Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dr. Tonia Winchester, Founder of Tonia Winchester Coaching, located in Nanaimo, BC, Canada.

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

I am a neurolinguistics programming (NLP) master coach and practitioner who combines these contemporary neurological reprogramming techniques with 15 years of experience as a naturopathic doctor to help people who are stuck in cycles of stress, anxiety, burnout, insomnia, and fatigue to CALM their minds, SLEEP deeply, and find JOY and ENERGY in their lives.

Tell us about yourself

Dissatisfied with naturopathic practice when after creating a brilliant treatment plan for a patient, they would return to me a few weeks later only to tell me that eating their broccoli is hard. What I realized is it's not the act of eating one's broccoli (or whatever the thing or things they need to be doing to improve their lives and health), but it's the decision to do so. I became obsessed with this moment in human psychology when we decide to take care of ourselves and show up the next day to take care of ourselves again.

As a life-long seeker, I kept learning and trying new tools until I found something that could address the underlying factors that block us from making those healthy and supportive decisions consistently. Neurolinguistic programming is the bridge I was looking for because it helps me help people easily and effortlessly release pain and trauma from their past, and reprogram limiting beliefs, so people WANT to create and sustain the helpful habits that help them achieve their goals, whether they be health, relationship, life or business goals.

I'm motivated by the transformations that occur with clients every day - these miracles that I call neurological alchemy where I see people return to or start things that they have wanted for a long time, like taking care of themselves in a meaningful way, standing up for themselves in relationships, forgiving people from their past, releasing pain, weight, accessing their creativity and their personal resourcefulness.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I'm very proud of my book: Smiling in the Shower: The Simple, Swift Way to Breakthrough Burnout and Create Happy Energized Days. It's a helpful book that shows people exactly what is keeping them stuck and how they can move forward to create the life of their dreams.

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

I get excited about a lot of things and ideas, so for me, it's maintaining the discipline and focus to see things through to their completion.

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

  1. Know your why. What is the deeper purpose of the work and transformation you offer? It's so important to keep front and centre the bigger picture of why you're doing what you're doing. It makes the hard days and the mundane tasks more doable.
  2. Wake up and spend 1-hour first thing in the morning working ON your business (not IN your business). This is an incredibly creative time of day, and you can let it be a very productive time for content ideas, marketing preparation, and solving problems in your business.
  3. Hire people. Get help. Stop doing $10/hour tasks. Free yourself up to do the things in your business that will really move you forward.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://coach.toniawinchester.com/book-5120
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachtonia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachtonia/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachtonianlp
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachtonia/

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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