We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Young recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

My entrepreneurial journey feels like it’s been a series of one risky move after another. Being an entrepreneur is definitely not for the risk adverse. Probably one of the most uncomfortable risks I took was letting go of the business I had built as a nutrition and health coach in order to focus on working with women and the Goddess. I leapt from doing something that was identifiable and understandable to the main stream, into an area that was not clearly defined and could sound a bit woo woo to most. It was New York City in 2012 when I fully made that shift, and talking about the Goddess was pretty out there at that time. At the same time I felt like I had no choice because that was where my passion was, and I simply wasn’t excited to talk about food and diet only. It felt dishonest. I had to trust that voice inside, and follow what was true. I had been working for 6 years with women on their health, and it was clear to me that there was a deeper malnourishment going on that extended all the way into their soul. The longer I worked with a woman the closer we got to the true source of her imbalances in her well being.

It was also clear to me that women needed community. I was working with all of these women individually and they felt isolated, and alone as they were transforming so much and didn’t feel met in many of their relationships that had formed before embarking on their inner transformation.

Starting in 2007 I led my first Urban Goddess mini retreat in a yoga studio in downtown NYC, and I felt like a lightning bolt was moving through me, and that I was actually fulfilling my true purpose. Over the next few years it became clear that this was what I was passionate about, and I began to craft a program for women that needed my full attention and energy behind it.

It was terrifying to start a business centering the Goddess and a woman’s spiritual life rather than leading with the safe frame of “health”. When I launched the first course it was very powerful, I got to experience myself fully living in my genius without being inhibited or censoring myself. When I am able to be most free in communicating the deeper truths, I am able to serve people on a much deeper level. My business in it’s new form has impacted so many women’s lives.

I am on the precipice of a similar transition in my business currently as I’m recognizing that intimacy, and s*xuality are becoming more and more integral to the conversation and where people are needing support, I am beginning to shift into more and more work in the realms of Tantra with not just women, but couples, and men as well. I feel like the feminine’s relationship to the masculine, that dialogue and interplay of energies is where I am personally feeling the most juice, and inspiration. It feels a little risky and a little naughty to lead with s*x and intimacy in my business, and that is exactly why it’s what I must do right now. That fear. That leap. That risk taking is what leads us to our next big chapter.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Tantra and embodiment coach for women, and an OG in the divine feminine space with over 15 years of experience. I specialize in supporting female leaders and visionaries to plug into the untapped power of their feminine energy. I work with women who are navigating transitions in their life both personally and professionally and looking for a mentor to guide them through.

Many of the women I work with are founders, entrepreneurs, and visionary leaders with something unique that they are here to offer to the world. These are women that appear to have it all together, and have often already achieved quite a bit before they find me, but know deep in their heart there is so much more that wants to come through. Often they are hitting a wall either through burn out, physical health challenges, challenges in their personal relationships, a lack of inspiration, a big break up at home or in business – something that is grabbing for their attention. Something that is inviting them to take a look inside and do things a little differently.

What I have found after working with women since 2006 is that the issues that most women are facing ultimately have their origin in a disconnection to their feminine energy and feminine soul. I take women on a heroine’s journey to reclaim their body, mind, and soul. using a unique process that I developed using Goddess archetypes. It’s always incredibly fulfilling to see how each woman integrates these teachings and implements it in her life.

I have midwifed women through beginning a new career, healing a relationship with their husband, making a decision to leave a relationship that’s not working, negotiating a larger salary and new job title, preparing to become a mother for the first time, or launching a dream project, to name a few of things that I’ve helped guide women through while working with me.

I do private mentorship, lead group retreats, online courses, and private vip immersions days. I’m also currently working on two books to allow this valuable work to become more accessible for women who may not have the opportunity to work with me directly. I also have another arm of my work which is focused on Tantra with both couples, and individual men. The unifying element in all of my work is embodiment, and pleasure.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The number one source of clients for me has always been through personal relationships. I’ve never grown a huge social media presence, or invested in advertising. Leveraging personal relationships has always been a successful route for me. Past clients and friends referring people to me has been a number one way that new clients show up.

I mentor a lot of new coaches and one of the top mistakes they make is thinking that growing their social media will result in sales, and from what I see most of the time there is not a strong correlation between having a large following and that translating into income. Cultivate one on one interactions with people, even if that is through instagram messaging or voice memos. People will invest in you and your products when they trust you, and generally that trust comes through a live interaction.
I do want to emphasize that this is also somewhat dependent on your personality type. I’m in general a more low key and private person, so it does not feel sustainable for me personally to be on social media super consistently. For another personality type that may work better for them. There is definitely no one single path to success as a business owner and entrepreneur.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think resilience is the number one most important quality to possess if you want to go into business for yourself. Entrepreneurship is rarely a strait trajectory to success, and usually involves lot’s of ups and downs over the years. I have certainly experienced my share! In particular I recall a time about 5 years ago when I just hit a wall. I had been on a streak of success and hitting it hard with lot’s and lot’s of in person work shops over many years and then suddenly everything just slowed down. I was doing all of the same things I had done previously but I just wasn’t getting the same results. Suddenly my income dropped dramatically, and I couldn’t figure out why. Essentially in retrospect I realize that I had just hit burn out, and I was needing to find a new way of relating to my work from the inside. Not just a new external strategy for getting new clients. I was tapped out. It was scary to experience that, but what I ended up doing was scaling way back on my business spending, got rid of my staff, rented out my apartment and travelled ALOT. I rested. I became more fluid. I attended to my personal life. I filled up my tank, and came back to my work much more inspired, and with a new approach and strategy that was less taxing to my nervous system, and to my energy stores. The ability to listen, and to pivot instead of continuing to try and push in the same old way, is a form of resilience. It’s a kind of flexibility that allows us to bounce back after a challenge.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.urbangoddess.life
• Instagram: @urbangoddessamanda
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-young-b8150815/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLtM-V5DxGmJxN7gMPWrgg

Image Credits
Gibson Goddess Photography, LA.