A tarot business puts its cards on the table
June 7th 2021
What springs to mind when you think of tarot readers? Does your imagination wander to a cloaked figure, ringed fingers clasped over a crystal ball? Or do you think of a pack of ominous cards spread out over a rounded table in a darkened room, where it’s game over if you’re unlucky enough to draw an unsavoury option?
Just to keep the allure and mysterious nature of a tarot reader intact (and because she wants to keep her career and mystic work separate) the owner of our latest small business story, Tarot Manifestation, has opted to remain anonymous and be referred to only as 'Untapped Potential'.
But she has told us the story of how she set up on her own, why she chose to pursue tarot reading and what’s next for her. And no, psychic jokes aside, she can't see that in the cards.
Mystical misconceptions
Tarot reading is often misunderstood and shrouded in misconceptions, but it’s nothing more than a centuries' old practice that uses specialist cards to gain an insight into the future- simple. And when we say centuries old, we mean it, tarot reading has been popular since the middle of the 15th century.
Tarot Manifestation, on the other hand is a quirky new business on Etsy, where you can browse and purchase a wide range of different tarot services, including readings and expert coaching.
Its owner Untapped Potential is now speaking out to banish many of the misunderstandings and misconceptions, and to tell us a little more about what she offers and where this passion for palmistry came from.
“I’ve been interested in tarot since about 2014 but not really explored it in-depth until the pandemic hit.” Untapped Potential tells us when we ask about what made her take the plunge into tarot reading as a business.
She added “I started doing readings for friends and family and continually got feedback about how spot-on they were. A friend suggested I set up a business as she is a regular when it comes to purchasing tarot readings. She sometimes pays up to £60 at a time and said mine was one of the best she’d ever had and would have happily paid £60 for it.”
She went on “So, I decided to set up a small business on Etsy and offer readings for a more affordable cost and it's gone from there.”
So how would Untapped Potential describe tarot reading herself? She stresses it's not just about looking into the future, there's actually a lot to it.
"Tarot means reading your subconscious so it is essentially looking at the energies that are surrounding you at the time. It isn’t magic and if it’s done correctly it shouldn’t really tell you anything you don’t already know." She tells us before adding.
"Tarot isn’t a tool to read your future, it actually focuses a lot more on the here and now. It can be used as a guide to advise on what’s going on around you and offer a possible likely future outcome. It's fundamentally down to what you decide to do with the information after the reading."
Balancing work and passion
It hasn’t been simple to set up her business though, Untapped Potential tells us that she struggled initially weighing up her career and her newfound passion.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing, to be honest, my career isn’t something I wanted to give up, but it was certainly an attractive option to set up a small business on the side.” she pondered when asked what the biggest hurdle for her was when first setting up.
“With so much being done online these days, the obvious place to start was finding a platform to sell on. eBay and Etsy were my first go to’s. I’ve purchased many times from both and deemed eBay to be the more popular site however I much preferred how Etsy was run in terms of protecting the seller and keeping private information private.”
She went on to stress that although eBay was the bigger of the two companies, Etsy provided security to her and her customers which is vital to any small business owner.
“It was a bit of a toss-up between reaching a bigger audience straight away or going with a smaller company that made me feel far more protected as an individual. The latter was far more important to me, so I choose Etsy.”
Banishing the biggest worries
So, what other worries did Untapped Potential face when first setting up her business and how did she tackle them with ease?
She pondered and cast her mind back to the start of lockdown when she first considered forming a business around her talent and intuition.
"As with any new venture, you can never be sure how it will be received or whether it's something people will be interested in purchasing. There's also the aspect of wondering if the product is something people want and if so, then how many others are already selling it and what makes mine the more attractive option?”
She went on to say: “My biggest worry still is whether or not the readings will sell and I also initially worried that I may not be able to keep up with all the orders.”
“I offer both tarot readings and manifestation/life coaching. Both require a lot of my own individual energy as well as being tailored custom-made products. As this is not my full-time job, there was an initial concern that I could be taking on too much, but I’ve found balancing the two to actually be incredibly manageable.”
Onwards and upwards
Untapped Potential has enjoyed some massive success since she burst onto the Etsy scene and has revelled in a great deal of praise from her contented customers. She’s also adapted over the last few months and started offering even more options, like the coaching we mentioned earlier.
She said: “The feedback I’ve received has been so positive and to be helping others with the coaching is such a rewarding thing to do.”
“People come to me with questions they want answers to and often feel they are in a place where they need help of some kind but have no one to turn to. For a far more affordable cost, I am able to help them with their struggles and give advice on how to deal with what they’re going through.”
The coaching -in particular- has been something Untapped Potential really wants to expand on in the future.
She enthused: “Coaching is incredibly rewarding as over the course of emails I am able to help someone really combat their fears and work towards their goals in a way that is actually achievable. Seeing that growth in my clients is really incredible.”
It sounds like in-depth stuff, how did Untapped Potential decide to go down that route initially?
“The coaching aspect of my business came a lot later. Manifestation has become a huge interest for a lot of people since the pandemic began and a wealth of information has sprung up all over the internet. I began reading and realised that what has now become known as ‘manifesting’ is something I’ve been doing my whole life. My parents taught it to me without really knowing it had a special name.”
So, for us who aren't familiar with manifesting, what exactly is it and how does it help us in our daily lives? Untapped Potential cleared that up for us.
“Manifestation is essentially about your mindset rather than being good at a particular technique so anyone can do it. That's how I came up with my name 'Untapped Potential' as that's what we all are. Manifestation coaching is similar to life coaching and the teachings are based on the laws of assumption, the laws of attraction and eastern philosophies.”
She continued “I saw a gap in the market to offer something I’ve been doing my entire life at a fraction of the cost. £500 is not affordable to most of us and there was no guarantee of success either, I just felt this was taking advantage of people in need. I felt I could offer a coaching package at a price that the majority could afford.”
Laying out the future
What cards of advice would Untapped Potential pick for others starting on a business venture out in the big bad world? She says that knowing what you want to offer is the most important aspect to get sorted in your own mind first.
When you’re setting up your own business it can be easy to get bogged down by the little things (business cards, social media presence and finding clients) but making sure you are clear about what you have on offer should be at the forefront of any company.
“The best advice I have is to know what you want to offer and be specific about it. Put yourself in the customer's shoes and think if you were going to purchase the product, what concerns would you have? What questions would you ask before purchasing?”
She went on to say “Now answer those questions yourself, you don’t want customers to ‘um’ and ‘ah’ over whether to purchase because they don’t have all the facts. Answer their questions before they come up.”
She also mentioned that listening to your customer base is so important, especially as a small business. If you take note of what’s working and what isn’t then you can adapt, grow and gain more interest with ease.
She added "I always ask customers for honest feedback and adapt to their needs. People are more likely to recommend you and return if they feel their opinions are taken into consideration. Make sure you keep the good reviews as well. If you want to promote, it's good to have reviews to back up your product and it also helps you to grow in confidence as well.”
Here’s hoping Untapped Potential continues to gain momentum and thrive. You can check out Tarot Manifestation and all the services on offer here.
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