Interview with Kristen Ernst, Founder of Life Path Living

I met Kristen on Owning Pink, a community of amazing women who encourage one another's dreams and help one another through tough times. It is one of the most supportive groups I have ever been a part of. Kristen stood out to me as someone special because she reached out to me after reading some of my blog posts that detailed some rough times I was going through. I had never heard from her before and yet she offered so much kindness and support and continued to check up on me weeks later. I clicked through to her profile and discovered her business, Life Path Living, and its merchandise line, Life Path Tees.

Kristen took her love for numerology and fashion and blended them together into a line of gorgeous tees and jewelry. On her site you can learn your life path number and check out the corresponding merchandise. I'm a 7 to a "tee" (please pardon the pun) - "the philosopher of life, a seeker, who needs time alone to process everything that happens around her, loyal and mysterious." Through Kristen's business I learned a lot about myself and what I need to do to be the best me I can be. I had to interview her to get her insights on entrepreneurship and how she started down the road to building a passionate life and career. 

Christa - What led to your initial interest in numerology?

Kristen - Growing up (in middle school & high school), I was continually searching for answers. I was into Astrology and knew all about my sun sign, but I didn't have the drive to learn about Astrological charts and planets in depth. I wanted to know more about who I was and why, but I wanted another avenue to explore; something that I could REALLY connect with and understand easily. At a party one night, I happened upon a book about Numerology and it just clicked. It fascinated me! Knowing that my birth date & birth name vibrated at a unique frequency with corresponding characteristics elated me! I made a new connection with myself that night through the vibration of numbers. From that day on, I looked at numbers very differently. I found myself adding up EVERYTHING from addresses to telephone numbers... wanting to know the energy behind the number vibration - and thus, my OCD with numbers was born! :)

Christa - How did you develop the idea to connect your love of numerology to a business?

Kristen - After many long conversations with my mom about how to make our lives more meaningful & live them with passionate hearts, and without doubt or fear, I decided to take the plunge and start a new business in 2008. I was struggling in 2007, personally (a "9" year & end of a cycle) and felt like I needed another creative outlet aside from what I was currently working on with my creative services business, One Girl's Art.

Learning so much about myself through numerology and how to incorporate it into my own life throughout the years, I knew that I had to share it with the world in a creative/artsy way. I knew that I was called to help others connect with themselves in a new way, so I took advantage of my art background and started designing tees with personal meaning (based on Life Path numbers - derived by adding the month, day and full year of birth & reducing to a single digit).

Christa - Why did you choose an online retail business?

Kristen - I chose an online retail business because it was the most cost-effective way of reaching the masses on a limited budget. I am a web/graphic designer as well, so it was easy for me to create graphics & build my own website.

Christa - Do you create all of the designs yourself?

Kristen - I create all of the tee shirt designs myself with the help of my trusty Apple computer. I came up with the initial ideas for the jewelry designs, but gave the artists free reign in incorporating their own ideas/styles. The jewelry is created by two local Arizona artists & friends, Holiday Manning & Suzanne David-Vojnich.

Christa - What was the scariest part of starting your own business?

Kristen - The scariest part of starting this business was fear of rejection. I over-analyzed EVERYTHING (as a 1 Life Path often does)! My work, creativity, ability - what REALLY looks good? ...Second-guessing what people will like; second-guessing my artistic ability; hoping that people don't think I'm a woo-woo, voodoo number freak.

Christa - What's given you the most satisfaction?

Kristen - That people actually don't think I'm a woo-woo, voodoo number freak!

But really, the satisfaction comes from happy, fulfilled and energized customers & friends. It's so rewarding when I receive a call or e-mail from someone expressing what an amazing, unique product I have - that they really love & connect with their tee or jewelry piece. It is so satisfying for me to talk and connect with people about their numerology... It makes me the happiest girl in the world knowing that I had something to do with a person loving him/herself a teeny bit more because of what I do.

Christa - What advice do you have for other aspiring entrepreneurs?

Kristen - Don't give up. It's tough to put yourself out there for all the world to see, but when you have that burning inside, you just have to DO IT! And... remember to LIVE IN THE MOMENT when things start moving at warp speed. That is so important. Happiness is truly found in the journey...

Check out Kristen's site here.