This interview is part of the Chasing Dreams interview series. I’ve interviewed a variety of entrepreneurs and small business owners who have chosen a different path in life in order to go after his or her dream career. Have an entrepreneur in mind you’d like to learn more about? Let me know! Today’s interview is with Lisa Jemus, a fellow member of the Female Entrepreneur Association. Lisa runs an online business called Tarot Solutions, where she does tarot readings for entrepreneurs. I was immediately interested in such a unique business idea, so I wanted to share her story with you all!

At what point did you know you wanted to follow this career path? How did you know this was the right direction?

I have known for a few years now that I wanted an online business of some kind, and have known for my entire adult life that I wanted to be an entrepreneur.  I have spent the last decade or so searching for just the “right” business, and really thinking my way through it, which was kind of a disaster!  I attended a retreat in 2013 to try to figure out exactly what I wanted to do… from a deep soul level… and the leader pulled out her tarot cards.  I had been doing tarot for over 20 years, but had packed them away for a couple of years because I was “in the closet” about me using them.  It peaked my interest in the cards again, so when I got home I started to do readings for myself again.  Once summer rolled around, I was bored of doing them for myself and on a whim posted on my FB page, “Hey, bored of doing readings for myself, would anybody out there like one?  For free?”  And within 12 hours 25 people had commented that they would love one!  And most of them were friends and colleagues I never in a million years would have thought would want one!  And thus, the seed was planted for my tarot business.  And since then it has unfolded so naturally it’s almost scary.

What are the biggest struggles you've faced while trying to achieve your dreams?

Feeling kind of alone as I hit my highs and lows.  My husband and family and friends are not online entrepreneurs, so they really don’t understand why I get so excited about another person joining my tribe by joining my list, or how much work it is to do day after day to produce content and keep my community engaged. This is why my network of business BFF’s is so important, and I am about to have our very first ever Google Hangout with my Biz Soul Sisters this weekend.  We are all in the same stage of development and understand the ups and downs.

Owning your own business can be tough on the body and mind, between long days, instability and really putting yourself out there to reach your goals. How do you stay healthy? Do you have any rituals that help you stay centered?

It is super important for me personally to completely unplug from my biz on a regular basis.  Sundays are becoming a sacred day for me. I make sure I schedule content for my FB page, so that I don’t really have to look at it, other than to check in and respond to folks that comment on Sundays. Which is really fun, so I don’t think of that as work. But for me, the main thing is the borage of overload in gurus and pages that I follow, and my never ending to-do list in my office.  When I am not working, I tidy up my office and close the door. I work hard to not work when my kids are home from school, and that my evening are for my family. I am just now starting to bring exercise back into my schedule, which is a huge part of handling stress and the hours and hours sitting and hunched over a computer. My rituals when I am working are really important. Every single time I enter my office to either do a reading or do work of any kind, I create a sacred space by saying a shamanic prayer for this purpose, I smudge my space and turn on my Christmas lights, my salt crystal light, and light my protection candle (for readings).  I do this every single time. This helps to focus my mind and spirit and grounds me in my body to stay focused. It also adds the soulful part of my business because my ultimate desire is to help people uncover the best of themselves using the tarot as a tool.

Speaking of putting yourself out there, overcoming rejection is a big part of chasing dreams. How do you bounce back?

I learned a long time ago that you cannot please everyone. But for me, it has been key to identify my Ideal Client, and to recognize that some of my offerings will not land with people for whatever reason, and that’s okay.  People will be drawn to my energy and my message, and hopefully there will be some alignment and connection that happens. When I get rejected, I just keep moving forward and literally let it go. This has been a process I have learned over decades though, I have worked on this aspect of myself in my personal life for years, so I also think that being older has helped in my case.

The other thing I do is to read about or revisit other successful women in the online world and hear their stories of rejection and how they overcame this difficultly. This always makes me feel 100% better!

What do you do when you're having an off day- maybe feeling down, struggling with self-doubt, or just unmotivated?

If I feel this way and it is NOT burn out, it is usually because I have been too hyper focused on a task or piece of my business and have lost the Big Picture view.  When this is the case, the cure for me is to revisit my 2015 plan and look at my big picture goals for the entire year, and then to reflect on all that I have accomplished thus far.

One last thing I do when it all goes to pot is I read inspiration books by people that I respect.  I love The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.  So great for this!

