So You Want to Start a Witchy Business...

Ever wonder what it actually takes to run a witchy business, day in and day out? Grab a cup of tea. I'm telling you everything.

So You Want to Start a Witchy Business... Here's What Thirteen Years Taught Me

I have been running Inked Goddess Creations for thirteen years now, and before that I owned a brick-and-mortar store called Static Moon. I have made lotions out of my kitchen in England, I sold on Etsy before it turned into a mess, and I have learned more lessons the hard way than I care to admit. So if you have ever thought about starting a witchy or spiritual business, or you are in the middle of running one and wondering if you are doing it right, this one is for you.

When Should You Start?

Whenever the heck you want. There is no perfect moment, no magic age, no ideal economy. Do you need a business plan and a bank loan? It depends on your business, but I never did. I started small and grew from there. If your business is spiritual or witchy in nature, understand that it is an extension of you, and it can survive the same ups and downs you do.

Before you launch, though, do your research. Look at your competitors. See what they charge, how they market, what makes them different. This helps you find the gaps, the things nobody else is doing quite the way you would do them. But once you have done that research, forget your competitors exist. I mean it. If you are constantly comparing yourself to someone else's business, you will end up on an emotional roller coaster that has nothing to do with actually running your own thing. Do your research once a year, hand it off to someone else if you can, and then go be true to your own path.

Who to Hire and What to Do Yourself

Get an accountant or someone who can file your LLC paperwork and handle your taxes. If you want to trademark anything, hire a trademark lawyer. It costs money up front, but it protects you in the long run, especially if someone else tries to copy your brand name later.

Beyond that, be honest with yourself. If you are actually good at taking product photos, writing descriptions, and designing a website, then do it yourself. Most website builders are drag-and-drop these days, so you do not need coding skills. But if that is not your strength, hire someone. This matters more than you think, and here is why.

Decide How Big You Want to Be

Before you get into the day-to-day, figure out your endpoint. Do you want this to be a side hustle bringing in an extra thousand dollars a month, or do you want to build something that eventually employs a team while you run it from the top? These are two very different mindsets, and knowing which one you are aiming for shapes every decision from here forward. I started Inked Goddess Creations as a side hustle to keep myself busy. Thirteen years later, it supports my family and employs other people. That happened gradually, but having a sense of direction early on can help you grow faster than I did.

My Biggest Pet Peeves

I have seen a lot over the years, and there are a few things that make me want to bang my head against a wall.

Unprofessional product photos are at the top of the list. Invest in decent pictures, whether that means stock photos or a proper photoshoot. People judge a book by its cover, and they will judge your product by its picture too. A gorgeous label and clear photo will win over a phone picture on a bedspread every single time.

You also have to tell people what they are getting. If it is a body oil or a tea, list the ingredients. This is not optional if someone is putting it on their skin or drinking it. It is also an FDA regulation, and skipping it can turn into a lawsuit if someone has an allergic reaction you never warned them about. And tell people the size. Is that jar one ounce or ten? Put something recognizable in the photo for scale so people know exactly what they are buying.

Then there is communication. So many witchy businesses do not clearly explain what you actually get. I am not a fan of fluff words like bespoke or artisanal, and I really cannot stand vague spiritual buzzwords like harmonized auric field, galactic beings, soul star, or talk about the 5D with no explanation. If your customer cannot understand what you are selling, they are not going to buy it. The common advice right now is to write your marketing at a fourth-grade reading level. I refuse. I aim for seventh to eighth grade, because witchcraft and magick are not simple concepts, and I want people who can meet that level of understanding.

Run everything through Grammarly before you post it. It catches spelling errors and missing punctuation, and it will save you from the number one grammar mistake I see in this industry: altar versus alter. An altar is your sacred space. To alter something means to change it. If you are selling altar items, please do not spell it alter. It happens constantly, and it drives me up the wall.

Finally, buy your own domain. It costs about fifteen dollars a year. If your website is still sitting on yourstorename.shopify.com, it looks like a placeholder, not a real business. Claim your own space on the internet. It is one of the best investments you will make, and it also makes your site more aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate, especially since most website builders let you drag and drop everything into place.

My Honest Tips

Do not put too much stock in social media. Followers are not paying customers. I have over 75,000 followers on each major platform, and if every single one of them spent one dollar in my shop each month, I would be close to a million-dollar-a-year business. So, hedging your whole business on social media exposure doesn't work in the long run, especially when the algorithm shifts- and it will; do not let your mental health tank with it.

Keep making content you actually enjoy. Chasing every trend is exhausting, and it does not guarantee results anyway. The people who are meant to find you will find you when you are being yourself.

Build your newsletter list. This is one of the biggest tips I can give you. These are the people who actually want to hear from you, and if a platform disappears or an algorithm tanks your reach, you still have a direct line to your people.

Get over your fear of being on camera. Our niche is full of scammers, people stealing photos and pretending to offer readings or spellwork that do not exist. I have had my own photos stolen and used by a scammer who even used pictures of my family. The more real and visible you are, the easier it is for people to trust you and to spot fakes. If you need to protect your identity for safety reasons, you can still use a magickal name, share your real story, and take pictures that show a real person without fully exposing your identity.

Now for a controversial one. Price your products and services at a price people will actually pay, especially if you do not have a following yet. Everyone tells you to charge your worth, but the people charging two hundred and fifty dollars for a reading usually have a massive following or a marketing background behind them. If you are starting from scratch, you need to be realistic about what your current audience can and will pay.

This ties into the four business pricing models I have seen over the years. There is the Neiman Marcus model: high prices, high quality, rarely on sale. There is the Walmart model: low prices that stay low. There is the JC Penney model: higher prices that are almost always on sale. And there is the Target model: reasonable prices with moderate sales here and there. That last one is what I run. None of these are right or wrong, but figure out which one matches your goals and your current audience.

Boundaries Matter More Than You Think

You need boundaries in two places: your workspace and your customer relationships.

For your workspace, have a place, physical or mental, where you go to work on your business. It does not have to be a separate office. It can be a corner of your home. But having a designated space helps you set healthy boundaries with yourself about when you are working and when you are not.

For customers, understand that the customer is not always right. I learned this the hard way. I once spent hours after midnight going back and forth with a woman who threatened a one-star review because I substituted cardstock for parchment paper in a spell kit. I was a people pleaser to the point of exhaustion, bending over backward for someone who was, it turned out, taking out grief over her daughter on me. Another time, a repeat customer told me I had ruined her entire year because she missed out on a sold-out Witchy Advent. That was not the first time she had berated me either. I finally stood my ground and told her to shop elsewhere. I never heard from her again, and I have never regretted it.

You are allowed to protect your peace. Not every customer needs to stay your customer.

The Truth About Running Your Own Business

I would not trade this for anything, but I am not going to sugarcoat it either. You will work harder for yourself than you ever worked for anyone else, because you want it to succeed on a level you have never known. You will have real ups and downs, not the cute kind, the kind where you wonder if you are going to make it through the week. Setting boundaries and having outlets for your mental health are not optional; they are a must.

And here is the thing I want you to remember most. The more you do what you actually want to do in your business, the less resentment will build, and the more the right people will find you.

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