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Join me as I explore the intersection of business and personal growth with Tiffany Zehara. Tiffany shares her unique approach to consulting, which often starts with business challenges but quickly delves into personal and intimate aspects of her clients' lives.
She discusses the importance of authenticity and how it impacts both professional and personal success.
Whilst Tiffany works primarily with men, she is making a significant impact on both individual lives and the broader movement for women's rights and bodily autonomy by helping men to connect more with their inner worlds.
Tiffany's insights offer a fresh perspective on how embracing our full humanity can lead to more fulfilling and successful lives, both personally and professionally.
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Meet our guest:
Tiffany Zehara
Tiffany is a strategic growth officer, a writer, and a speaker who focuses on peak performance in both the boardroom and in the bedroom.
She is the founder of humanitarian entrepreneur, where she bridges the gap between personal authenticity and business success as a consultant in business.
She has a website for her business Humanitarian Entrepreneur.
And you can connect with Tiffany here:
Meet your host:
Andrea Balboni
Andrea is a certified Sex, Love and Relationships Coach at Lush Coaching.
Her mission is to help people experience as much pleasure and fulfilment in their personal intimate lives as they desire.
From finding love naturally and easily, to deepening connection and resolving conflict, to keeping passion alive over the long-term, I support individuals and couples in all phases of intimate relationships.
Work with me - Book a 30 minute consultation call and learn how coaching with me can help.
Or send me a message here and let’s begin the conversation.
Let’s continue the conversation
From Boardroom to Bedroom: Peak Performance with Tiffany Zehara
Andrea: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Lush Love, the podcast. I'm your host, Andrea Balboni. Through conversations with special guests, we'll navigate the intensity of intimacy, the highs and lows of relationships, and the beauty and complexity of the erotic, desire and pleasure.
I'll guide you through embodiment practices and meditations in special episodes that will bring to life and make real what you learn from conversations with thought leaders, teachers, and guide of all kinds. My goal is to support you, to experience intimate relationships in the way that you desire, so that you feel nourished by deep, meaningful connection, by passion and pleasure.
I'm so glad [00:01:00] you're here with me on this journey. And if you are to rate and review this episode, if you feel the same.
Here with us today is Tiffany Zehara. Tiffany is a strategic growth officer, a writer, and a speaker who focuses on peak performance in both the boardroom and in the bedroom. She is absolutely a disruptor in the business consulting space as you can imagine. She is the founder of humanitarian entrepreneur, where she bridges the gap between personal authenticity and business success as a consultant in business and also in her clients’ personal lives, including intimacy when they are open to it.
I am so excited to have Tiffany here today because her work really does navigate the narrative on what makes us human, both in the business [00:02:00] world, and within our personal lives. And for her, what makes us human is bodily autonomy, authentic connection, and intimacy.
Tiffany helps entrepreneurs and execs align their values with their ventures. She tackles stigmatized topics as well around women's rights, bodily autonomy, and intimate wellness. She creates safe spaces for honest dialogue. And she believes, and in her experience, that this is how change happens. Welcome, Tiffany. It is so good to have you here today.
Tiffany: I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Andrea: I would love to hear from you how you describe to the world the work that you do because you describe yourself upfront as a disruptor, a connector, and an educator. Three very unique qualities that come [00:03:00] together in you.
So I would love to hear how those qualities express themselves in your work and what exactly it is that you do with the people that you work with.
Tiffany: So I work mostly with men. I work with women as well, but mostly with men and when I'm doing individual work. And so when I'm having these conversations, it's really the brass tacks of I'm having issues in my business.
How do I get to the next level? How do I grow? How do I, you know, navigate these different stumbling blocks? To get to the next level in, in revenue and all of these things. And so those are the presenting problems. It's very practical things. However, the one, how we do one thing is how we do everything. And so we can't divorce the business side of us, the work side [00:04:00] of us, as well as the personal, because they all go hand in hand.
And so. Once I’m able to create a safe space for clients, a lot of the times those that work with me will start to go into the challenges that they're having in their personal life. Whether it's, um, just navigating all of these other roles, um, that they have to do so that they can meet with the clients and do all of these other things.
Um. And then it starts to get into more of the personal and just being able to have conversations, um, with their partners. And that also goes back into the business side of things, because if you are presenting one way in your business, but you're trying to market, uh, to a broader audience. So how I typically describe this as the bro marketing that you're supposed to do in business, and you can very easily scare away the women clients. [00:05:00] And so, if you're having trouble in your personal life with your dating and relationships with women, it's how to have these authentic conversations in all areas of your work. And so it's really about the connection. It's that authenticity that it really plays a part in everything. But of course the men that come to me are presenting with the, I need to deal with the business first.
I don't care about my personal life, but it ends up coming out anyway.
Andrea: That is fascinating. So they come to you looking for business, and I'm going to guess whether that's strategy or business development, um, they're coming to you for that. And then they must know or have a bit of an inkling that you also do this other thing.
Tiffany: Yes.
Andrea: So I am curious about how quickly that shows up for them.
Tiffany: So I have experience as a sex worker [00:06:00] and so I'm able to, um, be very upfront with my conversations, obviously in platforms like this. And I have found that it's very dismantling for people. It's very disarming. It's, um, oh, okay. There's nothing that I'm going to say to you that you're going to judge me for.
You've seen her done it all. And so I feel like it happens really quickly because, um, they recognize that there is that, uh, safe space because there isn't the judgment. Um, because of all the experience that I've had in my life, personally, professionally, everything, there's that, um, just that safer space that they can go into deeper parts that they are not necessarily able to with, you know, a straight, uh, business consultant or a straight, um, person that's dealing with intimacy and sex.
It's really bridging the gap. A lot of people, um, don't [00:07:00] necessarily go into the sex unless that's what they focus on. A lot of, um, consultants also don't, uh, you know, bridge these two. And I feel like even though I started really with the business, all these other parts have started to come out. So I've had to, um, really tailor my language to be like, yes, this is this is what's going to end up happening. Let's just put it all on the table, shall we say.
So, you know, you're not the only one that's going to go into these places. This just naturally happens. So it also is able to go deeper, quicker, knowing that, okay, I'm not the only one venting about, you know, the fact that I haven't had sex with my wife in 10 years. You know, it just naturally progresses that way radically.
Andrea: Wow. So yeah, this is definitely a key differentiator I would say between you and let's say other business consultants. What super powers do you feel you've mentioned? You've kind of alluded [00:08:00] to a few of them. What, yeah, superpowers or what kind of leverage does that bring to someone who's open to exploring that space as well as the challenges they're having in their business and entrepreneurship?
Tiffany: I think it's authenticity is so, so, so important. And it's what we crave. Um, I was having a conversation, um, with a client actually yesterday, and he was talking about, you know, the, trying to be all polished in his delivery, um, on social media and the ums and the ahs and editing all that out. And. Yes, I understand that.
But at the same time, it's real and people are drawn to what's real. And so when you're able to put yourself out in, um, a way that people feel safe, um, it's going to help you both professionally as well as personally. And so it's, um, [00:09:00] also starting to deal with these issues that you didn't realize were impacting your business.
Um, but, you know, and it doesn't have to mean like that you're just laying everything out there. It's really just people seeing, oh, you're a real person and it's okay. I can trust you with, you know, 7 and 8 figure deals, 9, 10 figure, wherever you're at, you know, people feel like, okay, I can trust you with this. And it just, it goes, again, with the professional side as well as the personal.
And so, um, authenticity is, is super important in this. And it's really learning how to have that authentic connection and communication that I feel like we lack a lot in this day and age, especially with social media and the ability to edit with everything. And we lose some of that humanness that we really, really crave. That's what we're drawn to as humans.
Andrea: Beautiful. So showing up [00:10:00] authentically and clearly communicating who, not just kind of what you offer, but because of the authenticity, people really get a clear sense of who the person is, so who your clients are, that are more apt to, I'm just going to jump there, to trust them to the, to, to feel like they know them and therefore are willing to do the deals, to put the money down on the table, to push things through because they feel like they're connecting with an actual real human.
Tiffany: Yes. And also to trust yourself, to do these deals, to have these conversations, to push these boundaries. Cause sometimes you've been doing something because you thought that that's what you had to do to bring in money. And in reality, you hate it. That's what's rebelling your clients. And so when you start to figure out what you really want to do, it's not, you know, throwing the baby out with the bath water and scrapping everything that you've been doing for, you know, however many years, but it's pulling what you have been doing and what [00:11:00] you really want to do together, cause that's happened as well.
So really being authentic with yourself, which is very, very scary, and why having a safe space is super, super important. It's not just these brass tacks strategy with the business that you're in is, is this really what you want to be doing? And then, you know, going from there.
Andrea: Amazing. Wow. So I am really getting a sense for the power of the way that you approach the work that you do, that it gets to the heart of things pretty quickly. And I know myself working with men, that results that come quickly, quick results is very important. And then in my, again, in my experience, guys are willing to invest and go there and make the changes and do the thing if they can see that the results are going to come through.
And it sounds to me like, because you go there, you go right there to the heart of things quickly that they're able to really, um, to move and to make a lot of changes [00:12:00] in the work that you do with them.
Tiffany: Yes.
Andrea: Yeah. Incredible. Where do you find, if you do find, where are their blockers? So are there hesitations or resistance to, um, where does that mostly show up in the work that you do with men?
Tiffany: I attract a lot and work a lot with hyper masculine men, um, so those that are current or ex law enforcement, current or ex military, um, and, you know, even if they are in these spaces, doesn't mean that they are not having side hustles and things. I'm, I'm thinking of one who, um, in particular who works like 80, 90 hours a week. It's insane. Um, but in doing both.
But those that have been trained, um, this is what a man is and it's, um, trying to navigate the machismo culture that [00:13:00] has been, um, deeply ingrained into them and how to really trust yourself, how to, again, lean into a little bit more of this feminine space, because what I typically say is when you have the pendulum so far to one side, you have to be able to allow it to swing back so that there is balance in your life so that you are a whole person.
And how far you allow that to swing, I mean, is up to you, but there has to be some balance because operating in one space for so long, it's not healthy. This is why you're coming to me. This is why you're having the challenges that you are. Um, but again, how do you do that and still be that man? Um, as, as my work, uh, as a sex worker, it's, you know, doming.
A lot of guys have specifically had issues around, um, you know, [00:14:00] those again, law enforcement, military that want to have more of that softer submissive side again to varying degrees. Um, but you know, they're coming to me because they don't feel that they can have these conversations with their partner.
Their partner was attracted to them because these, they were these strong men. And how do you have the conversation that, you know, maybe I need to cuddle, or maybe I want to be wearing lingerie and pegged, you know, it's, I mean, to varying degrees, but how do you have that conversation and, you know, still feel respected as a man with your partner. That's one of the huge blocks.
And it's, that's obviously the personal side, but on the professional, again, how do you still come off as a man as, um, in control as in power, if you're showing a little bit of, uh, emotion, which can be perceived as weakness by these men, um, by not just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, instead [00:15:00] of actually listening to what your female clients or, um, however, the females that you are working with are coming to you, whether it's, um, a variety of problems, how to still have that empathetic ear and still be a man. I think that that's one of the biggest challenges that I see.
Andrea: And what a challenge to tackle. Well done on navigating that space and helping your clients navigate that space as well, because we know that it happens or it shows up on individual level as well as collective, collective level. And so I feel that that work alone, helping men to connect more with this, this other side of them, so they can feel more whole as a human, uh, that other side being perceived as feminine.
So the more, the more emotive side, the parts that in that part of them, that's in touch with how they feel and what they're experiencing that, [00:16:00] um, can be considered softer. And in our society and culture, soft isn't necessarily as respected, the power of softness isn't acknowledged either. So how, um, helping navigate all of that is really an incredible, um, piece of work that you're doing an incredible area of focus and so liberating for men to step into that space and feel more fully human and be able to express more of themselves as just being more human really in the end. So.
Tiffany: Thank you.
Andrea: Yeah. And I would say that you also have a focus area on women's rights and bodily autonomy.
And so it sounds to me like through the work that you're doing with men, you're absolutely 100 percent doing work for women as well. But I was just curious about how you see the work that you do as supporting women's rights and bodily autonomy.
Tiffany: So it's different, uh, advisory roles that I [00:17:00] have. Um, my graduate work was focused in this space and, you know, part of the big conversation was you have to have men at the table.
And so the focus really is all about the rights that we have as individuals in our bodies. Um, but women, however, you are defining yourself as a woman, um, it's, everybody has individual rights. And so, you know, I sit on, um, advisory committees for these types of organizations. But really, a lot of the change needs to happen on the men's side to really have that buy in.
Um, and through the individual work, being able to connect with that softer side, being able to understand that feminine aspect of yourself. It's. Yes, it's obviously impacting you personally and professionally, but it's [00:18:00] collectively moving the movement forward on women's rights and bodily autonomy.
Andrea: Mm. Incredible. Thank you. Thank you for the work that you’re doing.
Tiffany: Thank you.
Andrea: So that makes humanitarian entrepreneur as the name for your business make perfect sense to me. And I just wanted to ask if you wanted to speak a little bit more to why you chose that as the name of your business, because maybe it's a little bit less, um, obvious for people coming for business support and business, if that's what they're coming first, even if they have other stuff for, um, yeah, just to speak a little bit more to, to why humanitarian entrepreneur and how the values that are behind that show up in, in your work.
Tiffany: So I started working cause I originally came from a charitable space and I was focusing on women's rights, and again, the bodily autonomy and these types of [00:19:00] organizations that, um, it's been a progression over time. Um, when I started working with these organizations, I, it really became business consulting. Um, because it was all these, uh, charities that, um, were very, very frustrated with not being able to move the needle forward and not seeing themselves as businesses.
And so that's really where this started with the business consulting and then the progression just happened that I was attracting these men, um, as well as all of the experience I've had as a sex worker, um, the types of men that I was attracting. So that's really where everything progressed. And so, the name is still there because it's about navigating the narrative on what makes us human, and it also calls into mind [00:20:00] of what entrepreneurship is and what it isn't.
So it's also bridging the gap of that masculine and feminine. You think entrepreneurship, historically speaking, as again, very masculine, very business oriented, but bringing in humanitarian as that softer side. It's bridging the two worlds. My rationale of why I've kept that name.
Andrea: Yeah, I love it. So, and it feels future facing. It feels like the direction of so many developments that are very exciting in business, um, are happening. And a lot of the view that I've had into that world has been through female entrepreneurship. So women in business really leading the charge on bringing full heart and awareness and positive intention to business. And it's been incredible.
So I'm really excited that you are navigating the way for helping men to navigate the way forward and that too. Um, because it is us [00:21:00] together learning how to do this all together.
Tiffany: Yeah, it's not us versus them. It's all of us together. But sometimes there needs to be a little bit of massaging of understanding these other parts of ourselves.
And I mean, same thing on the feminine side, understanding, um, how to, uh, because I mean, you know, we're conditioned to be the good girl and, you know, not take up space and not do all of these things and how to massage that masculine side. So you're not necessarily losing yourself, but being able to pull in certain aspects at certain times. And so it's for both sides. Um, to really understand how to navigate that.
Andrea: Absolutely. And it's an ongoing challenge. I feel like if you've been in this and I was in the business world for a very long time, um, before entering into this entrepreneurial more entrepreneurial space and really lost a sense of myself as a woman in that world.
Um, because it’s so dominated by masculine [00:22:00] energy, which is beautiful and positive. And just put me, brought me completely out of balance. And it sounds like that's the rebalancing that you're helping, um, men with, and that we're all kind of navigating together. How can we express fully as humans in both our masculine and feminine ways? Because we are all, all of it.
And, um, being with how the world perceives us as we navigate that change is also tricky. And so having someone like you there as a support feels super, super valuable. And again, thank you so much for the work that you're doing, because it just sounds powerful, incredible, and that your clients are getting a lot of benefit from it, um, in the world. And the people around them and then the world also beyond that. So, so, thank you.
Tiffany: Thank you for those beautiful words. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Andrea: I just say what I see. That's all. My last [00:23:00] question for you is, well, I have two questions. One is, what do you love most about the work that you do?
Tiffany: Oh, I that connection with someone else and really seeing the impact. Um, one of the things that I felt like I lost when I was strictly business consulting, when I was really starting this, um, and didn't have the more human side was, um, you know, not being able to see the change because the macro is, is awesome, but at the same time, you kind of miss those little wins.
And when you're working on both sides, you're helping to really move the needle forward, but you're also seeing those little wins that happen in real time. And that just charges me up because of the ripple effect that it has on the world. And, you know, it's, um, not necessarily, you know, [00:24:00] these huge movements.
