Business Innovators Radio - The Inspired Impact Podcast with Judy Carlson-Interview with Tami Holladay, Founder of Holladay Coaching, LLC

Episode Date: September 27, 2024

Tami Holladay, a former counselor turned Life Transitions Coach, has dedicated her career to empowering women as they build confidence, navigate life’s challenges, overcome self-limiting beliefs, and claim their identity with purpose. Tami passionately walks alongside her clients, providing a judgment-free, confidential space that’s nurtured by grace and encouragement.With over two decades of experience in counseling, coaching, missionary work, ministry leadership, and being a mom, Tami brings a unique and heartfelt perspective to the challenges women face at all stages of life. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Family Studies, a Master’s Degree in Counseling, and is a certified Enneagram Coach.Through Individual Personalized Coaching, Tami works closely with clients over 6 or 12 months, providing tailored support as they create lasting, positive change. Her signature 8-week Group Coaching Program, “Be You, Be Confident,” helps women quiet their inner critic, reconnect with their true selves, and create a sense of community by seeing that we’re never alone in life. Tami fosters an environment where participants can share their experiences, support one another, and grow together.Outside of coaching, Tami is a dedicated wife and mom of three: two daughters who are now young adults and a son in middle school. She loves hiking in the stunning Colorado mountains with her family, cheering on the Denver Broncos, watching period pieces on Netflix, and catching up with friends over coffee. And of course, her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is always nearby for cuddles.*************************************************************Judy is the CEO & Founder of the Judy Carlson Financial Group. She helps her clients design, build, and implement fully integrated and coordinated financial plans from today through life expectancy and legacy.She is an Independent Fiduciary and Comprehensive Financial Planner who specializes in Wealth Decumulation Strategies. Judy is a CPA, Investment Advisor Representative, Life and Health Insurance Licensed, and Long-Term Care Certified.Judy’s mission is to educate and empower her clients with an all-inclusive financial plan that encourages and motivates them to pursue their lifetime financial goals and dreams.Learn More: https://judycarlson.com/Investment Adviser Representative of and advisory services offered through Royal Fund Management, LLC, a SEC Registered Adviser.The Inspired Impact Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast-with-judy-carlson-interview-with-tami-holladay-founder-of-holladay-coaching-llc

Welcome to the Inspired Impact Podcast, where dedicated female professionals share how they inspire impact every day. Authentic stories, passionate commitment, lives transformed. I'm your host, Judy Carlson. Welcome to today's episode of the Inspired Impact Podcast. Today's guest is very near and dear to my heart. as you will hear from her, she's all about transitions. Tammy Holiday, welcome. Hi, thank you for having me. Yeah, it's going to be great chatting with you today. I'm really excited.

So why don't you start by telling me a little bit about your journey, where you got started, what inspired you to pursue the path you're on, and how it got you to where you are today? Okay. Well, it's a long journey. I grew up in a military family. My dad was in the Air Force. And we moved every three to three and a half years. And that actually was, that's a long time frame compared to many families that moved every two years. But I didn't realize that that was something unique or different to be moving so often and to be in different cultures. When we, one of the times we moved, we moved to Germany. And so I lived in Germany for three and a half years. We traveled Europe. It was during the Cold War. That ages me a little.

But it, that, I think back and that had a huge impact on my life. To live overseas, to learn as a 12-year-old, 11-year-old. how to evacuate a country in case we needed to, to go into, when we traveled, we traveled to communist countries just to see sites. And I think back and I know that that influenced how I desire to help people live freely, how it helped me to see different views and points of different aspects in the world, right? Different ways of living, different cultures. And so, and the moving around a lot also created an adaptability in me.

It allowed me to, I mean, I don't have too hard of a time. There's nerves there at times for when I walk into a room and don't know anybody, but I don't have too hard of a time just, hey, how are you? And getting to know people. And I attribute that to growing up in a military family. So, and kind of how, you asked how it leads to where I'm at today in this process of what I do, which I'm a counselor turned life transitions coach for women. And all of those years of living in transition, I think, had a huge impact in why I want to help others in that.

because transitions are, there can be small transitions, but there's a lot of big, hard life transitions. And I want to help people navigate those well and with support. And so I think back like in high school is probably when I first started realizing something unique about me that allowed me to create safe. spaces for friends to come and talk to me. I had in high school a few friends come to me and talked to me about abuse that they had experienced. I had one acquaintance. We weren't even like really close friends, but she came to me out of a group of that we were involved in out of all these others and let me know she was experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and that she was going to go away for the summer and plan and adoption.

