(This is a short one.)

Ok kids, I'm coming at you with another reality check. Hold on to your hats.

You don't have to be a full-time self employed person to be happy. 

Ok, there, I said it. Please don't hurt me!

Why am I saying this? Because lately, we have been inundated with stories about people who left their oppressive, full-time, grown-up stupid jobs to pursue their passions. WHICH IS AWESOME. But I also noticed that because of this, many people now feel this extreme pressure to drop everything, throw themselves into their hobbies and/or side hustles and instantly become happier. And I get it because I was going through it. I was trying to get my business off the ground and started feeling like if I wasn't working full time at tarot, then I was failing, and that feeling sucks.

Don't get me wrong. Being self-employed is awesome and is MY goal. That is what I really want to do, and I'm gearing myself up and have two business so that one day that may be a possibility. But right now, if you are like me, you have bills. You might need health insurance from your company. You may need to support loved ones. There is a lot that you need to do with your money, and you may not have someone to support while you figure yourself out. Also, self-employment is a lot of a work that not everyone is cut out for. You don't get paid time off, and sometimes you end up working more than 40 hours a week. Knowing that you have to fully rely on yourself can actually be overwhelming and cause you more stress than you had before.

Instead of putting pressure on yourself to be an instant success with your own business, why don't you first examine why your unhappy with your current job. Is it:

Distance?
Pay?
Management?
Co-workers?
Stress level?

Examine why you are so unhappy, and until you can branch out on your own, change your situation. Try to look at the things that make your job hard and either try to change them or find a better to deal with it. Suggestions include:

-Finding a position with better pay.
-Look for a job closer to your home.
-Seek higher education or apprenticeship opportunities.
-Look for a job where you don't feel micro-managed or don't have to deal with such snarky co-workers. 

I'm not saying that any of this is easy, but if you try, it will definitely be worth it. In the meantime, work on your passion on your off hours and with enough work and dedication, YOU WILL GET THERE!!! So keep working on your business, but don't KEEP yourself unhappy while your doing it. In the words of Oprah (I think it's Oprah) "Live your best life now!!!!".

Spiritual entrepreneurs, I love you. I love your courageousness, your tenacity and your creativity. But we need to have a talk.

I've been seeing a lot of stuff online and heard a lot of chatter that is NO BUENO. So lets get better, together!

There are THREE things that are slowly KILLING your business that I have been seeing WAY TOO MUCH of. 

1. Stop re-branding your whole business based on trends. Please, for the love of all things sacred, just stop.
I have been seeing a lot of people who every 3 months re-brand their business because of what is popular on Instagram or the latest hashtags. It will KILL your business. I'm serious. Now I'm not talking about changing your website or adding products, that's what you should be doing. I mean redoing your whole business and then calling yourself by a different name and title every few weeks because you see that this is what is trending.

Your customers can see right through you if you are not being authentic. Think about it this way. If your therapist moved offices every month, changed the name of her business every month and was constantly calling herself by a different title very month, what would you think? 

You would think your therapist might need a therapist. 

So what do you think your clients are thinking when they see all this? They are wondering what the hell is going on with you. And your someone who is supposed to be helping them? Ehhh... that makes a lot of people nervous. 

2. Stop airing all your grievances on your business pages, in your blogs and on any platforms that have to do with your business. 

Oh man, oh man, oh man. This should be a given but apparently people are still confused about this one. If you have beef with someone, stop telling everyone on your business page. A lot of professionals have their own personal pages where they don't friend clients, and if your on that page talking about your personal issues, that's fine and that is your decision. But your customers don't need to know. There are exceptions to this rule though. If someone has made a personal attack, or stolen your material, by all means, let people know what the real deal it. But be diplomatic and assertive, without being a petty betty. Lets keep it classy folks.

​3. Stop making excuses for bad service.

As business people, sometimes we drop the ball. We know that even with the most perfect business structure, we can make mistakes. But don't make excuses to your customers. If you deliver a product late, or don't deliver at all, apologize and make things right. Don't write your customer about all the reasons you couldn't do it and all that jazz. Truth be told, they don't really care. They just want whatever it is that they paid for. And learn from each mistake. For example, if you do tarot readings by email and your site says "24 hour reply" and you are consistently not making that deadline because you are too busy, extend it to 48 or 72 hours. Your customers will still buy your products as long as they know what to expect when they buy them. It's as simple as that. 