What is one misconception people have about you and/or your profession?

They think that I am a fortune teller. Which I am not. At all. The first thing I tell clients, literally the first thing I say in our session is, “Let me tell you how I work, tarot is not a fortune telling tool for me, it is a powerful way to cut through all of the mind chatter that we have to access our intuitive self.” And that’s it. If you want to come to me and ask a question like, “Will I have a baby this year?” I have no idea. But we can do a reading about “What is truly blocking me from getting pregnant”  or “what do I really need to know about having a baby this year?” I had a client ask me this once after she had been really trying to get pregnant for one year, and it turned out that she had all of these blocking beliefs and fears about having kids, and she obviously subconsciously knew they were there, but she had no real awareness that this was a huge underlying stress and block to her having a baby. Once she brought those feelings out to the light, she felt much better, and took steps to address these fears. Amazingly I checked in with her 3 months later and she was pregnant!  HUZZAH!

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way?

That I don’t have to do this all alone and that even the MOST successful people in life have self doubt and fear!  This is why I make it regular practice to follow and read articles or books about successful women.  They all have these same feelings sometimes!

What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a path similar to what you have?

For a prior business I tried, I worked with a developer and designer. It was more work than I had thought, because there are so many decisions that the business owner must make!  He was great, though, and was always sending me examples of what he thought my vision was. This is what I would say, is that if you can create based on someone else’s vision, you would be a great designer.

When do you feel the most inspired, alive and the most like YOU?

During a reading! When I am interacting with my clients, and we are connecting and having fun, and going deep into their lives, and then when there is that moment where we both can feel that “ah-ha” happen for them. It is so amazingly powerful, and not only am I most ME, but I feel deeply honored to be doing this work.  My clients inspire me everyday. They face their issues bravely and are so moved to make their lives better. They are just incredible!

What people, books, music, etc. inspire you?

I love Racheal Baxter Cook, she inspires me as an online entrepreneur in every way, and how to balance that with being a wife and mom too. I also admire and am inspired by Carrie Green of Female Entrepreneur Association.  She has created something so powerful and has connected an amazing group of women. I am continually inspired by everything Carrie puts out for us in that group! I am inspired by entrepreneurs and those that beat the odds and create something beautiful out of their lives, despite any obstacles in their way.

One of my most favourite songs that totally lights my inspiration fire is Brave by Sarah Barielles!

I am a book person, so I read all the time, mostly books on business and personal development.  Here are my top 5 go-to books for inspiration:  The Big Leap by Gay Henderix;  The Energy of Money by Maria Nemeth;  The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte;  Get Rich Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield.

Describe your favorite moment or accomplishment in your career so far.

Well, launching it! I consider this my biz’s birthday! I launched on Halloween, which seemed super appropriate and kinda cool for a tarot business. It was a proud day for me because not only did I have a real business to put out there, I actually LOVED IT, and couldn’t wait to dive in to it with all of my heart and soul. After that day, I get excited about pretty much everything! But an exciting day after that was the first time I had two bookings in one day. This was HUGE for me, and I celebrated that day! Since then I have had several double day bookings, and each time it happens I am just so grateful for my business. I love it almost like a person. :0)

What’s the most exciting thing going on in your life right now?

I am super excited about my very first ever online 5 week course that I am launching next month. There is quite a bit of interest, and I have had so much fun creating the content for it. I have that delicious fear that you get when you do your first skydive, or jump off a really high diving board.  It is scary as heck, but thrilling at the same time! It is my Dabbler to Diva Level 1 (beta) course that will teach you to read tarot cards in fun and quick ways. It will be 5 weeks of webinars and worksheets, and a private FB group to play in! It is my newest baby and if you want to learn more about it, you can visit my page right here! Registration is open until March 21st, 10pm MDT.

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BIO

Lisa Jemus is a Tarot Reader who believes that this ancient tool can help transform your life and business in ways that are unbelievably powerful.  She has been reading tarot for over twenty years, and is a Certified Professional Tarot reader through Tarot Foundations and Biddy Tarot, and is a member of The Tarot Association.  She resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is able to do readings in person and via Skype.  She reads for personal and business type inquiries.  Whatever your tarot needs are, you can be rest assured that she will conduct your reading with enthusiasm, warmth, empathy and lots of humour!

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