Meet Tamra Evangelista | Integrative Empowerment Coach & Owner of Inner Depths Empowerment Coaching

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tamra Evangelista and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tamra, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Finding a career, and working for a corporation, was what I always was told was the best and safest way of making a living. There’s a lot of risk with being an entrepreneur and I had bills to pay. I witnessed others pursue starting their own businesses, most without success, unfortunately. Originally, I wanted to become a therapist but that didn’t pan out and I ended up in the corporate business track after all.

I worked in leadership at a national payroll company for 16+ years. I found I was good at what I did and moved up from entry-level to management quickly. I quickly discovered I loved building relationships with people, such as my colleagues, but especially my direct employees. And I had a knack for it. Employee and leadership development was my favorite aspect of my job. I enjoyed getting to know my employees as individuals. In working with them to identify their strengths and areas of development, I loved co-creating a plan to help them get the most from their jobs. Sometimes, however, the roles they were in were not the best fit for them and I didn’t mind assisting them to find a better fit. If I could help someone get promoted, or even find a better job in another position or company, I considered that a win. I also loved developing leaders and promoting my employees to become my peers or more. However, with my own vertical climb in the company, I eventually hit a stage where my upper managers no longer saw this as a necessary role of mine and wanted to see me do less developing of others and become more “strategic” with strategy and numbers. My happy balloon had its air let out of itself. I found my role to be draining and stressful. Working with people to become the best versions of themselves was a very small aspect of what I did in my day-to-day but it was also one of the few things I looked forward to. When that was threatened to be removed, I lost any motivation to continue moving forward with my company. I started to only see the “for profit at all cost” approach to doing business and it hurt something deep inside me. I felt stuck and misaligned suddenly for the first time in my professional life.

I worked with a coach to find what might bring me joy again. After breaking down all my previous and current roles, I realized it was the coaching and development that got me up in the morning. It was building relationships with my employees and various teams. It was connecting and seeing others succeed. I realized coaching was my passion.

I never saw coaching as its own standalone thing. It was just something I did within both my professional and personal life as part of a bigger thing. However, now I had a new perspective and realized I could do this for a living. Since education and training are a big value of mine, before I made any big moves, I enrolled at New Ventures West in their yearlong Professional Coaching Certification course to become a certified Integral Coach. After that, I was accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) as an Associate Certified Coach. Through both of these experiences, I discovered the development tool called the Enneagram Model and deeply connected with it. It helped catapult my development in a way no other model had in the past. I enrolled in the Integrative Enneagram Solutions program and became accredited as an Enneagram Practioner. I realized with these tools in my pocket, I really could do something with this coaching thing. And that is how my business, Inner Depths Empowerment Coaching, came to be.

I wanted to continue to work with what I love. What I loved was helping others pursue their dreams, become more confident in what they already do, and/or feel empowered to explore what else might be available to them if they believed in themselves. Life is hard enough as it is. It can be short and fragile. Unfortunately, many of us live our entire lives doing things we “think” we need to do, or living lives based on what others expect of us. I believe everyone has access to step into their own power and explore what they actually want from life. Sometimes it takes a life transition to shake someone up enough and realize they are not where they want to be. They feel something is missing or they are stuck in a rut. Sometimes they feel like they simply want more or different. That’s where I want to step in and assist, and help empower them to find their answers. Taking those next steps can be hard and scary. If it wasn’t for my coach and also my supportive husband, friends, and family, I might not ever have stepped out of the path I was heading down in the corporate world. That world was not bad, it just was not right for me. I had to find my own way. And now I can help others do the same – find their own path, whatever that looks like.

What should our readers know about your business?
My coaching practice is about moving through transition, getting past feelings of being stuck, and tapping into ways to become the best version of oneself by identifying your triggers, blindspots, defense mechanisms and learning to become more responsive, rather than reactive, and creating new strategies and patterns of behavior that embody a deeper and more authentic way of being. These are done through reflections and practices to help support clients in their awareness and take steps to embrace their inner knowing and empower their confidence. I leverage the Integral Method, which is about aligning our different internal intelligences and creating a balance within ourselves. It’s about learning to trust your intuition or inner knowing. I also leverage the Enneagram Model, a wonderfully empowering model that I use as a map to align and balance our overdeveloped and underdeveloped areas within ourselves. It is a map and tool to work with presence in our lives. Coaching is about learning to be a student of learning and life. Coaching is about taking back your power and stepping into action to move into the path you desire. Coaching helps you get clarity on that desire, whatever that may be.

