Coaching & Conversations with TaVona Denise

Over the past several months, my goal with this podcast has been to shed light on some of the things that we go through – the good and the bad – as women building businesses online, and share the conversations I have with the brilliant women in my circle.

We’ve talked about…

Dating, divorce, friendship

Being the breadwinner and building a business with a newborn

Depression, codependency and trauma, dealing with failure

Being a digital nomad versus living a regret-proof life

… and so many other important topics

I hope that the conversations and the stories shared here gave you valuable lessons. More importantly, that you felt that you are not alone.

As I close out the final episode of Coaching & Conversations, I want to invite you to continue the conversation with me on instagram @TaVonaDenise.

Also, if you’re wondering, how do I know so many people? I thought I’d share my secret with you. Enjoy!

Shownotes

02:30 - Build relationships (networking)

04:49 - Show up in places where you genuinely want to be

06:03 - Show who you are

06:37 - Ask for what you want

07:36 - Keep in touch

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Did you know that trauma can show up in the buying experience?  Not just for you as the seller, but for the buyer?

This is how some people have been taught to sell and although it works, it feels gross.

If you are a heart-centered entrepreneur, you will want to tune into this episode where TaVona speaks candidly with Grace Edison, expert in sales about consent-based selling.

This approach allows us to recognize previous/existing traumas and empowers us to serve our clients better.

They also discuss how to ethically use waitlists and fast action in your selling, while taking care of and being sensitive to your clients.

You do NOT want to miss this conversation!

Shownotes

00:25 - Consulting for sales

07:49 - Thoughts on waitlists and fast action price

13:35 - Retention rate of fast action

16:33 - Trauma-informed sales

24:52 - Importance of consent based selling

28:55 - Care and sensitivity to clients

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Self-Trust is ESSENTIAL to creating the life you want.

However, we’re constantly bombarded with other people’s ideas and opinions and tend to seek their approval and guidance - believing they know better - rather than trusting our own instincts.

Hence, the insecurities, self-doubt, and fear of failure.

If you find yourself constantly doubting your authority, start looking inward and watch the miracles unfold.

In this episode, Taylor shares what it means to stand in your brilliance, overcoming insecurities, and amplifying self-trust.

Shownotes

01:31 - Standing in your brilliance

03:35 - The cost of buying your way out of insecurity

11:55 - Traumatic investments

17:36 - How to know your brilliance

23:20 - Amplifying self-trust with Human Design

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

For some reason, we have been conditioned to believe that we have to “hustle hard” to be successful and some pretty outdated ways of thinking when it comes to women, raising children and business.  In this episode, Kristina sets the record straight.

Experiencing burnout as an entrepreneur is far more prevalent than we would think.

Even if you are really passionate about your business, burnout can happen.

Burnout is sometimes caused by the ‘hustle hard’ mentality – wherein you’re putting more effort into your work than you are receiving in return.

Consequently, it affects your creativity, productivity, and team which impacts the growth of your business.

In order to prevent burnout you need to identify its early signs and know when it’s time to act.

Shownotes

01:38 - What it means to have fun in business

05:07 - Embracing ease and flow

09:39 - Ways to break the hustle culture

16:51 - Trauma in coaching

20:21 - Kristina's definition of success

24:12 - How to build a successful team

27:42 - Feminine leadership, beating gender norms

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Many people are drawn to the concept of entrepreneurship, which can be overwhelming in and of itself, but what happens when you decide to create a coaching certification?

In this episode, Erin shares her journey of creating Quantum Ripple Effect.

We talk about business pivots, challenges encountered, dealing with imposter syndrome and feedback, business pivots and lessons learned developing a team.

If you are thinking about growing your business to the next level, you do not want to miss this episode.

Shownotes

04:12 - Why hustle culture is toxic for entrepreneurs

07:22 - The impetus for creating Quantum Ripple Effect

11:24 - How to turn impostor syndrome to trust

14:45 - Challenges in creating the coaching certification

18:02 - Ways to be receptive to feedback

20:35 - Business pivots and pivot pains

26:22 - Lessons learned by growing/developing a team

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Do you ever wonder what your clients, colleagues, friends, or family think about you?

If yes, then it’s normal. It’s natural for us human beings to care what other people think about us.

As we grow up, we develop beliefs about ourselves based on what others tell us.

