Course Lab
Interview with Mary Williams
Chief Technology Therapist, Sensible Woo
Interview Summary
Mary Williams, a librarian turned "Chief Technology Therapist," discovered her unique niche when tarot reading clients kept interrupting their sessions to ask about software and business systems. She created Feng Shui Your Bits & Bytes — a course that uses the metaphor of a Feng Shui energy map to help emotionally triggered business owners declutter their tech and build harmonious systems, charging $725/month for a six-month mastermind and $10K for three-month VIP packages.
When Tarot Clients Start Asking About Software
Mary Williams had a non-traditional library career, going straight from library school into corporate software design and digital asset management in the entertainment industry. After leaving her corporate career, she started consulting with startups while doing tarot readings on the side. Then something unexpected happened: her tarot clients — mostly business owners — kept interrupting their readings to ask about technology. "I used to tell them, this doesn't require cards to give you an answer. But clearly, they wanted both things to happen in a coaching session," Mary recalls. She realized there was a gap between the "woowoo world of metaphysics" and the practical side of running an online business. Her audience — highly sensitive, neurodivergent, and "woo-curious" business owners — had strong emotional reactions to technology that traditional tech courses completely ignored. Nobody was creating a safe space for them to explore that. So Mary built one.
The people who come to me have a very strong trigger or emotional reaction to things in technology. It creates a safe space for them to explore that — know that it's okay, that it's safe to explore, that it is also solvable.
The Bagua Map Becomes a Tech Framework
The breakthrough came when Mary looked at the Bagua Map — a traditional Feng Shui energy map used to harmonize physical spaces. In the Western interpretation, it's laid out as a rectangular grid with sections like "fame and recognition," "wealth," and "relationships." Mary realized each section mapped to an aspect of running a digital business. "I looked at the fame and recognition section and I remember thinking, this is totally marketing," she says. The Feng Shui metaphor became a bridge: her audience loved decluttering and harmonizing their homes, so why not their "digital house"? The framework helps students identify which areas of their digital business are weak and which they're over-investing in. One signature exercise is the "workflow party," done entirely on Post-it notes to get students away from screens. "They actually have to focus on the problem, and it's amazing how many times they end up examining what tools are supporting every part of their process and start to make better intentional decisions," Mary explains. The Post-it note approach — teaching tech by getting off tech — is deliberately designed to reduce the emotional overwhelm that screens trigger.
I looked at the fame and recognition section and I remember thinking, this is totally marketing. And then I looked around at the other sections, and I realized these are all aspects of business.
Premium Pricing for Emotional Transformation
Mary runs two tiers: a six-month group mastermind at $725/month (capped at eight people) and one-on-one VIP packages at $10K for three months. The group mastermind includes live sessions and self-study course materials, but what students really pay for is the live mastermind time with Mary and with each other. Her students recently told her they wanted to extend to a full year, so she's building a 12-month program for 2022. The VIP clients get face-to-face time and what Mary calls a "download" — intensive knowledge transfer plus traditional one-on-one coaching. The pricing works because the value isn't in the tech information itself (which is freely available everywhere), but in the emotional and behavioral transformation. "A lot of times people pick tech for their tech stack and they're like, oh, it was so hard. I'm never doing that for the next 10 years," Mary observes. "But technology changes so fast that if you don't build in some flexibility and some mobility, you can end up with a real problem." Teaching resilience and flexibility in the face of technological change — not just which software to pick — is what justifies the premium price.
A lot of times people pick tech for their tech stack and they're like, oh, it was so hard. I'm never doing that for the next 10 years. But technology changes so fast that if you don't build in some flexibility and some mobility, you can end up with a real problem.
Mary's Action Steps
Mary recommends these 3 steps to improve your course planning:
Use familiar metaphors to teach unfamiliar subjects
Mary's audience already loved Feng Shui and decluttering, so she used that framework to make technology accessible. Find a framework your audience already understands and loves, then map your subject matter onto it. The metaphor becomes a bridge that reduces resistance and emotional overwhelm.
Address the emotional layer, not just the practical one
Most tech courses teach what buttons to click. Mary discovered that her clients' real obstacle was emotional — fear, overwhelm, and avoidance. If your students have strong emotional reactions to your subject matter, building a course that ignores those feelings will fail no matter how good the practical content is.
Use offline exercises to teach digital skills
Mary's "workflow party" uses Post-it notes to get students off screens and focused on the underlying problem. When your subject matter is intimidating, design exercises that reduce the friction. Sometimes the best way to teach something digital is to start analog.
About Mary Williams
Chief Technology Therapist, Sensible Woo
Mary Williams is the Chief Technology Therapist at Sensible Woo. A librarian by trade with a corporate career in software design and digital asset management (including work in the entertainment industry), she teaches highly sensitive business owners how to replace technological chaos with harmonious systems. Her Digital Feng Shui Way framework uses the metaphor of a Feng Shui energy map to help entrepreneurs audit, declutter, and intentionally design their tech stacks — addressing the emotional triggers that most tech courses ignore.
Listen to the full episode
From Course Lab with Abe Crystal & Ari Iny on Mirasee FM