And that's all for now folks. The best thing about all of these are they are easily fixable! So lets get at it!

So this is a bit late, but what the hell! So the new year is here and I bet you made tons of different resolutions for yourself. But what about your business? If you don't already write business plans, you need to. And it you already have your business plan in place, I just want to make sure you and examining these different areas. What resolutions have you made and what are you going to do differently? What planning have you done? Let me give you some suggestions...

1. Your Money!

LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. As small businesses (you can make a lot of money and still be a small business), we are all looking to save money wherever we can. It is time to ask some questions...

If you rent a space, can you get somewhere cheaper?
Can you bring down your marketing budget?
Are you happy with any service providers you use?

My suggestion:
Look at any area you spend money and make sure it is necessary and also look at where you can cut costs.

2. Your Team!

Questions to ask yourself:
Are you happy with your team? Do your employees have what they need to get the job done? Do they have the right amount of support? Even if you are a solopreneur, you probably have an accountant, a bank you use, and maybe even a lawyer. Are you happy with their services? Do you feel like they are doing the best they can for you? Are they way too expensive?

My suggestion:
Make sure you like the people working for you. Don't go into the new year being frustrated withe same people from last year. 

3. Your Services and/or Products!

Questions to ask yourself:
What are you selling out of? What isn't selling at all? If it has been a year and you see no one has bought a certain product of yours, don't let it sit there. Let it go! It's good to mix things up and let go of things that aren't working. 

My suggestion:
While of course your going to have new and awesome products and services, make sure you are sprucing up your most popular products and making them the best they can be (also, if you selling out of a certain thing ALL THE TIME and spending a lot of time on it, you might need to give yourself a raise). 

4. Your Advertising and Social Media!

Questions to ask yourself?:
Are you getting a return on the advertising your currently doing? Are you reaching the clients you want to serve? Are you spending no money where you want to spend it? How is your social media game? Are you posting regularly? Are there avenues of social media you hate having to post on to?

My suggestion:
Really research before you put money into advertising. If you have a business which is local, you might want to advertise in local papers and fairs more. Word of mouth works really well for local businesses. If you have a strictly online service, you want to make sure your really up on you social media. Feeling overwhelmed by the internet? Make sure you are only doing social media sites that you actually like. If you hate Facebook, give it up. Why? Because your clients/customers will take note. Don't do anything if your going to half ass it. Also, to help you, pick a day of the week to sit and plan out your internet presence throughout the week. Using a program like Hootsuite will help you relieve that social media stress.

5. Your Classes/Events/Education/Speaking Engagements!

Questions to ask yourself:
What classes do I want to teach? Where am I teaching them? What speaking engagements do I plan on doing? Am I doing any free classes? 

My suggestion:
Plan everything in advance. Of course sometimes it's difficult because if you are participating in someone else's event you might not now when it is, but try your best. When you have deadlines and know when things are going to happen, it's easier to be prepared. Also, look at trends from last year. By this I mean, if you don't know how many events to do, or when, look at what happened the year before and start planning from there.

6. Your Collaborations!

Questions to ask yourself:
Who have you wanted to work with? Who have you wanted to interview?

My suggestion:
ASK! I'm telling you, when it comes to wanting to work with people you admire, as long as you ask them nicely and not is a sleazy way, most of the times they will talk to you. Many of the people who are your peers in the industry know that working together is better than working against each other. 

7. Your Clients!

Questions to ask yourself:
Am I getting the clients I want? Am I doing the best I can for my clients? Am I treating them like superstars?

My suggestion:
Why don't you ask your clients! Send out a survey or have a candid conversation with your clients asking what your doing right and what could be improved. 

These are some of the most important things you may want to consider for your business this new year. Do you have anything else? Let me know!!!

