We were lucky to catch up with Janis Hillard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Janis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

When I started Be Well Sis Coaching (BWS), I had one mission in mind and that was to serve those who hadn’t necessarily been “served” before. And what I mean is that a lot of non-cultured voices were already versed in coaching. The concept wasn’t new to them because they’d had access to it for years (whether they took advantage of it or not). Coupled with the luxury of disposable income (born out of the uneven distribution of generational wealth) made it easier to attain and more approachable.

It’s only been in recent years that Black, Brown, and Cultured voices (i.e., BIPOC) have become acquainted to the idea of coaching. Though some may find it wasteful or frivolous, many (still) believe it to be for those who always seem to have extra money laying around.

But my mission is to change this way of thinking by bringing coaching to women in minority communities that are often without equity and access.

Janis, 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?

Of course! I am a Boundaries Coach who specializes in helping Women of Color (WOC) set and maintain healthy boundaries without the drama and uneasy communication. My goal is to show them that there is great strength in creating limits for others to understand and follow, and if the behavior is causing you stress or is unacceptable you don’t have to take it.

But easier said than done, right? As a WOC myself, I get that this can be hard to do.

Case in point: I got into this business by happenstance after my own issues with setting boundaries with my family over a decade ago. I suffered a trauma within its familial walls, and it required for my relatives to make a certain individual accountable. But instead of doing that, they decided to ask me to “forgive and forget”. When I decided to do the former but not the latter (without any hatred or malice) they accused me of being petty, angry, and hostile.

Needless to say, I was hurt. Not only had the people that I had known (literally!) since birth create conditions with their love, but they’d also wanted me to be OK with it.

That’s when I realized that I needed to establish some clear conditions of my own with boundaries. I didn’t need to go along to get along or sacrifice my well-being just because I shared DNA with these people. No, ma’am! I needed to start protecting my energy, prioritizing self-care, and making a safe, conflict free, and comfortable space for myself.

Whether it’s your family, partners, friends, or co-workers; if clear and healthy boundaries aren’t given when unacceptable or unwanted behavior persists, the only one who benefits is the one causing the bad behavior – not you. YOU are left feeling unrecognized, undervalued, voiceless, and apologetic.

And I believe that you should NEVER apologize for having values and self-worth.

There are coaches out in the world that help people with setting boundaries. But what sets me apart from the rest is my ability to address how culture influences how we interpret and interact with boundary-setting.

Look, Western society may have talked about autonomy and having sovereignty, but BIPOC culture does not. We have things like, collectivism, gender roles, communication styles, hierarchy, and messaging that all play a big part in the way we see boundary-making. Though it’s no easy feat to begin figuring out how to build healthy fences (boundaries), it’s important not to acquaint them with building walls to shut offenders out. You can create a space that requires others to respect it or not. You oversee that. Not them.

That’s what Be Well Sis Coaching is all about and that’s what I teach my clients.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I would say that recognizing that everyone has a different story and reason why they need healthy boundaries. Maybe they have a great family dynamic, but they lack time management for themselves. Maybe they can’t say no effectively to their co-workers or superiors, and they end up taking on too many work-related tasks (which leave them feeling stressed and burned out). Or maybe they realize that their social media consumption needs to be in moderation, and they need help with establishing a realistic and practical approach. Whatever the issue(s), discovering the WHY is only half the battle, while executing is the other. So, I’d say identifying everyone’s uniqueness has been my most effective strategy for attracting and growing my clientele.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I first started my social media presence, I had no audience. Like, zero. I think it was just me and my sister that was following BWS on Instagram. It wasn’t until I got help from a Media Strategist that I started to see some traction. But even after that, it was still an uphill battle.

The upside to talking about the power of having healthy boundaries is that most folks agree that having them is a must. The downside is that EVERYONE believes that they have them and don’t need help. But I sometimes look around at people who claim to know all about them, do the exact opposite. They let people dictate their lives and time or they just ignore the bad behaviors by making excuses for it. I’ve heard crazy stuff like, ‘You can’t tell family how to act’ or ‘That’s their problem, not mine’. (Unfortunately, this is also where culture comes into play.)

So, what’s my advice for those just starting to build a social media presence for their business? Don’t get bogged down with the details. Meaning: don’t react negatively to misinformation about your niche. I realize that the concept (setting healthy boundaries) is something that people have no clue as to what it truly means to have them, so it’s my duty to help them understand. I don’t waste my time and energy projecting or commenting on posts that don’t make sense or misinform the masses. Instead, I choose to keep putting out content that refutes all of that while getting my name and Be Well Sis Coaching recognized and heard. My audience has found me and continues to do so.

As people become more versed on what you do, they’ll start to trust your authority…and that’s when they become your clients. Trust and authority is the secret sauce, my friend!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://janishillard.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bewellsis_coaching
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/janis-hillard
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bewellsis_coaching

Image Credits

All photos are taken by me.