This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Episode 2494 of Side Hustle School. We're going to look at a first $1,000 story, how somebody made their first $1,000. Tarot and TikTok become a winning combo. Tarot and TikTok, we're going to hear from a TikTok star, a TikTok streamer, TikTok poster. Her name is Sarah Fina. She offers tarot card readings. Her business was profitable in a month, all thanks
to savvy use of streaming and smart pricing strategies. Well, if you are new here, the first $1,000 segment, we do it every Monday. It is in fact pretty self-explanatory. How did somebody get going? Not just how did they start their business? Because that could be a little bit
generic, but how did they make their first $1,000? And I want you to be able to make, you know, more than $1,000. You know, we have lots of people who make $100,000 or more from their side hustle. But of course, it all starts with your first client, your first customers, your first ad income, affiliate commission, whatever your revenue model is. So how do people get to that point? A series of case studies taking place every Monday on side hustle school. Let's hear
today's story from Sarah Fina. I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. Hey, everyone, I'm Sarah Fina. I've always loved the mystical and the spiritual. And I've been reading tarot cards for friends and family since I was a teen. So I thought, why not turn this passion
into something more? I decided to take a leap of faith and launch my tarot reading side hustle. The first thing I needed to figure out was how to take my services online. I remember doing my first remote reading for a friend on Zoom. It was a bit awkward because my cat Luna decided to jump up on the table and scatter the cards. But that moment actually helped me break the ice and made
the experience more intimate and memorable. From then on, I realized the importance of letting my personality shine through, even in a virtual setting. I was already into TikTok just for fun, so I thought, why not use it to share daily readings? I'd pick a card and do a quick reading focusing on daily energies or themes. My first viral video was a reading about upcoming changes in the next moon cycle. That video got over 20,000 views, and suddenly my inbox was flooded with
appointment requests. Pricing was tricky at first. I didn't want to undersell myself, but I needed to attract those crucial first clients. So I experimented a bit. I settled on a tiered structure, offering readings of different lengths. One day, an early client reached out saying she wanted a
gift to reading to her friend, but found the prices a bit steep. That gave me the idea to introduce gift certificates at a discounted rate. Jane bought three, and that experience led me to offer bundled sessions, which actually became a cornerstone of my business. To manage my calendar and payment system, I use Square Appointments. It automatically sends out reminders to my clients, which cuts down on no-shows. At the start, I was manually sending Zoom links, and I once mixed up
the times, leading to two clients logging in at the same time. A quick apology and an extra 10 minutes added to their readings smooth things over, but it taught me the importance of automation for efficiency. Building a community was another fascinating part of my journey. I started a weekly newsletter where I'd offer a communal reading for the week ahead. One time, a subscriber wrote to me saying how that week's reading was spot-on and helped her make a crucial life decision. Moments
like those remind me why I started this in the first place. So there it is. Within a month of taking my tarot reading passion online, I hit my first $1,000. It was exhilarating, and it wasn't just about knowing the tarot. It was about understanding my client's needs, automating mundane tasks, and bringing something unique to the table, myself. Thanks for asking me to share my story.
Serafina, thank you. I think you are the first tarot/TikTok star we have featured, or the first TikTok streamer who's posting specifically tarot readings and such. There's a market for everything out there, listeners. This is the time of peak marketplace. Everything is for sale. Every talent, every set of knowledge, every skill can be monetized in some way. There's
something for you too, listeners. So big thanks to Serafina, listeners. I hope you found it encouraging or interesting. Maybe both. If you have a question, an idea, an update about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions. This has been episode 2,494. We've got episodes coming out
every single day this week, seven days. And of course, more to come. You can always listen. It's completely free. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
From the Onward Project.
