Why was it engaging? Besides being a charming and dynamic presenter (who provided excellent handouts btw), she really knows and shares what it takes to get Indie decks like yours into shops like hers and make them fly off the shelves.
Why inspiring? Because she also knows that “brick and mortar” shops like hers are doing very good business these days serving their local communities. Because new people are coming to Tarot and to the esoteric arts every day and they are looking for the kind of help and guidance these stores offer.
If you are an Indie deck creator and haven’t seriously looked into how to get your decks into metaphysical and esoteric shops, you could be missing a big audience for your work. (read: lots of sales.)
If you have tried and failed to make contact with these shops, there may be a few things, some insights from Michelle, that could help you be more successful in those efforts. In fact, her presentation at NWTS 2019 was called, Store Owner’s Insights into Deck Success.
I contacted Michelle Welch recently and asked if she would be interested in sharing some of those insights with us here at Cult of Tarot. She very graciously and enthusiastically agreed.
What follows are her responses to the questions I sent her. Even if you are not a deck creator, I think you will find her inspiring and enlightening about the state of the esoteric arts these days and about our community of tarot lovers.
-Joan Marie, November 2019
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JM: Michelle, can you tell us a little about opening your first store? How did you come to the idea and what was your vision for it? How did that vision play out?
MW: SoulTopia, LLC began as SoulStones. I was practicing law, ending a 26 year marriage and needing serenity. I loved crystals and began channeling bracelets known as SoulStones. Channeled bracelets with specific meanings are still a staple at SoulTopia. I quickly saw a need in the Bible Belt for a store offering eclectic enlightenment. The vision has always been to make SoulTopia about the experience. We provide a fun, uplifting and classy space for exploring spirituality. We play music from Stevie Nicks to Stevie Wonder. We greet everyone with a smile and provide information to their many questions. We have two locations now and are ready to expand into more states. Our vision is growing as we reach more and more people searching for their own vision.
JM: What role does a store like SoulTopia play in its community?
MW: SoulTopia, LLC has had a significant impact in the community at large and in the “metaphysical community.” The Dallas metroplex was hungry for what we provide in products and services. We have raised the bar for our type of store.; it is clean, up to date, fun and uplifting. Spirituality does not have to be boring and stale.
JM: I recently read a book about the rise of occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th and early 20th century in the US and in Europe and how it was a response to various social and political changes taking place at that time.
Have you ever considered that interest in modern esoteric practices might be on the rise for similar reasons? Maybe as a response to the pace of modern life, the role technology plays, political and environmental concerns?
MW: When I decided to open SoulTopia, the political climate was quite different than it is now just seven years later. Yet the interest in our type of store was already very apparent and we were very busy. It seems there has been a shift in our country, even politics aside, to questioning established social mores. This is at the heart of searching for something more and our inherent knowing that we are all One, yet all feeling divided.
SoulTopia welcomes every walk of life with no judgment. We are all navigating this place called Earth to the best of our abilities. But at our core, we desire connection not divisiveness. We also long for a human connection that is missing in technological isolationism. SoulTopia hopes to provide that safe haven.
JM: I‘d like to switch gears now and talk specifically about the Indie Deck business. I know you sell a LOT of decks from your stores. How important or relevant do you find the current boom in Indie Decks to your business?
MW: Great question. I will address the main issues I face.
There are great products that I want to carry and support. There is no question that there are amazing decks on the Indie market. I personally back many and I want these cards in my store. One important reason is the diversity they bring. However, many of our customers are first time deck buyers and consider themselves "new" to Tarot and Oracle cards, therefore our staff greatly influences their purchase. So then the question becomes; Can I afford to carry them? SoulTopia is a business at the end of the day. I have to look at minimum orders and margins. Tarot/Oracle decks and books are some of the lowest margins for retailers already. With that said, does SoulTopia carry Indie decks? Absolutely! We carry many Indie decks and have by and large seen success although we now insist on some sort of a wholesale price cut because the cards cost money and also take up real estate on our shelves.
We want to support Indie Decks in any way that is commercially viable to our store.
JM: About how many different decks do you carry in your shop?
MW: Oh wow! A lot and they fly off the shelves. Over the past year we have carried over 400 different titles.
JM: When you see a new deck you’re interested in carrying at your store, how many would you typically order at first?
MW: We have two locations and sell online. Here is our typical formula. I must personally see and touch the deck before I will carry it. I do the same with books, I read every book we carry. Once I have seen and held the deck, with some exceptions, I test the market. I order six to ten to see how they do in the stores and online. For Indie decks it is usually ten and they are hit and miss to be honest. I’ve done very well with some and been stuck with inventory on others.
