Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tara Bianca, Owner of BE Light Transformative Therapy, located in New York, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am the owner of BE Light Transformative Therapy, an online holistic health company specializing in breathwork, bodywork, mindset coaching, and sound healing. At BE Light, we educate and empower you to take full control of your health. My favorite teachers throughout my career have always emphasized that “you are your own best physician, your own best teacher, your own best healer.” At BE Light, that is a core concept that we use to inspire a reconnection to personal intuition, improved interoception, and, ultimately, the evolution of self. BE Light is growing every day and aims to become a globally recognized holistic health network. On the surface, we love to work with people who are needlessly suffering from symptoms of chronic stress and anxiety and who are ready to positively change their lives. We love to work with other holistic health professionals, performing artists, presenters, athletes, exercise enthusiasts, and anyone looking to remain vibrant throughout the aging process. On a deeper level, BE Light really aims its message at those who are “stuck in hiding,” afraid to be seen, afraid to be heard, playing small, and not living to their full potential. We see you. We know how special you are. We know that you have taken on a veneer of modesty and humility because society told you it’s unacceptable to let your inner light shine out. BE Light is a rallying cry! It’s a liberation of the soul! We call on you to release your subconscious self-limiting beliefs, your old emotional wounds, your self-sabotaging behavior, and everything else that weighs you down. We call on you to finally unleash your full self, to share your amazing gifts and passionate heart with the world. We call on you to be one small stone amongst billions of stones who starts an unstoppable ripple effect of positive change across the globe.

Tell us about yourself

I am my own ideal customer, and I’ve designed BE Light to serve the needs of other individuals who are very similar to me. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Be the parent to yourself, who you always needed”? BE Light’s purpose is to extend out a compassionate hand and offer all the support, guidance, love, education, and tools that I wish someone had offered me earlier in my life. I am that little girl who was so terrified of judgment and criticism that she shut down her voice and her self-expression. She did not allow others to see her or hear her. She tried to be invisible. She felt safer that way, and yet she was miserable, locked in darkness, depressed, misunderstood. And all the while, she had a fire brewing in her belly, just aching to be released into the world. Freedom is what she sought physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Locking myself in, in that way caused a cascade of health issues that were indiscernible to the modern medical establishment. Consequently, it has been a long journey of self-discovery and healing on all planes. And that journey continues. But as I learn, I freely share with my clients and students everything that I know in the hopes of extending them that hand that I had so desperately needed. What keeps me going? Every client case study, success story, testimonial, and even YouTube comment I receive saying, “Tara, this thing you shared with me has really changed my life. Thank you!” Healing can be messy, but it can also be simple. And sometimes, just having the opportunity to connect with another human being who has gone through the same struggles you have, is enough to start the process.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I’ve been in the holistic health arena for a number of years, and so my biggest accomplishment has been reaching hundreds of individuals around the world, offering them guidance that has allowed them to positively change their lives and reach their personal goals. I continue with that mission because what’s better than that? Only now, my personal ambition is to amplify my work and my message and exponentially increase the number of individuals I am able to reach. I try to practice what I preach, and so I aim to also be a small stone that generates a massive, unstoppable ripple effect of positive change.

Another accomplishment was transitioning from being a private, in-person therapeutic office up to March of 2020, only to transition everything online and pivot to creating an entirely new business model, new offerings, new products, and new services, all while keeping my head afloat. I’m super proud of the work I’ve created and shared in the past two years, and all birthed out of necessity. The adversity and challenges of the past couple of years have really pushed me to reinvent myself on so many levels, and I feel I have come out the other side stronger, clearer, more confident, and more aligned with my mission than ever.

I am incredibly proud of the online community I have built, which includes a YouTube following of over 20K subscribers. I know my message is reaching people and changing lives, and it can only grow from here.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Being a business owner, especially when you’re a solopreneur, is not for the faint of heart. One of my good friends calls it an act of masochism. I don’t feel that way, but it is a ton of work. As a solopreneur, you wear ALL the hats. In my case, that means I’m the CEO, the visionary, the face of the company, the “talent,” the educator, the curriculum developer, the scriptwriter, the production director, the gaffer, the sound technician, the audio editor, the video editor, the web designer, the social media curator, the email marketer, the copywriter, the salesperson, and the customer service representative. When you are first getting started, you are taking on the workload of at least eight full-time positions and not getting paid for it.

Having said that, I wouldn’t have it any other way. When you are working every day in alignment with your heart and your spirit, expressing yourself in the world exactly as you like, without compromise, it makes the insane workload palatable. If the alternative is slaving my life away, trading all my time and energy in order to make someone else’s dream a reality while denying my own dreams, then there’s no contest. I choose business ownership every time.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Know Yourself and Your WHY
    As I said earlier, running a business on your own, especially in the beginning, is not for the faint of heart. It is way more work, way more responsibility, and way less security than working for someone else. But the trade-off is that it is also way more rewarding. There will be serious highs, but there will also be some serious lows. You will have to overcome obstacles and challenges that might push you to your limits. Know yourself. Are you up to this challenge? Remember, you are your own best teacher. Reconnect to your intuition. Only you know if you are capable of starting a business. Only you know if you have the tenacity and the strength. Do you have it? Then go for it! Connected to this is to really know your WHY. On days when it feels challenging, and everything is going wrong, what is going to motivate you to keep going? Keep your WHY by your desk. Read it every morning. Stay aligned with your vision. The ultimate goal of what you’re creating has to be big enough and powerful enough to keep you going on days when everything feels hard. Your WHY has to outweigh the ease and convenience of giving up.
  2. Vision Board
    Have a clear vision. Some people are afraid to write out their vision because they fear they’ll be stuck with it. You are the creator. You can change and modify your vision as needed. But start with something clear and powerful that motivates you to get moving. What is the ultimate and ideal vision of your company without limitations?! Who are you serving? What impact are you having? How are you positively changing people’s lives? Write it out. Use words, but also use images. Create image boards to help you imagine all aspects of your ideal company with all of your senses. See it, hear it, smell it, taste it, feel it and live it every day. Don’t be afraid to think BIG. NASA will put a human on Mars in the 2030s. If a human can survive on a planet that has no oxygen, water, or food, I promise you that whatever you imagine for your company is more than possible. Every single successful business you’ve ever heard of started out as nothing more than an idea.
  3. Focus on ONE Thing
    When you first get started, you are going to get distracted by all the “shiny objects” and the countless strategies that are possible for building your audience and for getting your message and services out there. Focus! Do not try to do every strategy in the beginning. Instead, choose one or two strategies that are sustainable and achievable for you and go hard on those. Focus all of your energy, concentration, and vision on those strategies and really stick with them for an extended period of time before evaluating if they are working or not and before making tweaks. And do not try to take on too many projects at once. Starting a business is already hard enough; do not over-extend and exhaust yourself right out the gate.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Each of us was born with some inherent gift. What are your gifts? Don’t be modest. Don’t be humble. I give you permission to shine. Write out a list of all your strengths. If you’re struggling to create a list, ask others for input. You think that you’re hiding, but the people around you know where you have the potential to excel. Let them tell you. Now that you’ve established your strengths ask yourself if these are attributes you’d like to amplify in the world. Do you see the potential to share these in a much bigger way? Do you feel these attributes could really serve a special audience that only you can speak to? Do you feel you can only amplify your gifts if you are in full control of your path? Does working for someone else only continue to diminish your light and keep you from living your full potential? Then you, my friend, owe it to yourself to start your own business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.belighttt.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarabelight
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarabelight/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/belighttt
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-bianca/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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