Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Tsui.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have done two international start-ups in two countries where I had to learn the language from scratch. The first one was nearly 8 years ago as an online import store selling fine Italian Cigars (I lived in Italy a few years back.) The next company I founded was called Wokaishi, China’s first online interactive fitness platform.
While I was in Beijing running my company with my other co-founder and team, we had just received a round of funding and I was having a blast. Then, my mother called and said that both my grandparents, who were living back home in Boston were really sick and that I may never see them again.
I left my company and moved home to be with them. I later discovered that they both had stage 4 cancer. Being their care-taker was my priority and my full-time job was taking one grandparent to his radiation treatment and then the other one to her chemotherapy and this lasted nearly 2 years. Neither my parents nor my grandparents spoke English and I am the oldest child so it was both my obligation and honor to take care of them.
During this time, I realized that I had to create a business that allowed me the flexibility to take care of my grandparents. I also had some parameters: I wanted to create a career that I could gain mastery in and that I could use to help me improve the lives of others and also, more importantly, I thought about the lifestyle that I wanted to create, one where I had the time flexibility to be with my grandparents at a moment’s notice and also where I had the funds to invest heavily in personal development and travel.
I thought about what fulfilled me from my previous startups and it was always seeing my team grow and get more confident and successful.
Coaching seemed a perfect fit. So, like a good entrepreneur I tested the idea and it turned out that I was so energized from every session (which was free at that time) that I couldn’t wait for the next session! Also, I started getting more requests and booked executive clients in my first few months of being in business. I invested my first year earnings into my education as a coach and I’ve been working with some incredible leaders and creatives ever since.
Now, much of my work is focused on developing hidden leaders: technical engineers, introverts, women and especially women of color. My office is in Back Bay and also virtual and I have international retreats and workshops as well.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a bumpy but very fulfilling road.
When I first started my practice, I was coaching part time and caretaking my terminally ill grandparents. A few months into coaching my grandfather passed. I took time off to deal with the grief and also make funeral arrangements. Then, almost a year to that date, my grandmother passed and I took time to handle that. Then, I felt I had to be there for my mother who was grieving the passing of her parents.
It was an interesting time because during that period of grief, I was also helping clients work through their own inner struggle, sadness and heavy emotions. It was also a time when I learned that I have an incredible ability to help people move through deep levels of stuckness that blocks them from showing up in the world the way they want to.
My life has helped me hone my craft and also my craft has helped me to improve my life.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Anna Tsui International – what should we know?
I have a life and business coaching practice that brings out people’s innate leadership skills.
I help people who work really hard yet are overlooked for promotions (and get rewarded with more work) gain the courage and confidence to own and express the value they offer their companies. One of my clients received a $60,000 raise and another client recently was personally contacted by the CEO of their large multinational company to head his own department, whereas before he was struggling to gain visibility.
Much of my work also focuses on specific training for women and women of color.
Most coaches focus on how to create processes and solutions and actions for their clients so they can “do” things differently. I’ve realized long ago that all of the checklists and accountability and processes in the world do not affect long-term change without deep inner transformation at the level of the individual’s thoughts and feelings and unconscious beliefs. This needs to happen before taking action in order for the action to stick.
This results in a profound shift in how the individual shows up in his/her world. He/she is literally a different person, operating from a different set of beliefs and thoughts. Her story about her life and her ability to succeed has shifted into something that is in alignment with her goals and her true purpose. She now has an unmovable connection with her inner power and her ability to connect and communicate with others and this makes all the difference.
Checklists, forced action and motivation are short-lived. However, a solid and grounded sense of being in the world is always present and this is where I start working with people. My focus isn’t helping people become more efficient or better communicators, etc.–I help them become the person they were always meant to be by clearing away their blockages for success and then, they have a new personality that emerges and it is natural and self-sustaining and incredibly magnetic and powerful.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I’ve always had a team. I’ve always hired a coach or often two to make sure I am at the top of my game in terms of service as well as performance. I work with a personal trainer at my local gym and also have a therapist whom I pour out my life and family issues to. I also receive massages once or twice a month and have an energy healer and an herbalist that I consult frequently.
I have a group of business-owner friends that I connect with regularly to share stories and best practices, we just understand each other.
I also have great clients who are great cheerleaders for me and for each other.
I am always constantly learning from my relationships and I have a partner who recognizes my talent and contribution to the world and picks me up when I’ve had a hard day.
I am surrounded by people who call me out on my bullshit and who help me to never forget that I am living my mission and slowly changing the world and how people show up in their lives. For this I am grateful, I also know that I created this support network consciously because we all have to set ourselves up for success.
Contact Info:
- Address: Anna Tsui International, LLC.
264 Beacon St. #3RR
Boston, MA 02116 - Website: annatsui.com
- Phone: (857) 547-8288
- Email: info@annatsui.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ms.annatsui/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaTsuiCoaching/
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