Entrepreneurship Made Me Devout

By L’lia “Tizzle” Thomas, Founder of Aromakaura

(small.news) — I didn’t become an entrepreneur because it sounded glamorous. I became one because my calling wouldn’t leave me alone.

What I didn’t expect was how spiritual the whole journey would be. Not “vision-board only” spiritual, though I love a good vision. I mean the kind of spirituality that asks faith when the invoice is overdue, discipline when inspiration is nowhere to be found, diligence when the results are low, and devotion to self when doubt is loud.

Entrepreneurship isn’t just what I do. It’s a daily practice in who I am becoming.

Trusting the Path I’m Building

I run a constellation of offerings:

– Intuitive, Reiki-infused bespoke perfumes
– Astrology and oracle sessions
– Intuitive arts facilitation
– Grant storytelling/strategy for small businesses and nonprofits

On paper, those look like separate lanes. In practice, however, they are braided—scent, spirit, and strategy—each one strengthening the other. The perfume altar teaches me to listen. The birth chart teaches me to time and tailor. The grant narrative teaches me to translate purpose into resources.

And all of it combined teaches me to trust the path I’m building while I walk it.

Quiet, Uncomfortable Realizations

People often ask about my “aha moment.” But, I didn’t have one. I had a series of quiet, uncomfortable realizations that added up to this: If I don’t value my work, no one else can.

Self-worth is not only a mindset. It’s an operating system. It’s in your pricing, your boundaries, your timelines, your onboarding, and your yes/no. It’s how you scope work, how you recover from mistakes, and how you hold yourself with dignity when you’re still figuring it out.

When my prices were timid, my schedule was chaotic. When my boundaries were porous, my energy was constantly overdrawn. When I recalibrated those two things, everything became sturdier: my client results, my creativity, and my profit.

Making Small Promises Each Day

I keep small promises to myself everyday because small promises compound into real trust. Devotion is what keeps me aligned when discipline gets tired. It asks, “What am I committed to beyond metrics?”

For me, it’s beauty, healing, clarity, and liberation. For my clients and for myself. When I remember that, the admin becomes sacred, too. Invoices, calendars, emails—they’re all devotional tools in service of the work.

Finding The Best System For You

I’ve tried to contort myself into other people’s systems—their funnels, their content cadences, their “one right way.” But every time I did, I lost momentum and confidence. The truth is simple and inconvenient: Your best system is the one that honors your brain, your nervous system, your time realities, and your values.

Here’s what that looks like for me:

I combine the practical and the intuitive. A Notion built project tracker on my phone, combined with instructions for brief rituals or tasks that help me focus. Sometimes, I’ll light a candle or pull a single oracle card.

I time certain works to windows that feel naturally supportive. That might be as simple as “write in the quiet morning,” or occasionally using astrological timing to create or show up online. Your system doesn’t need to look mystical to be sacred. It needs to be yours.

Surround Yourself With Those Who Cheer On Your Small Wins

Entrepreneurship and small business ownership can be lonely. Proximity to those who cheer on your small wins and offer real feedback is essential. Sometimes that means stepping outside your family and friend circle. But sometimes, your friends get it, and that’s beautiful.

Either way, deliberately placing yourself near other builders changes the game. I’ve found my people through values-aligned networking, creative communities, and service. I approach networking like I approach scent: Follow what truly resonates.

I reach out to those whose work lights me up. I ask good questions. It’s less “collect contacts” and more “cultivate kinship.” The right proximity produces courage. It also produces opportunities that don’t show up on job boards.

How Astrology and Perfumery Relate to Grant Writing

People often ask how astrology and perfumery relate to grant writing. This is where the weave shows up. Recently, two co-founders came to me for grant strategy. Before we touched a single budget line, we worked on clarity—who each person naturally is, how they make decisions, and where they shine.

Using an astrological lens, I reflected back their complementary strengths: One a visionary catalyst, the other a systems anchor. Suddenly, “division of labor” stopped being a sore spot and became a superpower. From there, the narrative flowed: their story was clearer, their asks were sharper, and their internal collaboration improved.

That’s strategy, but it’s also soul work—aligning people to their truth so the work can move with less friction.

On the perfumery side, we know that scent holds memory and intention. When clients wear a bespoke blend crafted for focus, grief, courage, or visibility, they’re not wearing a fragrance. They’re wearing a felt reminder of who they’re becoming.

That embodied reminder often shows up in their business: Bolder launches, more honest messaging, and cleaner boundaries. Strategy is stickier when the body can feel it.

Falling Down, Choosing Devotion Over Motivation

Let’s talk about falling down. I have launched things that didn’t land. I have underpriced and overdelivered. I have hit seasons that felt like rock bottom. But here’s what I know now: Failure is less a verdict and more a teacher who doesn’t sugarcoat.

When something flops, I give myself time to feel it fully. Then I do a loving autopsy: What was the assumption versus the insight? Was the offer mis-timed, mis-messaged, or mis-sized? Did I build it for someone else’s audience instead of mine? Did my system support me, or did I betray it?

The bounce back doesn’t come from pretending it didn’t hurt. It comes from telling the truth fast, making the smallest necessary repair, and moving one clean step forward.

Choose devotion over motivation. Motivation is moody. Devotion endures. Anchor your business to a purpose bigger than the week’s numbers and let that purpose shape your behaviors. Tiny rituals make great courage.

Here are some small things you can do:

– Price the transformation, not your insecurity: If your work creates real outcomes, let your pricing reflect the value, the prep, and the life it took to learn it.
– Curate proximity on purpose: Once a week, reach out to someone who inspires you. Once a month, ask for the room you think you’re not ready for.
– Build YOUR system: Borrow ideas, sure. But no template is holy if it asks you to abandon yourself. Structure should free you, not flatten you.
– Let your work be woven: You don’t have to choose between your modalities if they make each other stronger. Tell that story.

Being Braver and Kinder

Entrepreneurship has asked me to be braver and kinder than I knew I could be—to align my inner life with my outer work, to honor my gifts without apologizing, and to treat every aspect of my journey as part of a larger devotional practice. If you’re on the fence or in the thick of it, consider this your reminder: You’re allowed to build it your way. You’re allowed to pivot. You’re allowed to start again, wiser.

The silver lining is not that it’s easy. The silver lining is that it changes you—in the best possible ways—into someone who can hold the dream you’re here to serve.

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