JM: As an Indie Deck creator, reaching out to shops like SoulTopia, to shop owners like you, basically cold-calling through the internet, is just so daunting and, as many of us can tell you, more often than not,comes to nothing. I imagine store-owners get solicitations of all kinds, and not all them very interesting. It’s maybe easy for Indie deck Artists to get lost in the shuffle. (pun intended)
Could you give us some tips here about how to effectively reach and pitch a store-owner with an Indie deck? What kind of message? What should a message contain to actually get you interested enough to take the next step and request more information? What doesn’t work?
MW: I absolutely believe they should contact stores. It is very difficult to keep up with all the Indie decks so I appreciate the contact. Yes, we are inundated with calls, so I highly recommend correspondence via email. An email to our Operations Manager works best. I would include a description of the deck and some illustrations. I would also be very clear on minimums and if there is any sort of price break offered.
One thing that always shocks me is that card publishers don’t even ask where and how their cards are displayed. I suggest asking. Perhaps giving a little price break for premier product placement. I highly recommend sending a few sample cards so that we can see the quality.
What doesn’t work? A phone call during business hours. Our SoulTopia Associates are just too busy to field those calls and they will likely be in the shuffle. (pun returned, well played Michelle, well played.)
JM: In your workshop, Store Owner’s Insights into Deck Success, you mentioned “partnering” with stores. What does that mean to you exactly?
MW: If you have a product in a store, you should know how the store is promoting your product. Where do they place it? Do they put it on social media and in their newsletters? Be proactive if you really want your deck to sell. Contact the store and see if you can teach a class or do a signing. We have a weekly podcast. Ask to appear on the podcast.
Great examples of success with this at our store have been:
Carrie Paris, Ethony Dawn, Ciro Marchetti, Benebell Wen, Mellissae Lucia, Fatima, Pamita, Jay and Jadzia DeForest, Angela Kauffman, Gina Thies and many more. These were all just in the last year. They truly partnered with SoulTopia to help not only promote their deck but to cross promote with SoulTopia. This is a win-win partnership.
JM: Another issue deck creators face is just finding access to the store-owners. Is there any kind of association or group of some kind of metaphysical store owners that one could contact, or is the only way to reach out beyond your hometown just Google and a lot of time?
MW: COVR (Coalition of Visionary Retailers) and INATS (The International New Age Trade Show® ) might be a good place to start.
I respectfully disagree on your point that it has to take a lot of time. I don’t think it would take a lot of time. One well worded email to stores would not take much time and frankly shows some business savvy and desire to sell the product on the part of the artisan. I guess it just depends on if the artisans goal is to make a deck for the art sake or they really want to promote and sell their deck. I would believe in my product enough to do some leg work. One question I would make sure deck creators are asking is "Does my deck fit the type of store I am contacting?" Chances are, if you're receiving a response back that is not desirable to you, that may not be the best place to sell your product. SoulTopia appeals to a wide array of clientele, but that may not be the case at every store you contact.
JM: I imagine it’s the same problem for shop owners. How do shops find out about what decks are available to offer in their stores? How do you contact an Indie artist and request information?
MW: I follow many groups on Facebook and I also have one employee designated to watch for promising Indie decks. However, you are correct. A centralized system would be very helpful. As of now, we actually reach out to more deck creators than they reach out to us. It is surprising actually.
JM: In a recent topic at Cult of Tarot, we did a survey and asked people about their local access to metaphysical shops and one thing that came out was that many stores have a very limited selection of decks and the ones they have tend to be the old standbys RWS, Thoth (and lot of angel Oracles). Why do you think that is? Why do they hesitate to offer even “known” Indie decks? What do you think it would take to get them to expand their offerings?
MW: As I mentioned earlier, this does not apply to SoulTopia, but I can see that it might to others. First, I think the stores need access to the decks available. I attend and speak at Tarot and other conferences where I meet deck creators. Many store owners can’t or don’t do this. So a centralized location to find the decks would be helpful. But I also think the deck creators need to do their part as responsible businesspeople. The Indie artisans also need to promote their decks to stores. Ethony Dawn gifted us a deck to have at our checkout. Consequently, her Bad Bitches Tarot deck is one of our most popular decks.
Another issue, again, is just business. Many of the Indie decks retail for $50. In our fifty-state survey, there was only one state where customers would spend that much on a deck. Will some customers? Of course. But the decks better be packaged nicely and have a companion book or it is a hard sell to the masses. I am not looking to sell to one or two people. This is a spiritual “business,” not a non-profit. To keep our doors open I have to pay for the overhead to carry those cards.
To address the RWS question, as a teacher I will always have variations of traditional decks at SoulTopia. But I also carry Indie decks.
Regarding the angel decks, there are customers who are comfortable with angels. The one thing all four major religions can agree upon is the existence of angels. That is huge in a world where no one agrees on much of anything. Angel decks should not be overlooked and there is a void in the market right now because of one prominent author’s absence. Yes, customers may grow into other areas of interest but there is still a market for angel decks. With that said, the largest trend is the rising demand for solitary witch material.
