We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tammy Cohen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tammy, thanks for joining us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
When I first shared my story with Canvas Rebel over a year ago, I spoke about how I came up with my idea, which felt fitting at the time as I was stepping into new spaces and launching new projects.
Today, the question that resonates most deeply with me is: “What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?”
The reason I’m drawn to this topic now is because I’ve come to understand that kindness, along with love, gratitude, and appreciation, is the foundation on which we exist. In an upside-down world filled with anger and noise, acknowledging kindness feels more crucial than ever.
The truth is, there isn’t just one act of kindness that shaped me. It’s the many acts of kindness, both big and small, that have carried me through the seasons of my life. Over the years, mentors, friends, colleagues, and strangers have offered guidance, shared their wisdom, opened doors, and helped me see my own potential. Their generosity helped me grow into an entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, and the author of Text Messages to My Sons: A Guide to Using Mobile Devices to Connect and Communicate with Your Kids.
But the depth of kindness revealed itself to me in a profoundly different way this past year when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, I experienced compassion on a level I had never known before. Family, friends, colleagues, my community, my doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and even strangers showed up with daily acts of care, empathy, and love.
What was truly transformative wasn’t just receiving kindness; it was learning to ask for help and allowing myself to receive it. That shift changed me. It reminded me that kindness isn’t just something we give; it’s something we must also be open to accepting.
So, when I think about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, it isn’t one moment. It’s the collective power of kindness that has lifted me, guided me, and reminded me of what it means to be human.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve always described myself as a connector; someone who builds bridges between people, ideas, and opportunities. That thread has run through every chapter of my professional and personal journey.
For over two decades, I’ve led TC Brand Consulting, partnering with businesses in the gem and jewelry industry and beyond. My work is centered on helping brands uncover and articulate their mission, vision, and core values so they can communicate with clarity and authenticity. I guide clients through a deep, human-centered process to understand who their audience truly is, what they value, how they think, and what moves them. From there, we craft messaging that differentiates them from competitors, builds trust, and inspires connection. I also leverage my extensive networks to expand brand visibility and credibility, positioning clients to grow with purpose.
That same passion for connection inspired me to create spaces where women could thrive together. In 2020, I founded Women Beyond the Table, a vibrant virtual network and community designed to accelerate professional success and personal growth. What began as a way to bring women together has evolved into a powerful movement; a space where trailblazing women share insights, uplift one another, and build meaningful collaborations. Expanding on that mission, I launched the Women Beyond the Table Podcast, where I interview extraordinary women who share their stories of resilience, leadership, and impact. It’s a platform for amplifying voices that deserve to be heard.
One of the works I’m most proud of is my authorship. Writing my first book, the award-winning Text Messages to My Sons: Connecting Deeply in a World of Devices, helped me discover my larger mission: empowering parents to use the simple act of daily texting to express love, gratitude, accountability, resilience, wisdom, and inspiration — without expectation. This practice deepens connection and creates a consistent emotional anchor for our loved ones in a world that often tries to pull their attention elsewhere.
That mission grew with my expanded edition, Text Messages to My Sons: A Guide to Using Mobile Devices to Connect and Communicate with Your Kids. This book is about more than texting; it’s about being a steady, loving presence in someone’s digital world. When you send that message, whether to a child, partner, friend, or family member, you become a beacon of light and a safe space in a noisy world.
Beyond consulting and authorship, I’m also a speaker and media contributor. I speak on topics ranging from branding, leadership, and communication to parenting and human connection. My insights have been featured in podcasts and publications, and I bring warmth, humor, and actionable strategies to every stage and microphone I step onto.
I earned my BA from SUNY Albany and an MBA from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. I live in Manhattan with my husband and our three sons. Together, we also own Eighteen Restaurant, a beloved Upper East Side kosher dining spot where we welcome guests like family, creating a warm, communal space to connect over great food and conversation.
