July 1, 2025 • 30 mins
What happens when your personal story becomes the heartbeat of your business? In this episode, Beverly chats with Tara Jenkins, board-certified music therapist and founder of Harmony in Dementia, about building a business that’s as healing for the entrepreneur as it is for the clients they serve. From the power of music in dementia care to managing chronic health challenges while running a solo practice, Tara’s story is an inspiring look at how to lead with passion, adaptability, and purpose, especially when life gets messy.
Three Key Topics Discussed:
- The Healing Power of Music in Dementia Care: Tara explains how music bypasses damaged neural pathways and fosters connection for those living with dementia, often unlocking emotional responses and memories when words no longer work.
- Building a Purpose-Led Business in the Messy Middle: From a toxic workplace to starting her own practice, Tara shares how personal challenges shaped her entrepreneurial path and gave her the clarity to serve others with intention.
- How Transparency and Boundaries Fuel Confidence: We discuss what it really looks like to manage chronic health issues as a solo entrepreneur and how being honest with clients builds deeper trust and sustainability.
Follow Tara:
Tara Jenkins | LinkedIn
Harmony in Dementia | Facebook
Harmony in Dementia | Instagram
Harmony in Dementia | TikTok
Harmony in Dementia | Website
P.S. Take the first step (will only take you 3 minutes) to awaken your brand magic with our personalized Brand Clarity Quiz
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beverly (00:00):
Did you know that music therapy has been shown to reduce
agitation and improvecommunication for people with
dementia?
It's a powerful tool, and todaywe are going to dive deep into
how it can transform the livesof those who are aging and
living with dementia.
I'm your host Beverly Cornell,and I'm the founder and fairy
godmother of brand Clarity atWickedly branded.
(00:22):
With over 25 years ofexperience, I've helped hundreds
of purpose driven entrepreneursawaken their brand magic and
boldly bring it to life so thatthey can magnify their special
impact on the world.
Today's guest is someone who'sbringing incredible
transformation to the dementiacare space.
Tara Jenkins is the founder ofHarmony in Dementia.
(00:45):
Tara is a board certified musictherapist and dementia care
specialist.
She's worked in the field since2007, providing music therapy
services, consultation, andtraining for older adults,
caregivers and professionals.
Tara, I'm super excited thatyou're here.
Thank you for coming.
Tara (01:03):
Yeah, you're so welcome.
I'm excited to be here as well.
Beverly (01:06):
I reached out to you on LinkedIn'cause I thought you had
such a unique niche, like howyou serve and what you do.
What started your journey?
What was the spark that helpedyou create Harmony in dementia?
Tara (01:18):
I had a grandmother who lived in a nursing home, and I
always felt like there was a wayto connect and reach her, but I
didn't really know how.
So I started exploring whattypes of careers I could have in
music.
I didn't wanna really teach, Ididn't wanna perform full-time,
so I knew what I didn't want.
Okay.
Okay.
And I started researching musictherapy and, I came upon music
(01:40):
therapy, started reading aboutit, auditioned and explored a
couple different schools.
And I ended up at ShenandoahUniversity.
So that's how my music therapyjourney started.
And for music therapists, forboard certified music
therapists, we have four yearsof coursework.
It's followed by a six monthinternship, and that is about
1200 hours of clinical training.
(02:01):
Working with different peopleand different groups.
And then you sit for a boardexam after the six month
internship.
So that's where you get thecredential.
MTBC.
Okay.
For music therapist boardcertified.
So in those 1200 clinical hours,my first practicum, which is
basically like a rotation inother professions was with older
adults.
It was in a nursing home andfull circle.
(02:23):
I did my internship at that samelocation.
Oh.
So four years later I did my sixmonth internship there providing
group and individual musictherapy services.
And I knew from that firstpracticum that I felt this deep
connection with older adults,with older people, with people
living with dementia andcognitive impairment, and I
(02:43):
never look back.
So that's what started mycuriosity and my interest in
working in kind of the aging anddementia space.
I've had a variety of roles.
I've worn many hats over thealmost 20 years.
So I was an activities directorwho also did some music therapy.
I was a full-time musictherapist at a long-term care
(03:05):
community.
I've worked for a music therapycompany and then I found at my
private practice, so my privatepractice.
Was founded originally, I wannasay maybe 14 or 15 years ago,
under the name Young at HeartMusic Therapy.
Okay.
So that was my original kind ofbaby starting out and it was in
Washington, DC and.
(03:27):
I was in a job that just wasn'tworking for me.
It was a kind of a toxicenvironment as far as management
and things like that.
And I was having a reallychallenging and difficult time,
so I went into private practiceto just see.
And I'm very much like alwayshave a plan.
So it's very scary to be like,okay, I am gonna put in my
(03:48):
notice and I'm gonna just trythis and see what happens.
Fortunately I was very connectedat the time I was in the
Washington DC area.
I was very connected with a lotof different long-term care
communities social workers,different people like that from
my other roles that I hadpreviously.
And so I just started and Irealized how much I loved being
my own boss.
(04:09):
The autonomy of making your ownschedule also, deciding who I
wanna work with, who I wannapartner with.
I think that's really important.
Do our values align those kindsof things.
And so that's where it gotstarted for me with private
practice work.
And then we relocated to Austin.
And so for a while I worked fora music therapy company doing a
(04:29):
lot of different things.
I still had my private practice,I had a couple private clients,
but in 2022, I really wanted togo back into private practice
full time, not only to continuethe clinical services, but to
provide education and support.
So I'm doing a lot more workfocused on supporting caregivers
on professionals and studentseducating them on how to use
(04:52):
music.
Not everyone is trained as amusic therapist, so there are a
lot of things you can do outsideof what we do to help support
people.
And I think it's important thatolder adults and people living
with dementia can have access totheir music and whatever that
looks like for them.
So I'm all about championingthat along the way.
(05:13):
So yeah, that, it's a longstory, but that's where I
started, where my inspirationcame from and how my private
practice has grown from that.
Beverly (05:22):
Music is so healing, Tara, like on so many levels.
But one thing that I discoveredit was my grandfather, he ended
up having a heart attack andtook a little while for him to
be resuscitated.
And ultimately in the end, verysadly, he was considered brain
dead.
But in the time when they weredoing tests and they had brought
him back to be able to breatheand his heart back into rhythm,
(05:46):
we weren't sure if he was braindead.
And at the time it was actuallyvery interesting in the sense of
you would hold his hand and hishand would squeeze your hand.
And there are certain thingsthat your body does that is like
almost like a muscle memory typesituation.
And when we played music forhim, he tapped his toe.
Yeah.
(06:07):
He was essentially brain dead.
And.