How to get stores to carry Indie decks? The blunt answer is access and profitability.
JM: I’d like to ask about crowd funding. We see so many successful Kickstarters these days for Indie decks, some are wildly successful. Clearly this is where a lot of the newest stuff can be found and clearly there is a huge audience for it.
Are store-owners interested in backing Kickstarters? What would make them interested?
MW: Good question. It depends on the return to the store. It comes down to margins. Every once in awhile I will carry a deck that just gets people in my doors. But we don’t have that need as much as we used to. Exclusivity is also very important and could be a negotiation point. Although I, individually, back the decks, SoulTopia has not given funds for the creation of a deck. I would need to brainstorm to see if there is a path to margin if SoulTopia backed a deck. I don’t see backing and also buying minimums for the store because there would be no margin.
JM: Another discussion we’ve had on the forum and something I mentioned to you recently, is the idea of putting together a catalogue, for example quarterly, of Indie Decks as a way of streamlining communications between deck artists and shops (and other buyers and collectors as well.) We are in the early stages of planning. Could you share any thoughts you might have about this? What might a shop owner look for in a publication like this? What would make it useful for making purchasing decisions?
MW: Timeliness would be key. I would love to see a section on current crowdfunded campaigns and a proposal on how stores could contribute in a wholesale manner. There could also be a section on existing Indie decks. This type of resource would be extremely valuable. Pricing and minimums would be a must. Ease of purchase with a thriving, busy and growing business like SoulTopia is the paramount concern. SoulTopia purchases decks and books from suppliers that ship quickly as our product flies off of our shelves.
JM: I know we are talking about the rising role of “brick and mortar” metaphysical stores, but another thing we learned in our forum survey is that a lot of people do not have access to a real store in their community.
You do online sales as well from your store, is that right?
MW: Most of our customers are looking for the experience of SoulTopia. It is a safe haven and retreat for many because we also have events, classes, energy healers, etc. People are craving connection with The Collective. We are confident in opening more stores. People want to touch and feel crystals and cards. They want to meet with like-minded souls. They want the full experience of SoulTopia. That being said, we do have an online store so that we can reach people in cities and states who do not easily have access to what we offer.
JM: Michelle, I want to thank you so much for your generosity in sharing all your insight with us today. Your perspective as a successful metaphysical store-owner is so interesting and so needed!
I have one last question: To what do you attribute the success of your stores?
MW: I am convinced SoulTopia is successful because of the experience offered and the belief we have in what we offer. Our customers are often searching. We hear the phrase, “I’m new” everyday. We meet the customer where they are and walk them into and through a new journey in their lives. We care about and connect with our customers.
We also are successful because we realize we are a business. We cannot serve our clientele if we don’t turn a profit. We expect excellence and we provide an excellent experience.
Tarot plays a huge part in our success. We literally have cards fly off the shelves. I went in the other day to one of our locations and asked why a new shipment of Tarot cards had not been placed on the floor. The SoulTopia Associate laughed and said, “The Tarot cards were put out. They have already sold!”
In this divisive world, Tarot is bringing people from all walks of life together. They are bonding over this wonderful tool for insights into themselves and the world around them.
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I cannot thank Michelle Welch enough for doing this interview with me. She has given us so many nuggets of great information here that I find myself taking notes and those notes are already starting to turn into a plan!
One thing I’m really impressed with is not just the straight up business information and marketing tips she offers, but to have this peek into the actual spirit behind SoulTopia makes the idea of partnering with shops more real, more interesting.
We all have similar goals. The more we understand about each other and how we work, the better we can work together.
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Michelle Welch is the owner of SoulTopia, LLC, a holistic boutique in Texas, with two locations and more in the works. Her twenty-seven years as a trial attorney, teaching law school, trial advocacy, serving on numerous boards, and experiences in radio, podcast and news, assist her in helping others gain clarity and self-empowerment. As a psychic-medium and “clair-blend” she utilizes “modality-matching” to determine the best tools suited to meet her clients’ needs.
Michelle speaks at many conferences across the country. She is currently scheduled to speak at the Holistic Festival of Life & Wellness, Northwest Tarot Symposium and more over the next year. You can catch her on her weekly podcast, SoulWhat. You can also reach Michelle at michelle@soultopia.guru.
SoulTopia is an energy-infused metaphysical store in Carrollton & Dallas, Texas. SoulTopia specializes in handmade crystal and gemstone jewelry, books, energy healing, and herbs. Custom creations for the body, mind, and spirit along with classes, readings, coaching and energy healings are also offered at SoulTopia.
Facebook @soultopiaholisticboutique
Instagram @soultopia
YouTube @MichelleSoulTopia
SoulWhat podcast is available via Facebook, YouTube, iTunes, IHeart radio, Spotify & Google Podcast.
- The much photographed SoulTopia mural at night.
