Accelerator Spotlight: Tami VanHoy

It has been an added-bonus in my life to get to meet some of the amazing women who walk through my Community and begin sharing their story. 

I've watched Tami VanHoy rise to share her story with such passion and conviction because of how grounded she is in her faith & identity. It's inspiring. 

Tami spreads a message today that is calling women to stop living with their hair on fire, and instead, light their heart on fire! 

I hope you fall in love with her story as much as I have! 

APRIL: Let's start with a little introduction. Tell everyone a bit more about you & share a piece of your journey. 

TAMI: Nana. That's what my biggest fans call me! I have 6 grands with #7 on the way, and of all the titles I've had, this one is my favorite. Other titles I've answered to include: mom (I've raised 4 who call me that!), wife, entrepreneur, business owner, founder, CEO, Mindset / Business Coach, Speaker, employee and yes...daughter and sister. But my story is one where I learned to stop letting those titles be my identity - the thing that proved my value and worth.

I was a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of 4 with no college degree deciding every week what groceries had to go back on the shelf when the list was longer than the bank account was deep. One day, on the brink of bankruptcy, I decided that doing without was not going to be my family’s story. This was the start of my journey to build a multi-million-dollar business, from my kitchen table to a corporate campus, through pure determination and ‘doing it scared’.

Fourteen years later, after choosing the wrong investment partner, I found myself stripped of my business and in this realized that I had also lost my perceived value and purpose (my reason for being created). If I wasn’t the founder of my business, who was I? At the exact same time my marriage was crumbling and the title of wife was slipping from me. So much of my identity was wrapped up in these titles. Without them, what value did I have in this world?

At that point I didn’t see myself as successful. I couldn’t see what I had accomplished and overcome…all I could see were the failures, bad choices and disappointing results. For the next few years I pulled my chair up to a ‘table for two’ and engaged in conversations with God. It was there that I let Him remind me that…

…purpose in life is not something to be chased after or measured by others. We are born with one purpose – to glorify God wherever He places us.

I saw how I had been living with my hair on fire, chasing purpose, trying to meet expectations of the world and lost sight of my heart fire. I learned how to say yes to what sets our heart on fire - and no to the rest. No to the things that the world guilts us into saying yes to. No to the things that set our hair on fire.

Today, through books, retreats, speaking and coaching, I help those who are ready to stop living with their hair on fire learn to live with their heart on fire – shining for God just as He created us, for His glory.

APRIL: How has 'storytelling' influenced you and/or your business?

TAMI: I remember the light bulb moment as I was wrestling with my first 'story arc' lessons. It was the moment I finally broke through a lifelong habit of telling a story about what happened to me and began sharing a story of what happened IN me. This allowed the flood gates to open up and my first book began to flow.

APRIL: What does being a LIGHTbeamer mean to you?

TAMI: It's not about shining for my glory IN the world but shining with my heart on fire with God's glory INTO the world.

APRIL: What have you learned or discovered the most about storytelling and your story?

TAMI: I love how I now see people, circumstances and experiences as 'arcs'. Every person is more than who we see in the moment. They are a transformation in process with a story to tell. In a world where people chase validation with filtered snapshots on the stage of social media - I love looking deeper to see their story. Learning the art of storytelling married with my love of asking questions has shaped how I approach both my coaching and my writing.

APRIL: What's been the hardest part about learning how to share your story?

TAMI: Getting out of my way and overthinking. I still find myself getting stuck in the planning and thinking versus just letting the stories flow. But that's part of my story...right!? This is another beautiful part of learning to tell our stories as an arc. When we get stuck or feel overtaken by a situation, we can stop and process where we are in the current story being written. Am I in the before? Am I in a new transformation? Am I coming out of a new transformation? Currently I'm in the arc between awareness and transformation!

APRIL: What is one piece of advice you'd give to another woman about using her voice and sharing her story?

TAMI: It's not about you. Even when it's your story - it's not about you but how God wants to use it to impact people who are hurting, struggling or feeling unseen. Everyday, whether in real life or a social media community, we are with people who are hiding behind walls of doubt, wondering if anyone understands what they are going through or sees them at all. When we tell our stories, walls come down and lives are impacted in beautiful ways.

APRIL: What do you love most about your work?

TAMI: Seeing lives being transformed. An ah-ha moment from reading something I wrote or hearing me speak is nice, but when I actually get to see or hear from a person being touched and moved into a new realization of who they are in God and how they are created to shine for Him - I literally weep. It's such a beautiful thing to see God work.

APRIL: What are you busy creating now?

TAMI: My book, Feeding a Hungry Soul: Conversations at a Table for Two, is in creative design with a launch date of late summer 2021. I'm now starting to craft the next book, Living With Our Heart On Fire (Time to Put Out the Hair Fires). At the same time, I'm designing some online courses as well as putting the final touches on some keynote messages for my speaking platform.

APRIL: How do you relax after a busy week?

TAMI: Did I tell you I'm an introvert? Relaxing for me is a book and a cozy chair on my patio or, on those occasions when I can escape, that cozy chair is by a secluded cabin in the woods or on the beach!

APRIL: What kind of things do you like doing outside of work?

TAMI: Worship. I crave time to just worship God. A very close second is being with family! Going to the grand kid's sporting events, having a house full over for a family meal, or just visiting with them individually. Time with them is precious and fills my cup.

APRIL: How have you benefited the most by being a member of our VIP Membership, The Visibility Accelerator?

TAMI: Resources! I've yet to encounter a situation where I couldn't find in the Visibility Hub what I needed to know to grow my platform, build my brand, empower my voice or minimize my efforts for better results. It's a living breathing resource that never grows stagnant. I'd also call the community an amazing resource - one that this type A introvert is learning to take more advantage of! It's a process!

APRIL: List any accolades, professional credentials, awards, or special affiliations you are proud of! 

TAMI: Life experience! :-) No college degree to give me permission to build a multi-million dollar national business - I just did it. No writing credentials to validate me as an author - I just did it! I am a certified coach though. I do have that!

APRIL: List all of your pertinent channels for us to share such as website, social media handles, podcast, blog, etc.

TAMI:
Website: https://tamivanhoy.com/
Blog: https://tamivanhoy.com/blog/
Facebook free private group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/livingwithmyheartonfire
Facebook business page: @tamivanhoy / https://www.facebook.com/Livewithyourheartonfire
Instagram: @tamivanhoy
Twitter: @tamivanhoy 

Tami is a founding member of our VIP Community, The Visibility Accelerator -- where we help women get their stories and voices heard through monthly coaching calls, ongoing visibility trainings, and weekly story prompts that help them never run out of ways to tell their story. 

If you'd like to join our amazing community and grow your business or platform, click here: www.lightbeamers.com/visibility-accelerator