We recently connected with Tiffany “Tiffani Michele” Walter and have shared our conversation below.
Tiffany “Tiffani Michele” , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
At times in life, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut—we find ourselves in a situation or environment that is no longer serving us, but we are too comfortable to change it. We think that making changes will mean taking risks, and we don’t want to risk failure. But what if instead of feeling scared of the unknown, we embraced change as an opportunity for growth? That’s what I did… I recently took a leap of faith, moving from Savannah my beloved home and relocated to Metro Atlanta.
The first step towards embracing this change was me understanding that I have the power to choose my own destiny. I am not stuck with whatever environment I find yourself in—I always have the option to explore other options and make a different choice. Whether it’s changing jobs, moving cities or even just starting a new hobby, taking risks on changing your environment gives you back control over your life and allows you to take charge of your future.
My decision to take this risk in my life opened me up to new opportunities. Not only did I meet new people, but it opened up my opportunities to be casted in film, which is a new career path for me. In my former interview with you all, I spoke about my music career and only briefly mentioned my being casted in the film, Out On A Lim (which is now out on Tubi). Taking risks lead to experiences that I would have never had before if I had decided to stay where I was. It takes courage and strength to make changes, but ultimately they will pay off if done correctly.
Making this change also helped to boost my confidence and self-worth by reminding myself that I have worth and value—and that whatever decisions I make will be respected by those around me. It can often be difficult to break away from our comfort zone because we are scared of being judged or viewed negatively by others, but when we take risks on changing our environment it shows us just how strong and capable we really are. This newfound sense of self-empowerment can open up many doors for us, both professionally and personally. Having the confidence that comes from successfully taking a risk does wonders for self-esteem and puts us in a much better mental state for other challenges that we may face in the future.
Stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking risks on changing my environment helped me grow as an individual. It pushed me out of our comfort zone and forced me to learn new skills which helped expand my knowledge base and equip me with tools for success in whatever path I choose next. It also helped me build resilience and courage which will positively position me throughout my life as I face more challenges down the line. When faced with unfamiliar situations, people often learn more about themselves as well as different strategies for dealing with them effectively. This is especially true when moving into an entirely new environment altogether like I did; not only did I gain experience from the situation itself but also from adapting quickly and finding ways around obstacles I faced during my transition period.
I had lived in Savannah all of my life, with the exception of going away from college. So this transition was challenging, but well worth the choice.
Tiffany “Tiffani Michele” , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am Tiffany Walter, also known as Tiffani Michele. I am a recording artist, writer, inspirational speaker, brand ambassador, certified life coach and actress. I am a Georgia native who discovered my passion for singing at a very young age. Raised by my mother, Gloria Richardson and grandparents, it was around the age of four years old that I learned that I had a “voice”. I get my vocal abilities honestly. Most of my family has some sort of musical talent, either singing, playing music, or dancing. My great-grandfather, Mr. William Simon Glover, was renowned for singing Negro Spirituals at First African Baptist Church and even sang in Carnegie Hall. He was depicted in the book/movie Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil: A Savannah Story as the old man in Forsyth Park, walking the invisible dog Patrick, singing for tourists.
I was educated in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System and upon the completion of my primary and secondary education, I attended Mercer University, a private Baptist college in Macon, GA. I went on to receive double Master’s degrees in both Education and Religious Leadership. I currently serve as the Director of Admissions at our local technical college.
I have been blessed to be able to sing background vocals and be featured on a number of musical projects throughout the trajectory of my musical career. But music is not all that I have been blessed to be able to do. I have been blessed to be a brand ambassador for several marketing campaigns, be a featured model for clothing lines, and have made a few cameos in film productions. My las film project recently hit the box office called “Out On A Lim”, (A Reel Rebel Films & Shot 4 Shot Imagery Production, released Summer 2022 and out on Tubi). I also just completed a leading role in a short film called “Cold Case” scheduled to be released next spring and have several other film projects in negotiation.
I recently launched my personal blog and podcast called, “The Truth of the Matter by Tiffani Michele” which features and shares my intimate thoughts and candid conversations about life. I tackle thoughts about relationships, self-worth, loss, etc. I have served as an inspirational speaker and advocate for self-care for girls and women. I am an advocate for serving my community and an active member in several civic and fraternal organizations such as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc and Order of the Eastern Star, Prince Hall Affiliated.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
My social media audience was primarily built on family, friends, coworkers, and former classmates. That would be considered your core group or what I’d call your Tier One group. Your Tier Two Group are those people who you connect with based on your industry or as you go out an network with people. Any time you meet someone, it should be standard to introduce yourself and your business and ten ask if they are active on any social media platforms. Have them follow or send a friend request to your pages. The next Tier are those who follow, lie, subscribe, share, etc. based on your content, This group is important because these individuals only know you through your interactions on social media. So your relevance to this group will be contingent on what you put out.
I would encourage you to share relevant content to your business and craft often. This keeps people engaged and wanting more from you. If it is difficult for you to post often and regularly, you may need to invest in social media marketing specialist or engagement companies that can help manage this for you. I also encourage you to find your local college marketing student to help you do this at a reasonable cost.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is that, “I can do everything myself”. Being a creative and being an entrepreneur, you want be able to control your own narrative and be able to facilitate and orchestrate ever aspect of your success. But in all honesty, it’s impossible to do everything on your own. You have to be willing to identify those individuals that you trust to help you during process and empower them to work within their expertise. It’s practically a guarantee that if you try handling everything on your own, something will go lacking and you will have missed opportunities. Pray about it, step out on faith, and trust the process to your success. Invest in yourself! Because if you aren’t willing to put money into you, then why should anyone else?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iamtiffanimichele.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamtiffanimichele/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamTiffaniMichele
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-walter-m-ed-mar-rep-83013621/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamtiffmichele?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1597971217104920579%7Ctwgr%5E60358ca09ff63b76548fbbf9a5859f1953a606c7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flinktr.ee%2Fiamtiffanimichele
- Other: https://linktr.ee/iamtiffanimichele
Image Credits
Movie Photo Credit, Shot 4 Shot Imagery Production