Weiran Zhu is a sophomore studying Environmental Economics & Policy and Conservation & Resource Studies at UC Berkeley. She is also a budding student entrepreneur with a fascinating and unique side hustle—tarot reading. Zhu's entrepreneurial journey showcases her passion for her craft and commitment to empowering her community while highlighting the underappreciated financial, social, and professional benefits to pursuing a side hustle.
Zhu, an international student from China, began tarot reading in ninth grade as a hobby and a way to connect with her friends and cultural roots. During her middle school graduation trip, a friend brought a tarot deck and introduced the deep meaning and wisdom behind tarot. Attracted by the beautiful and varied designs in tarot decks and inspired by how her friend’s compelling fortune-telling abilities both fascinated and comforted her during their fortune-telling session, bringing them closer together, it was clear that she had to try it.
With practice, she became skilled at the craft and offered free readings to her friends. “It felt like a great accomplishment to see them feeling better or more confident after our tarot session,” Zhu said, describing her personal fulfillment and core goal in this process: to help people who are under mental stress and in trouble improve their self-esteem, gain clarity about their feelings and objectives, and inspiration to take initiative in any way they can—whether it is finally approaching a person they admire, studying ahead for important exams, or taking up a new hobby or side hustle they had been contemplating for a while.
Zhu found that students, especially those anxious about exams and college applications, were willing to pay around ten dollars per question for her tarot reading services. She allowed them to choose three to five tarot cards and provided an interpretation based on the cards' meanings individually and collectively. She also offered complimentary follow-up questions and advice upon request, tailoring her services to the specific needs of her clients.
The discovery of this existing and promising market emboldened Zhu to advertise her paid reading services through social media. She set up a business account on various platforms to enable customers to contact her directly, later opening online reservations for more efficient scheduling. Last December, she garnered fifteen such readings through social media, coupled with commissions from tabling every Friday in Sproul Plaza, where crowds of students entering and leaving campus from classes are sure to cross and gain interest.
Publicity was the first major challenge for Zhu’s budding business. However, as her friends highlighted her services on their social media and her increasing network of clients happily endorsed her tarot reading to their friends, she saw exponential growth in the number of sessions booked. These new clients seldom follow the tarot account after the first reading or return for successive sessions, which led to the second issue of building a stable and loyal following.
“After all, I’m not some KOL in fortune telling,” She said with a smile, explaining that the unfamiliar abbreviation stands for Key Opinion Leader—the Chinese version of a social media influencer. These influencers populate platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Xiaohongsu, and are both popular and garner incredible loyalty. For a niche offering like tarot reading which depends on word-of-mouth recommendation, this viral reach to young people across the country—who can connect to the tarot reader and receive payment for their services digitally and regularly—can be invaluable.