We recently connected with Linda O Neal and have shared our conversation below.
Linda, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
I am blessed that I am making a great living as a tarot reader. In fact, I’m making more now than I did as a veteran High School teacher. I’m not just surviving; I’m thriving in my industry.
So many people come into my little tarot trailer wanting to leave their jobs. Even professionals who are therapists, nurses, doctors, professors, and people who give back to their community complain that the system is too broken for them to do the work they want to do.
Many fantasize about leaving their careers to become reiki healers, tarot readers, or yoga teachers; they want to start businesses and serve people.
Some will even attempt to do it. They’ll buy a domain, build a website, and start an Instagram solely for their business.
But then they quit because they’re not getting customers. They don’t have a business avatar, their website looks crappy, and they ignored the importance of SEO. They don’t push their Instagram because they’re afraid their friends, family, and colleagues will find out that they quit their stable yet toxic job to become a massage therapist. They’re afraid of looking silly.
So, the challenge to profitability is not learning enough about technology and marketing. The biggest challenge to profitability is imposter syndrome.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was born in Vietnam but grew up in Austin, Texas. I mention my birthplace because fortune telling is big in my community, but people don’t read tarot cards; they read playing cards.
My mother and I loved getting our fortunes read. It was unusual that all the Vietnamese readers used playing cards while Westerners used tarot. I later learned that using a card deck is called cartomancy. I joined the Great Resignation of 2020 and left the classroom after 15 years of teaching.
I took classes at the INLP Center and received my license in Neuro-linguistic Programming. Simply put, NLP helps people reframe limiting beliefs, which have become their default thinking, into thoughts more aligned with who they are rather than who they’ve become. But while I was getting my license, I needed income. I became a cartomancy reader for the app Purple Ocean. Cartomancy helped me learn the fundamentals of tarot. As a Buddhist, I combine the wisdom of mindfulness with my tarot. NLP is helpful because I can give my clients fundamental strategies on how to deal with their anxiety. Most people seek a tarot reader when feeling lost or anxious. I guide people away from their anxiety while tapping into the spirit world. It’s exciting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.austintarottherapy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austintarottherapy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindareadstarot/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-o-neal-a282325b/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/austin-tarot-therapy-austin
Image Credits
@texmason