Wow. And as a teenager, I was, I remember thinking, wow, why did she share that with me? But yet I held space for her and cared for her and held that confidentially, you know? And I think of that time is kind of the first time that I started realizing, like, I have some skills or some gifts that allow others to open up and feel safe. And so that continued, honestly, as I had people come to me and talk to me. And then in college, when I started taking different classes, I found a love for human development and family systems.

And so my undergraduate degree is in family studies. And I knew in that program, I wanted to go on to do some sort of therapy or counseling. So, yeah, so that was, and there was experiences even in college that I volunteered where I helped people facing unplanned pregnancies. There was just lots of experiences of being able to come alongside someone and then support them either in a hard transition in really hard decision making. And so also at that time, I was going through when in my undergrad program, they made us do a lot of self-reflection and a lot of self-awareness work. And I was struggling in my own identity, in my own worth, in my own self-belief.

And so that work that I did in college, plus some work just outside of school, really helped me. to develop and believe in myself and know that I have worth and I have something to offer this world and to offer others. And so all of that, I just think back on that and that's impacted why I do what I do and why I'm so passionate about empowering other women to believe in themselves, to know that they are capable, they are enough to be able to navigate their transitions with confidence and purpose. And so after college, I moved to Australia for two years. I was in my mid-20s and didn't know a soul there. But I jumped into it and took the risk and just wanted. And I just wanted to, I went there to work with youth and help them with their own self-awareness,

help them learn how to goal set, how important their values are, and just help them to find hope and know that there's a purpose for them. And so that was an amazing two years. It was challenging. You would think, and sometimes you would think, we might think in English-speaking countries that it's really easy. But the culture is so different. And so I have. a huge learning curve and I felt very alone and very misunderstood at times and there was a lot of challenges in there. And yet I love to reflect on that time because it was so amazing. It was just so amazing. The Australian people are amazing. So I wanted to stay in Australia, but I knew there was some people encouraging me in my life to continue on to,

I was doing youth ministry work there. And so for one of the churches that was supporting me to be there, they were like, why don't you go and, you know, get some Bible education? Because I had gone to a public school, university. And so they were like, what if you go and get some Bible education before you go back to, the mission field. And so I was like, all right, I've always wanted to get my master's in counseling. I will do that. So I came back and went to Denver Seminary and I got my master's and counseling there. And while I was there, I continued working with the organization that I was with locally and worked

with teenage parents and ran helped with some support groups and things like that. And then once I graduated from my counseling program, I became a birth parent counselor. So in that time, I was working with people facing unplinted or unintended pregnancies and helping them in decision making and helping them with planning adoptions. And that time walking with those women in some of their most vulnerable times in their life making, I often say the hardest decision they'd ever have to make in their life because it's unintended. It's, it's changed the plan they may have had for their life. It's changed everything. And so to create space that they felt safe to be able to share their story and walk through that was just so impactful for me.

and taught me that we truly don't know what other people are going through. And like, I just can't imagine judging people for the scenarios that they're in because none of us are exempt from anything. We can all have something happen to us. And so, like, I remember when I was, I mean, I remember being younger and just being like, people shouldn't say they would never. Don't say you would never because we don't know what life's going to bring, right? We don't.

So that was a really impactful time to work with these women and hard, you know, hard times for them. So all that, like really just, I've walked a lot. You've heard in that that a lot of people, I've done, I did a lot of work working with people with unplanned pregnancies, unintended pregnancies at different points in time. Oh, I didn't share it when I, I also, after, I guess that was after being a birth parent counselor, my husband and I moved to Utah and we were doing ministry there. And I ran teenage parent support groups. I started this ministry group from the ground up. I was a satellite of the Denver office. And there was nothing there doing any of this work. And so I started that because I was, I truly believed that we need people walking alongside of us.