We didn't believe the doctors atfirst because of some of those
things.
It was really hard for us towrap our heads around how can
you tap your toe if you're notthere?
Yeah.
But music's hit such a centerpart of who we are like it now
makes complete sense, likeknowing what I know now.
So maybe talk a little bit whyit's so powerful in the space of
(06:28):
dementia
Tara (06:30):
Segueing from that story, and thank you for sharing that.
Music is one of the first thingswe respond to in the womb, and
it's one of the last things werespond to in end of life.
So when I've worked with peoplewho are on hospice or receiving
palliative care they may not beable to see you anymore or, they
may not necessarily have thatawareness, but they can still
(06:51):
respond to music.
And part of that is becausemusic is centered throughout our
brain.
So it's not just localized inone area but it's more
generalized.
And so that's why a lot of timesyou might hear a story,
especially in my kind of workwhere someone can no longer
speak, but they can sing.
And so part of that is becauseour neurons are constantly
(07:12):
firing until they make aconnection.
So when you think about peoplewho are living with dementia,
there may be areas of theirbrain that are affected by their
diagnosis or their disease, butour neurons are brains are
working really hard to makethose connections.
And music is multisensory.
So there's a lot of sensoryinput when you are engaged in a
(07:35):
music experience.
You've got your auditory soyou're, it's coming in, you're
hearing it, you're visuallyseeing it.
Yeah.
You're feeling it.
That rhythm tactile.
Yeah.
Going back to feeling there's somany different things that are
involved in any one given musicexperience.
And so that's why a lot of timestoo, all of this input is going
(07:55):
in to then get some output.
And sometimes it's a toe tap andthat's amazing.
Sometimes it's singing anddancing, sometimes it's sharing
a story.
I just was in a group, I thinkit was about a week or two ago,
and there was a resident who wasresting, eyes closed, and I'd
check in every so oftenthroughout the group.
(08:16):
And at the end she opened hereyes and I asked her if she
could hear the music and shesaid, yeah.
And I said, oh, how did youenjoy it?
And she said, it was so good.
Thank you so much.
And I wanted to share that storybecause you never know when
you're gonna make a connection.
Yeah.
Especially with people livingwith dementia.
You just have to be open to thatand recognize that, music
(08:39):
experiences aren't universal toall folks, so everyone engages
in their own way.
So I always say there's no wrongway to engage in music, and
there's no wrong way to feelwhen we're engaging and
listening to music as well.
Beverly (08:52):
There's no wrong way to feel or to experience it.
Yeah.
It's so international on so manylevels My husband is actually
active duty Army and he'sdeployed right now, and he's in
a situation where there's 20other countries and they're all
doing this training exercise andthey did a karaoke night and he
was like, it was epic, Beverly.
They were singing in Nigerianand it was such a way to build a
bond.
(09:13):
With them that he asked to do itagain.
It was so powerful.
But music is so universal andthat's what's so beautiful about
it.
And I think about my kids, eventhe first things they did was
like, dance around before theycould even talk.
And it's a way of communicatingtoo.
In that sense.
It's so tactile.
I hadn't really thought about itthat way until you said
something like that it's likethe first language and it's
(09:35):
universal and the last.
So that's full circle.
Tara (09:38):
And you can have a musical conversation with no words, I
think about drumming, if you'redoing group drumming, you can
engage with dynamics, with tempoSilence can be just as
important.
Having that pause, having thatbreak.
And that can happen in my work,working with people living with
dementia.
But really in music therapistswork, no matter who you're
working with.
(09:58):
And that's the other thing, wework with all ages and stages of
life.
So anywhere a nurse can work, wecan work and we can have those
conversations with and withoutwords.
Beverly (10:08):
That's amazing what a cool thing though, to be
universal in that way.
'cause I feel like so much ofour world is siloed.
And to have something that's souniversal is pretty powerful in
that respect.
Yeah.
Talk a little bit about what'sthe most rewarding part of what
you do and maybe share aclient's highlight or
transformation.
Tara (10:25):
Sure.
I have two examples that come tomind.
But probably one of the mostrewarding things, I think is the
connections.
I'm all about meaningfulconnections and relationships in
everything I do.
Whether I am talking to a CEO,whether I'm working with a
client, whether I am, on apodcast, connecting with people
I don't know who are listeningto you the host.
(10:45):
So that's really what my work isall about.
And it's really the core of mywork is fostering that rapport
and those meaningfulrelationships.
I say I'm really fortunate'causea lot of the times I get to see
the best moments for my clientsand especially as a contractor
now.
So I go into communities I goin, I do my music therapy and I
(11:06):
leave.
I don't necessarily know a lotabout some of the people I see,
some of them I know because Isee them frequently.
Sometimes I'm there once amonth.
And I don't know if they'restruggling or having challenges
with X, Y, and Z because when Isee them, they're presenting a
very different way.
I had one woman who was sothankful I was there and really
(11:27):
appreciated what I did and wasjust so excited to be a part of
the group.
And afterwards, the staff membersaid, that's really high praise
from her.
She usually is not engaged, doesnot enjoy activities, especially
group led things.
So a lot of times.
I am not aware of that.
I'm basically just receivingthat energy from my clients and
(11:48):
trying to give it back.
But two specific examples.
One in a community group.
I saw these folks weekly, so Iknew them very well.
Saw them every week Mondaymornings, and I had a resident
who was on the go, someone whopaced and walked around and
would never really stay in oneplace for too long.
And it would increase anxiety inthe other group members.
(12:11):
They would become frustratedthat this person was coming in
and out.
And it was not a positiveexperience as far as socializing
with each other.
And as much as I tried to say,it's okay, they can come in and
out, it really worked up some ofthese other group members.
So one day we were sharing JamesBrown I feel good.
And a huge smile came on thisclient's face and they came into
(12:34):
the center of the group and Iencouraged them to dance along
with me.
So we're dancing.
The rest of the group hasinstruments and all of a sudden
the rest of the group ischeering on that resident and
supporting them and just soexcited for them.
And little by little thatresidents started coming to more
of the group.
So maybe they would stay for.
(12:56):
A half a song and then a wholesong, and so eventually they
would be able to stay for 20, 30minutes of a 60 minute group,
which was huge for themespecially because they were on
the go all the time.
It was a time for rest, a timefor meaningful engagement, and
for socializing with peers,because they're living in that
environment after I leave.
So if the rest of the group cansee that this person can engage
(13:20):
meaningfully and they canconnect with one another, that
really goes beyond my work inthat moment, in that group
session.
Beverly (13:28):
James Brown.
I feel good.
Like, how can you not get up anddance.
My dad plays the guitar.
He sings, he was in a Beatlescover band when he was in high
school.
