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

Harmony, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I look back on my 25-year career in working as an independent contractor and building my own brand and business. I notice there are three important moments that involved “taking a leap of faith,” which resulted in beautiful developments for me personally and professionally.

The first was when I was twenty-five, I had been working for myself for three years as an independent yoga teacher in the city of Calgary, Canada. I had just returned from India when I was offered a position to leave and move to Thailand, to become a resident manager and teacher at a yoga retreat center. It felt like a big change and a step into the unknown! I decided to take this opportunity, despite all the unknowns, and it opened so many doors, like meeting and teaching other students and teachers from around the world. It provided an easy opportunity to travel and study continuously in India, and the confidence to manage and teach at another retreat center in India, where I continued to expand my network of students and adjunct teachers.

The second big risk was moving to Victoria, British Columbia, a city I had never lived in before, to open my first Yoga Studio. At the same time, I was pregnant and about to give birth. Opening up a brick and mortar yoga school felt like a huge risk at the time, living out of a 400 sq/ft apartment, with 20K in savings, unable to secure a bank loan because neither my husband (and business partner) nor I had regular income, as we had been self-employed and living overseas for the past five years. Signing a five year lease on a space felt like a massive risk. The beautiful magic was that in saying “YES” to this responsibility and investing our savings, sweat, and love into creating a yoga community, we were affirming our belief in our ability to rise to the calling, and in doing so, our yoga school slowly grew, and became a success. It supported us in purchasing our first home, financed us to continue to travel back to India to study for extended periods of time, and after 3.5 years we sold it to another couple who wanted to move to Vancouver Island and own a yoga studio.

The third big risk was stepping away from my marriage and business partnership. This meant leaving the company I had spent 12 years building, which was painful in many ways, both personally and professionally. It meant starting my own, independent company and choosing for myself the direction I wanted it to grow in. Over the years my new focus became travelling and teaching workshops and retreats internationally, which filled my need for adventure, but after spending half the year away from home, I felt a calling to move in a new direction. This is when I turned my focus to coaching and began a five year journey of building my spiritual wellness coaching practice and online yoga community. Although it’s been very challenging to re-brand and redefine myself within an international community, this endeavour has been most fulfilling. I feel that I am honouring my highest calling to bring spiritual wellness practices to a more diverse group of people, beyond the traditional yoga-seeker, and in doing so, raise our collective consciousness, offering deep healing and life-transformation.

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

I am a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, trained in Professional Coaching through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and Certified in Quantum Coaching and in the Mastery Coaching Method. I am also Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, studying and training in India for 15 years. I am one of less than 20 women in the world to hold this honour of being recognized at the highest level by the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India. Recently, I became a Certified Spinal Energetics practitioner and I’m excited to integrate this deeply healing energy work into the coaching I’m already offering.

It all began back in 1999 when I started a daily meditation and yoga practice. I first travelled to East Asia in 2002 to study Buddhism, where I completed research on Ch’an meditation while living in China. The following year I began intensely studying Sanskrit and Indian philosophy. I spent the following five years living between India and Thailand, practising and teaching yoga, while also managing a yoga retreat center.

I hold two BA degrees, one in Philosophy, the other in Religious Studies, and over the years, I co-founded two yoga schools in Canada. For the past 25 years I’ve been focused on sharing the deeper teachings and benefits of having a personal practice using tools like meditation, breathwok, yoga, and a multi-dimensional approach to wellness. Since 2004, I’ve been supporting practitioners around the world with their stress management and spiritual integration, and have taught workshops and retreats in over 30 different countries.

I’m the host of the Finding Harmony Podcast, where we offer insights, inspiration, and practical steps on how to find greater fulfillment, self-love, and deeper connection within their lives. We offer a blend of spiritual guidance, personal development coaching, and actionable strategies to help listeners navigate the challenges of modern life and find deeper meaning within and without. Over the years, my YouTube channel has grown to over 100K subscribers.

I’ve been a contributing writer in two anthologies on yoga, pregnancy, and motherhood: ‘Yoga Sadhana for Mothers’ and ‘Strength and Grace: A collection of Essays by Women of Ashtanga Yoga.’ I’ve found a beautiful way to give back to India through the non-profit organization “Yoga Gives Back” where I serve as an ambassador and active Board Member.

These days I’m mostly focused on supporting spiritual curious entrepreneurs to eliminate stressful symptoms of burnout and midlife-malaise. I offer personalized coaching, integrating various tools to clear unconscious blocks from the root, regulate the nervous system, and optimize energy, so they can create a deeply fulfilling life and business that’s aligned with their soul’s calling, by connecting to their source of creativity and deepening their connection to love.

