Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lotoya Charles, Founder of Clear Connections Coaching, located in Brooklyn, NY, USA.

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

Clear Connections Coaching provides coaching, hypnosis, and energy healing. The majority of clients I work with are women who are dealing with issues around self-worth, relationships, or entrepreneurship. In my work, I also focus a lot on spirituality and metaphysics.

Tell us about yourself

I always knew I was different. I was extremely sensitive as a child, and as an adult, I realized I was also an empath. Not quite knowing how to cope with those gifts, I protected myself by closing off, shutting down, and numbing out.

In 2016 I experienced a spiritual awakening which was my initiation into spirituality and metaphysics. I began to meditate as a means of working through my own trauma. I had been in therapy for one year, and while the experience helped me learn a lot about myself, I realized that I was aware of the many issues and challenges that were impacting me, but I still lacked the tools and resources to break those repeating patterns and create a new outcome.

I decided to attend a women’s workshop and enjoyed the experience so much that I signed up for a ten-week women’s group coaching program. In just ten weeks, I made more progress than the entire year I spent in counseling. I was also meditating on a daily basis and saw such an improvement within myself and my life that I knew I wanted to help clients experience the same life-changing results.

In September of that year, I founded Clear Connections with a focus on coaching, hypnosis, and energy healing. I can now appreciate the gift of being an empath as it allows me to tune into the issues that are impacting clients on a deeper level.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The ability to reach and impact so many clients. For me, it is an honor and privilege to help a client go from a place of feeling stuck, depressed, or anxious to be able to start their own business or attract the relationship they desire. One of my personal favorite stories is about a client I worked with who was dealing with childhood trauma which caused her to experience feelings of unworthiness and impostor syndrome in her career as an actor.

In unpacking how the experiences she had throughout her life impacted the stories she created about herself, she also came to realize how those limiting beliefs and negative emotions were preventing her from moving forward, accomplishing her goals, and being happy. Just a few weeks ago, this client sent me a text message stating that she finished her first Broadway play and has been nominated for a Tony Award. I love experiences like this because it reminds me of why I do the work I do!

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

Personally, I have struggled with maintaining a work-life balance. As a business owner, I am always working on ways to grow and expand my business, and I have to be mindful of how much time I spend working.

Every day I make a conscious effort to dedicate as much time to my family as I do to my clients. It can be a challenge to disconnect sometimes, but I have learned that taking time to myself and engaging in activities such as meditating or gardening allows me to be more present with those I love and care about, personally and professionally.

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

  1. Know what you want and why. Your why will motivate you to keep moving forward, particularly on those days when it seems as if nothing is going according to plan or you feel like giving up.
  2. Get support. No successful person got to where they are on their own. Find a teacher, coach, or mentor – someone who is where you would like to be. If it took that person ten years to achieve their goals, they should be able to help you achieve your goals in 5 years or less.
  3. Follow your passion, not the money. As long as you are in service and you are providing value – whether it be through art, music, dance, food, medicine, or anything else you are passionate about, the money will flow.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Transformational Coach, Certified Hypnotherapist, and Multidimensional Healer. In addition to working with clients individually, I also host groups and workshops. During sessions, I utilize a short-term psychospiritual approach to challenge clients to go deep and uncover what's really holding them back and, most importantly, how to heal and move forward.

In addition to Clear Connections Coaching, I am also the owner and Founder of Ascension Healing Center. I work with clients in person in New York and Florida and also virtually throughout the US and other countries.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.clearconnectionscoaching.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clearcoaching
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clear.connections/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lotoya-charles-22b725136/

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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