My grandfather played the guitarI feel like the music side of
it's always come from his side.
And he always loved to dancewith my mom.
He still loves to dance, they'rea lot older.
But love to dance with my mom.
And one day we were in a pooland he was singing, I Feel Good.
(13:51):
And he was spinning me around.
I was like, I don't know, 11, 12years old and spinning around in
the pool.
And when we got done, there waslike several people in the hotel
that had been watching us andall clapped, so that song has
this very vivid memory for me ofthis really wonderful time with
my dad.
This very special moment.
And it's often discussed even inour family.
It's a family story of, yeah, weput on a show.
(14:13):
We didn't mean to put on a show,but we put on a show.
I think is super special whenyou can find a song that can
make somebody connect in thatway.
That's so cool.
Tara (14:21):
You sharing that story makes me wanna say something
else before I go to the nextexample, but that's what I love
about music is how we can allhear the same song and we're
gonna have a different reaction.
It's gonna take us to anotherplace.
So going back to why music is sopowerful for all of us, but for
people living with dementia isbecause it can bring us back to
a time and place.
I love that story.
(14:42):
Such a cool story.
The other example is more withmy individual work.
I also work with clientsone-on-one.
And what I love about that is Ican tailor.
The session to their specificpreferences with a group.
Sometimes I have people who arein their fifties and in their
nineties, so I try to mix themusic style genres, all of that.
But when I'm working withsomeone individually, I can
(15:03):
really dig into their musicpreferences and their needs and
interests in what they wanna getout of our time together.
And I worked with someone whowas a music educator and also a
performer.
So they were a brass player andthey gigged all around.
Originally their spouse soughtout services because they were
no longer playing their primaryinstrument like they used to.
(15:27):
And they thought we could worktogether in that.
And when we met, I found outthat it was becoming a negative
experience because he was awarethat he could no longer play to
the level he used to be able toplay to.
So we did do some processing andsome work around that and
realized that it maybe wasn'tthe best idea to push engaging
(15:50):
with that primary instrument.
And I will say you don't have tohave musical training to engage
in music therapy, but if you do,then we kind of work with you in
a different way.
With this person specifically, Iknew he had this strong
background as an educator inmusic and all of the knowledge
and talent that he had.
So we used an instrument calledan auto harp.
(16:11):
And it is a stringed instrument.
It's a folk instrument.
What's really great about it isyou press a button and then when
you strum it, it plays thatchord.
So instead of with a guitarwhere you're forming the chord
with your hand, you just pressthe button, it hits the strings
it needs to play the chord.
And he was very familiar withthat'cause he taught his
students how to play those.
So I could say, okay, we'regonna sing and play.
(16:32):
You are my sunshine in the keyof C or the key of D.
We'd go over the chords and thenhe would play while I would
sing.
And that was a really meaningfuland beneficial experience for
him because he was still tappingin and utilizing all of that
knowledge and all of thattalent.
And we were creating somethingin the moment together.
(16:54):
And he could feel joyful afterinstead of feeling frustrated.
And we still did work on himwith his primary instrument in
certain opportunities.
But yeah, we really went beyondthat.
So I think that's important tokeep in mind too.
Beverly (17:08):
I would imagine every situation's a little bit
different and unique.
These are really beautifulstories, Tara of connection.
But I'm sure that being inbusiness, if you didn't have a
plan, like I didn't have a planeither.
I was an accidentalentrepreneur.
I married an active duty Armyhusband, so I had to take my
show on the road.
So that literally was what mademe become an entrepreneur.
But.
There's challenges being anentrepreneur.
(17:29):
There's lots of things that westruggle with.
You do everything.
You try everything.
One of the things that I read inyour guest application was that
managing your health whilerunning a solo practice has one
of the biggest challenges thatyou experienced.
Yeah.
Can you talk how have you Donethat?
Tara (17:42):
Yeah, it's a day to day, but I will say I have gotten
better at it over time.
I have several kind of chronichealth issues that flare up some
chronic pain some other thingsas well, and sometimes it comes
out of nowhere.
Sometimes I'm feeling great, I'mdoing all the things and then it
just stops me in my tracks and.
It's really hard as a soloentrepreneur to just say, okay I
(18:06):
can't, I have to cancel this.
I have to reschedule that.
I would carry so much guiltabout having to do that.
And then being hard on myselfand hard on my body what it
can't do.
I think over time also workingwith the therapist, I can't
recommend that enough if you'restruggling with different
things.
For me, it's been very helpfulto give me more tools in my
(18:27):
toolbox.
My philosophy is if you'reworking with people and helping
people in the way I do, I thinkyou also need to be checking in
with someone yourself.
But what it's helped me to see,especially after we moved, we
relocated from Austin toWilmington.
So I'm in North Carolina now.
I've been here about a year.
And recently after we relocated,I was like ready to hit the
ground running, like ready toreach out and start building my
(18:50):
business locally.
'cause I also see clientsvirtually.
I do things nationally and thenthings locally.
And I had a flare up of severaldifferent things and it was
really hard to make the decisionto just pause.
I eventually put an away messageon my email that was just like
I'm having some medical issues.
I don't have a return date.
I will get back to you when Ican.
(19:11):
That kind of a thing.
The decision was hard, but onceI made the decision, all this
weight lifted off of me becauseI was doing what I needed to do.
I had to take care of me, mybody, mentally, physically,
emotionally.
There was a lot going on.
And I don't think we do thatenough as a society.
And I think especially if you'rein your own business, because
(19:33):
you are it, right?
Like you said, we're doing allthe things.
And there's no one to go to say,can you cover for me?
Or can you take this phone call?
And then you also look at itfrom a financial standpoint,
right?
I'm very fortunate and Irecognize that I had the ability
and support from family, butalso from my husband that I was
(19:53):
able to take that break, right?
Which I'm so very thankful for.
I know not everybody is in thatsituation or has that set of
circumstances.
But I came out of it strongerand I also came out of it being
more transparent with everybodyI work with.
And not just about my health,but just about anything we talk
about.
Being transparent when it comesto, I'm a business and I do
(20:15):
charge for services, I do get alot of people asking for me to
do things for free.
And especially sometimes withmusic people think of it as,
there's music volunteers wholike volunteer from the church
and go and play in assistedliving communities and in memory
care and dementia communitiesand things like that.
So sharing that while I haveexpertise and experience and all
(20:37):
of that, but to be transparentabout cost, about health when
something comes up.
And I found that I've receivedso much grace and support and
love and understanding and Iused to be.
I don't know if afraid is theright word, but I used to be
very hesitant and timid to sharewhat was going on with me
because I thought either theydidn't wanna know or it
(20:59):
shouldn't matter.