We need support. And so here's these young moms and dads that they're teenagers and their parents. And I think it's so important that we come alongside of them and say, hey, you know what? You are capable of doing a really good job at this. And it's going to be hard. And here's some skills and here's some help. and here's mentors to help you through this process, through this transition of being a child, really, yourself, raising children.

And I mean, I have a hard time. Like, I think of all the people that I've been able to come alongside of them. And, like, they have such a beautiful place in my heart. And some of those teen parents I still am in communication with to this day. And, you know, they're like, thank you. Thanks for creating that space. and I just love seeing them grow and seeing how they're raising their kids. And so that was really a huge.

You know, Judy, when I pause because I'm thinking like, when you get a walk alongside people in some of like the hardest, most vulnerable times in their life, like, I don't know, I have like a connection to them that I just love them and want the best for them and want them to know that there is, they can do it, right? They can. They can. They can do it. But I believe that we're meant to come alongside people and help people and support each other in community and not alone. So that kind of leads me to where I'm at now.

And I have my own business. It's called holiday coaching. I felt like my last name. I like to tell people it's Hala Day. So it's H-O-L-L-A-D-A-Y coaching. And I started that in August of 2020. So we're four years in here. And I think one of the pieces that's important for people to know that, like, I don't have it

all together. Like the things that I help clients with are things that I've also struggled with. So before starting my business, I really struggled. It took me like four years to step into it. Part of that's lifetimeing, you know. But part of it was my own fears of how do I do it? What if I'm not good enough? It's been a while since I've done something like, you know,

worked alongside people because there was a bit of a break in between doing a lot of the counseling and this time. And so I had my own fears that I had to work through. And oh, how I wish I would have, I found a coach and I wish I would have found her sooner because I would have started sooner doing what I absolutely love, you know? Wow. Yeah. She came alongside you if it was a she. Yes. Yep, it was a she. And yeah, she came alongside of me and just was that support person. And it was a group coaching program that I was a part of. And so it was other people speaking into my life too.

And so I think all of these experiences and my own personal experiences with change and transition is what has led me to focusing on helping others navigate through their transitions. Because I think that we can get really... There's this idea that life is linear. And in reality, it's not. There's very little in this world that's linear. Life is not linear.

There's not one path, one way, one thing. And there's hiccups and there's hardships and there's challenges that come up in life. And I just, I want to help people know that they can make it through that. I want them to know that they have what they have. need inside of them, they're designed with unique skills or really, skills are learned, but unique strengths and innate abilities that really can make an impact in the world. And unfortunately, not a lot of people believe that about themselves. And so that's what I want to change. I want them to know that they can, you know? Right. They need a little tap into that

from someone like you who can see it more from the outside than they can see it within themselves and then you can reveal it to them and then they can discover it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, if we, listeners, if you think about like in your life, there's lots of things we can do self-help. We can do a lot of things learning on our own. And when we're stuck and we sometimes just need that little gentle nudge of accountability to help us say, okay, when was that, when was that that you wanted to accomplish that?

Okay. What beliefs are you having that are keeping you from moving forward in that? Well, go ahead. I was just going to say our like our mindset, our beliefs, a lot of the things, the beliefs that limit us are subconscious. We don't even realize that we've been telling ourselves something like, oh, I can't do that. I'm not capable. I'm not smart enough. Things like that we have been telling ourselves that maybe because someone told it to us or because we heard it along the way or somehow picked it up along the way in life.

And we've been saying it for years and often don't even know we're saying it to ourselves. Wow. And we don't know where we even picked it up or someone spoke it into us, you know, erroneously or what? Yeah. And yet it's having such power. and influence over us in our lives, you know? And those are the, that's like the, that's something I help clients as I'm coaching them. I'll ask them, like, what are you believing about that when they say, well, I can't do it?

And I'm like, tell me a little bit deeper. What are you thinking? What messages are you hearing? Hmm. And there's typically a something, a limiting, a discouraging negative belief about themselves. I wonder if they're surprised when they hear. hear themselves saying that. There, I have had, that's a good question.

