Introducing our PWP feature of this week: Tina Hines. Tina is an inspiring life coach and president of For My Sister Friends™. For My Sister Friends™ inspires women to seek an understanding of the deeper meaning of their life as they journey towards inner peace, wholeness and balance. Tina has gone from blog writer, book club facilitator, to lifestyle coach in the last few years and has inspired many women with her one-on-one and group sessions. Tina’s passion for the well-being of women exudes in all that she does. One of Tina’s favorite quotes is “When you feel good on the inside it exudes on the outside (no make-up required)”. I hope you are as inspired by her story as I was. Enjoy!
1. Tell me your story. What were you doing before you started your own business?
Actually, I am a busy woman because in addition to being a lifestyle coach, I manage the executive office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted solely to the public health. My professional career began at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies where I spent 18 years in various high level administrative roles. After departing J&J, I was the executive/personal assistant to the chairman and publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine. These positions provided me with an opportunity to enhance my knowledge in various areas, interact with individuals from across the world and provided me with the stepping stone to take a leap of faith and make an investment in my passion.
2. What made you want to start a business and what is your mission?
Although I no longer worked for Johnson & Johnson, I often would reconnect with prior supervisors. It was during a lunch when my first boss from 1986 told me that he could see me running a business that groomed administrative assistants. I tossed around the idea and although I loved my role as an administrative professional, somehow I knew my calling was a little different, something bigger.
In 2008, I launched a blog about my experiences with products, businesses, and activities I sampled and used the creative space to provide words of encouragement for women. A year later, I formed a book club where more times than not, the topic of discussion transitioned from the book of the month to the challenges women face as they wear many hats in their professional and personal lives.
Fast forward to 2011; the same group of women (with a few additions) came together for a meeting in my home to discuss finding their passion. As each person shared their desire to find or enhance their passion or make changes in their life, I shared with the group my desire to identify my purpose in life. It was a friend who declared that I should become a motivational speaker or coach of some sort because I was always inspiring them. When I allowed the ladies to take a peek at my journal that is exactly what I had written. It was at that moment that For My Sister FriendsTM emerged. This is my bigger calling.
My mission is to assist women (through one-on-one and group sessions) in reconnecting with their inner self and making a transformation. Women do so much for others and often reach a place there they have become drained and don’t have anything left for themselves. They are forgetting to take a little ‘me time’ and rejuvenate.
Between M.A.C., Mary Kay and Clinique, women are able to mask a lot on the outside, but inside is something different. There is no make-up to cover-up the emotions they are feeling on the inside. That is why I encourage women to work towards reconnecting with their happy self. One of my favorite quotes, “When you feel good on the inside it exudes on the outside (no make-up required).” I created the quote after a colleague told me I was glowing and then declared it must be attributed to the man in my life. They were quickly corrected by using the quote and I consistently share it with women during my workshops.
3. What inspires you? What keeps you motivated daily to keep growing your business?
I am inspired when I see sister friends uplifting one another. We all are on a journey and though we may have traveled different roads, there is a chance we share some of the same bruises.
I have a childhood friend who often tells me that my heart is in the right place but I cannot fix everyone; and I know she is correct. However, when I entered this business it was never my mission to fix anyone. My mission was to provide them with a listening ear, a little food for thought and have them fix themselves. When I receive an email, text or phone call from a client and they share what they have implemented to make a transformation in their life; that is what motivates me to continue growing my business.
4. Do you have a mentor? Who is it and why? Do you believe it's important to have one?
I have several mentors from a variety of professions. Each of them provides me with food for thought that challenges me in a various ways. For instance, there was a very brief moment when I challenged myself about my passion of helping other women get to their happy, healthy place. The challenge was that there were so many coaches what did I have to offer? In addition, I didn’t want to coach women to do something for themselves; they needed to be inspired to make a transformation for themselves. My mentor sternly said, “Yes, there are a lot of coaches but there is only one Tina C. Hines inspiring women with her words of wisdom.”
Having a mentor is important and valuable resource. As your ideas may be scribbled notes on a pad, a mentor can assist you in putting them in perspective. They have the wisdom, knowledge, and experience to guide you towards the greatest that is within. Regardless of where I have been in my career, there has always been a mentor on speed dial.
5. What would you tell someone who wants to get involved in your line of business but doesn't know how to get started?
This is a tough question. For me, being a lifestyle coach was derived from my career of choice, past experiences and the people I surrounded myself with throughout my life. It was a passion that lay dormant; slowly this passion began to reveal itself in many facets of my life and is now my purpose.
However, I would encourage them to connect with other coaches to obtain a clear understanding of the roles of various coaches and then identify their niche. Participate in coaching sessions as a client to see first-hand the techniques that are used to achieve the results the client is seeking. Finally, read, read, read; and when you are done reading, read some more. Knowledge is power and having book knowledge coupled with your University of Life knowledge is important.
6. What advice would you give to someone with an entrepreneurial spirit?
If someone has an entrepreneurial spirit, they should be encouraged to do everything in their power to feed that spirit. Feed it with the wisdom of those who have taken this journey; feed it with the knowledge of a good mentor; and feed it with dedication. Most importantly, they should remember this is their journey not their friends or family members. It is their time so take it, hold on tight and get ready for an interesting ride.
I want to thank Tina for stepping up to the challenge and taking time to "brag" about herself. You can visit Tina’s website at www.formysisterfriends.org and contact her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ForMySisterFriends.
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Be someone’s motivation and tell us your story! To be featured on PeopleWhoProsper.com email Tamara@garrisonprosperitysolutions.com. Put PEOPLEWHOPROSPER in the subject line and share a little about yourself.
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