I’m committed to being at the forefront of the most effective ways to integrate “science-backed woo” and energy-healing to address the underlying causes of dis-ease and unprocessed trauma that gets stuck and held within the body and subconscious mind. When we connect more deeply to our spiritual essence, we increase our awareness, coming into a deeper sense of being already whole and complete, and from here, it’s easy to grow a conscious business.

I love helping leaders transform from the inside out so they can confidently step into their higher calling and in doing so, we all get to uplift the consciousness of our planet together.

You can find me coaching inside my online community: Finding Harmony ( https://community-harmonyslater.com/ ) or teaching in one of my online programs for Nervous System Regulation, like Ancient Breathing 2.0 ( https://harmonyslater.com/ancient-breathing-2-0 ) hosting one of our incredible guest on the Finding Harmony Podcast ( https://www.awkwardsagemedia.com/show/finding-harmony-podcast/ ), offering Spinal Energetic Sessions ( https://harmonyslater.as.me/ ) or working inside a longer more personalized coaching container with my private clients ( https://harmonyslater.com/harmony-slater-coaching )

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

I sold my brick and mortar yoga studio in Victoria, British Columbia back in 2016 and it continues to grow and be a place where students can find sanctuary from their busy lives to this day!

When starting a business, (especially if you might want to sell it one day): Start with the end in mind!

I made many mistakes when setting up my first business. I didn’t keep proper records of accounts, I often mixed personal expenses in with business expenses, and didn’t take a salary or pay myself for a long time.

Three things I learned, is that when it comes to selling a business is:
1. Preparation is key:
Have in mind that at some point in the future you might want to sell your business, so you can prepare your business for sale well in advance. This includes organizing financial records, documenting processes or creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), resolving any legal issues, and showing that you can create business savings as well as pay yourself as an employee, so that your business is more attractive to buyers and can command a higher price.

2. Timing is everything:
You may or may not be able to choose the right time to sell, but you can take into account some simple things like market conditions, industry trends, your business’s performance, and your own personal factors. In my situation, we were thinking of moving and an opportunity arose with a buyer, and even though the timing wasn’t exactly perfect for us, the buyer was ready and so we seized the opportunity. Selling when your business is showing strong growth and profitability will maximize its value and it’s always easier to sell when there is already a buyer showing interest.

3. Don’t neglect your business during the sale process:
Selling a business can be time-consuming and distracting. It took us well over half-a-year before the final papers were signed. It’s easy to feel like you have one foot out the door already, but do your best to stay present, involved and active in the day to day work of running your business. It’s crucial to keep the business running smoothly and growing during this period. We had many students coming to our studio, as well as staff to pay and manage. It is vital to keep a positive feeling in your business with clients and in your community. It was important to not talk about the sale until things were settled and finalized. A decline in your attention and vital energy being poured into your business will be felt, and not only can it affect the performance, which might reduce the sale price or even cause the deal to fall through, but it can hurt your business in the long run if you choose not to sell.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Other than training / knowledge I would say the #1 thing that is the most helpful for succeeding in ANY field is: Relationships.

I’ve had clients come to me 20 years after our first meeting because of they simply remembered the feeling of working with me when I was first starting out.

Strong relationships build trust and credibility, which is the foundation of any successful business or profession. If you want to be in your field for the long-game, you want to create positive interactions, great customer-service, and offer true value for those you meet and serve. When people trust you, they’re more likely to work with you, recommend you to others, and give you the benefit of the doubt in challenging situations. Trust-based relationships lead to increased credibility in your field, opening doors to new opportunities and collaborations. I would venture to say that 95% of my success and sustainability has come from my ability to show up for people, be present to their needs, and maintain strong relationships, without expectation for anything in return, time and time again.

In addition to customers and clients, the relationships I’ve created with other teachers, coaches and professionals has expanded my network and opened up many opportunities that wouldn’t have come my way without maintaining these positive relationships. I’m fortunate to have cultivated a robust referral network, which over the years has brought different opportunities, resources, and information into my business. Whether it’s learning a new skill, inviting guests to be on my podcast, being invited to be a main teacher at a workshop or retreat, gaining an introduction to an Influencer or key decision-maker, or finding the right people to partner with for a project, creating strong relationships has been a cornerstone in providing me with invaluable connections and resources that otherwise wouldn’t have been accessible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://harmonyslater.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harmonyslatercoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harmonydawnslater/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/harmonyashtanga
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/harmonyslater
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/harmony-slater-calgary-3
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-715958315

Image Credits

Photo Credits: Chris McMullan