So as I have mentioned before, I'm a registered nurse here in the USA. All through nursing school, my professors drilled into us something called the nursing process. NursingWorld.com describes the nursing process as "the essential core of practice for the registered nurse to deliver holistic, patient-focused care". This means this process enables the nurse to look at the whole patient instead of just focusing on one problem. I go to thinking, this is precisely the way a business plan and goals for your business should be made! It makes perfect sense! Let me break it down for you cool cats:

First Step: Assessment.
Nursing Logic: This is the step where you collect information about your patient. You look, listen, feel, and talk to the patient to see what needs to be addressed.

Business Logic: You take a long hard look at your business. Where is it lacking? Where are you doing too much? What could you be doing better? Look at the numbers (income, time management, expenses) and other things that factor in to your success. All you need to do is look for now.

Second Step: Diagnosis.
Nursing Logic: This is where we take all the objective data and decide what the problem is. 

Business Logic: How can you better reach your business goals? Is the problem you spend too much on advertising that isn't giving you back the money that you thought it would? Is the rent on the space too much? Do you need to do more networking? After looking at the data, make some conclusions on what is really going on in your business and write down areas where you could improve.

Third Step: Planning.
​Nursing Logic: By looking at the diagnosis, from here we can make long and short term goals for our patients. 

Business Logic: This is when you start forming goals for your business for the next year. Maybe you need to make some changes so that you can be more efficient, or to save money. Maybe you need a better way to connect with your customers. Forming solid long term and short term goals is the best thing to help your business progress and a way to help you stay on track. Why do I say long term and short term? Because I have notices that many people have super fantastical amazing goals, which is awesome and you should, but you also need a road map to get there.  That is where your short term goals come in. 

Fourth Step: Implementation
Nursing Logic: This is where we put those treatment options in motion for the patient.

Business Logic: Because you are just now making these goals, you want to look at how you can implement these changes starting now or starting when your business plan is supposed to start. I'll use the example of advertising. Do you spend way too much on advertising and your not seeing a profit return? Maybe you can cancel some of those advertising subscriptions and spend more time upping your social media game! And that is something you can start doing now. 

Fifth Step: Evaulation
Nursing Logic: This is where you look at everything that was done and see how effective it was. If it didn't work, time to go back to the assessment stage and start all over again. 

Business Logic: Now you won't always be able to do this immediately. It takes time to see if something new you have put into place is actually taking working or not. But look ahead, this can be a valuable step when making goal. Look at your goals and think going forward: is this sustainable? Is this something that is doable? And if you realize your goals aren't working for you, guess what? You can go back to assessment and start all over again!

So this is how a bit of nursing knowledge can help us all! How is your business planning going? What are some of your goals for 2016? Let me know!

I'm about to get personal, so stay with me. 

So about a month and a half ago, I had a complete meltdown. Like, it was bad. I remember coming home from my full-time job and just laying in bed hysterically crying saying I couldn't take it anymore. I'm going to be honest. I pride myself on having my shit together. I am the one in my family who everyone comes to, the one my friends come to for advice, and in most crises, the who always has it under control.

And understand, right now I have a lot to keep track of. I have a full-time nursing job, a business that I work on at least 30 hours a week, a new budding crafting venture, and I take college classes to finish my bachelor's degree (I will be done in June 2016, thank God). So, I'm a busy girl.

Compounded with things going on in my personal life, I started to break apart. I was constantly anxious, lashing out at the people I love the most, distancing myself from my friends, and finding myself waking up angry for no reason. I just was losing it.... and fast.

And as for my business, I was letting it fall by the wayside. Not emailing people back. Not keeping up with appointments. Not answering the phone. Not being to write blog posts that I was passionate about.  

Just being a general mess. And my clients were suffering because of it.

I also realized something during this time. I GOT MYSELF INTO THIS.  I was going out of my way to make my customers happy, and in the process hurting myself. Giving free services, letting people go over their paid time CONSTANTLY, and other things that were slowing putting me in a bad position.

I have now crawled from out of my hole which was my funk and I can breathe once again. I also can reflect and tell you guys, how to not fall into a similar trap.

1. Be Firm- I have a bleeding heart when it comes to most people. I always want to help, that's why I became a nurse and that is why I'm a tarot card reader. As a business owner, you really do want to do that. I want clients to know I am here for them and I want to help in anyway I can. But be firm. You can't worry your whole life about making others happy when you making yourself crazy. When you say, "this is the rule", make sure it is. Don't constantly bend because you feel bad.