And I've learned over time thatsharing those things connect me
to the business clients I'mworking with more.
But it's also just then theyknow what's going on.
So it's not me flaking, when I'mcanceling last minute, they
know, oh, it's not that thisperson isn't unreliable, it's
that there's something realgoing on.
(21:20):
And then I also give them grace,and give them support.
Yeah.
And vice versa.
I think for me it still is achallenge, but I think I've
learned to navigate it.
It was not easy by any means.
And I still navigate it becauseit's something that sometimes
some symptoms will creep up.
So I know something's coming soI can thin out my schedule, but
(21:41):
other times it comes out ofnowhere.
And that's more of the challengefor me.
Beverly (21:45):
Two things.
One is I'm just nearFayetteville, North Carolina.
Oh.
Oh my goodness.
Wilmington.
Wilmington.
Beautiful.
I was just there.
I love it.
So welcome to North Carolina.
Yes.
Oh, we love it here.
We'll have to have coffeesomeday.
Yeah, I would love that.
The second thing is I'mlistening to you and one of the
things that we talk about withour clients all the time is that
and I say this often, I havefelt the same way.
(22:07):
To be a professional as a woman,you have to leave like this part
of you here and do this part ofyou here.
And for a long time, I boughtinto that.
But recently, in the last couplethree years, I have realized,
and I help my clients realizethis too, and really lean into
it.
So I'm gonna say go deep inthis.
Is that.
My business was built in themessy middle of life, like my
husband's deployed and I have akid in my, and all this stuff is
(22:30):
happening.
I had major hip surgery, megoing through menopause.
All the things
Tara (22:35):
Yeah.
Beverly (22:36):
That happen in our lives.
What is so powerful about that,Tara, is there are people who
really connect with you as aservice provider.
Those in helping professionsneed therapy.
Yes, I agree, need help.
But the thing is that do notfeel alone in that kind of
feeling that am I the only onethat's needing help?
(22:58):
I am a very high performer.
I need a coach and I need atherapist.
Just for my own mindset and myown sanity.
I know I need that, but the factthat you advocate now
intentionally for you allows youto also coach others to do the
same.
And that's so beautiful and ithonors so much of what I think
our purpose here is.
(23:18):
So I'm gonna tell you, leanharder and be visible.
Be confident in that becauseit's exactly what the world
needs more of.
So if you had to reflect on theyears you've been in business,
what has been the biggest shiftand what's it evolved you most
as you've been in this field nowsince 2007?
Tara (23:35):
I love the messy middle for sure.
Sharing that.
I think also for me, how it'sevolved is letting go of, I of
course, have a to-do list andI'm gonna check things off that
list.
But letting go of, it's okay ifit doesn't all get done.
I have so many ideas as acreative and as an entrepreneur
and, oh, I wanna work with thisperson and that person and this
(23:57):
organization.
But there's just only so manyhours in the day and there's
also so many hours I wannadevote to my business, and I
don't mean that negatively, butI think too, as solo business
owners.
It's hard to turn your brainoff, and as a music therapist
too, I sometimes will be in thegrocery store and I'll hear a
song and I'll be like, Ooh, thatwould be a really good song for
(24:17):
this client.
Things like that happen to meall the time.
And it's work in progress tryingto get better about
acknowledging that thought andputting a note in my phone.
Or if I have social mediacontent, I have so many ideas,
it comes down to the time ofputting that content out there.
I put a note in my phone andthen every now and then I'll
revisit that if I'm looking forinspiration.
But trying to enjoy my lifeoutside of my business as well.
(24:41):
And I think that's really hardto do sometimes.
And I think as my business hasevolved also to explore, for me
it used to be a lot of inperson, like everything's in
person.
And I still believe in-personmusic therapy is the most
beneficial.
But there are a lot of peoplewho either don't have music
therapists in their area, orthey can't leave their home for
whatever reason, or they have somany different circumstances.
(25:04):
So I have pivoted and I amworking with organizations to
provide telehealth services forpeople living with dementia and
their caregivers.
And that's been reallybeautiful.
Before the pandemic, I was doingtelehealth services, but I was
keeping quiet about it becausenot a lot of people were doing
it.
And I didn't know, is this okaythat I was doing it right?
I just went along my way.
But it was with Skype to showyou how long ago it was.
(25:26):
Yeah, Zoom was not a thing.
And it was when I relocated, Irelocate it from the DC area to
Austin and I had a husband andwife.
I saw both of them.
Both were clients and the sonwas their primary caregiver and
we used Skype to bring familymembers into our sessions.
So he said why don't we try tocontinue with you in Austin like
this and see what happens.
(25:48):
So that was one of my privateclients that I kept, even though
I started working for anothercompany and then the pandemic
happened and then a lot ofpeople got used to very quickly
how to do stuff not in person.
So I think it's opened up awindow for me and my business,
and especially sometimes withwhat I've got going on
(26:09):
health-wise, to stay in my home.
To be comfortable to be where Iam and not only provide clinical
services, but education andtraining.
So I think that's what's alsoevolved most about my business
is I wanna stay with clinical.
'cause I think if I'm gonna talkabout all of these benefits and
the challenges and everythingthat goes into it, I wanna be
tapped in and be doing the workevery day.
(26:31):
But I also wanna be doing morespeaking and teaching.
And educating and being onlineand being visible on podcasts
and, getting hired byorganizations to train their
teams or webinars for caregiversand professionals.
Being online has allowed me todo a lot more of that.
Beverly (26:48):
Amazing.
I started my business in 2011,end of the 2011, beginning of
2012.
And same, I took my show on theroad and we move every two,
three years and I would not havea business if I couldn't work
remotely.
You have to rebuild from scratchevery three years would be
almost impossible.
And this technology has justchanged everything.
Everything that I do is online.
I do websites and all this.
It's all online.
(27:08):
Obviously the whole I in-personconnection is always really
valuable.
However this has allowed such adifferent level.
My therapist she's inWinston-Salem.
And my coach is in New YorkCity.
Yeah.
And we have clients that are inVancouver and like my whole team
is in Central America andMichigan and we're all over too.
So it's really allowed us tojust be where we want to be,
(27:30):
where we can be and serve morepeople in that way.
If you are listening and youhave built your business in the
messy middle, or you are justunderstanding this process of
maybe sharing more of your trueself in your journey, like some
of the challenges, some of thethings that are really hard,
like Tara's talking about herhealth and different things that
if this resonates with you, I'dlove for you to share this
(27:51):
episode.
Take a screenshot, share thelink, put it on social media.
Tag us, let us know your biggesttakeaway.
What are you working with inthis right now?
Plus, it also helps other peoplediscover the magic of this
particular podcast and peoplelike Tara.
