Meet Tanya MFK | Business Developer for Coaches, Consultants & Course Creators

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

Hi Tanya, what do you attribute your success to?
Honesty & Reverence of Time

When I started Success By Design, I wanted to be the person I needed when I began my business back in 2005: Someone that was truly invested in my long-term success rather than my bank account. Someone that gave me realistic expectations, guided me, and empowered me to trust myself and my path.

With all the fantasy marketing out there promising 100k launches and secret 5 step methods to 6+ figure incomes, many extraordinary people are abandoning their intuition and investing their future into hacks and blueprints that worked for someone else. There’s no one-size-fits all for growing a business, that’s why-even though we are a group mentorship program- we created a way to collaborate with every client individually to create a bespoke business strategy for their unique business. We don’t do business “have-to’s” we build a business around your “wish-to’s”.

My approach with coaching my clients is one of radical honesty with a heavy emphasis on creating time to enjoy the journey while doing the work. Not hustling for some day of success in the future, but creating that success in every moment, every day.
It doesn’t matter how great of a plan you have, if you don’t have the time or peace of mind to execute it.

Overnight success takes 3-15 years.
Entrepreneurship is a long game and anyone promising a shortcut is selling snake oil.
The true path to success is consistently showing up through the ups and the downs.
Having respect and reverence for time.
It’s living for the process instead of the result.
You have to be comfortable with not achieving what you expect, repeatedly because falling short of your goals will happen time and again.
Surviving these shortcomings requires a large amount of patience, compassion and resilience.
You must develop an unshakeable belief in yourself and cannot be attached to the outcome.
Instead, we focus on showing up to serve powerfully and live fully each day.
Moving forward in this way takes the pressure off, and this lets you operate with a better mindset.

I invite people to take off the marketing hat, the sales hat, the strategy hat, etc. and come back to the essence of what their business is…serving other humans. No matter what product you have- from transformational coaching to making soap or baking cakes, every business is in service of other humans. Not prospects or leads-Humans. And selling is simply offering to serve those humans.

The truth is, almost every strategy out there can work. From the 24/7 hustle strategies, slimy and shady plans, to door-to-door sales and paid ads, it all can work. The hard part is knowing yourself, knowing what you want, and trusting how you want to operate-without comparing yourself to others.

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Our clients do so well because we strip things down to what they are really about.
We simplify processes and build systems around them.
We don’t market, we serve.
We don’t capture leads, we connect and create community.
We don’t make funnels, we create clients.
We don’t sell, we offer the opportunity to serve more.

In the words of Rich Litvin, we “Serve, Lead, and Serve” and that’s why we’ve reached where we are.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I had my first business at age 11. I’ve supported myself completely since age 15.
I had a successful career in clinical immunology at age 19
I became a widow to cancer at age 25.
My Business partner and mentor- 30 years my senior- stole our savings and left the country…I was 8 months pregnant.
I struggled with self worth, doubt, money and burnout.
I compared myself to every stranger on the street and successful person on social media.
I’ve survived, failed, and started over more times than I can count.

And I have lived one of the most exciting and fascinating lives ever.

I’ve always been a “figure-it-out-er”
The paths that most had laid out for them were not available to me.
So I became a rule breaker by necessity.
I forged my own way and now I fully support my family by transforming others.

I’m thankful for profit but I don’t count my success in dollars.
I count it in freedom.

I’m an expert at revering time.
I specialize in helping incredible people see how powerful they are.

My clients include award winning directors, artists and heads of media companies.
I’ve worked with million dollar start-ups, Forbes 30 under 30 innovators, physicians, army rangers, legacy martial artists and top technology leaders.
I’ve worked with the busy mom with a dream, the baker with a vision, the dance troop with a passion.

I’m the founder of Success By Design- a community of solopreneur coaches, consultants and course creators focused on transforming others.
I’m the creator of Success Schedule, a step-by-step method to design your best life every day, hour-by-hour.

Ambitious, talented, driven business builders trust me deeply because I can see what most people cannot and I’m willing to say what most people don’t dare to say.

I’ve trained incredible leaders, coaches, course creators and consultants to build a business aligned with the life they want.

I’ve spoken at universities, entrepreneur organizations, and corporate audiences of over 1,000 people. I’ve been featured on Fox news and numerous podcasts, blogs and articles.

What I am truly most proud of is my company’s mission to put these same tools into the hands of children on their path to self love, trust, and success in this world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a California native, hopping over to Arizona was an easy escape for a change of scenery. Most of my experiences in Phoenix- and Arizona in general- involved driving a lot. But I actually loved that.
You can be in your car for hours in Los Angeles and not actually go anywhere, but in Arizona you witness incredible landscapes and sunsets. And while it’s not Phoenix, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how many times I unapologetically was “standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona”. As for the city itself, I have to say I’ve spent many days in the local Whole Foods due to clients and well as evenings in local bars. While I’m no expert for sure, if I was to give an itinerary, I’d say “Get in your car and stop at the first place that catches your eye. No google reviews, no overthinking, just park and go in and let the adventure begin”

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The path to get to where I am now has been paved with incredible people, pains, lessons, books and opportunities.

When I lost my first husband to cancer at age 25, he gave me the gift of giving up the idea of “someday” and learning to just take the leap.
When I rode that wave of change to abandon life as I knew it in the U.S. and live at the Shaolin temple to study Kung Fu, I learned that I was my only competition.

When my mentor betrayed me and took my savings, I learned to finally trust myself first.

When I faced my scarcity mindset and dove head first into working with Billy Gene is Marketing, Benjamin Hardy, Rich Litvin, Alex Kuhn and other great mentors and programs, I grew as a human and a coach.

I’ve been continually encouraged by incredible friends like Noel, Stephen, Angela, Mina, Annie,Victoria, Kasia, Dustin, and Joel (and countless more) that have always believed in me- even when they didn’t understand what the heck I was doing.

I’ve been supported by Family- blood and chosen-that showed up during my darkest hours.

I’ve made significant change in my life with books like: Inner Engineering-Sadguru, Essentialism-Greg McKeown, Willpower Doesn’t Work-Benjamin Hardy, and countless more.

And I’m continually growing with my husband Lukas that gives me mindset checks and calls me on my B.S. when I’m walking out of alignment.

And my biggest shout-out is to my clients that reflect back the same radical honesty I give them- unknowingly pushing me to serve more powerfully every day. I’m inspired by each and every one of them.

Website: Tanya@TanyaMFK.com

Instagram: @TanyaMFK

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyamfk/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TanyaMFK

Image Credits
Joel Austell