2. Do things you like. - Do things you like. Go to your favorite restaurant, color, take long walks, see good friends, have a Netflix marathon day. Take time for your self. Do what makes you really happy inside, something that has nothing to do with your business. My thing: I love flamenco dancing. When I dance, all I'm thinking about is my posture, the way my arms look, the singer's voice, the way my body feels... all this has nothing to with my business. And that's why I need it.

3. Get help. Seriously. If your business is becoming too big for you, it's ok to ask for help. Even simply automating certain systems can take a mountain of weight off your shoulders. And if need be, hire a living breathing person. That is a-ok and will help you be more organized!

4. Take care of your body. - Good ol' health advice. Exercise, eat right, exercise. It will help maintain your sanity. I promise.

5. Stick to the plan.- I'm a Gemini. I can't get through the day without having 17 different ideas for my business. It's great but it's also annoying. I want to do everything all the time. And that is exactly what I tried to do. After I got out of my funk, I also realized how far I had deviated from my business plan for 2015. But you might be saying, "But isn't being creative good?!" Of course it is! And you don't have to follow your business plan to a T all the time, but you should try and at least stay on the same general path. But you can't do everything. I wasn't able to keep the pace and bring in a new product, class or service I want to offer. Makes no sense. So trying your best to keep things close to your business plan, and if you want to introduce something new, plan it well.

6. Long term goals are great, but short term goals keep you in line.- As business owners, we all have goals. How many customers we have a month, how many email subscribers we want to gain, how much money we want to make and so on. That is great and you should always have something to work towards. But your lofty, large long term goals may seem like they are far away and impossible to reach, which might make you feel discouraged. 

Business burnout can happen to anyone. But it don't let you defeat you! It is something that you can experience and move forward from! I have faith in you and you will get through this! Do you have any stories about business burnout? Any more recommendations? Let me know!

​With Halloween around the corner, then the holidays, tis the seasons for house parties!  Now, I know some people hate them and that's ok, but I personally like them. Unlike a fair, you usually go in knowing a bit more about how many people you are going to read, what the atmosphere is going to be like and how much money your are going to make (which is nice). But it can be weird going into someone else's home and being a stranger among friends. Also, safety is always an issue. I mean, your going to someones house who you have never met! Well I'm here with some tips on how to enjoy doing house parties.

1. Actually speak to the person and use your intuition- When you talk to someone about a gig, you will quickly get a good or bad feeling from them. Your a metaphysical practitioner for goodness sakes! Your job is to read people. So this will be no problem for you. Don't do any parties where the host makes you feel uncomfortable or uneasy. Listen to your gut and pay attention to how you feel when you are talking to them.

2. Make up a contract, which includes how much you are getting paid and how long you are to stay- This is to make insure that everyone agrees on what your services are to be for the party. It doesn't have to be anything super complicated, just make something up that you can email to the client and electronically sign, or if you have met with the client, have them sign it in person. Make sure you have squared away how much you are to be paid (I recommend the host pays you beforehand or at the party) and also make sure you are only staying the time you are supposed to. Do not let anyone try to convince you to stay past your time if you do not feel comfortable doing so! You are only obligated to stay until the time your contract says. Stand your ground! Another thing to think about is you stance on alcohol. Sometimes at parties drunk people may want a reading and that can be very difficult. If you want the right to not read for people who are intoxicated, make that clear to host when you speak to them and in your contact. Oh and don't forget to ask if you can put out a tip jar!

