We were lucky to catch up with Tarsha Anderson-LaBoard recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tarsha, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
In most of my previous employment, I was an outstanding employee and almost always in management. I realized many moons ago, that while I had a great work ethic, I wanted to work for myself. I choose to walk away from the regular 9 to 5 world and I’m proud to say that it is one of the greatest decisions that I made. I’m happier as a business owner , because it gave me a chance to control my time when it was really needed in my life. My dad became ill, and I was able to spend time with him before he passed away and not have to worry about putting in a request for time off. A time or two, I thought about how it would be to have a regular job, because the pandemic lasted a little longer than expected , I had a daughter going off to college, and things slowed down a little so fear set in a tiny minute. The job market was so called getting better, but small businesses were closing down and business owners are my target audience. At this time, I had to remember the basics and know that they were still a lot of people that I could help and still needed me in order to make it through this shift. I also remembered the joys of not having a regular job, did the math and knew that all would be okay. Being a business owner isn’t always easy, but it is worth it tin my opinion.
Tarsha, 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?
From the age of 4-12 I was molested by my mother’s live-in boyfriend, later turned husband. I felt that he was there so my mother could have financial support. I took care of my siblings and had to learn financial responsibility early because my mother spent most of her time away from home. I eventually met my boyfriend at age 13, was pregnant at 15 with my first child, and living on my own at the age of 17. Even though I was out of my mother’s house I still carried a mixture of emotions and I was determined not to have to depend on a man who was abusive to myself or my children. I was going to be financially independent at all costs and I would break the cycle of poverty in my family. In my late teens, I worked two jobs and then a friend suggested I become a tax preparer, that was almost 20 years ago. From there I went on to officially open Bawse Thangz Consulting, a business consulting company focused on helping women and men learn financial literacy and strengthen their economic situation through entrepreneurship and stop the cycle of poverty and abuse. Bawse Thangz offer business guidance in business & non-profit startup, building a strong business foundation in order to obtain funding and contracts, staying tax compliant, and maintaining a profitable business. Through the years, I encouraged my tax clients to put themselves in a better financial position through obtaining more profitable employment or welcoming the journey of entrepreneurship. Being in a better financial place, will relieve some of the stressors that families feel and the decisions that are made, especially for women. It also gives the family options and not just accept what is thrown their way. During the height of the pandemic, I witnessed families not have the ability to be able to stay home with their children, lose income with the job market being shaky, and entrepreneurs being denied for resources. I set out with a passion to educate individuals even more on becoming financially stable, develop a healthy relationship with money, and not just open but maintain a profitable business. I’m proud to refer to anyone that I meet as a “client cousin”, since we build a bond by closely working together. Finances can be a difficult topic to tackle and I strive to make it easy as possible to communicate stress free. I pride myself in taking the time to get to know the individual more than their business, because they have to thrive in order for the business to grow. I believe that mindset is the number one giant to tackle in order to make progress, and then teaching the process helps with understanding and comfortability.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Starting in 2019, I was faced with some severe health challenges that made it difficult to function in everyday life. I knew that I had a team of people and clients that needed me and I was determined not to let it get in the way of fulfilling my purpose. Of course, I pushed through and stayed in the game as long as I could and never once let anyone know that I was dealing with these issues until it came time to get them resolved. I have dealt with so much already in life and bounced back, that I truly knew that I could withstand this challenge. During my healing journey and things were looking up here comes mid 2020 and all that it dragged in with it and again was being faces with another health challenge. Fortunately, I was overcome from that as well and I am dedicated to remaining diligently to keep health risks at bay. When you are faced with challenges, you have to dig deep and find that inner strength and power that will drive you to the end goal
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Being realistic, dependable, and trustworthy is a game changer for my reputation. I am honest with everyone and do my best to listen and understand what is going on. I’m a great listener and people need to be heard in order to be understood. I realized a long time ago that when people are comfortable it is easier to establish a relationship. I believe in building relationships with anyone that contacts me, and it isn’t just a transaction. There were times when I felt like I have someone’s life in my hands and actually I do have their livelihood in my care. The world trusts me to give them financial guidance and that is a huge deal. I’m the business coach that remembers events and try to make it every one that I’m invited to, I’ve watched my clients families grow over the years and been there with them through the not so great events also. I can gladly attest and appreciate the fact that my clients have also been there for me over the years and consider each other family. I’m known to be direct, however I truly care about everyone and we will get the work done to reach your goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bawsethangz.com
- Instagram: www.instagram,com/bawsethangz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083345826695
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bawsethangz
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bawse-thangz-consulting-north-charleston
- Other: https://booksy.com/en-us/718258_bawse-thangz-consulting-llc_other_134778_charleston