, Dr. Shanna Van Ness is more than a life coach; She is a Business and Executive first. Dr. Shanna helps both organizations and individuals exhibit their true potentials and live a life worth celebrating. To achieve her goal, Dr. Shanna asks her clients an important question: How would your life change if you could tap into your full potential? Asking clients this question is the first step Dr. Shanna offers support and guidance coaching to help distinguish the issues denying one’s goals of achievement. Dr. Shanna Van Ness assists her clients whether they are looking for guidance to achieve a specific goal or are wishing to improve all areas of their life.
Dr. Shanna’s passion to support others in growth and development influenced her to establish her own company, Dr. Shanna V. Coaching and Strategic Solutions. She always desired to help people in decision making even throughout both her professional and personal life.
“I was always the person people would come to for advice or an opinion,” Dr. Shanna says, “even then, I took that to the next level by simply asking thoughtful questions that supported them in finding their own answer.”
This strategy allows Dr. Shanna to respond by asking thought-provoking questions, such as “what’s next?” This led to Dr. Shanna to follow her calling and earn certification as a Business, Executive and Life Coach. She started her own company originally in New York, and now through video conferencing software such as Zoom, she is able to expand her services to people universally.
Looking back at her career, Dr. Shanna said the one thing she would do differently is not to expect support from those closest to her, but those not so close to her may offer the encouragement she was seeking in order to achieve her goal.
“Don’t be surprised that genuine supporters sit in the balcony, not the front row, and be okay with that,” Dr. Shanna says.
One important aspect Dr. Shanna acknowledges about her career is how to separate her work life from her personal life.
“As an entrepreneur, first starting out, I was really gung-ho about establishing myself in this industry, acquiring clients, just being a workaholic,” she says. “Over time and after burnout, I realized that it is okay to turn the ‘work’ switch off.”
After Dr. Shanna realized it was essential to separate work from family time, this allowed her to not only feel more freedom and peace, but it also eliminated a large amount of stress.
“So today, I have that balance,” she says, “I know when to say ‘no’ and be okay with that. I take days off…it’s embedded in my schedule, and I make sure I separate my business/work time from my family time.”
Dr. Shanna recalls her proudest moment of her journey as an entrepreneur as walking across the stage to receive her PhD. Her biggest highlight was her daughter being there to greet her at the other end of the stage and proudly exclaiming, “wow, Mom, you did it!” As for professional proud moments, Dr. Shanna says she cannot choose just one, because she feels proud every time a client walks out of a session feeling a sense of reassurance and clarity they have obtained about their next step towards achieving their goal.
Dr. Shanna anticipates 2022 to be a good year, and she is excited about working with her supportive team to launch her Live Life in Committed Action 90 Day Journal. She is also considering the relaunch of her show The Living Room, which promotes positive social change by engaging through dialogue with leaders and influencers about solutions they developed to solve widespread issues within diverse communities.
She encourages those who may feel “stuck” in their professional and/or personal life to contact her for help getting “unstuck” and be guided on living your life by passionately fulfilling your purpose of being #ThatGirl!