Celebrities, companies bank on her intuition

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The difference between a psychotic and a psychic, says Laura Day, is that a psychic's information is right. And companies pay Day $10,000 a month to be correct.

But please don't call her "psychic." She prefers "intuitionist."

"The word psychic can mean so many strange things in our lexicon, and I like 'intuition' because it is a sense. It's an ability to gather information that you haven't been exposed to before," she said one afternoon at her cozy three-bedroom apartment in New York's Tribeca district. "Once you add 'psychic,' it's like I drink wheat grass, I talk to dead people."

She doesn't do either of the above, but she does consult with companies looking for a boost or a much needed competitive edge. She's helped talent agencies choose new clients, tech companies revamp their marketing teams, and lawyers have used her to help select juries.

Her celebrity clients include Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman and Demi Moore, who considers Day a close friend.

Her five-figure fee guarantees 24-hour access to her, and she works with no more than five companies at a time. She claims to have made more than $10 million over the course of her 15-year career, and business is booming, she adds. She even has a waiting list.

All this was achieved solely through referrals. Watch Day at work »

Why a company would turn to someone who knows next to nothing about business is a mystery to many, but not to those who have worked with Day. Karen Page, a Harvard Business School alumna and author, invited the intuitionist to speak to a group of businesspeople shortly after 9/11. Day was a huge hit, and years later, Page is still singing her praises.

"From a rational standpoint, she may not know anything about a particular field that she's doing consulting in, but she's able to give valuable insight," Page says. "And that is something I've seen with her time and time again. ...

"And she has delivered insights that have been very surprising. When Laura Day says something, I listen."

Still, some of her clients refuse to go on the record with their praise of Day, for fear of looking foolish or naive. After all, psychics -- or those who profess to be psychic -- are a mainstay of cheesy late-night infomercials and bachelorette parties.

Day doesn't work with crystal balls or tarot cards; she prefers to keep her scarves tied around her neck and not her head. She could easily pass for an editor at a fashion magazine -- the day I met with her, she was sporting a chic black dress and matching Prada pumps -- and has the cheery disposition of a woman who is used to being referred to as the "cool mom" (she has a 16-year-old son).

She refuses to think of herself as special. We all have the power of intuition, she says, some of us just know how to use it better.

"An ER nurse in a bad neighborhood in an understaffed hospital, unbelievably intuitive," she says. "Someone on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, unbelievably intuitive. Our soldiers. Bless 'em, they're intuitive. They have to have eyes and ears everywhere. Anybody who needs to make a quick, correct move or decision based on little or no information is intuitive."

Lola Ogunnaike is the entertainment correspondent for CNN's "American Morning."