Meet Tanya Hayles | Creative storyteller & founder

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

Hi Tanya, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My idea of balance has absolutely changed over time. I used to believe that balance was something that you could work towards and actually achieve. I no longer believe that. Especially after becoming a parent and then an entrepreneur.

Part of it is because in nature there’s no such thing really as perfect balance. Sometimes it’s too hot, sometimes it’s too cold. But you need both. The same thing with trying to achieve a work-life balance – sometimes it’s more work and sometimes it’s more life, everything depends on what is important to you in that timeframe and where your priorities lie.

For instance, if my son has a school play but I have a meeting, I have to choose – do I show up for my son or do I show up for the meeting? Sometimes it’s a matter of figuring out does that meeting have to happen today ? Can it be moved earlier? Can it be done over the phone? Can it be done via email? How can I still show up for the thing that’s most important for me in this very moment?

Balance will shape shift, and will become even more elusive if you try to chase it and achieve a clean 50/50. So now, I try to chase the idea of harmony, and unity over balance (despite having a balance tattoo!).

Lastly, work will always be there. Money is a renewable resource. Time is not. I choose to place more effort into building memories and creating experiences rather over chasing something that ultimately doesn’t serve me. Work-life balance isn’t for the workers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
ghostwriting, public speaking, doing anti-black racism workshops – at the end of the day everything I do has to be real, relatable, and authentic.

I’m really proud to have built a nonprofit organization from a Facebook group I started in 2015 into an online global village of almost 30,000 moms and a national nonprofit that is providing tangible ways to help moms support how they raise their children. How I got to where I am today is by being myself. There are times where I’ve made decisions that seem to go against logic or common sense on the outside but I really believe in building slow. I believe in building strong foundations. I believe in building relationships. I believe that relationships are not going to be transactional in the first conversation or maybe even in the fifth conversation. It may take years to get to something that is going to actually bear some fruit but fruit always comes. My new motto is that turtles can still win.

Was it easy? Absolutely not I’m a single parent! I became an entrepreneur by accident when I went on stress leave from my last place of employment. The challenges of trying to raise a human being and not knowing where your next paycheque is going to come from or where your next client is gonna come from have been full of difficulties for sure. Nothing about parenting is easy. Nothing about entrepreneurship is easy. Nothing about the combination of the two is easy.

I would say I take each challenge as a comes and try to tackle it individually. I’m not going to solve the problem of single-parent mompreneurship overnight. All I can do is solve the problem directly in front of me. So if a client is not paying me how do I pivot? If our industry is not operational because of a global pandemic, what skills do I have that will allow me to earn an income and continue to take care of my family?

Lessons I’ve learned along the way – asking for help is a struggle of mine and also probably the number one way to actually get things done lol. I would say learning how to delegate is huge. I would say learning my management style, how I interact with others who I hire, putting trust in people to do the job that they say they’re going to do learning from that the hard way has been key and eventually setting better boundaries for myself so that I’m not overwhelmed by all the things that I have to do.

What I would want the world to know about me my brand and my story is that they are one of the same IME. I am my brand. I am a culmination of all the stories that make me and that will always be the most important part of telling my story is making sure that it is authentically me.

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.
This is very interesting question I think the problem with it is that so much is changed in three years. The global pandemic has taken a lot of people from us, but also a lot of businesses. Some of my favourite places, venue, restaurants, events – no longer exist. So I think it would be a challenge to show them the old Toronto, that I knew and would play in. But with that comes opportunities to also discover new places or support the ones that manage to survive.

I would say that since I only tell folks to visit Toronto in the summer Toronto in the summer is undefeated. Between salsa on Saint Clair, Afro fast, busker fast, taste of Little Italy, all the street festivals showcasing the best of our city multiple cultures foods from around the world that would be my best way to show someone who we are at our best

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am very grateful to have an abundance of excellent people around me. The Wolfpack, are there to keep my dreams safe when I feel like they will never come true.

I have friends who see greatness in me when I sometimes don’t see it for myself.
I have amazing mentors and advisors who don’t just mentor or advise, they sponsor opportunities and put money in my pockets or put me in rooms you can’t finance or finesse your way into.

The admins and BMC ninjas who keep the heartbeat going.
My assistants who keep me on track.

Calendly (app) for eliminating the ‘when can you meet’ emails from my inbox.
Big Magic (book) for reframing how I see my creative projects.

Website: www.tanyahayles.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thetanyahayles

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/thayles

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tanyahayles

Other: pinterest.com/thetanyahayles