The problem is when we care so much about what they think that we abandon our authentic way of being and our desires based on what we believe others might think of us.

Once you start sacrificing your own happiness and goals in order to make others happy, that’s the moment you need to untangle yourself from codependent thinking.

In this episode, Victoria delves into codependent thinking and how to remove codependency from your business.

Shownotes

02:02 - What is codependent thinking?

04:55 - Why do women fall into codependency?

09:03 - How to unravel from codependent thinking

15:53 - Overcoming the fear of doing the emotional work

17:30 - Codependence within a launch

22:59 - Interdependence vs. Codependence

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Entrepreneurship is already challenging, but how do you manage when you are also dealing with depression?

In this episode of Coaching & Conversations, TaVona and her guest, Sunni VonMutius, get real about their experience with various forms of depression and how they manage to deal with it while running their businesses.

They discuss:

01:50 - How to shift from being fake to being authentic

05:42 - Normalizing life coaching and therapy

09:06 - Sunni's mental health story

13:15 - Ways to manage depression cycles

18:14 - The importance of celebrating milestones

21:28 - Navigating the perfect storms of life

27:42 - Neurodiversity and the mental health discussion

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

It’s one thing to SAY fall in love with your brain is the key to success and another to MEAN it.  In this conversation, TaVona gets to chat with Laura Swartzbaugh, stroke survivor and authenticity coach.

They discuss:

• Using coaching tools against yourself and how having a stroke shifted her relationship with her brain.
• Thoughts that don’t go away, no matter how much money they make.
• The science behind why we have shiny object syndrome and why it’s so important to fall in love with the journey
• Why $100K changes SOME people.

Mentions:

What do you do when you are the breadwinner of the family, launching and have to reduce your work hours to 5 a week because you are pregnant?  TaVona has an in-depth conversation with Vikki Louise, about hacking time, becoming a reformed hustler and creating a $250K month.

They discuss:

• What failure, your nervous system and having space to recover have to do with speeding up your rate of success.
• The one thought that resulted in 5xing her revenue in one month after giving up steady income to go all in on her coaching business.
• How to create safety and security apart from the amount of money in your bank account.
• Fears about success and relationships.

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

In this special conversation, Marilyn Fontaine, spiritual coach for creative women, leads the conversation with TaVona about what it takes to launch and run a business with ease from TaVona’s home in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

• How long it took TaVona to reach 6-figures and achieve the live and work from anywhere lifestyle.
• Success, shame, and trauma and how to know if you are having a stress/trauma response in your business..
• Why it’s actually a GOOD thing when you notice negative emotions and triggers coming up and how we support ourselves through that time.
• The funny reason Marilyn thought she wasn’t a “proper” life coach.
• What a typical week is like for TaVona living and working near the beach.

Mentions:

Unstoppable Success: How to FINALLY Create the Body, Business and Lifestyle You Want

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

What is the experience like being a woman of African descent building a business online? In this episode of Coaching & Conversations, TaVona speaks with women of color candidly about what life is REALLY like.

They discuss:

• Hair, being judged and the pressure to show up a certain way online.
• How they handle opinions from our moms and the need for reparenting.
• The side effect of being the minority in the room and why representation matters in the coaching space. 

Mentions:

You HAVE to check out this Donna Summers cover remake Marilyn did!

This is another one of those #toughlove episodes, where TaVona gets real and raw, this time with guest, Anke Docherty, about some of the things they have been seeing in some of the coaching communities that are not helpful when it comes to creating a successful business.

During their conversation they discuss:

• Whose responsibility is it for achieving the results?
• Taking on debt in business and taking the pressure off
• The 4 marketing personalities, as defined by Beth Grant and how they can help guide the approach you choose for your business
• When following the rules backfires in business
• The one question to ask yourself if you haven’t made money yet in your business

Resources from this episode:

You know how some people seem to go from zero to success overnight?  Well that is not what this episode is about. In this episode, TaVona sits down with multiple six-figure earner, Nneka Roberts to discuss failure and feelings.

