Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tracy Yates. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tracy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Risk goes hand in hand with entrepreneurship. It’s a natural part of building a thriving business. Growth, whether it’s business or personal, stems from saying yes, even if it’s not perfect, you don’t feel completely ready or the outcome is uncertain. And, as a serial founder who’s built three thriving companies, I’ve learned how to lean into risk without the fear of failing or it not working out.
Yet, the biggest risk I took was leaving my multi million dollar agency that served the world’s leading brands that I bootstrapped from the ground up to do the work I do now, as a transformational guide to other founders, entrepreneurs and leaders. A decision that wasn’t based on scalability, profit potential or even market trends, but through the impact I could make with my unique genius and what brought me the most fulfillment.
It wasn’t only a business decision, but a life changing choice to build a completely new model and wholistic style of mentoring, that guides leaders back to themselves to reveal their dormant superpowers and go beyond what they currently believe is possible for themselves and their business. The work I do is at the apex of personal transformation, business expansion and unlocking your fullest potential.
This decision wasn’t easy. It required courage and conviction with a huge helping of self trust. It took me on a journey of deep self discovery and through the training of neuroscience to shamanism, energy psychology to trauma, and the mind, body, spirit connection that drives how we think, feel and the actions we take, or don’t. I then weaved in my decades of marketing and strategy expertise with growing businesses with my deep transformational toolkit, which took time, dedication and mastery of my craft.
In the end, I came out on the other side with a highly curated, proven methodology that has helped hundreds of leaders and entrepreneurs discover their dormant superpowers, unleash their grandest vision and create more impact, prosperity, and growth for themselves and others through their business. I’ve been featured on popular podcasts, in the press and am writing a book, which will be published in 2023, which is igniting more positive change in the world.
I wouldn’t change anything, except that I could have done this sooner.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’ve been an entrepreneur for over two decades, which feels like a life time! I founded three thriving businesses, one of which was a multi-million dollar marketing agency supporting the world’s leading brands like Google, Disney, Amazon, and Visa. I’m an award winning marketer, strategist and transformational guide to founders and established entrepreneurs who reach unprecedented new heights in business, personal achievements and within themselves.
Entrepreneurship and my belief that anything is possible is in my DNA. My father founded several businesses and my mom was a COO of a technology company back in the 90’s before the big tech boom. And it’s through my upbringing and my own experiences as a serial founder that I built resilience, expertise and an insatiable curiosity for growth.
My clients are also high achievers, yet no longer align with the ‘hustle at all costs’ culture. They’ve plateaued in their income or have a nagging feeling there’s a greater version of themselves that hasn’t yet emerged. It’s their desire for more meaning, do what they love and operate at the highest level without sacrificing themselves or what matters to them most.
And it’s through the work we do together that they go beyond what they believe is currently possible, elevate their performance and attain new heights of success with aliveness in their being. As a transformational guide my approach is different from traditional talk-style coaching. Rather than focusing on cognitive processing to build better thinking and behaviors, my approach is wholistic and bottom up. While there’s nothing wrong with traditional coaching, I’ve found rapid, sustainable growth without falling back into old patterns that keep us stuck and unable to access our highest potential comes from a blend of deep inner work, elevating how we see ourselves and unveiling new paths forward in all spheres of life. Which led me to create a proven methodology that amplifies my clients impact, prosperity, and leadership by offering their unique genius to the world.
By elevating the entirety of ourselves; mental, emotional, physical and energetic we move from managing our mind and the symptoms, to eliminating the inner critic, unproductive self-doubt and subconscious fears that slow us down and hold us back from next level results. It’s through this work and the integration of strategy, marketing and business expertise that unlocks unseen opportunities, vision and growth in business.
Nothing is more fun for me than celebrating the new business offerings, partnerships, opportunities, relationship growth, and revenue that my clients achieve through this work! And watch them create a ripple effect for those they inspire and lead.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Getting in front of potential clients and customers is the lifeblood of a business. Many entrepreneurs overlook one of the most important and potent marketing strategies, which is the level of service and results you provide. To stand out as a leader in your industry, it takes more than having a fantastic product or service, it’s facilitating a seamless experience that exceeds expectations.
My philosophy in all of my businesses is to put myself in my clients shoes. To tune into what they need beyond what they can articulate in the moment. And, if that means more time, more effort or going beyond what they expect from me, that’s what I do. My work is a highly curated approach which I not only deliver through a unique high touch brand experience, but I continuously work on my craft even though I’m an expert. I’m constantly balancing innovation, new levels of mastery with anticipating what my clients need next. It’s through this that I consistently deliver beyond my clients expectations so they reap extraordinary results. It’s this approach that I’ve created several thriving businesses that is largely built on referrals. It’s my belief that all businesses have an opportunity to serve their clients better, even if they are already doing a fantastic job. This thinking has served me well – and also helped many others.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
There’s a saying in leadership, you can only lead others as far as you’ve gone yourself.
In a time where work, how we do business to what teams truly value is evolving rapidly, it’s more important than ever for leaders to do the inner work, not only to enhance their own performance, but to lead their teams forward.
Some of the most common breakdowns in leadership are through communication; a response, reaction or interpretation of words and behaviors. All of which stem from the perception of ourselves, our unhealed triggers and our deep inner wounds. If inner growth isn’t prioritized by leaders, communication with teams, colleagues and even clients are impacted – and ultimately the business.
By leaders committing to their own inner growth, not only improves communication it fosters a healthier and more productive dynamic internally. Team members feel seen, heard and valued which in turn are more productive and innovative. They take on more ownership with a deeper level of commitment to the work, the company and their own performance. Leaders who’ve expanded themselves have more self awareness, empathy and emotional intelligence proven to not only be effective leadership skills, but the key to less turnover, higher sales and continued innovation.
The argument isn’t whether inner work is crucial to leadership and business success, but a question of time that this becomes a requirement. Which I believe is rapidly approaching.
Contact Info:
- Website: tracy-yates.com
- Instagram: iamtracyyates
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-yates
Image Credits
Photography: Lindsay Lohden