I have had clients say, huh, I didn't even realize how much, you know, when they start, because I have them work through, like, where do you think you first heard it? And when they kind of tap into that and they realize how long ago they think they first heard it and how long it's been influencing them, they are, they are surprised for sure. You know, and out in community and society today, when you observe parents and children and some of the things that are said between parents and children and children and parents and said over and over and over again, it's no wonder we get to be young adults and adults and adults and have these limiting beliefs inside of us.

Yeah. Yeah. And not just, you know, here's one of my things that I'm passionate about talking about helping people with is it's not just, it's definitely our family systems. We have things that impact us and hold us back for sure within our family systems, but societal norms, religious norms. Like, there's these norms that we live by and the shoulds that come with it that just they shrink us down and they make us quiet and, oof, nope, I want to see women knowing who they are,

living fully in who they are, and believing in themselves and not shrinking down. Right. I find it so interesting that way back in high school years and years ago, you identified, you even identified it in yourself, thoughts like, wow, I wonder why she chose me to share. that news with or I mean way back then you were already identifying you had this gift and how it's come to fruition especially in the last four years since you started your business um it's remarkable isn't it as you look back on your life it is uh yeah you know one of my favorite quotes like is an unreflected experience is a lost experience oh and I think it's um oh my gosh I just had a mind blink. I'll have to tell you later. It'll come to me of who said it.

Okay. You'll have to say that again because I think we need to hear that again. An unreflected. So an unreflected experience is a lost experience. And I really like that quote because we live in such a fast-paced society that we do not slow down and pause and reflect and think about what today lives. Often people are thinking about the past or the future or the present is just so busy that we don't have time to reflect. And so then we lose those experiences. And so I share that because I have had to do all that self-awareness work and reflection.

And remember like, oh, yeah, there is a common thread in my life of people cross paths with me and me being that safe person for them. And I guarantee you every single one of us, if we pause and reflect and think about it, there is a common thread in all of our lives that shows that you need innate strength and quality about who you are that can make an impact in this world. Wow. You know such powerful words, Tammy. I love it. Can you tell me about a specific experience or two where you really know that what you do today makes an impact in someone's life? Sure. Yeah, let me think first. I think of one of my recent coaching clients, and she was in big transition. She had moved from another state where all of her connections and family and friends

were. She moved into an area that she didn't have much community. She was starting her own business. and raising young children. And she just felt alone. And when we were coaching, she was in another transition. She was moving from one city to another here. And she, I have my clients go through and talk about and discover, really, or rediscover their core values. What's really important to them. And some people don't even know what a core value is, but it's that.

thing that belief that is a part of who you are that either lights you on fire excited about and gets you passionate about something or it also guides like things that you really don't like. And so we do this work looking at your values. And so with this client, she, after doing her values and in this transition of moving from one city to another, she, it was, there was a hiccup in it. And it was, there was some rough stuff. stuff going on as far as like trying to get the move to finalize and things. And she was like, oh, I think I just need to, I don't know, maybe we just stay put. Maybe we just don't move.

And I paused and I said, do you remember a few times ago, what was it that you told me why you want to move? What values do you feel like will be met and fulfilled when you move? And that gave her an opportunity to pause and think about, oh, yeah. And she goes, you know, I think I am in such a habit of making decisions to please other people, to make other people happy or do what they want, that I forget that it's okay for me to, even when it's hard to keep moving forward because I know it will, in the long run, help me live a life in line with what I value.

And she has community there now. And it's beautiful. And it's, it's what she desired. And not only in her life, when I think about the birth parents that I worked with, same thing in that in decision making, I often will walk people through knowing their value, knowing why they're choosing something so that when the doubt comes in, I can say, remind me what it was of why you decided that. Wow. So that they can then stand firm in what it was and remember, okay, this is the best decision I can make at that time. This is why I made that decision. And so, yeah, values in decision making is just something I love to walk with people through.

and oh, I know one thing I was thinking to, Judy, that I think is really important. I've had people say to me, they say, well, I have friends. I have people I can talk to about these things. Why would I need a coach? And when you think about making a decision, if you're talking to your friend or a family member, how neutral are they usually? Right. Not so much. Yeah, they usually have an opinion.