Listen in as they discuss:

• The book that started her entrepreneurial career
• Alternative definitions of failure and Nneka’s key to success
• Nneka & TaVona get real about emotional eating and being honest with yourself
• Nneka shares some “medicine” for feeling the feelings

Resources from this episode:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

How to Win Friend & Influence People

The Millionaire Next Door

Being visible online is not as easy as you would think, especially if you feel out of alignment and/or don’t feel safe putting yourself out there. In this episode, TaVona connects with Lisa Hamilton as they share stories of trauma and visibility.

Listen in as they discuss:

• Lisa’s acts of courage that yielded a surprising response
• Shame about not doing the work (when you know what to do)
• The side benefit of perfectionism
• Why TaVona went offline for almost a year and a half
• Pushing the edge to create results
• 
  

Resources Mentioned:

How do you learn to trust yourself and your business decisions when you come from a background where stuff would LITERALLY blow up if you didn’t follow the instructions?

Listen as TaVona dives into a discussion with Dr. Krystal Conner about:

• Perfectionism, pathways and protocols and how they affected their ability to take action in business in the beginning, versus how she deals with it now.
• How she got to a place in her mind of charging premium $$$ prices as a general life coach.
• What changes she noticed in her business with business maturity.
• We get real about our thoughts about groups coaching

Resources Mentioned:

Talk about serendipity.  This conversation started because TaVona confused someone else’s post with Simone’s and led to a deep discussion about trauma, coaching, cults, the patriarchy, and more.

They dive into:

• The “hard shit” in business. Hint: it’s not how to hack a funnel
• Where a lot of the disappointments people have with the coaching industry and education comes from
• The downside of having guarantees
• Why we see more leaders being torn down in women-led organizations
• Bonus: Simone takes over and gets TaVona to spill her big dream

Resources Mentioned:

If you only knew what goes on in the minds of business coaches. Tune in as TaVona chats with fellow business coach, Kat Arapis as they bust myths about business coaching.

They discuss:

• What caused TaVona and Kat to have doubt and drama about their niche and why they had to stick with it
• The difference between coaching and consulting.
• Why it’s not necessarily easier to sell to entrepreneurs
• How Kat is handling maternity leave

Kat is a Master Life and Business Coach who helps service-based entrepreneurs scale to six-figures and beyond by simplifying + mastering what actually creates clients, cash + contribution.

Connect with Kat: https://www.instagram.com/katarapis/

Living the digital nomad/work from anywhere lifestyle sounds glamorous and many on Instagram make it seem glamorous, but what is it REALLY like? Listen in as TaVona chats with other women in business who are living the digital nomad lifestyle.

They discuss:

• The difference between being a digital nomad and an expat
• Dating in another country
• TaVona’s secret for learning Spanish more quickly
• Little annoyances that they had to deal with in the their home country that they did not have to deal with in their new country
• How to know if you should take the leap

Connect with our guests:

Claudia: https://www.instagram.com/claudia__sidoli/

Cristina: https://www.instagram.com/piquecoaching/

Dalia: https://www.instagram.com/city_to_hippie/

Lauren: https://www.instagram.com/laurenciesco/

Resources Mentioned:

The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris

TimeBuddy.com

Google Translate

Who does a pageant when they are 53 and why?! Kwavi Agbeyegbe, that’s who and she tells TaVona all about why and what it means to live a regret-proof life as TaVona approaches her birthday.

Listen in as TaVona chats with Kwavi about:

• What REALLY keeps people from being visible
• The thing that originally kept Kwavi off of Tik Tok (she now has approx. 35K followers and yes, she tells you the secret, but no, it’s not what you think).
• One of the top 3 regrets that people have on their deathbed
• Why she didn’t even tell her HUSBAND that her book was published
• The reason you must celebrate the little wins along the way.

Kwavi is a Certified Life Coach, Author and International Speaker. She is passionate about promoting a positive narrative for women in their 50s and over.

Resources from Kwavi:

Have you ever wondered what women building a business REALLY deal with, think about and talk about?

Get ready to hear real, open and honest conversations that TaVona Denise, Master Certified Life Coach & Business Strategist has with friends and colleagues as they discuss what LIFE is like as a woman building a business online.