So this season we are all aboutconfidence.
Last season we awakened somebrand magic, Tara but this
(28:14):
season we're all aboutvisibility and confidence.
So what does confidence looklike for you as a business
owner?
How did you build it?
And can you share a moment whenyou realized that you were truly
showing up with it?
Hey there, you've just finishedpart one of the Spark Ignite
Your Marketing episode.
How are you feeling?
Excited, inspired, but we'rejust getting started.
Next Tuesday we're dropping parttwo, and you won't wanna miss
(28:36):
it.
Be sure to subscribe to ournewsletter, so you'll be the
first to know when it goes live.
Until then, take a breather, letthose ideas simmer, and we'll
see you next week.
Did you know that music therapy has been shown to reduce
agitation and improvecommunication for people with
dementia?
It's a powerful tool, and todaywe are going to dive deep into
how it can transform the livesof those who are aging and
living with dementia.
I'm your host Beverly Cornell,and I'm the founder and fairy
godmother of brand Clarity atWickedly branded.
(00:22):
With over 25 years ofexperience, I've helped hundreds
of purpose driven entrepreneursawaken their brand magic and
boldly bring it to life so thatthey can magnify their special
impact on the world.
Today's guest is someone who'sbringing incredible
transformation to the dementiacare space.
Tara Jenkins is the founder ofHarmony in Dementia.
(00:45):
Tara is a board certified musictherapist and dementia care
specialist.
She's worked in the field since2007, providing music therapy
services, consultation, andtraining for older adults,
caregivers and professionals.
Tara, I'm super excited thatyou're here.
Thank you for coming.
Tara (01:03):
Yeah, you're so welcome.
I'm excited to be here as well.
Beverly (01:06):
I reached out to you on LinkedIn'cause I thought you had
such a unique niche, like howyou serve and what you do.
What started your journey?
What was the spark that helpedyou create Harmony in dementia?
Tara (01:18):
I had a grandmother who lived in a nursing home, and I
always felt like there was a wayto connect and reach her, but I
didn't really know how.
So I started exploring whattypes of careers I could have in
music.
I didn't wanna really teach, Ididn't wanna perform full-time,
so I knew what I didn't want.
Okay.
Okay.
And I started researching musictherapy and, I came upon music
(01:40):
therapy, started reading aboutit, auditioned and explored a
couple different schools.
And I ended up at ShenandoahUniversity.
So that's how my music therapyjourney started.
And for music therapists, forboard certified music
therapists, we have four yearsof coursework.
It's followed by a six monthinternship, and that is about
1200 hours of clinical training.
(02:01):
Working with different peopleand different groups.
And then you sit for a boardexam after the six month
internship.
So that's where you get thecredential.
MTBC.
Okay.
For music therapist boardcertified.
So in those 1200 clinical hours,my first practicum, which is
basically like a rotation inother professions was with older
adults.
It was in a nursing home andfull circle.
(02:23):
I did my internship at that samelocation.
Oh.
So four years later I did my sixmonth internship there providing
group and individual musictherapy services.
And I knew from that firstpracticum that I felt this deep
connection with older adults,with older people, with people
living with dementia andcognitive impairment, and I
(02:43):
never look back.
So that's what started mycuriosity and my interest in
working in kind of the aging anddementia space.
I've had a variety of roles.
I've worn many hats over thealmost 20 years.
So I was an activities directorwho also did some music therapy.
I was a full-time musictherapist at a long-term care
(03:05):
community.
I've worked for a music therapycompany and then I found at my
private practice, so my privatepractice.
Was founded originally, I wannasay maybe 14 or 15 years ago,
under the name Young at HeartMusic Therapy.
Okay.
So that was my original kind ofbaby starting out and it was in
Washington, DC and.
(03:27):
I was in a job that just wasn'tworking for me.
It was a kind of a toxicenvironment as far as management
and things like that.
And I was having a reallychallenging and difficult time,
so I went into private practiceto just see.
And I'm very much like alwayshave a plan.
So it's very scary to be like,okay, I am gonna put in my
(03:48):
notice and I'm gonna just trythis and see what happens.
Fortunately I was very connectedat the time I was in the
Washington DC area.
I was very connected with a lotof different long-term care
communities social workers,different people like that from
my other roles that I hadpreviously.
And so I just started and Irealized how much I loved being
my own boss.
(04:09):
The autonomy of making your ownschedule also, deciding who I
wanna work with, who I wannapartner with.
I think that's really important.
Do our values align those kindsof things.
And so that's where it gotstarted for me with private
practice work.
And then we relocated to Austin.
And so for a while I worked fora music therapy company doing a
(04:29):
lot of different things.
I still had my private practice,I had a couple private clients,
but in 2022, I really wanted togo back into private practice
full time, not only to continuethe clinical services, but to
provide education and support.
So I'm doing a lot more workfocused on supporting caregivers
on professionals and studentseducating them on how to use
(04:52):
music.
Not everyone is trained as amusic therapist, so there are a
lot of things you can do outsideof what we do to help support
people.
And I think it's important thatolder adults and people living
with dementia can have access totheir music and whatever that
looks like for them.
So I'm all about championingthat along the way.
(05:13):
So yeah, that, it's a longstory, but that's where I
started, where my inspirationcame from and how my private
practice has grown from that.
Beverly (05:22):
Music is so healing, Tara, like on so many levels.
But one thing that I discoveredit was my grandfather, he ended
up having a heart attack andtook a little while for him to
be resuscitated.
And ultimately in the end, verysadly, he was considered brain
dead.
But in the time when they weredoing tests and they had brought
him back to be able to breatheand his heart back into rhythm,
(05:46):
we weren't sure if he was braindead.
And at the time it was actuallyvery interesting in the sense of
you would hold his hand and hishand would squeeze your hand.
And there are certain thingsthat your body does that is like
almost like a muscle memory typesituation.
And when we played music forhim, he tapped his toe.
Yeah.
(06:07):
He was essentially brain dead.
And.
We didn't believe the doctors atfirst because of some of those
things.
It was really hard for us towrap our heads around how can
you tap your toe if you're notthere?
Yeah.
But music's hit such a centerpart of who we are like it now
makes complete sense, likeknowing what I know now.
So maybe talk a little bit whyit's so powerful in the space of
(06:28):
dementia
Tara (06:30):
Segueing from that story, and thank you for sharing that.
Music is one of the first thingswe respond to in the womb, and
it's one of the last things werespond to in end of life.
So when I've worked with peoplewho are on hospice or receiving
palliative care they may not beable to see you anymore or, they
may not necessarily have thatawareness, but they can still
(06:51):
respond to music.
And part of that is becausemusic is centered throughout our
brain.
