We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffany Rufino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tiffany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
In my soon-to-be 45 years on this Earth, I’ve learned that if you are not taking the risks you were meant to take, the Universe puts you at risk. Whenever I debated leaving a “secure” job role with a corporation, I seemed to get rear-ended to the point where I could no longer get to the “said” job. This time, I had only myself to risk.
After the shutdown, I heard many stories about businesses not being able to reopen, entrepreneurs having to go back to a 9-5 pm job, and other stories of fear. Fear of going to do something mundane. Fear of not being able to make it in this world by doing their passion. Fear of not having a safety net. I had those same fears but chose to ignore them and continued working in management. After I was slammed into on i95 one Saturday night heading home, by a car going over 100mph, I took the Universe’s advice and went to work from home by doing my own thing. I started working on my own, with the collaboration of my husband and support from my family. One of my goals was to do a motivational talk for a popular Speaking Company you may have heard of. However, at the time, there was so much red tape on hosting a conference with their name attached. (Understandably so!) Instead, I decided to create my own conference. I told my husband in August of 2022 what my plan was. I wanted vendors that supported businesses starting out. I also wanted vendors that were just starting and offered services to businesses. I also wanted speakers who could share stories of how they took risks or who could provide industry tips and services. I would MC the event. I wanted to empower the audience to understand they were already GREAT, and here are the possibilities if you want to go GREATER.
By October of 2022, I had the venue, 4 speakers, and 10 vendors including a major sponsorship from Verizon. I offered the conference for free to attendees, and $20 per vendor just to help cover venue costs. January of 2023 was my first conference. Not many people showed, but the ones who did impacted my life most positively.
From there I was introduced to various networking groups, amazing women entrepreneurs, and opportunities to gain clients, hold seminars, collaborate, rebrand, and build…I was taking myself from Great to Greater! By September 2023 I started Womens V.O.I.C.E.S which is a public speaking course for women, where they showcase their personal story at the end of 10 weeks.
I have since held 4 Womens V.O.I.C.E.S showcases, with the most recent one sold out and held in August 2024. In between that time, I have been a speaker for Brand names and groups across the U.S. I took a risk on myself, my skill set, and what I wanted to do which was empower people. I still get excited about speaking in front of groups and organizations, or getting hired to be an Executive Organizational Psychologist, while helping people remember or realize, their purpose and what they bring to the table.
Tiffany, 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?
I’m thrilled to share a bit about my journey and what we do at The Tiffany Rufino Agency. My path into this field has been anything but ordinary. I started selling artwork from coloring books at the age of 6, on my front lawn in New York. (I always had an entrepreneurial spirit!) I worked during High School- literally during schools hours, I was an admin during free periods for my favorite teachers and during the weekends I worked at a Bagel Shop. Gradually I moved into retail and beauty, logistics and vendor compliance along with stints on the radio and also in the music industry. I was always in a leadership roles or in a new role that was being created with me setting the tone and creating the “mold”.
Later, I moved into corporate business development trainer for an organization, which gave me a unique perspective on how businesses tick. This diverse background, coupled with my passion for inspiring others, led me to pursue a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, after receiving my BAS in Business and Organizational Leadership and a Certificate from Yale in Psychology.
The Tiffany Rufino Agency offers a mix of services like executive coaching, change management, marketing and branding, strategic business planning, human resources solutions, and more. One of our standout offerings is one-on-one services for Public Speaking/Communication/scripting (mentoring for individuals who have upcoming events or ongoing roles). We also offer Women’s V.O.I.C.E.S., a 10-week course where we help women find and amplify their voices in public speaking and leadership.
So, what makes us different? We blend business savvy, 25+ years of corporate experience, and creative solutions with certified techniques like NLP and CBT to craft plans that are not just effective but also personal while unique. We’re all about boosting self-esteem and professional skills, helping our clients tackle challenges and hit their goals.
For small businesses, we understand the hurdles of limited resources and the need for strategic growth. We provide tailored solutions that help these businesses streamline operations, enhance brand visibility, and develop robust leadership skills. Our strategic business planning ensures that small businesses can scale efficiently and sustainably.
For large organizations, the challenges often lie in managing complex structures and driving change. We excel at implementing change management strategies that align with organizational goals and culture. Our executive coaching is designed to enhance leadership capabilities, fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability.
I’m super proud of the impact we’ve made, whether it’s with small businesses or big corporations, as well as giving back to our community and organizations that we are passionate about helping. Our approach is all about being customized for specific needs and personalized to individuals, making sure everyone feels supported and ready to shine.
For those just discovering us, I want you to know that our work is fueled by a genuine commitment to helping people and organizations thrive. We believe in the power of initiative, passion, and a purpose-driven mindset, and we aim to bring these values into every interaction.
Whether you’re looking to elevate your career or your small business, we’re here to cheer you on and help you grow from great to greater.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
This has to be one of my favorite topics to discuss!
Managing a Team Advice: Hire individuals that you want to take your role. If you are taking over a team, work on everyone’s skillset to grow them into the role you have. Manage a crisis, but lead your team. Your team usually has the answers that you can’t find. They also have the answers to the questions they ask you, but they want validation. Empower them to make decisions and support their journey.
Maintaining High Morale Advice: When you do the above, maintaining high morale will follow. Four points I will add is: Stay transparent about why things are being done, let your team share their wins before YOU decide what you celebrate them for, have everyone share an opportunity they are challenged with, and let it be solved as a team. Finally, listen more than you speak.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I love to read and learn continuously. I will say that you can overdo it with new theories or trends that you may read about, so digest and implement strategically.
Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” came into my life at the right place and time. It changed communication with my team and empowered them further to decide what actions and steps they wanted to take while looking at what the potential outcomes could be. It enhanced communication, planning, and strategy and ended up being taken on by the organization as a whole when the results were successful.
Chris Voss’ “Never Split the Difference” elevated my teams after a few years of Start with Why, because he challenges asking Why. It could get redundant or feel like parenting. Open-ended questions elevated the root cause of decision-making.
Evy Poumpouras on BBC Maestro provides “The Art of Influence Masterclass” that you can watch. I can go on forever with suggestions at this point….but these have been pivotal for me at different points. Think about what your team needs all around, what tools you need to provide that and look for forward thinking ideas to bring it together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tiffanyrufino.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffrufino
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiffrufino
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyrufino
Image Credits
Michael Lopez Photography