In this episode, TaVona gets real, raw and honest with you as she shares:

The gap she saw in the online space and why she started this podcast

One of her biggest fears about putting herself out there

What Tim Ferriss has to do with all of this

Connect with TaVona:

As a lifestyle, business, and mindset coach, TaVona’s goal is to support her clients in achieving their goals, without the hustle, overwhelm, and burnout. She is passionate about seeing her clients win and does this by helping entrepreneurs create simple strategies and take consistent action. Her experience as a business coach has given her valuable insight into the difference between entrepreneurs who win and those who stall out. In today’s episode, she will share ten ways of thinking and being that will help you win at life and business. If you're ready to start your journey of unstoppable success, press play now!

Highlights (with timestamps):

• [1:22] Principle #1 - Entrepreneurship is supposed to be challenging.
  
• [2:27] Principle #2 -There is no right or wrong way to build a successful business.
  
• [2:54] Principle #3 - Make decisions and stick to them.
  
• [3:32] Principle #4 - Time is relative.
  
• [4:54] Principle #5 - The most successful entrepreneurs get what they came for.
  
• [5:18] Principle #6 - There is a difference between finding clients and signing clients.
  
• [5:48] Principle #7 - Have or develop a positive relationship with money.
  
• [6:18] Principle #8 - Experiment and evaluate.
  
• [7:05] Principle #9 - Do thought work daily.
  
• [7:42] Principle #10 - Take action even if you are afraid.
  

So what is stopping you from taking action on your ideas? Often we will set a goal, map out a strategy on how to accomplish that goal, and make a well-defined plan. However, when it comes time to put the plan into practice, we are faced with an abundance of excuses as to why we cannot proceed causing the goal to once again elude us. We all have different reasons why we stall on going after our desires but at the core of it all, there is only one real reason for inaction. Listen in as TaVona shares with you the cause of inaction and how to overcome it.

Highlights (with timestamps):

• [1:14] What people think inaction is
  
• [1:55] Why inaction is difficult
  
• [4:49] The real cause of inaction
  
• [7:30] How to overcome inaction
  

“I feel guilty when I charge people for my time.” Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Tons of entrepreneurs struggle with pricing strategy. Pricing yourself and your abilities are often the most difficult tasks for anyone but you have to accept the challenge and work through it. The first step in this process is realizing that time + effort = money is not the only formula that you should consider when determining your rate.  Listen in as TaVona shares with you a key factor to consider when deciding how to price your service or product.

Highlights (with timestamps):

• [1:25] Why your pricing strategy is based on time rather than value
  
• [3:49] How to untangle time and effort from the value you provide
  
• [6:27] How to identify value
  

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

  Have you ever created something for your business then forget about it only to find yourself spinning in circles trying to recreate it all over again from scratch? This is called inconvenient amnesia. It’s your brain's way of trying to protect you but it’s a symptom of indecision and it will keep you stuck. Overcoming indecision and figuring out how to get ahead with your business is about trusting yourself, making decisions, and taking action in order to gain momentum. In this episode, TaVona will share with you three examples of how inconvenient amnesia can show up and tell you exactly how to remedy it.

Highlights (with timestamps):

• [1:58] Inconvenient Amnesia can show up as you create the same program over and over again from scratch. Not version 2.0 of a program but the same program.
  
• [3:09] Inconvenient Amnesia can show up as you doing the same assignment over and over again.
  
• [4:42] Inconvenient Amnesia can show up as you deciding the name or promise of your program multiple times.
  
• [8:10] Make the decision to offer your services to people because offering your services to people is the best way to determine what your next move is.
  
• [8:23] If you're experiencing inconvenient amnesia, make some decisions in your business and write them down someplace where you can see them on a regular basis.
  

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

It’s that time of year when everyone is talking about setting goals. Some people are super excited about this process but for others, it brings on the feeling of anxiety and resistance. Are you one of those people who resist setting goals? Maybe your resistance comes from fear of failing, fear of succeeding, fear of overworking, or overstressing yourself. Whatever the reason is, if your desire is to experience the journey of setting goals in a fulfilling way, then this episode is for you. Today, TaVona shares with you exactly how to overcome goal resistance by discovering new perspectives for you to be able to create a new result this year.

• [2:26] What is Goal Resistance
• [6:02] Why it happens
• [7:11] What to do if you find yourself resisting the goal setting process.
  

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Are you on Clubhouse? If you are like, what in the world is that? Listen in as TaVona shares the basics of the Internet's newest social media platform.  If you have ever listened to the show and wanted an opportunity to join the conversation, here’s your chance.