I am excited about finding this profession as it calls to me. On my own journey, I have found these two methods incredibly supportive. Their impact on my awareness of patterns and triggers, ability to practice the regulation of my nervous system, ability to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things, and tapping into my authenticity has been transformational. I have come to learn to love the pieces of myself I used to wish to hide from the world or ignore. I feel more grounded and compassionate to myself and others. I have a greater understanding of how I get in my own way and am also working on loving those pieces of me. Because of this, I would love others to have a similar opportunity. I want to share this gift of love, healing, and empowerment with anyone who also wants this.

Getting to this place in my life and business has been challenging. Personal development, in general, is just plain hard at times. For me, as an example, I’ve had to face my inner doubts and judgment (can someone say imposter syndrome?). Then, building my own business adds to those insecurities, no matter how right the decision feels. However, whenever I sit down with a prospective or current client, I feel that deep alignment again. I see potential and possibilities within that other person, and I know what I am doing is right. I have been practicing to trust the process. To trust deep down in my heart that creating this coaching practice will offer some light to others.

I want my business to be based on authenticity. After working for years for others and doing things that did not always feel good or right, I get to do things the way I want from a heartfelt and authentic place.
What does this mean?
I will “practice what I preach” or “walk the walk.” I will continue to be a student of learning by continuing my ongoing education for myself and my clients. I will continue my self-reflections and practices and learn to support my clients better. When needed, I will ask for help from trusted colleagues, mentors, friends, and family. I will set boundaries when I need them. I will say yes when appropriate and say no to things (or people) that don’t align with what I want to accomplish. To do all this, I continue to work with my own coach as part of my personal development path. I do not believe we ever become “experts” in our field. If we do, we stop learning and growing. And I will not ask my clients to do something I am not willing to do myself, regarding learning, reflecting, and live a life of practice.

My ultimate goal is not to become a famous coach or make tons of money as a coach. I want to make what I need to be sustainable so that I can continue to offer coaching to others in the world. My greatest desire is to provide support and love to my clients so they may go out into the world as the best versions of themselves, create healthy communities that offer compassion and support, and help heal this world one person at a time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Ouray, Colorado. It’s a very sweet and small mountain resort town with just under 1000 people. We have a plethora of outdoor activities, such as rock climbing, hikes, canyoneering, several via ferratas, camping, 4-wheeling/off-roading, back country skiing, ice climbing, and so many other things. We have so much sight-seeing opportunities as well. Between Ridgway (the next town over) and us, we have great small local businesses as well. We are a historic mountain and mining town with a rich history. You can learn about that history through many local non-profits, such as the UTE museum in Montrose (30 mins away), the Wright Opera House in Ouray, or the Sherbino Theater in Ridgway. We have restaurants and local watering holes, such as Brickhouse, Outlaw, The Western, Full Tilt Saloon, The Gray, The Beaumont Hotel and Spa, Greenwoods, Mountain Lodge, Bella Vino, The Lazy Dog Saloon, Colorado Boy, Maggies, Grumpy’s, and so many more. You can do a mine tour up on Gold Mountain. You can hike the Parameter trail around all of Ouray. You can hire a guide from several awesome guide companies, such as San Juan Mountain Guides, Mountain Trip, or Basecamp. You can drive over to Telluride (1 hours from Ouray), Crested Butte (2.5 hours from Ouray), Silverton (45 mins from Ouray), or Purgatory (2 hours from Ouray) and ski some epic inbound trails. There’s so much to do here, you just need to decide what that will be.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My first shoutout is to my husband, Sean Evangelista. He helped encourage me to pursue this crazy dream. Once I started on the path of going back to school, quitting my job, and starting this business, he was my main support…..a rock. He was there for me when my inner critic was beating me up, not allowing me to spiral out due to insecurity. He left me to vent and then helped me get back up and keep kicking a*s. We came up with a financial plan together on how to balance everything. And he was my biggest cheerleader!

My second shoutout is to Belinda Rosenblum. She was my financial coach after I separated from my first husband, helping me get back on my feet. She gave me my first experience as a professional coach, hiring me to be an Accountability Coach in her coaching company, Own Your Money LLC. She also became my unofficial life coach & mentor, helping me realize I could pursue this coaching thing as its own standalone business. She was super supportive and encouraging.

I want to shout out to all my friends and family who supported me along the way with positive encouragement, and ideas, letting me ‘practice’ on them, listening to my endless Enneagram talk, etc.

Lastly, I must shout out to my clients over the last four years, who have trusted me with their dreams, thoughts, and emotions. I am continually humbled by the example my clients set by sharing their vulnerability and ability to be honest, open, and transparent. I have had so many wonderful clients and the relationships we have built feel like a family. You are why I continue to pursue being a coach, even when it is hard. I do this truly for you and for what you will bring to this world. Your own healing helps heal all of us.

Website: https://www.innerdepthscoaching.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/inner_depths_coaching/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inner-depths-empowerment-coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innerdepthsempowermentcoaching

Other: To learn more, you can also email me at tamra@innerdepthscoaching.com.