Insights into Running a Tarot Business

I have to admit that I’m reluctant to dive into the oversaturated world of “business content.” There’s so much information out there about running & starting your own spiritual business, not to mention the fact that each of us does things differently: What works for me may not resonate with you or even work for you.

We all come to starting our own business from different places and will be operating them under different conditions.

So there’s my little caveat out of the way! I’ll be sharing my insights and experiences about the business side of my tarot life here.

Reading tarot professionally is wonderfully gratifying, creative, and fulfilling work. That is, if you like reading tarot, which I’m assuming you do since you’re here.

It’s also, however, emotionally draining, even with the best self-care practices and a tough sell in an oversaturated market. You can read more about my major lessons and ideas in this post; now, buckle up, and let’s dive into the nitty-gritty.

10 Tips for Starting & Running a Successful Tarot Business

1. Make sure you’re ready for the other 90% of the work: Reading tarot takes up very little of your time as a professional. You’ll be creating content, marketing, engaging on social media, taking photos, cleaning your space, buying supplies, and so much more.

2. Be consistent :It’s easy to start a million offerings and projects, but if you don’t follow through on them it looks unprofessional. Start small and stick to it, whether it’s a bi-weekly newsletter, weekly free tarot reading, or regular instagram posts. People want to hear from you and will be impressed by your dedication.

3. Don’t overextend yourself: With the following point in mind, don’t put too much on your plate to the point where you can’t do it all. It’s far better to post one freebie regularly than it is to do five different things sporadically. Plus, it’s much easier for you.

4. Remember, you make the rules: I spent a lot of time trying to push through stale ideas, adopt weird inauthentic marketing plans, and doing offerings I didn’t actually like out of a false sense of obligation. Of course, it’s good to stick with things, but if something simply isn’t working, you can make a change! This is the beauty of being your own boss.

5. Have a clear brand and marketing strategy: This doesn’t have to be as stuffy as it sounds. Long story short, make sure you know who you are and what you’re selling, then make sure that your website, posts, copy, and branding reflect this message. Clear, straightforward, and easy-to-process material is the best. Once people get confused or oversaturated with text/information, they’re out.

6. Market yourself more than you ever thought possible: People won’t get readings from you if they don’t know you exist. It’s easy to set up a website and print some business cards; getting people to book appointments with you is an entirely different story. Marketing doesn’t have to be soul-crushing (though this has been a LONG journey for me!) Get creative and have fun with it. Can you get interviewed on podcasts (or host one)? Contribute to online publications, blogs, social media accounts? Join Facebook groups, forums, and meetups? Be active and get your name out there, and don’t be afraid to hand out business cards and let people know what you’re offering.

7. Value your time and stand behind your prices: There are a lot of people who offer readings for free online, but not you: Your’e a professional. Giving away readings is often an ineffective business strategy. Don’t feel pressured to give into pushy people. Once you begin your business, you are a pro reader and people should pay you for your time.

8. Do the math!: Before you start your business, consider how much you’d like or need to get from it. This will be different if you’re starting part-time (which I heartily recommend) or full-time. Tarot is not an intrinsically lucrative career path. If anyone is telling you that you can make three figures in a month (and ESPECIALLY if they’re asking you to pay for a class) they’re lying. It takes a lot to get consistent booking and, even so, you only have a finite amount of time. Look at your goals, map out how many clients you’d need to book to meet them, and plan accordingly.

9. Diversify your offerings: If you just offer one-on-one readings, you’re limited to an income stream that requires your active time and presence. Add other ways to make money that don’t require as much labor like group classes or events, and, even better, can give you passive income like online self-directed courses.

10. Get engaged with the community: Collaborating with, supporting, and connecting with other business owners and members of the tarot community is a wonderful way to stay inspired. Look for facebook groups, meetups, or reach out on social media. Tarot people are quite lovely and it’s so healing to have a sense of belonging and support.

3 Things I've Learned as a Spiritual Professional

I got a wonderful question on my Instagram announcement about phasing out of reading tarot full-time at Incandescent Tarot:

What advice do you have for people stepping into this role?

When I think about all I’ve learned during my 3 year tenure as a professional tarot reader it’s difficult to distill it into concrete advice. My first thoughts careen through so many categories: spiritual components, business strategies, ethics and boundaries, and more. I’ll likely touch on some of these later, but for now I’d like to focus on the major lessons I’ve learned and approaches that have helped me:

Stand by your Style

Each person reads tarot, does reiki, or teaches meditation differently. When I started out I spend so much time researching the current “pro-tarot scene” that I lost sight of my unique approach. The more time I spent interacting with different readers’ business approaches and tarot philosophies the easier it was to unconsciously adopt their attitudes. This led to a lot of needless tension! Plus, it was almost comical how resoundingly successful I was when I embraced my true voice vs. how awkward and stilted things came out when I tried to be a calm, “enlightened” style reader with a soothing whisper voice. (Definitely not my natural way of being!)

I found that the more time I spent “researching” (aka comparing and drowning out my creative voice with other information) the more muddled and confused my marketing became. In a sense, I spent a lot of time running away from my authentic voice as a tarot reader and, delightfully, my voice won by a landslide.

So, to sum it up here, my advice is: Trust your abilities and work as your true self.

Be Professional!

Lest you think my advice to be yourself includes wearing your sweatpants to appointments! Truly, being professional from the beginning has been one of my best decisions as a spiritual business owner. Well, actually, as a business owner period.

Having your ducks in a row - that means terms & conditions policies, a code of ethics, local permits, cancellation policies, ironclad boundaries, and much more - is one of the best things you can do for your business. I’ve found that having all this ready from the get-go has done so much to ensure that I’m ready for whatever happens AND that I attract clients that are a good fit and know what’s expected when they work with me.

There’s a lot of misinformation and, sadly, disrespect for spiritual businesses that can sometimes lead to difficult situations. I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid most of the sticky situations I’ve heard about, in most part because I feel I’ve set up all the infrastructure to make sure people know what they’re getting and that they’re interacting with a legit professional.

Have Beautiful, Clear Boundaries

Ah, boundaries, how I love you!

This is somewhat of an offshoot of professionalism, but one that’s particularly important in any healing modality. When doing spiritual work you’re entering into a deep and often vulnerable relationship with your clients. A lot can come up in this space, and it’s your job as a professional to hold it for whomever is choosing to work with you. It’s a huge honor to do this work, and stepping outside your boundaries as a professional is a huge breach of that trust.

Where I think this gets tricky is that often people doing this work are extremely empathetic with a strong desire to help. Having a strong sense of self - knowing the boundary between where you end and another complex, sovereign being begins - is absolutely essential. This means having a healthy detachment from your client’s emotions, problems, and reactions. They belong to them alone and it’s not your job to fix or interject with unwanted advice.

Caring for yourself and your mental health is a great way to bolster your boundaries. Have an identity and life outside of your practice! Make time to be a weird, wiggly human being so that you can bring your clearest self to your time with clients.

All sorts of ethics come up here, which is why I think it’s key for each practitioner to spend time really thinking about what they will or will not do, how they approach their sessions, and how they’ll enact their boundaries in real life. For me, this means keeping our interaction within the bounds of our session together, respecting my client’s free will, and not giving prescriptive answers or solutions to problems, no matter how much they may want them.

I’ve written so much here, but there’s still a lot left unsaid!

Let me know if you’d like to hear more about the business side of the equation and, as I continue to process and navigate my gradual shift towards a more muggle profession, I’ll keep you updated on what insights and observations arise. And, as always, thank you for following along on this journey - I’m so grateful to have you here.