We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Burns. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Tiffany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Shortly after I started my financial wellness and debt-freedom journey, I started my fitness journey. I jumped right in with strength training, and I was so sore from lifting weights that I decided to try yoga to stretch. But I fell in love with practicing yoga and its philosophies.

In yoga, one of the main focuses is connecting your body and mind to the present. It’s a great way to increase self-awareness on and off the mat. It’s not about flawlessly executing a pose; it’s about settling into what your body is capable of at that moment and leaning into discomfort with your breath. And releasing comparisons, so you’re not competing with others in the room.

Your financial wellness is very similar; it’s about taking your finances one day at a time, being mindful of what’s happening at the moment, staying in the discomfort (for a lot of people I work with, that’s budgeting), and not worrying about perfection, but practicing a skill or discipline and allowing the progress to happen naturally and not trying to keep up with the joneses and comparing your finances to others.

The lotus flower is commonly used in yoga to symbolize a fresh start. It’s a beautiful flower that blooms clean despite the dark, murky waters it grows in. In the same way, your finances can have a fresh start regardless of your environment.

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

Like many people I meet or work with, I grew up in a home where financial education wasn’t explicitly taught, and as a result, I made many money mistakes in early adulthood. From maxing out credit cards, regularly overdrawing my bank account, almost having my car repossessed, cashing out my 401k anytime I switched jobs, and so much more.

I went into my marriage with what I describe as a toxic relationship with money, and my lack of money management skills led my husband and me into $91,000 of debt, which didn’t include a mortgage or student loans. I had what I call a “That’s So Raven” moment (IFYKY), but I saw two visions of what my life could look like. One vision I saw was financial stress, struggle, chaos, and a possible divorce. Other the other side, I saw vacations with my kids, paying for college and weddings, no debt, and comfortable retirement living. I saw peace.

That was the moment I decided I would choose to do things differently. I started learning about personal finance by studying some tried and true experts. I was able to change not only how I managed my money but also how I thought about my finances and how to use the money to build the life I saw in my vision.

I realized that there were still women who looked like me, who had similar upbringings, who still felt overwhelmed, anxious, frustrated, ashamed, guilty, and stressed about their finances so I created the Lotus Leagcy as a haven for those women to equip and empower them with the knowledge, strategies, and tools to develop sustainable lifestyles shifts to help them build their dream lives.

Since starting in 2020, The Lotus Legacy has served dozens of women through our coaching services, hundreds via our speaking services, and reached thousands via social media.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It’s probably cliche, but being yourself. Looking at my early content, I was trying to be what I thought people would expect from a Money Coach. I was stiff, the content was generic, and it felt forced and awkward. It took some time to get comfortable with creating video content, but now I talk like I’m talking to my friends.

Since getting comfortable with being me, I secured more coaching clients, but I’ve also been invited to record a money mindset course for a mindset app; I’ve spoken on stages and in other coaches’ communities because they see what I’m about through my content. They wouldn’t have gotten that if I hid behind pretty graphics or photos and did not allow my light and expertise to shine.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

My biggest lesson in business is that I had to learn that it’s MY business, and I can create it however I want.

Coming from being an employee and even in management roles, I always had someone above me to make big decisions, and I would do the work. So when I started my business, I was looking for people to tell me what to do, and that led me to a business that didn’t align with my life and was getting away from the original vision and mission.

It was challenging to cut out the noise and run my business my way because there is so much noise online, with so many successful people feeling like their way is the best way to grow a business. I made some investments that became important lessons about getting the proper support.

Because I’m very clear on what I want The Lotus Legacy to grow into, I can create all the processes, systems, and strategies that will get me there, and now I make sure anyone I work with can support me in with the “how” to reach my goals instead of me just doing what they say.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelotuslegacy.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelotuslegacy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LotusLegacyCoach
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelotuslegacy/

Image Credits
Danielle Flowers Photo