3. Give the host realistic expectations- Never underestimate how many people want a reading. Let me give you an example. Once I had a party host say to me, "Yeah we are having 100 people, but only some may want a reading (mind you this was a corporate event)". When I got there, while I pulled out my deck and was getting situated someone came and sat down. From that point on, I was reading people for the next 2 hours without more than a 15 second break in between clients. I had to get short readings and even then some people didn't get read. The host needs to have REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. Many times you have to explain to them how many people you can realistically read in an hour. Ok, let's say you are going to give 5-7 minute readings at a party. So with that, you would be able to see between 8-12 clients an hour. And also remember, unless there is a line, there can be a lag time between clients when everyone is wondering who is going next or your last client goes to find the next one. So if your hired for 3 hours and you don't have a bathroom break, you could theoretically read between 24-36 people in that time span. So if a host is telling you 50 people are at the party and only booking you for 2 hours, let them know the deal. And also, if you feel that you can not handle that many people, there is no shame in that!  Some readers don't like reading at that volume, and that is fine. We are all different and that is what makes us special.

4. Tell your host what you need- A quiet area? A table and chairs? Does the host have pets your allergic to or scared of? Let you host what you need in order to have a good experience.

5. Know where you are going- Map out your route to the person's house before you go there. That way you know where your going and how long it will take to get there. This is especially important when you doing a party in a major city. For example, sometimes I do parties in New York City where parking is atrocious 90 % of the time. I make sure I find out where the nearest parking garage is in the case I can't find street parking within a few blocks. I also recommend always leaving your home so that you arrive at least 20 minutes early so you can park and get yourself together.

6. Leave the address with someone you know- Leave the address and phone number if you have it with your spouse, friend, sibling, parent or someone you trust. Because you are probably going somewhere you have never been before, it's good it just let someone know where you going.

7. Have a extra phone charger- I like to have an extra phone charger on hand so I will know I have power and be able to get hold of someone if need be. 

8. Have fun and send a thank you note- Have a great time with the guests! And as a nice touch, send the host a thank you note afterwards, I just think it adds a nice touch.

Do you have any extra tips?! Let me know in the comments below!

Periscope has been out since March and I'm just getting on board. Sometimes it takes me some time to get into new social media outlets because I don't like to jump on the latest "cool thing" just because everyone else is doing it. But I find Periscope to be different. I really think it could change the game for small business. If you are reading this and thinking, "What the hell is Periscope?", here is the scoop: Periscope is a social media service where you can live stream from your phone or computer. The videos are then saved for 24 hours, so people can go on and view your video. The fact that people can jump and here directly from their customers is awesome and really helps people to get to know a brand. So here are a few reasons I like Periscope for small business and entrepreneurs:

1. Announcements- Want to show off a new product? A new service? You can announce it in real time on Periscope! You can invite people to come and take advantage of your free products immediately! I love it! 

2. Webinars- This is the perfect platform for holding a webinars. I know a lot of my fellow business friends do free webinars once in while, or hold some free quick classes for their clients. This is a great platform for it! You can control who you let into certain scopes (especially if people pay to take a class or webinar), so if it is something you only had certain people register for it, you can show just them. The people watching can comment and ask questions in real time, and the person holding the webinar/class can answer and address any concerns of the people watching!

3. Live Q&A: People may have a lot of questions about what you do or what your products are about. Well, you could tweet, Facebook or email your clients to know when you will be coming on, and then you could answer all their questions then and there. 

4. Other entrepreneurs are on there, and they are giving away free advice!- Do you like free advice from other entrepreneurs and branding experts? Then you need to join Periscope! There are tons of awesome people on Periscope giving you their advice and sharing their experiences, and you can chat with them in real-time! It's so awesome!

5. Easy to block people.- Oh I love this so much. Someone make a comment you don't like, or you start to have a bunch of rude trolls, you can block them with 2 clicks. It's a beautiful feeling.

6. People get to know your business on an intimate level.- So far on Periscope I've seen some of my favorite business people broadcasting from their offices, outside, their homes and even their bedrooms. Talk about intimacy. But honestly, doing this makes these businesses and services seem much more like people with personalities more than just websites and cool stuff. I like seeing people talk passionately about their businesses while they are going about their everyday lives. This isn't some super rehearsed thing, they are in your face, raw and real. Transparency in business is SOOOO important! And Periscope is the definition of that.

7. People get to know you. - So, so important. More than anything these days, people do not just want to like your stuff or your services. They want to like you. That is why social media works. People love getting to know the people behind the products makes people enjoy the products even more. When people can identify with your values, your quirkiness, your humor, your logic and anything else, they are more willing to use your products. 

