Q&A with Tonia
Through her two businesses, ToniaTalks and The Corporate Hippy, Tonia works with people on both an individual level and within a corporate environment, to help them achieve a happy and fulfilling life. Tonia hired us to create a website for each of her businesses.
Throughout this project we got to know Tonia and were very inspired by her mission to help others find their true happiness and achieve success. We knew we had to portray this same feeling through the design of her sites so we integrated a mixture of soft colours with a cheerful splash of bright yellow/gold and used images and fonts that conveyed a positive vibe.
“Fear Holds us Frozen, It Fogs our Brain and Our Journey.”
1. WHERE DID YOUR PASSION FOR YOUR INDUSTRY START?
My passion to help others through coaching started when I started my career in real estate. I seemed to just ‘know’ how to help others untangle their thoughts and find clarity with a few simple steps. Once I really tapped in to my intuition and studied holistic counseling my passion grew even more as I could see how many people I could help on the road to greatness in their lives.
2. WHY DID YOU ULTIMATELY DECIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS RATHER THAN WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE?
Around 5 years ago. I discovered that my number one value in life was FREEDOM! It is why I have worked so hard towards working for myself. It took a few years to set it up and take the leap and then around 2 years ago I decided to go for it.
3. WHAT'S THE MOST VALUABLE LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNT FROM STARTING YOUR BUSINESS?
The most valuable lesson that took me a while to learn was to take my own advice and get a coach! Even as a coach, you need someone to keep you accountable. It really does move your business along and will target the things you are struggling with. It’s very important to find the right fit for your life or business.
4. WHAT DO YOU WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD YOU WHEN YOU WERE JUST STARTING OUT?
I wish someone had told me the importance of networking for business. It puts you in front of people you would never meet organically and it is like having other people promote your business. You have to get out and meet people!
5. HAS SOCIAL MEDIA AND/OR ONLINE ADVERTISING PLAYED A PART IN YOUR GROWTH? IF SO, HOW?
Social media and online has played a part of my growth in branding my business and perception. With Facebook, I drew a line in the sand and decided that my personal Facebook and Facebook page was for business use and I opened up my Facebook. By growing my ‘friends’ by 800 people in a very short time, I’ve also grown the followers on my page. When I do expo’s people now recognise my brand. I think social media is good for this which creates trust with potential new clients.
6. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER TO OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS LOOKING TO UTILISE THESE CHANNELS?
Just go for it and remember every single thing you post is your personal brand. If you don’t understand that, either really lock it down or stay off social media until you are ready to understand how this can effect your brand. If you still don’t get that and need to post stuff to get attention in the wrong way….then you really need to book a session with me ;)
7. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS TIME?
In 5 years I would like to be still working one 2 one with clients but have more online courses and memberships as well as workshops and speaking events to be able to get out there and help even more people. Most of all my core value of FREEDOM is well in place and I will be working from anywhere in the world.
8. ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?
FEAR holds us frozen, it fogs our brain and our journey. Just follow the process of getting a coach, having a plan, managing your fears and you will move forward. It’s about managing your personal and work lives to move forward. That helps us let go of FEAR!