on the numbers and two feet on the ground.

But when I was gifted a copy of ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne, and the Universe kept sending me clients who practised the Law of Attraction, something shifted. In the book, I recognised that many of the things my dad had done over the years – leading to him becoming a millionaire construction magnate – were aligned with manifesting (though he would never have called it that himself). And the success I had enjoyed – firstly, as an award-winning bridal boutique owner; then in the luxury goods sector – were a perfect match for the goals I had set for myself during the startup phase.

Many of the female entrepreneurs I work with as a business strategist call me the ‘Manifesting Queen’. I’ll take that, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.

If you’re a fresh-out-of-the-box founder, or doing the investment rounds, manifestation must go hand in hand with intentionality. Every founder has one intention in common: To make money. Even if you’re an out-and-out philanthropist, you still need to be profitable to finance the impact you want to have.

The manifestation puzzle piece is about setting goals so that you know what success will look like to you. Personally, that might be buying a certain car, financing home improvements or putting your children through private school. In business terms, that could be the amount of revenue or profit you want to make, or certain clients you want to work with. Whatever it is, the details of your goal must feel very real to you. When you arrive at your destination, it should feel very familiar by design!

Sending that wish out to the Universe, sitting back and waiting for it to land in your lap, rarely – if ever – works. Being in the right rooms, joining the right conversations and strategising your success will help to achieve your goals.

Going back to my Los Angeles example, I had followed the retreat organiser for five years on Instagram and had been messaging her back and forth for months – building that connection. I had money in the bank to finance the trip and three clear reasons to go. Firstly, I wanted to see ‘what was in her tin’… In other words, to get an insider’s look at how her industry works and bring home golden nuggets to add to my world. Secondly, I’m a big believer that you must get out of small ponds to grow your business, and this was a great opportunity to make new connections. And thirdly, to see if there were potential new clients in the room. All the intentional groundwork had been done. My client’s sweatshirt was just a sign to pull the trigger.

If you have a solution, a product, or a service, you need to be intentional about getting it to the right audience. Ego may tell you if it’s so good, you’re bound to be discovered. But while luck plays a part in almost every great startup story, nine times out of 10, the founders put themselves in fortune’s path.

Examples of intentional action include appointing a branding expert who can pull out the identity of the business, and a Chief Finance Officer/Accountant who makes you regularly look at the numbers. Your identity/reputation and cashflow are the last things you should leave to chance, as many failed founders will attest to.

If you are still feeling sceptical about the ‘World of Woo’, then seek out an intentional reason to engage with it. I had never meditated in my life until I asked Michael Acton Smith, founder of the Calm app, why I should bother. “Meditating in a morning before work increases your productivity by 67%,” he said. A good enough reason for me…