Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shawn Bradford. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Shawn, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
This is a story of finally throwing my “I’m Ok” gut response out the window and finally stating “I’m not doing ok and I need some help” when I needed to.

I said “I’m not ok” to my friend Marcie when we were changing back into our work clothes in the locker room after a noon yoga class. It was as if time stood still as I told Marcie of my struggles as a single Mom working too much and not being able to deal with the intense overwhelm and emotions I was feeling. She listened and then connected me with another friend of hers that had a similar journey to mine. That connection led me on the path of opening up to help, community and connection and so much goodness and authentic friendships blossomed from there. This was a pivotal moment where I learned to be honest with myself and was willing to be open and vulnerable with people I trusted. It brought a much more meaningful connection to myself and others and has stayed with me ever since. It has helped me to teach from a deeper and more profound place of connection and understanding.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Shawn was introduced to yoga and meditation as a way to bounce back from hardship & insomnia while raising her three kids.

After she turned her life around thanks to these ancient practices she became certified to teach so that she could share the tools that brought radical improvement to her life with others.

Shawn loves empowering her clients and audiences to implement positive life changes through the power of mindfulness, self-awareness and meditation.

Breathe and Work, PLLC was founded by Ms. Shawn Bradford to bring the powerful health benefits of yoga, meditation and mindfulness to the masses. Breathe and Work delivers corporate yoga classes, keynotes on mindfulness and rejuvenating yoga nidra meditation classes to businesses across the world.

Shawn Bradford is a registered, experienced 500 hour yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, is a 200 hour meditation/mindfulness teacher and holds a Master’s in Science in Health Promotion with an emphasis in Workplace Wellness. Shawn loves giving engaging classes and keynotes on mindfulness, yoga and meditation. Her TedX speech, about her unexpected path to self-awareness, has received thousands of positive reviews.

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What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Well the obvious of doing an exceptional job for my clients and then asking them to introduce me to their business associates to gain referrals and new business. I teach yoga and facilitate mindfulness workshops for businesses. The best type of referral is when the business owner that hired me to teach mindfulness to their staff invites a friend of theirs that owns a business as well to partake in the workshop or observe. That business owner then is much more likely (and has) to have me teach mindfulness to their staff as well b/c he/she witnessed the benefits first hand.

The number one strategy is to be consistent in your marketing and sales efforts. For example, I make consistent phone calls, teach consistent classes and offer consistent email mindfulness tips so that my clients grow more and more comfortable with me and my prospects turn into clients with this consistent out reach. It is not a fast tip to grow instantly, but any business owner that consistently reaches out to their clients and prospects will grow their business.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
My sales background training is pretty traditional with making cold calls in person and always having an apt in person to “close the sale.” I had to unlearn that this was the only way to make a sale once COVID came. I had to release that disbelief and conditioning. I had to quickly, although kicking and screaming, learn to get comfortable with making sales on the phone and zoom and of course it worked just fine and I was able to translate much of my traditional knowledge into our modern times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.breatheandwork.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msshawnbradford/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msshawnbradford
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnsimsbradford/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6mwoKVNjkN2TInLr8mKOA

Image Credits
https://www.badasswomenphotos.com/