So it's not just localized inone area but it's more
generalized.
And so that's why a lot of timesyou might hear a story,
especially in my kind of workwhere someone can no longer
speak, but they can sing.
And so part of that is becauseour neurons are constantly
(07:12):
firing until they make aconnection.
So when you think about peoplewho are living with dementia,
there may be areas of theirbrain that are affected by their
diagnosis or their disease, butour neurons are brains are
working really hard to makethose connections.
And music is multisensory.
So there's a lot of sensoryinput when you are engaged in a
(07:35):
music experience.
You've got your auditory soyou're, it's coming in, you're
hearing it, you're visuallyseeing it.
Yeah.
You're feeling it.
That rhythm tactile.
Yeah.
Going back to feeling there's somany different things that are
involved in any one given musicexperience.
And so that's why a lot of timestoo, all of this input is going
(07:55):
in to then get some output.
And sometimes it's a toe tap andthat's amazing.
Sometimes it's singing anddancing, sometimes it's sharing
a story.
I just was in a group, I thinkit was about a week or two ago,
and there was a resident who wasresting, eyes closed, and I'd
check in every so oftenthroughout the group.
(08:16):
And at the end she opened hereyes and I asked her if she
could hear the music and shesaid, yeah.
And I said, oh, how did youenjoy it?
And she said, it was so good.
Thank you so much.
And I wanted to share that storybecause you never know when
you're gonna make a connection.
Yeah.
Especially with people livingwith dementia.
You just have to be open to thatand recognize that, music
(08:39):
experiences aren't universal toall folks, so everyone engages
in their own way.
So I always say there's no wrongway to engage in music, and
there's no wrong way to feelwhen we're engaging and
listening to music as well.
Beverly (08:52):
There's no wrong way to feel or to experience it.
Yeah.
It's so international on so manylevels My husband is actually
active duty Army and he'sdeployed right now, and he's in
a situation where there's 20other countries and they're all
doing this training exercise andthey did a karaoke night and he
was like, it was epic, Beverly.
They were singing in Nigerianand it was such a way to build a
bond.
(09:13):
With them that he asked to do itagain.
It was so powerful.
But music is so universal andthat's what's so beautiful about
it.
And I think about my kids, eventhe first things they did was
like, dance around before theycould even talk.
And it's a way of communicatingtoo.
In that sense.
It's so tactile.
I hadn't really thought about itthat way until you said
something like that it's likethe first language and it's
(09:35):
universal and the last.
So that's full circle.
Tara (09:38):
And you can have a musical conversation with no words, I
think about drumming, if you'redoing group drumming, you can
engage with dynamics, with tempoSilence can be just as
important.
Having that pause, having thatbreak.
And that can happen in my work,working with people living with
dementia.
But really in music therapistswork, no matter who you're
working with.
(09:58):
And that's the other thing, wework with all ages and stages of
life.
So anywhere a nurse can work, wecan work and we can have those
conversations with and withoutwords.
Beverly (10:08):
That's amazing what a cool thing though, to be
universal in that way.
'cause I feel like so much ofour world is siloed.
And to have something that's souniversal is pretty powerful in
that respect.
Yeah.
Talk a little bit about what'sthe most rewarding part of what
you do and maybe share aclient's highlight or
transformation.
Tara (10:25):
Sure.
I have two examples that come tomind.
But probably one of the mostrewarding things, I think is the
connections.
I'm all about meaningfulconnections and relationships in
everything I do.
Whether I am talking to a CEO,whether I'm working with a
client, whether I am, on apodcast, connecting with people
I don't know who are listeningto you the host.
(10:45):
So that's really what my work isall about.
And it's really the core of mywork is fostering that rapport
and those meaningfulrelationships.
I say I'm really fortunate'causea lot of the times I get to see
the best moments for my clientsand especially as a contractor
now.
So I go into communities I goin, I do my music therapy and I
(11:06):
leave.
I don't necessarily know a lotabout some of the people I see,
some of them I know because Isee them frequently.
Sometimes I'm there once amonth.
And I don't know if they'restruggling or having challenges
with X, Y, and Z because when Isee them, they're presenting a
very different way.
I had one woman who was sothankful I was there and really
(11:27):
appreciated what I did and wasjust so excited to be a part of
the group.
And afterwards, the staff membersaid, that's really high praise
from her.
She usually is not engaged, doesnot enjoy activities, especially
group led things.
So a lot of times.
I am not aware of that.
I'm basically just receivingthat energy from my clients and
(11:48):
trying to give it back.
But two specific examples.
One in a community group.
I saw these folks weekly, so Iknew them very well.
Saw them every week Mondaymornings, and I had a resident
who was on the go, someone whopaced and walked around and
would never really stay in oneplace for too long.
And it would increase anxiety inthe other group members.
(12:11):
They would become frustratedthat this person was coming in
and out.
And it was not a positiveexperience as far as socializing
with each other.
And as much as I tried to say,it's okay, they can come in and
out, it really worked up some ofthese other group members.
So one day we were sharing JamesBrown I feel good.
And a huge smile came on thisclient's face and they came into
(12:34):
the center of the group and Iencouraged them to dance along
with me.
So we're dancing.
The rest of the group hasinstruments and all of a sudden
the rest of the group ischeering on that resident and
supporting them and just soexcited for them.
And little by little thatresidents started coming to more
of the group.
So maybe they would stay for.
(12:56):
A half a song and then a wholesong, and so eventually they
would be able to stay for 20, 30minutes of a 60 minute group,
which was huge for themespecially because they were on
the go all the time.
It was a time for rest, a timefor meaningful engagement, and
for socializing with peers,because they're living in that
environment after I leave.
So if the rest of the group cansee that this person can engage
(13:20):
meaningfully and they canconnect with one another, that
really goes beyond my work inthat moment, in that group
session.
Beverly (13:28):
James Brown.
I feel good.
Like, how can you not get up anddance.
My dad plays the guitar.
He sings, he was in a Beatlescover band when he was in high
school.
My grandfather played the guitarI feel like the music side of
it's always come from his side.
And he always loved to dancewith my mom.
He still loves to dance, they'rea lot older.
But love to dance with my mom.
And one day we were in a pooland he was singing, I Feel Good.
(13:51):
And he was spinning me around.
I was like, I don't know, 11, 12years old and spinning around in
the pool.
And when we got done, there waslike several people in the hotel
that had been watching us andall clapped, so that song has
this very vivid memory for me ofthis really wonderful time with
my dad.
This very special moment.
And it's often discussed even inour family.
It's a family story of, yeah, weput on a show.
(14:13):
We didn't mean to put on a show,but we put on a show.
I think is super special whenyou can find a song that can
make somebody connect in thatway.