What sets my work apart is my unwavering commitment to human connection. Whether it’s guiding a business to find its voice, building a network for women to rise together, sending a text to deepen a bond, or welcoming someone to our restaurant, my mission is the same: to create meaningful, lasting connections that elevate lives and businesses.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
For me, resilience wasn’t something I learned in a single moment; it was forged through seasons of disruption and self-discovery.
I vividly remember the early days of the pandemic. When the world shut down, I felt completely adrift. For years, I had measured my value by how hard I worked, how many flights I caught, how late I stayed at the office, and how visible my contributions were. My worth was tied to productivity and external recognition. Suddenly, all of that was gone. Business slowed to a halt, travel disappeared, and my income was cut in half. I lost clients. And underneath that fear, I had to face a truth I hadn’t seen clearly before: I had built my identity on external validation. I was always “doing,” but rarely allowing myself to be.
Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise. With no distractions, I was forced to confront myself. My kids were grown up, and for the first time in a long time, I had space; the kind of quiet that demands reflection. I poured myself into mindset work, joined masterminds, took courses, and devoured the teachings of thought leaders. I worked with a life coach and a business coach, peeling back the layers of limiting beliefs, fear, and self-doubt.
That period transformed the way I saw myself. I realized I could take one small step at a time and build something entirely new. That’s when I began sending daily messages to my sons, sharing love, wisdom, and what I was learning. I founded Women Beyond the Table, launched a podcast, expanded my consulting work, and became an author. Those steps weren’t just professional milestones; they were signs of a woman rebuilding her foundation from the inside out.
Then came 2025, my personal pandemic. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The work I’d done on myself was no longer theoretical; it became my lifeline. I went through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation while going even deeper on a journey of healing, mentally, spiritually, and physically. I immersed myself in Positive Intelligence, mindfulness, meditation, and the practice of receiving help, something I had always resisted.
One day, in the middle of treatment, I had a powerful realization: every text message I’d sent my sons over the past five years was really a message to myself. Words of love, gratitude, resilience, and strength guided me home to my own heart. Through that connection, I deepened my faith in God and discovered a well of strength I didn’t know existed.
Even during the most challenging days of chemotherapy and radiation, I kept moving forward. I continued to podcast, built my personal brand, rebranded my website and media presence, and published my expanded book, Text Messages to My Sons: A Guide to Using Mobile Devices to Connect and Communicate with Your Kids.
Resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about choosing to rise, again and again, and allowing each rise to transform you. My journey has taught me that resilience grows strongest in the quiet, uncomfortable spaces where you finally face yourself and build a new kind of strength from within.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One thing I’ve learned is that people do business with people they like and trust. I’ve always had a natural ability to talk to anyone and make them feel comfortable. A dear friend once joked that I could start a conversation with a stranger in the supermarket over a cucumber– and it’s true. I genuinely enjoy connecting with people and learning who they are beyond their titles or roles.
What’s helped me build my reputation is that I never lead with a sale. I lead with curiosity. I want to understand what matters to someone, what drives them, and what they value. Over time, I’ve also learned to listen more deeply, not to judge, but to observe and understand. These qualities have allowed me to build meaningful, long-lasting relationships that naturally evolve into opportunities and collaborations.
Interestingly, the same energy that fuels my personal texts to my sons, the foundation for my book, “Text Messages to My Sons: A Guide to Using Mobile Devices to Connect and Communicate with Your Kids,” has also shaped how I communicate professionally. That intentional, thoughtful way of connecting ripples through my conversations with colleagues, clients, and my broader community.
At its heart, reputation is built on authenticity and consistency. I show up as myself. I deliver on my commitments. I make genuine connections. And I treat people the way I want to be treated. Over time, those small, consistent actions create trust, and trust is the strongest reputation builder there is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tammyjcohen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammyjcohen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cohen.773/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-j-cohen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-daCPxh4vZL8C9Z3pcX0w
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Text-Messages-My-Sons-Communicate/dp/196354918X/
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Image Credits
Gail Hadani Photographer
Broad Book Press Publishing
Book Thinkers ( Podcast image)