Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wendy Cole. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Wendy, thanks for joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

I’m Wendy Cole, a transition mentor specializing in guiding individuals through major life changes. With a focus on self-acceptance and personal growth, I assist my clients in overcoming fears and doubts to achieve their goals. My expertise ranges from supporting transgender individuals in their transitions, parents of transgender, to empowering women entrepreneurs to conquer imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Having personally navigated many significant transitions over my lifetime, including my own gender transition, I bring a unique perspective and proven strategies to help others thrive.

One of my clients came to her first session with me and couldn’t initially even look at the webcam on zoom. She said, “I’m scared, tired of living a lie and have no clue what I am doing”. I responded with a smile, “Great! That’s why you are here. Let’s get to work”. Most people I help are stuck, unable to move forward. Through my own experiences, I’ve learned it’s all about our thoughts and emotions that combine and form our beliefs. She knew what she needed to do. But her mind and beliefs were stopping her. I believe life is about possibilities and our beliefs stop us from achieving them or even mask them from our vision.

Six sessions later, she had completed her legal name change and new driver’s license as herself and began living full time. We went through ten more sessions working on behaviors and mannerisms where I guided her through deconstructing the male socialization and learning more feminine ways.

Early on, she told me she didn’t think she’d ever have surgery and I just smiled and said, “We’ll see”. We finished and stayed in touch. She contacted me a couple of months later saying, “I have a surgery date. You’ve been with me from the beginning, and I want you with me”. We worked out the details and I was with her. I transitioned in six months and had surgery at a year and a half. She did it in eleven months.

It’s all about the power of the human mind, beliefs and our energy. Typically, the community believes transition is difficult and takes a long time. I say, if that’s what you believe, then it will be. In 2023 I began being a podcast interview guest to humanize being born transgender for the rest of society, while helping people in transition and parents of transgender.

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

I truly believe the universe guided me onto this path in 2015 for a meaningful purpose and it has become my life’s mission. My commitment is to openly and authentically share my story in order to touch people’s hearts and minds and promote positive change in how others perceive and understand transgender individuals like me. And to help others see the possibilities and joy of living authentically.

From an early age, I knew in my heart that I was a girl, but after telling my parents at age ten I struggled to conform to the expectations of my family and society. I had been threatened with being committed and fixed. I found in 2015, my diagnosis had changed in 2012. It’s now how I was born, and is now treatable by hormone therapy, psychological therapy and any necessary surgeries. At the age of 67 I found the courage to embrace my true self and undergo my life-changing transition. In doing so, I embarked on a personal journey of self-acceptance, shedding the fears, doubts, and anxieties that had held me back for so long. Within just six months, I was able to start living as my authentic self. For the first time in my life, I truly found self-love. This is what I want for my clients.

Today, I draw on my own experiences and studies to mentor and coach others through their own major life transitions. I guide my clients in making profound changes to their lives and health and finding happiness in being true to themselves. I help them shift their beliefs, get unstuck and able to do what they need to do.

My passion for coaching stems from a place of deep empathy. I understand the challenges my clients face, having overcome similar obstacles in my own life. I know that having someone who has walked the same path can make all the difference in navigating significant life changes. My focus is always on my clients’ future, helping them realize that while change may seem intimidating at first, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. I encourage my clients to embrace the journey, have fun and revel in the joy of living a life that resonates with their true selves.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I made a decision in 2023 to step into the spotlight and share my life journey with audiences. My goal is to paint a real picture of what it means to be born and live as a transgender person, especially considering all the misinformation out there from politicians and certain religious figures. By sharing my experiences and insights, I hope to open minds, change perspectives. And hope to show others the beauty and possibilities of living authentically.

So, I hired an agency to represent me and promote my business to podcast hosts. I began being a guest interviewed by podcast hosts. It has been a learning experience for me. My networking opportunities have escalated providing new opportunities outside social media to reach new audiences. I’ve been invited to submit articles. It has provided a wealth of content both in transcripts and video, which I am using to write two books and produce far more video clips and shorts for social. And I was told before I began, by an agency client who is a therapist, the personal and professional growth from this experience is profound. It has been worth every dollar I have invested in myself.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

At age twenty-two, I tried to transition male to female. With the help of a psychiatrist who was willing to help me, I began. For a couple of months, things were moving forward slowly. My doc took me to a quarterly meeting of about twenty area psychiatrists, as a case study patient. As I began speaking, one of the docs stood, saying see you all next quarter. He looked at me saying, “you’re a freak and should move to NYC and turn tricks like the rest of them. That ended the meeting.

I found out at my next appointment, I was born with a psychological condition with no treatment and no cure. That ended my transition I began a life of shame, fear, guilt and repression. From age ten, I had been told once I had a career, wife, house and family, I’d forget about being a girl. I had tried everything else I could think of, so I figured what the hell.

I began a career in computers, which fascinated me. I could immerse myself in technology as an escape and have a career. I did marry reluctantly and had the house and family. Four years in, the stress was formattable. I told my wife. She said we would stay together as long as I didn’t do anything about it. I repressed for decades, living much of the time very miserable, but what else was I going to do. Much of that time, I could be arrested, fined and even jailed for appearing in public as a female assigned male at birth.

My tech career saved my life. Yes, I thought of ending it all. I was very good at my jobs and career in tech. I immersed myself in the digital world and even considered them to be “silicon lifeforms”. I pivoted my career from being an employee of a major computer manufacturer, to a contract consultant designing and developing global web-based applications for corporations. I loved being contract and not an employee.

When I retired, I began an in-home computer and tech service business with around one hundred and twenty clients. It wasn’t the same challenge requiring the same level of immersing myself. The feeling of being a woman never left. It had been with me for my entire life. My ability to control it was slipping.

After decades of resilience, I was finally ready to end it all. I had never looked to see if anything had changed. Before doing anything, I looked. and found forty plus years later in 2012 my diagnosis had changed. I saw possibilities. I immediately told my wife and began therapy in January 2015. I had no idea where it would lead this time, but I knew I couldn’t go on as I was. I didn’t know if I would finally like living as a woman or if it was even possible for me. But I began moving forward with a wonderful therapist and I was figuring out how to change my thoughts to be more supportive.

March 4th, I began hormone replacement therapy. that was the step that triggered divorce. By June I couldn’t have been more excited. In July, I left home and moved into my first apartment, emerging as Wendy. August 2017, I had the surgery I dreamed of at NYU Medical Center with Dr Rachel Bluebond. I volunteered at NYU helping other girls, which was my inspiration to begin coaching and helping others.

I have no regrets and only look forward and I am not done living yet!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://meetwendycole.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wcole212/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326
• Other: https://wendycolegtm.net

  My main website.