We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Asia Lyons recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Asia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Being a business owner the biggest problem that I have run into is the unpredictability of projects. I won’t deny that there are plenty of ways to let organizations know that your company exists; funnels, advertisements, etc. However, moving someone from viewing my LinkedIn profile to signing a contract has not necessarily been a simple task. What I have done, and continue to do to solve this problem is to work on my mindset. When I first started my business, I often spent nights worrying about how I would find the money to continue. I feared projects ending and not having more clients. Eventually, I found that worrying didn’t help. I had to continue to tell myself that I got all the way here and I had to believe that my journey would not simply end with me having to return to work for someone else.
Instead of buying books, going to professional developments, and so forth on how to “crush” my competitors, “grind” or “chase the bag”, I shifted to reading books and watching videos on trusting my intuition and shifting my mindset. My bookshelves and Audible are full of works from people like Christine Kane, Eckhart Tolle, Denise Duffield-Thomas, and Deepak Chopra. Although this strategy may not work for everyone, it works for me as it helps me to look at the problems/projects in a way that has taught me to ask the question of how the problem is expanding me as a person and business owner.

Dr. Asia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

About myself. My name is Dr. Asia Lyons. I am originally from Detroit. My husband and I moved to Denver after finishing my undergrad in Elementary Education at the University of Michigan- Dearborn. I love traveling with my family, collecting books, and hanging out with dope folks. I recently earned my Educational Doctorate in Leadership for Educational Equity from the University of Colorado-Denver. My research focused on the ways that Black educators experience racial battle fatigue in the workplace then how that fatigue crosses over from the educator to their families. As a business owner, I have found that my time in K-12 and higher education have easily transferred to my work outside of the classroom.

How I got into my business.
How I started my business is kind of an interesting story. Although I taught for 12 years I like to say that I taught for 2 years. The first 10 years of my teaching career supported the work of upholding white supremacy culture in education. In the last two years of my teaching career, understanding the damage I had done to the youth in my care I began to change my thinking and how I taught. I started teaching about humanity and social justice topics within my classroom. Inevitably, I was pushed out of my career by the building administrator who preferred my oppression over the liberation of the 6th graders I taught. I left teaching and spent a year at a local non-profit. Eventually, I was let go for what best can be described as having too many ideas.
After seeking employment for over four months a good friend of mine, Dr. Janiece Mackey, asked for my support in coaching some of her staff. Up for the task and not finding success in gaining employment I obliged her, thinking that I would help her team until I found a job. A month or so later while talking with Dr. Mackey she said one simple sentence, “You know you could consult full-time.”. It truly felt like lightning struck. On that day, I shifted my mindset from working for others to working for myself. The rest is history.

Problems I solve for clients
I prefer to think of problems as projects. As such, my favorite project to support is being in thought partnership with my clients around a particular set of objectives they have. We then, as a team with community members use equity-focused design thinking concepts to figure out ways to meet the needs of the community. My firm’s services include equity-centered thought partnership for organizations, equity audits, instructional coaching, and curriculum design.

What am I most proud of
I am most proud of being able to support and be supported by organizations, foundations, and schools in the Denver Metro Area. I am also proud that my daughter has been able to watch me build my business from the ground up. I hope it inspires her to do hard things in her own life.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started my firm, I thought it necessary for my work to focus on providing professional developments focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. However, I knew that I would not enjoy doing that work in my gut. I have always felt that no amount of TED Talks, graphs and community-building activities that I could create would convince someone to shift away from being racist, sexist, etc.

The tricky part was deciding then what it was that I was meant to do. I believe that systems change through equity-centered design thinking is the work that I am best at supporting. It took some time to focus on services that I feel that my firm would enjoy helping and would also support the work of creating cultures of belonging with my clients and their communities.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson that I have learned is to prioritize rest. Grind culture is real. Social media, motivational speakers, and my parents constantly shout the message that I must be doing something. I should wake up at 5 am. I should be on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Naps are for the weak. Sleep when I’m dead. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I thought for a long time, even before starting Lyons Educational Consulting, that pushing myself every day would somehow make all of my dreams come true quickly. It was not until recently, on the verge of turning 40 this year, that I decided to listen to my intuition and rest. What does rest look like for me? It means not working on Fridays. It means asking for help. It means spending extra time writing in my journal because I feel like it, and of course, it means taking a nap on a random Thursday just because.

I have to constantly fight my subconscious telling me that if I don’t sit at my desk and check my emails for the 1000th time in an hour, I won’t make money in my business. I have to silence my fear that somehow I will miss out if I don’t attend a fundraiser or volunteer for an event. I have found that my mental, physical and spiritual well-being has strengthened by prioritizing rest by saying both yes to me and no to the needs of others that would stretch me beyond my capacity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lyonseducationalconsulting.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asia-lyons/