We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chamar Latanja a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chamar, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I had tried to commit suicide three different times. I thought about it constantly, I simply wanted to die. I had no vision for my own future, I had no vision of my value, in my mind I was fat (which I would later come to realize those weren’t my words, but the words said to me and placed in me by others in my life) I was ugly, I was always messing up I was useless. So, I…I there was no reason for me to be here.
Hold On.

When I realized suicide wasn’t an option and I would just muddle my way through life, I started drinking. I would drown all my self-hatred in alcohol. Alcohol was my balm, my confidence booster, the thing that gave me a voice. Until it wasn’t, until was too sick to move, too sick to think and it left me crying in despair even more.

Hold On.

What I had not realized was that the beauty of my life was waiting for me. I was so busy trying to be like everyone else that I was missing the beauty of my own unique life. I was so busy wallowing in. my own mistakes, that I had yet to realize that mistakes are part of the learning and growing process; and that process can lead to miracles if you just hold on.

I needed to not only find Chamar, but I needed to be comfortable with and confident with my unique talents, my unique thoughts my own unique personality and my unique life. My life would not be done the way that my family may have wanted, it would be done my way. My life would not be molded to fit other people it would be molded to fit my faith and the life that God gave me.

It was an uphill battle of constant therapy, unlearning, relearning surrounding myself with support, pushing past the doubts, never. giving. up. What I did not know at the time was that all of this would lead me to becoming number one on Amazon in 2017, it would lead me to creating my own coaching practice, I would go on to travel and speak in almost every state in the US and virtually in other countries, become a part of Forbes BLK program, and now have coaching clients in different coast and recently in London. Learning to walk in my own purpose confidently and boldly has been life changing.

The mission is clear, to help women step into their purpose boldly, confidently and uniquely!

In the beginning of my journey, I was on a mission to help women find themselves after their divorce and I did that for years, because that was my journey. However, as I grew past the trauma of my divorce and I was ready to move past that, I found that I had become a totally new woman that I had to get used to. I knew what to do because I had been taught and supported well by other women.

But what about the woman who feels like an outcast, who feels so different that it almost scares her? What about the woman whose spirit is bold in a world that may be telling her she is too much? If you don’t know how to navigate this, walk in this and grow in this especially in leadership, it can rock your confidence and paralyze you. We have watched enough women in our lives before us live in wishes and hopes. My mission is to help each woman knock down the doors and walls that are blocking her and lead and LIVE in the way they have been purposed to.

My mission is to help women become bold, fearless in their purpose, learn that their uniqueness is not too much for the right people and that it is their superpower and to stand in their faith.

Chamar, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Who is Chamar Latanja? On top of being a mother of. brilliant 20 year old college student. Chamar Latanja is a bold, ambitious, and loving ordained Evangelist faith-based speaker, certified Christian life coach, and author who helps women go from not feeling good enough in the world to building a personal relationship with God and living a life full of faith, freedom, boldness, confidence, and purpose.

She has had a #1 new seller e-book called “The Seven Day Slay!” on Amazon and other platforms. Her book, The Thirty Day Slay! Was published on October 31, 2017 and is now an international book, selling in the United States, South Africa and the UK.

She was featured as one of “10 Winning Women” for Women By Choice Global, along with a full page article as a Winning Woman for Women By Choice. Chamar has also received acceptance into the Forbes BLK Leadership program and has been featured and interviewed for numerous live streams, focused on women’s empowerment and growth.

Chamar is passionate about helping women step body and uniquely into their divine purpose.

As you read in my mission, I got into this industry of coaching because my love is to be a part of a woman’s growth and helping her step into HER power and finding herself. Sometimes life weighs us down and we forget how powerfully unique we are, and what’s worse, we live life day in and day out settled in that. I always tell people, if you don’t feel powerful…don’t come around me because by the time I am done with you, you will absolutely begin to find the woman that has been beautifully crafted by God within.

I have been an entrepreneur for about 6 years now, these days I work with companies to help coach women who referred to me, and I travel as a faith based speaker. This by far has been the hardest, most rewarding thing that I have ever done. It has required me to step our of fear, into faith and begin networking with people on higher levels. I have had to increase my knowledge with courses, trainings and degrees focused on social work and life coaching. Consistency has proven to be key!

I think what sets me apart from others in this industry, is not only do I have a loving tell it like it is approach. My approach is known to be aggressive in that we will not wait to get you on track. I believe in not wasting time finding the issue and creating a plan to solve it. Most of my clients know before hand that when you come to me, we get to work immediately. Each client is given a coaching plan, homework to apply what was learned and to track growth, as well as their own booklet of growth tracking each section and each win.

What am I most proud of? When a woman leaves my presence, she leaves me feeling better and more stable than when she first came and that…is always a blessing.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

On TikTok I have a following of over 12, 000 which is by far my largest platform. I handled that social media platform much differently than my other ones. A.) we are in the era of video over pictures so that foundation was already in place. B.) I did not overthink it! I turned my phone camera on and I started to record my thoughts, my failures, my triumphs, how I get back up and if I cried while talking so be it. I laugh on camera, I am silly on camera, I respond to comments with video. I was able to create a community of over 12,000 mostly women who not only support me but in the comments were supporting each other. One woman put in the comments that she needed prayer for a job and these comments were flooded with well wishes and prayers! Here’s the thing, people often use social media for many ways, to consume, to create, to find community, to decompress. What will they find when they find you? I want anyone that sees my posts on TikTok, IG where I have over 5,000 followers and FB where I have almost 6,000 followers, to leave may posts feeling not drained but refreshed and inspired.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivots are uncomfortable but necessary! So do not be afraid to pivot! As you grow, so will your career, your business and every other area of you life. When I first started in this industry I was ONLY for divorced women. The more I healed the less I connected with the same story of divorce that I was telling over and over. I had also started becoming more grounded in my faith and realized that I was connecting more with women like me, a little different, not traditional when it comes to most things faith based, boisterous etc and I started to understand that it was time to work with a new group of women. My message was different and as scary as that was…the pivot was not only ok, it was necessary.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chamarlatanja.com
• Instagram: @Chamarlatanja
• Facebook: Chamar Latanja
• Youtube: Chamar Latanja
• Other: TikTok: Chamar Latanja

Image Credits
Barbara McClane Quatina Frazer