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

As this interesting (to say the least) year comes to an end it’s time to sit and reflect. Today, TaVona shares with us an effective exercise for reflecting on your 2020 business endeavours. Ditch the spreadsheets and tap into your joy-o-meter for this one!

**Announcement: TaVona will be taking additional time away to reflect and restore through the end of the year. These next two weeks there will not be a new episode, but she’ll be back with more come 2021.

Happy Holidays!

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

On today’s episode we’ll hear TaVona’s insights from various situations her clients have found themselves in. Business is about results. You can’t run a business without paying clients, there’s no doubt about that. But what is it that REALLY leads to results? Tune in to find out!

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Today TaVona shares with us some reflections on the crazy that COVID and 2020 as a whole has brought us all in some way, shape, or form. It’s safe to say the reality we’ve all been living has pushed us outside our comfort zones. It’s easy, and understandable, to get overwhelmed and angry when things blow up. But maybe, just maybe, this explosion of a year has freed us from some of the unnecessary scrapinal we’ve been over reliant on to begin with.

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Building your own business can be a roller coaster of emotions. Some days you’re on top of the world ready to help as many people as will listen, while others it can feel like you’d rather hide under a rock. Some people seem to be so consistent in their quality of work, but how do they do it? How is it humanly possible to be that motivated all the time?! Hint: It’s not, but there are tricks to get you there anyways.

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Have you ever felt like you just need someone to tell you what to do in your business, or life for that matter, and you’ll do it? Then someone does exactly that, and you still don’t do it? Today TaVona will help you understand why this happens so often and offer a fun and effective strategy to push past this cycle to get it DONE.

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below:

Today, two former therapists turned podcast hosts & life coaches joined forces to drop knowledge bombs on making the transition from healthcare to coaching. While TaVona was a physical therapist and Sachiko a psychotherapist, they both reflect on what it took for them to claim coaching as their own. Listen in to hear how they did it successfully, where they struggled and why selling is actually a good thing!

Brenda talks the talk and certainly walks the walk when it comes to all things weight loss, being herself and of course business. Today TaVona chats with her on all the things from conquering body image issues, the importance of BIPOC women in coaching and how she went from an unsatisfying job in healthcare and used those skills to start and run a successful business. Hang on to your hats this one is an exhilarating ride.

Today, I am joined by Brig Johnson, a Life and Mindset Coach, on a mission to help HIGH ACHIEVING BLACK WOMAN BECOME UN-F*CKWITHABLE!  If you’re listening and you’re like, but I’m not Black, don’t worry, what we’re about to get into today applies to ALL high achieving women, ESPECIALLY those of us in healthcare.

Brig's unique approach combines her knowledge as an Advanced Practice healthcare provider with her skill as a Life coach. She gets laser-focused on thought loop errors her clients may be experiencing and not only walks them through the process of releasing and replacing limiting beliefs, and how those beliefs are keeping them stuck.

Her signature 3 step process helps clients GET RESULTS through the process of creating a personal revolution in their thinking.

Link up with Brigs

Today we welcome a variety of entrepreneurs who were bold enough to follow their personal mission,  leave their traditional healthcare setting, and ultimately broaden what they could offer the world with their skill sets.

Please Welcome:

This week we welcome Heather Hammell to share how transformational coaching was for launching her into her now third career. From social worker, to myofascial release specialist, to now life coach, Heather reminds us that even if you’ve made a big transition before, we all still need guidance for the next transition that inevitably arises.

Those of us who work in healthcare don’t need a study to tell us how real and widespread burnout is within the field. After turning this well known truth into persuasive data, Dr. Emily Shaw successfully pitched her own coaching program to her employer so that she could serve her fellow struggling physicians. For those of you who don’t know, TaVona did the same thing. Tune in to hear the steps they both took to secure a contract with their organization and what you should expect if you're considering doing the same.

More from Dr. Emily Shaw:

Wait….what? Business can be boiled down to a simple math equation? Here’s the good news, yes! Too often we get distracted by all the fancy bells and whistles and lose sight of what business is at its core. At the end of the day, a lot of that extra fluff, though useful at the right time and place, becomes a means to prolong doing the uncomfortable thing that propels us forward. Listen in as TaVona brings us back to  business basics and reminds us of what actually matters.

Like what you hear? Find more from TaVona below: