Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Harris Taylor.
Toni, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My entrepreneurial journey started 27 years ago with a phone call from my mother asking me to quit my job at Exxon to come and work for her. My initial reaction was, absolutely not! I had seen her struggle and I didn’t want that same struggle. She asked me a question that I still live by today, it was, “What’s the worst that can happen?”
When I realized that the worst that could happen was I would have to go back and get a job, I said yes and haven’t looked back (well maybe once or twice if the truth is told :-)). This was the first of many drastic steps.
In 2012, after working in financial services for 14 years, I launched my own business. My business did not start where it is today but has evolved into my current business, Drastic Steps Marketing where I help solopreneurs to get known, get connected and get paid.
My business is called Drastic Steps because I believe that NO ONE is successful without having to get out of their comfort zone and take drastic steps. I now speak all over the country encouraging my audiences to get out of their head, get out of their way and get drastic to move their business forward.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Heck no!!!! Entrepreneurship is never smooth and I don’t think it will ever be. Some of the struggles in recent years, is what I call the terrible d’s of life. Death, debt, debilitating illness, depression, dysfunctional family, not to mention self-doubt and so many other things. It seems that as soon as you step over one hurdle another one is waiting right behind it.
In 2012, my husband and I (it was my battle too) were fighting stage 4 colon cancer. At that time, I was in school getting my bachelor’s degree (I didn’t start college until I was 43 years old), launching my business, and working. In Nov. 2012, we lost the battle and he passed away (my first husband passed in 2008).
No one is immune to depression or sadness. While I’m not clinically depressed, the ups and downs of life can slow you down where you want to take the easy way out and get a job. I’ve wrestled with doubt, thinking I wasn’t good enough or success wasn’t for me.
The biggest obstacle I had to step over was my own illness. I woke up with a stomachache one morning that put me in a coma for 10 days and out of work for 4 months. This was probably the closest I was to depression because I didn’t understand what was happening to me and I didn’t have health insurance (a major mistake most entrepreneurs make). Like many Americans, this situation ruined me financially.
So has it been easy, no but I have learned to keep taking drastic steps over every setback to get back up and keep it moving.
Please tell us about Drastic Steps Marketing.
I am a motivational marketing speaker and business coach. I love speaking! Some of the words used to describe me as a speaker are energetic, dynamic, passionate and engaging. I love to edutain my audiences and give them a memorable experience.
Beyond being a speaker, I help solopreneurs get known, get connected and get paid to make six figures in record time. The statistics tell us that over 90% of entrepreneurs never make six-figures which is a shame because we work so hard. I help to fix this problem, by teaching solopreneurs how to market and sell their services. I like to say, I teach my clients to fish (coaching) vs. fishing for them (doing the marketing for them).
My clients typically are speakers, coaches, financial professionals, and real estate agents. These are entrepreneurs who want to stand out and apart from the crowd.
My program is a one-year entrepreneurial training and mastermind program. The program is based on the principle of being live and local. What that means, is we come together on a monthly basis for 11 months to learn and support each other. Being a solopreneur can be lonely and this is a platform that not only educates and holds the clients accountable, it gives them the support they need and referral network to help each other to grow their businesses.
What sets me apart from other marketing/business coaches is the community and how I open doors for my clients. I connect my clients with the people, places and things that they need to take their business to the next level. I love the community and am grateful that they grow to love and support each other because I teach collaboration instead of competition.
What I’m most proud of, came from my client who called me recently and emotionally told me how much I changed her life and she doesn’t know where her life would be if she had not hired me. She hired me a year ago to help her with her business but our relationship turned out to be one where she shared with me some very personal things and I helped her to take drastic steps in those areas. Her relationship with her mother, husband and children has improved because she took drastic steps by her own definition. She gave up something she loved because she need to, to help her family which was drastic and she is making more money as a financial advisor because I kept her from quitting. All drastic steps. When a client tells me they love me, that’s when I know my work is done.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I had a pretty unstable childhood because my father abused my mother but my favorite childhood memory is me and my brother used to practice how we would get up on Christmas morning to open our presents. It started around December 1st and we practiced multiple times a day until Christmas. Too funny, but it was something we really looked forward to among the chaos of our household.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9490 FM 1960 Bypass West
#200-116 - Website: www.DrasticStepsMarketing.com
- Phone: 281-783-4021
- Email: toni@drasticstepsmarketing.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/toniharrisspeak
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/drasticstepsmarketing
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/toniharrisspeak
- Other: www.linkedin.com/in/toniharrisspeak
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