Now Periscope is definitely not perfect, and their are businesses and people who it definitely would not work for. But if some of things I just mentioned sound good to you, I would give it a try! What has been your experience on Periscope? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Let me know!

​One thing that plagues most of my tarot reader friends is the endless requests for free readings. A lot of people think because you are a tarot card reader you should be giving out your craft for free. What people don't realize is that we put as much time and money into our businesses as any other business person! Here are some of the things you pay for when you get a tarot card reading other than the reader's time: 

Website and Domain Fees- Fees for domain names, to keep the site up, stock photos for blog posts and many other things. Many readers have scheduling programs, phone lines, web forums and other things on their websites to help their businesses run smoothly. Some readers even have webmasters and/or people who do the upkeep for their websites and they need to get paid too!

Liability Insurance- Many readers have it. Even though we have a code of ethics, disclaimers, and everything else, there may be someone who still wants to blame us for their misfortune.

Reading space- If you don't just do online readings and do not want to so readings out of your house, you may have find your own reading space. Many readers rent out office space (like me!) to do in-person readings in offices, spas, health centers and various other places.

Vendor Fees- Readers who you meet at fairs or festivals have to paid a fee to be there. Depending on the fair, prices can vary greatly. Depending on the fair and where you live, you could be looking at vendor fees that may start at $50 to upwards of $750, sometimes for only one day. 

Business cards, postcards, brochures, pamphlets, other promotional materials- Want to take home some info on the services of your reader? We have got to pay to print business cards, post cards, pamphlets and any other Information for you to take home and keep with you.

Tarot Decks- Maybe your reader is doing a children's party? Reading at a hospital? Reading at a themed event? Or maybe they just need a new deck? There is nothing wrong with using the same deck for every event, but the reader may need different decks for different events. What would a carpenter be without his tools?

Gas/Public Transportation- Readers need to get to you the people we want to help right? How are we gonna get there if we have no dough?!

Tables, Chairs, other equipment- If you do fairs or have office space, you need various equipment so when you are reading for clients, they can be comfortable. 

Professional Organizations, Conferences and Classes- So, as tarot card readers, we love to get educated on the different ways to read, different trends and talk to our tarot reading peers so we can all learn from each other! Many of us attend conferences where we get to mingle with our peers and learn more about how to be better at our jobs. And in the end who does that benefit other than ourselves! You, the people we serve!

So now you can see what goes on behind the scenes for tarot card readers! Is there anything else you can think of as a reader? Are there any questions you as the client have?  Let me know!

So I was watching an episode of Christiana's Psychic Cafe and she was interviewing one of my favorite Tarot business gurus, Theresa Reed (you might know her as the Tarot Lady). She was talking about how she encourages other readers to get away from "metaphysical pimps" and be able to set out on their own. Now I hear you saying, "What is a metaphysical pimp?!" and imagining Jay Z reading your Tarot cards at the 40/40 club. That's not it (unfortunately). What she meant was occult/holistic/wellness shop or center owners who take advantage of readers and other practitioners who are trying to start their own professional practices with their own following. Now, when you are starting your own tarot business, not everyone is up for going at it alone. Many people enjoy working at a shop and that's just fine, but you need to be weary of where you going to work. But you may also think to yourself, "Wait, aren't these shops where I'm going to find my customers?! How could anything be bad about that?" Yes, but this isn't the whole and only truth. When you are a holistic or spiritual practitioner, it can be hard to find clients at first. Trying to get yourself out there is made a bit easier when you aline yourself with like minded people who are into the same things as you are. Also, obviously, people who shop in these kind of places are your customers so you might think "JACKPOT!" when you get hired to work at a shop.

But slow down just a minute.

Don't just work for a place, you need to have the place work for you too. If you do your research, you could be working a great place in which you will thrive. If you don't, you could be heading for a dead end and a lot of disappointment.  

Here are some key points you may want to consider and look out for. 