And there's times that we want to hear that from them. And that is a beautiful support system. And then there's times in really hard decisions that we really want someone neutral so that we can, so that when you're making that decision, you can say, all right, I know why I did this. I know this is what I want, what I need, what aligns with who I am. And so that is, you know, why I think that it's important to have a coach, a therapist, someone neutral come alongside of you in some of these harder decisions in mind. What I see, Tammy, in listening to you, is that at the beginning, they need to do the hard

stuff, but they've got you to do the hard stuff with and through to build a foundation of knowledge, whether they forget it or not, you remember it, you've got it documented, you know what their strong foundation is so that when they come to you with this indecision and going back and forth and oh, I'll just stay here. What the heck, it's too hard. You're like, no, let's go back to the foundation that we built together that is all you. Yeah. It's you and you're the one who is going to live the rest of your life with your decisions. So let's get back to it. And wow, what a gift to give. give to someone because when you talk to a family member who's grown up with you or whatever,

there is not that neutrality that you bring to the table at all. Nope. Oh my gosh. Wow. Well, I could go on and on with you for a long time. There's so many things that touch me and the transitions I've gone through. and I so wish that I would have had someone walking alongside of me during some of those because I took what came my way.

And like you say, it may not be the most guided, you know, information and path for you to follow. But we do make it if we want to, if we want to conquer the next thing. Yeah, that's so true. So I think there are a lot of people. In fact, a couple came to my mind as we're talking here. Wow, who could really benefit from working with you. So tell us, Tammy, how can we get in contact with you? How can we learn more about your services?

How could we join in if we wanted to? Yeah, thank you. So you can find me at holiday coaching. And remember, that's about H-O-L-L-A-D-A-Y, so Hala-D-Coaching.com. On my website, you can find me. me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, all the social places under holiday coaching as well. And ways to work with me, I like to, my main ways that I work with people is there's individualized, individual personalized coaching. We do want, we meet one on one for biweekly,

typically for six to 12 months. It depends. I have different packages that, depending on what people are needing. I usually always do a free connecting call. So that is available to anybody. And what we do on a free connecting call is talk through what is it that you're finding where you're stuck, a challenge, something that stirs you to think about, maybe I need a coach. We talk through that. And then I, you get to know me and we see if we're a fit and if coaching is a fit. And so that's a great way just to kind of inquire about coaching if you don't even you know if you've never thought about coaching and then another way to work with me is through group coaching so i have an eight week group coaching program we're going to actually be launching the next group september 26th of

2024 okay and um it is an eight week program called be you be confident and in that it goes through a lot of what i've shared today learning rediscovering our core values, looking at our common threads, learning more about ourselves, our strengths, our innate self, our mindset, our limiting beliefs, all those things in the eight weeks. And it's in a group setting online to help someone who's feeling stuck in or has a transition in life coming up, you know, whether it's like I had a lot of people in my last group there. Kids were heading off to college, you know. So becoming empty nesters or any of that stuff, kids going into school.

So that is another way to work with me with the group coaching. I also, I didn't talk about this, but I also am a certified Enneagram coach. And so the Enneagram is a personality system in case people don't know, but I do four month in-depth guiding people through their personality type of the Enneagram. So those are different ways to work with me. But the best way to get started would be that reconnecting call with me. Wow. That's great.

I really admire women who come to you before the transition instead of in the midst of chaos. Yeah. Yeah. And you're all welcome no matter what stage you are in. But yes, like these women that knew, they're like, oh, yeah, I can tell this is going to be, it's going to be tough. I'm going to need a little bit of support. Right.

So, yeah. Yeah. Wow. Well, thank you so much, Tammy, for your time today. I'm sure our listeners are going to really be blessed by everything you've shared. So I really appreciate your time. And thank you so much. Thank you, Judy.

I really appreciate you inviting me to do this. You're welcome. Thanks so much for joining us for the Inspired Impact Podcast. To listen to past episodes, please visit the Inspired Impact Podcast.com. Thank you.