It's, it's the ripple effect. It's one person really can make a huge difference because of how it just permeates out into the world. And so I'm so excited to be able to be a part of this.
Andrea: And we're so excited that you are. Thank you so much. Um, yeah. So my last question is if someone was curious and wanted to take a first step in this, um, space of doing this work of being with the challenges they're having in business and maybe having an inkling that there's something else there too for them to be with, um, what would be a first, uh, first positive step in the right direction, do you think?
And everyone's different. I know it's a different difficult question to answer, but, um, if there's one positive forward moving way step, what might that be?
Tiffany: I always say, just listen to your intuition. If you're being called to read a book, there's a reason for it. You may [00:25:00] not necessarily see it right there, but then you remember, oh, I remember this sentence from this book like a year ago.
And it all comes together. If you're being called to watch a documentary, or even if you're just like, oh, I should take a left instead of a right on my way to work, you don't know what you're going to pass. You don't know if you're going to see a billboard that's going to solidify something for you or run into somebody that you haven't seen in years.
Just follow your intuition on where you're being called and trust that. And I know that it can be very scary, especially for men, um, to be able to have this blind trust, but just little ways, even again, if it's taking a left instead of a right, if that's what you're feeling called to do, just go with it.
Okay. So maybe it takes you five extra minutes. Just follow those little whispers and you're being led to where you're supposed to be. Everything happens for a [00:26:00] reason. Everything's happening for our highest and best good.
Andrea: Oh, and trusting that is also a challenge for me. So I'm on, I'm in the boat with the man on that one. Trying, living that, living that truth is, is, um, is definitely, definitely a challenge. I'm going to say it, um, but trusting in, trusting in those golden kind of breadcrumbs that are left and following them is really what courage is all about I think.
Tiffany: Well, it's also like it's, I mean, I know it sounds all super, super fluffy, but I am saying this from personal experience. You know, I have been brought to my knees so many times, just had no idea the next steps, no idea. I only had the option of surrendering and just trusting that everything was happening for my highest and best good. And I may not know it right in this moment. I am completely at rock bottom, but I know that there's a reason for this.
There's a lesson in this. And it's just [00:27:00] allowing it to unfold. So this isn't superficial again, woo, woo, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is something that I've had to learn the very, very, very hard way because for a very long time, I just wanted to be in control. And then I realized control is an illusion.
It's something that I've just had to surrender because I've I had no other choice, and just seeing what has unfolded from that, I, I couldn't have created anything better, and it's just, everything's happening for a reason.
Andrea: Tried and tested.
Tiffany: Yes! The very, very, very hard way.
Andrea: I'm with you, sister. Um, okay, so if people want to get in touch, they want to connect, they would love to, uh, learn more about you and your work, what's the best way for them?
Tiffany: I can send you all of those links for the show notes to have a conversation. Um, see where you're at, see what I [00:28:00] can do for you. And I'm not for everybody, uh, obviously. If I'm not, um, I definitely have an amazing network and you know, it won't be a wasted call.
I will refer you to people who, um, may be able to help you with the next steps and what you're looking for, or just support in your business or other types of resources. So, um, you know, it's, uh, always a, a fruitful conversation, even if I'm not the fit for you, it's, you know, just helping you, um, with that next step.
Andrea: Amazing. So we'll put the links in the show notes. One is for your website, humanitarian entrepreneur dot com with a hyphen. Um, and are you also on the socials? Is there anywhere?
Tiffany: Yes, um, LinkedIn and actually if you reach out and specifically, um, message me and say that you heard, um, me on the amazing, your amazing podcast, then it would be great. [00:29:00] Um, just Tiffany Zehara on LinkedIn and all of that information will be in the show notes for all the listeners.
Andrea: Yay. Excellent. Thank you so much, Tiffany. It's been a wonderful conversation. I am excited to continue to follow you and see the work that you, um, are doing in the world as it evolves. Thank you so much for coming today.
Tiffany: Thank you so much for having me.
Andrea: Thank you for listening. Share this podcast with anyone you feel would benefit from its message. If you love what you heard, rate and review us wherever you listen. And if you feel that you could use some support, connect with me, Andrea Balboni, through my website, lushcoaching.com. That's L U S H C O A C H I [00:30:00] N G dot com. Special thanks to Nicholas Singer for the musical score, and Dion Knight for editing and production. [00:30:21]