We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Solunis Nicole Bay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Solunis Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I’ve had a few career changes. I began my 1st professional career as a classical-trained dancer. As much as I loved dancing, it wasn’t paying well enough to support my life. Transparently, there were many factors for this. I danced during the era when there were few opportunities for black dancers, and I didn’t have the financial or familial support to risk living an entire artistic life. After many years of giving and working in the NGO field, I fully integrated into a career in the non-profit sector. I spent over 20 years at the intersections of art, policy, social change, and health. While I felt my work served the world, I wanted out of my career. I didn’t find joy in my day to day. I was overworked, under-resourced for what I did, over-stretched, and approaching burnout. Yet, I didn’t see a way out. I falsely didn’t think I had any value in any other roles. Those around me seemed to look at me as if I was making it. I could hire people I believed in, support friends’ businesses, and meet my bills. I was classically upper-middle management, heading to promotion to senior management. Yet, my health started to fail; I was depressed and felt trapped in a cycle of 14-16-hour days. There were days I could not get out of bed and was prescribed several medications to manage my health and life. My life was imploding. I lost my job, house, and many friends. I was lost.

Solunis Nicole, 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?

After not knowing what I would do next and knowing NGO was not where I wanted to be, I deepened my journaling and meditation practice. I asked myself many questions, like “What do you actually want? What does joy look like? Where do you want to be?” These were not easy questions to answer but opened me up to applying to work in different “non-traditional” fields. One of the roles I looked at was with a Somatic coaching and training company. As a former dancer, I welcomed the awakening of other parts of my identity. It was this role that increased my energy for more self-inquiry. I began this role in the role of enrollment. But what quickly followed was my work as a practitioner. My years of training and practice in Somatics were the perfect ground for what was to be my awakening to the power of working with plant medicine, creativity, integration, and social/emotional impacts on our lives- both professionally and personally. I am most proud that my clients, from CEOs/MDs to changemakers and culture-shifters, all report better quality of life and better relationships with others, from staff to personal relationships. What most gives me joy is their relationship with themselves. Their ability to break the disillusion of imposture syndrome and other lack beliefs that impact their success and dreams. This work led to the founding of Wild Indigo.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My business partners for Wild Indigo came quickly. We were all dreaming the same dream. We want to do business differently. We were committed to creativity, regenerative cycles, DEIB principles, and leading the world of our business with an eye to donut economics (never extracting more than what the planet and our team could hold). As a founder, I wanted people who were “called” to this work. I sought to partner with those who embodied transcending values and had the genus of making it profitable. Within a few conversations, we were a team of 5. My partners and I discussed life, values, and work.

There is a quote that speaks to you: You know the truth when you hear the truth. My team is the truth!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The person who inspires me most is Rev. Dr. Micheal Beckwith, the Founder of Agape Spiritual Center. His podcasts and classes help me have expansive thinking growth. I am constantly challenging myself on blocks to my work and business. The second resource is the book “The Calling: The Fundamentals of Staying True, Doing Good and Get Paid” by Rha Goddess. These two resources keep me grounded and visionary at the same time.

Contact Info:

• Website: wearewildindigo.com
• Instagram: Personal: SolunisNicoleBay / Business: Wild_Indigo_Spirit
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/solunisnicolebayadams/

Image Credits
@damanycampbell