Money: I know this is a touchy subject and especially with spiritual peeps. But the true of the matter is just because you love Tarot/Reiki/Qigong, etc. and just want to help everyone doesn't mean you don't need to eat. You want to make sure that they are paying you a fair rate and getting the money that you deserve for the work your doing. From what I've experienced and heard from others, is that most places give a 70/30 split, with the practitioner taking home 70% of all their earnings. Now sometimes the owner will just charge a fee for you to read there for a day but rarely will they do both. Do what you feel comfortable and don't feel bad about negotiating. Depending on how comfortable you feel with the owner and how much you like the place, you might decide to take less than 70% or pay a higher fee, and that's ok. I know their have been times when I took less money because the opportunity was too good to pass up or just because I really liked the person I was working for that day. Like previously stated, it's all about what your comfortable with. Which leads me to my next point. 

The owner and the business itself:
So their are some really awesome owners out there who love what they do and are always looking forward to help other practitioners. They are interested in your success as well as the success of their own business so they try and foster a positive relationship with the people who work with them. They are people who understand that when running a business, the happier the employees, the better the business does. These are the kind of people you want to work for. They make reading at their places fun and make it easy to succeed. When people hear you are associated with "so and so" person who owns this shop, you are automatically thought of as probably being pretty good at what you do. That is an ideal situation. But their is always another side to things. Their are metaphysical business owners who have horrible business practices and bad gossip spreads faster than good news any day. Anyone who has ever worked anywhere knows that most companies and business have dress codes, a code of conduct, and things like that. Why? Because when you work somewhere, you are a representative of that business. The opposite applies. Beware of the company you keep. Once people see that you associate with someone who does bad business, they will assume you do bad business too, even if your the world's nicest, most honest person. Don't let these "pimps" sully your good reputation with customers and your community. 

Co-workers and drama: 
Quick story. Once I wanted to participate in this particular festival. I contacted the organizer and asked if I could be a tarot reader and so forth. She emails me back and says she needs to ask the other tarot reader who does the festival, because one time she hired a second tarot reader, and the regular tarot reader got very angry and became verbally abusive towards the second tarot reader. That was the last time she heard from me. You let people who are technically working for you verbally abuse each other? Wow. That's horrible and not a situation I would like to be in. Even though that was not a shop situation, you can see how things can quickly spiral out of control when you have more than one practitioner in place. When you read at a shop, you want to make sure everyone is being treated fairly. If a particular reader gets to read on the really busy days because he/she has been there the longest and you have to start on let's say, Tuesdays, that's something you have to decide whether you are comfortable with. If you find instead of trying to give the customers a great experience there is just back biting and bad mouthing going on, you might want to leave that place and never look back. Now, there is an upside to this (there is always a silver lining). Your co-workers and other practitioners could actually help you with customer relations. If someone gets a client who is hard for then to read, they might say, "You know what? You might like (insert your name here), she reads tarot and you might connect with her better! Her card is at the front desk" or a Reiki practitioner is asked if she/her knows any readers while at a party and they remember you! That's a win for everyone. So co-workers can also foster a sense of community that you may be looking for.  

The community: 
If you live somewhere where you feel isolated as a spiritual practitioner, working out of a shop or center might be refreshing for you. You might love being around people who think like you too. You may make friends and have an awesome time. But on the other hand, like any type of group, people can get clich-y. People who already have their own groups might be reluctant to welcome others in. Get a feel for the people and see if you will fit in there well.

Your still for someone else: 
If your goal is to be independent. remember that as long as you work at the shop, you are still someone's employee. One nice thing about spiritual work is that a lot of the time you can make your own schedule and most owners will work with you. But some owners will only want you to be there certain times and may have strict schedules. Make sure you discuss this before you agree to work for anyone. Also, some owners might not encourage you to promote yourself outside of reading at their shop. They might feel like if you get clients who come to you outside the shop, you are stealing them. Check with the owner about how they feel about you promoting yourself.  

Customers and Code of Ethics: 
Does the shop have a code of ethics? Does it jive with yours? Are you allowed to refuse customers if you do not feel comfortable reading for them? Find out what the owners do and how they operate and you can decide from there how you feel about working there and if you feel like you can uphold your style of spirituality.

So, you have some questions to ask and decisions to make! And remember, you are the only person who can decide what best for you! Align your self with people who will help your light shine brighter!

"Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan the flames". -Rumi