That's so cool.
Tara (14:21):
You sharing that story makes me wanna say something
else before I go to the nextexample, but that's what I love
about music is how we can allhear the same song and we're
gonna have a different reaction.
It's gonna take us to anotherplace.
So going back to why music is sopowerful for all of us, but for
people living with dementia isbecause it can bring us back to
a time and place.
I love that story.
(14:42):
Such a cool story.
The other example is more withmy individual work.
I also work with clientsone-on-one.
And what I love about that is Ican tailor.
The session to their specificpreferences with a group.
Sometimes I have people who arein their fifties and in their
nineties, so I try to mix themusic style genres, all of that.
But when I'm working withsomeone individually, I can
(15:03):
really dig into their musicpreferences and their needs and
interests in what they wanna getout of our time together.
And I worked with someone whowas a music educator and also a
performer.
So they were a brass player andthey gigged all around.
Originally their spouse soughtout services because they were
no longer playing their primaryinstrument like they used to.
(15:27):
And they thought we could worktogether in that.
And when we met, I found outthat it was becoming a negative
experience because he was awarethat he could no longer play to
the level he used to be able toplay to.
So we did do some processing andsome work around that and
realized that it maybe wasn'tthe best idea to push engaging
(15:50):
with that primary instrument.
And I will say you don't have tohave musical training to engage
in music therapy, but if you do,then we kind of work with you in
a different way.
With this person specifically, Iknew he had this strong
background as an educator inmusic and all of the knowledge
and talent that he had.
So we used an instrument calledan auto harp.
(16:11):
And it is a stringed instrument.
It's a folk instrument.
What's really great about it isyou press a button and then when
you strum it, it plays thatchord.
So instead of with a guitarwhere you're forming the chord
with your hand, you just pressthe button, it hits the strings
it needs to play the chord.
And he was very familiar withthat'cause he taught his
students how to play those.
So I could say, okay, we'regonna sing and play.
(16:32):
You are my sunshine in the keyof C or the key of D.
We'd go over the chords and thenhe would play while I would
sing.
And that was a really meaningfuland beneficial experience for
him because he was still tappingin and utilizing all of that
knowledge and all of thattalent.
And we were creating somethingin the moment together.
(16:54):
And he could feel joyful afterinstead of feeling frustrated.
And we still did work on himwith his primary instrument in
certain opportunities.
But yeah, we really went beyondthat.
So I think that's important tokeep in mind too.
Beverly (17:08):
I would imagine every situation's a little bit
different and unique.
These are really beautifulstories, Tara of connection.
But I'm sure that being inbusiness, if you didn't have a
plan, like I didn't have a planeither.
I was an accidentalentrepreneur.
I married an active duty Armyhusband, so I had to take my
show on the road.
So that literally was what mademe become an entrepreneur.
But.
There's challenges being anentrepreneur.
(17:29):
There's lots of things that westruggle with.
You do everything.
You try everything.
One of the things that I read inyour guest application was that
managing your health whilerunning a solo practice has one
of the biggest challenges thatyou experienced.
Yeah.
Can you talk how have you Donethat?
Tara (17:42):
Yeah, it's a day to day, but I will say I have gotten
better at it over time.
I have several kind of chronichealth issues that flare up some
chronic pain some other thingsas well, and sometimes it comes
out of nowhere.
Sometimes I'm feeling great, I'mdoing all the things and then it
just stops me in my tracks and.
It's really hard as a soloentrepreneur to just say, okay I
(18:06):
can't, I have to cancel this.
I have to reschedule that.
I would carry so much guiltabout having to do that.
And then being hard on myselfand hard on my body what it
can't do.
I think over time also workingwith the therapist, I can't
recommend that enough if you'restruggling with different
things.
For me, it's been very helpfulto give me more tools in my
(18:27):
toolbox.
My philosophy is if you'reworking with people and helping
people in the way I do, I thinkyou also need to be checking in
with someone yourself.
But what it's helped me to see,especially after we moved, we
relocated from Austin toWilmington.
So I'm in North Carolina now.
I've been here about a year.
And recently after we relocated,I was like ready to hit the
ground running, like ready toreach out and start building my
(18:50):
business locally.
'cause I also see clientsvirtually.
I do things nationally and thenthings locally.
And I had a flare up of severaldifferent things and it was
really hard to make the decisionto just pause.
I eventually put an away messageon my email that was just like
I'm having some medical issues.
I don't have a return date.
I will get back to you when Ican.
(19:11):
That kind of a thing.
The decision was hard, but onceI made the decision, all this
weight lifted off of me becauseI was doing what I needed to do.
I had to take care of me, mybody, mentally, physically,
emotionally.
There was a lot going on.
And I don't think we do thatenough as a society.
And I think especially if you'rein your own business, because
(19:33):
you are it, right?
Like you said, we're doing allthe things.
And there's no one to go to say,can you cover for me?
Or can you take this phone call?
And then you also look at itfrom a financial standpoint,
right?
I'm very fortunate and Irecognize that I had the ability
and support from family, butalso from my husband that I was
(19:53):
able to take that break, right?
Which I'm so very thankful for.
I know not everybody is in thatsituation or has that set of
circumstances.
But I came out of it strongerand I also came out of it being
more transparent with everybodyI work with.
And not just about my health,but just about anything we talk
about.
Being transparent when it comesto, I'm a business and I do
(20:15):
charge for services, I do get alot of people asking for me to
do things for free.
And especially sometimes withmusic people think of it as,
there's music volunteers wholike volunteer from the church
and go and play in assistedliving communities and in memory
care and dementia communitiesand things like that.
So sharing that while I haveexpertise and experience and all
(20:37):
of that, but to be transparentabout cost, about health when
something comes up.
And I found that I've receivedso much grace and support and
love and understanding and Iused to be.
I don't know if afraid is theright word, but I used to be
very hesitant and timid to sharewhat was going on with me
because I thought either theydidn't wanna know or it
(20:59):
shouldn't matter.
And I've learned over time thatsharing those things connect me
to the business clients I'mworking with more.
But it's also just then theyknow what's going on.
So it's not me flaking, when I'mcanceling last minute, they
know, oh, it's not that thisperson isn't unreliable, it's
that there's something realgoing on.
(21:20):
And then I also give them grace,and give them support.
Yeah.
And vice versa.
I think for me it still is achallenge, but I think I've
learned to navigate it.
It was not easy by any means.
And I still navigate it becauseit's something that sometimes
some symptoms will creep up.
So I know something's coming soI can thin out my schedule, but
(21:41):
other times it comes out ofnowhere.
And that's more of the challengefor me.
Beverly (21:45):
Two things.
One is I'm just nearFayetteville, North Carolina.
Oh.
Oh my goodness.
Wilmington.
Wilmington.
Beautiful.
I was just there.
I love it.
So welcome to North Carolina.
Yes.
Oh, we love it here.
We'll have to have coffeesomeday.
Yeah, I would love that.
The second thing is I'mlistening to you and one of the
things that we talk about withour clients all the time is that
and I say this often, I havefelt the same way.
(22:07):
To be a professional as a woman,you have to leave like this part
of you here and do this part ofyou here.
And for a long time, I boughtinto that.
But recently, in the last couplethree years, I have realized,
and I help my clients realizethis too, and really lean into
it.
So I'm gonna say go deep inthis.
Is that.
My business was built in themessy middle of life, like my
husband's deployed and I have akid in my, and all this stuff is
(22:30):
happening.
I had major hip surgery, megoing through menopause.
All the things
Tara (22:35):
Yeah.
Beverly (22:36):
That happen in our lives.
What is so powerful about that,Tara, is there are people who
really connect with you as aservice provider.
Those in helping professionsneed therapy.
Yes, I agree, need help.
But the thing is that do notfeel alone in that kind of
feeling that am I the only onethat's needing help?
(22:58):
I am a very high performer.
I need a coach and I need atherapist.
Just for my own mindset and myown sanity.
I know I need that, but the factthat you advocate now
intentionally for you allows youto also coach others to do the
same.
And that's so beautiful and ithonors so much of what I think
our purpose here is.
(23:18):
So I'm gonna tell you, leanharder and be visible.
Be confident in that becauseit's exactly what the world
needs more of.
So if you had to reflect on theyears you've been in business,
what has been the biggest shiftand what's it evolved you most
as you've been in this field nowsince 2007?
Tara (23:35):
I love the messy middle for sure.
Sharing that.
I think also for me, how it'sevolved is letting go of, I of
course, have a to-do list andI'm gonna check things off that
list.
But letting go of, it's okay ifit doesn't all get done.
I have so many ideas as acreative and as an entrepreneur
and, oh, I wanna work with thisperson and that person and this
(23:57):
organization.
But there's just only so manyhours in the day and there's
also so many hours I wannadevote to my business, and I
don't mean that negatively, butI think too, as solo business
owners.
It's hard to turn your brainoff, and as a music therapist
too, I sometimes will be in thegrocery store and I'll hear a
song and I'll be like, Ooh, thatwould be a really good song for
(24:17):
this client.
Things like that happen to meall the time.
And it's work in progress tryingto get better about
acknowledging that thought andputting a note in my phone.
Or if I have social mediacontent, I have so many ideas,
it comes down to the time ofputting that content out there.
I put a note in my phone andthen every now and then I'll
revisit that if I'm looking forinspiration.
But trying to enjoy my lifeoutside of my business as well.
(24:41):
And I think that's really hardto do sometimes.
And I think as my business hasevolved also to explore, for me
it used to be a lot of inperson, like everything's in
person.
And I still believe in-personmusic therapy is the most
beneficial.
But there are a lot of peoplewho either don't have music
therapists in their area, orthey can't leave their home for
whatever reason, or they have somany different circumstances.
(25:04):
So I have pivoted and I amworking with organizations to
provide telehealth services forpeople living with dementia and
their caregivers.
And that's been reallybeautiful.
Before the pandemic, I was doingtelehealth services, but I was
keeping quiet about it becausenot a lot of people were doing
it.
And I didn't know, is this okaythat I was doing it right?
I just went along my way.
But it was with Skype to showyou how long ago it was.
(25:26):
Yeah, Zoom was not a thing.
And it was when I relocated, Irelocate it from the DC area to
Austin and I had a husband andwife.
I saw both of them.
Both were clients and the sonwas their primary caregiver and
we used Skype to bring familymembers into our sessions.
So he said why don't we try tocontinue with you in Austin like
this and see what happens.
(25:48):
So that was one of my privateclients that I kept, even though
I started working for anothercompany and then the pandemic
happened and then a lot ofpeople got used to very quickly
how to do stuff not in person.
So I think it's opened up awindow for me and my business,
and especially sometimes withwhat I've got going on
(26:09):
health-wise, to stay in my home.
To be comfortable to be where Iam and not only provide clinical
services, but education andtraining.
So I think that's what's alsoevolved most about my business
is I wanna stay with clinical.
'cause I think if I'm gonna talkabout all of these benefits and
the challenges and everythingthat goes into it, I wanna be
tapped in and be doing the workevery day.
(26:31):
But I also wanna be doing morespeaking and teaching.
And educating and being onlineand being visible on podcasts
and, getting hired byorganizations to train their
teams or webinars for caregiversand professionals.
Being online has allowed me todo a lot more of that.
Beverly (26:48):
Amazing.
I started my business in 2011,end of the 2011, beginning of
2012.
And same, I took my show on theroad and we move every two,
three years and I would not havea business if I couldn't work
remotely.
You have to rebuild from scratchevery three years would be
almost impossible.
And this technology has justchanged everything.
Everything that I do is online.
I do websites and all this.
It's all online.
(27:08):
Obviously the whole I in-personconnection is always really
valuable.
However this has allowed such adifferent level.
My therapist she's inWinston-Salem.
And my coach is in New YorkCity.
Yeah.
And we have clients that are inVancouver and like my whole team
is in Central America andMichigan and we're all over too.
So it's really allowed us tojust be where we want to be,
(27:30):
where we can be and serve morepeople in that way.
If you are listening and youhave built your business in the
messy middle, or you are justunderstanding this process of
maybe sharing more of your trueself in your journey, like some
of the challenges, some of thethings that are really hard,
like Tara's talking about herhealth and different things that
if this resonates with you, I'dlove for you to share this
(27:51):
episode.
Take a screenshot, share thelink, put it on social media.
Tag us, let us know your biggesttakeaway.
What are you working with inthis right now?
Plus, it also helps other peoplediscover the magic of this
particular podcast and peoplelike Tara.
So this season we are all aboutconfidence.
Last season we awakened somebrand magic, Tara but this
(28:14):
season we're all aboutvisibility and confidence.
So what does confidence looklike for you as a business
owner?
How did you build it?
And can you share a moment whenyou realized that you were truly
showing up with it?
Hey there, you've just finishedpart one of the Spark Ignite
Your Marketing episode.
How are you feeling?
Excited, inspired, but we'rejust getting started.
Next Tuesday we're dropping parttwo, and you won't wanna miss
(28:36):
it.
Be sure to subscribe to ournewsletter, so you'll be the
first to know when it goes live.
Until then, take a breather, letthose ideas simmer, and we'll
see you next week.
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