Tiffany Tait, LCSW, CDWF

Founder- Unorthodox Group

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Let’s get straight to the root​, what is your self-care routine for mental wellness?

For continued self-care, I remained committed to my “Unorthodox Balance Wheel”. Our Unorthodox Balance Wheel is a tool we utilize with our clients, and in our own lives, where we outline, follow and commit to the daily activities we need to engage in to thrive​.​ For example, my balance wheel states that “In order for m​e to feel whole and remain at peace, each day I must engage in the following activities daily: 1 focused on spirituality and sense of purpose, 1 geared towards nutrition or exercise, 1 that generates income or excels my expertise, 1 that stimulates me intellectually, 1 that facilitates sincere engagement with my immediate family, 1 focused on creativity and play and then sleep. I also like to incorporate naps lol.

How has your perspective towards mental wellness shifted in your lifetime?

Honestly, my perspective on mental wellness has probably never shifted in my adult life however my behaviors and commitment to my own mental wellness has shifted drastically over the last few years. As a clinical social worker I always understood the significant value of investing in mental wellness. However I did not always understand the dire implications that stem from the lack of investment in this area. I’ve been known to “Go Hard” in everything I do, and in many ways, that attitude has produced success. In other ways, it’s taken a heavy toll on my overall wellness at times. I’ve taken hold of that area of my life in the last few years and have committed to maintain it as a priority.

What resources could increase the importance of mental wellness in the community?

I believe access to affordable outpatient behavioral health therapy would be a great place to start. It is often difficult to find a therapist or counselor even if you have insurance coverage, for many reasons. This leads to additional frustrations for those already in need and seeking help. Additionally, we need services specifically geared towards the treating practitioners, especially in this moment. While the world feels like it is spinning upside down, helping professionals are over extending themselves to stand in the gap for those in critical need. But they can suffer burnout and empathy fatigue, leading to a necessity of resources for them as well. Support groups are helpful but lobbying and support for increased job security, benefits and pay for social service​s workers, lead to increase​d ability for the provision of services in the areas that are lacking in our communities.

Background Questions

Walk us through your journey has it been a smooth ride?

I literally chuckled out loud as I read this question. It has been the furthest thing from a smooth ride, but it has been a blessed journey nonetheless. I am a first generation American. No rich parents, ZERO start up capital. All I had was God and hustle. By the age of 21 I had worked hard and had earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work, things were looking up. By age 33, I had buried my oldest son, my father and my mother in a 10-year time period. During that same time period, I was diagnosed with a very rare form of diabetes (type 1.5) and later celiac disease (along with both of my children). I was married, divorced and reconciled with my husband during that time. I also lost a home in foreclosure and lost my tenured state job, the same month my son passed away. About 5 years later, after a relatively successful first year in business, we lost 100K on a poorly written contract. We literally lost everything, and more. Still, every step of the way, I hustled​, thanking God for every new day and every new opportunity ​– no matter how difficult. ​At 35, I co-own a behavioral healthcare consulting firm, am a retired healthcare executive (retiring at age 35 as a CEO) and currently earn a living as a private equity investor and executive coach, while homeschooling my children. A complete 180 in my life.

Tell us about your business? What inspired ​Unorthodox ​Group?

Unorthodox Group honestly developed on its own. My business partner Dr. Lilli and I were working in Executive Leadership roles for years, while developing other business ventures. As our businesses grew and expanded, so did our leadership teams. I truly had developed a passion for coaching and developing women executive leaders and that became more and more difficult as my teams were spread across the country. I also began to receive more and more coaching requests, as a result of word of mouth from my leadership team, and so it sort of took off on its own. We simply wanted to inspire other women to stand up, be bold, build your own, take over the board​rooms, praise God, honor family and SHATTER glass ceilings.

Optional

What sets you apart from others? What are you most proud of as a company?

I believe my loud, flamboyant personality tends to set me part from others, for better or worse, lol. But I believe it is my unique combination experience and expertise that sets me a part. My experience as an executive, mother, entrepreneur, failure, faith-leaper and success story, set me apart.b. What I am most proud of when it comes to Unorthodox Group, is our community involvement and investment in the success of others. Unorthodox Group is a prominent contributor and supporter of a number of non-profit organizations, while I personally actively sit on the boards of AMIKids Greater Fort Lauderdale and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank. In addition to this, we simply love building other women up! Unorthodox Group opened in April of 2020 and since that time, our #UnorthodoxBawses (clients) have opened up a total of 9 new businesses thus far. That is 9 new minority and women owned businesses started as a result of our coaching, God’s grace and straight hustle! We humbly praise God for the opportunity to live in our purpose and aid other women in living in theirs.

Community

How did Covid-19 affects your business?

Covid-19 is actually one of the main reasons Unorthodox currently exists. We were both working Full Time++++ jobs. We traveled a lot for a living, managed operations nationally for a number of different ventures and honestly, most of my time was spent outside of the home, building and earning. Once Covid-19 hit, and my children were sent into virtual school mode, I had to make a choice, Readjust my priorities, or keep building huge corporations. I chose my family. Hand​s down. I chose to retire as a healthcare executive and grow Unorthodox Group. Covid-19 has actually allowed for us, as well as many of our clients, the ability to take a step back, readjust our focus and invest in building the life we want to live. I fully acknowledge that I was blessed to be in a position, when Covid-19 hit, to be able to retire and readjust, in a way that I would not have been able to do a decade prior, but that simply highlights Gods grace and follow through on his promises.

When you first started your business what was your biggest challenge? How did you overcome?

Well when I first became an entrepreneur the biggest challenge was simply navigating… everything. As an executive I had an entire team to help me, and to delegate tasks to. As an entrepreneur, when you start a business, it’s all yours. You are the executive, the secretary, the program manager, the marketing strategist etc. I simply was lost in the beginning. I learned very early that although I may have had an expertise on a subject, I was not an expert on many of the other overlooked, yet just as important areas, in business. I simply had to dig in deep and teach myself. I also had to learn WHERE to spend money. Pay the lawyers and accountants! If you try to do too much in an area that you are not trained in, it can be disastrous. Learn where to spend your time and your money, early.

Did you have a mentor? How important is it to have a mentor?

I never had an official mentor; however I did have some amazing supervisors and some terrible supervisors along the way. Of which, I’ve learned equally from both groups. And I’m equally grateful for them both. I do however think having a mentor is an important factor in both personal and professional development. If possible, I definitely encourage people to build those relationships. I currently have a few mentees myself.

What qualities did they posses that indicated they were the right mentor for you? How did mentorship shape your journey?

The supervisors that I learned positive characteristics were all very bold, very direct, very solution focused and very open to teaching.b. The supervisors that taught me which characteristics to avoid, tended to demonstrate characteristics of jealously, short temper and lacking in expertise yet overly verbose.c. What I learned collectively is, If you want it done right, do it yourself.

What was your key driving force to becoming an entrepreneur?

God. It’s just that simple. I never desired to be an entrepreneur. I enjoy earning a steady check bi-weekly and having consistent benefits. As my career developed, I grew weary of identifying problems that I had no power or authority to fix within an organization, so I decided, I needed to solve that problem first. God made it clear that he had a larger vision for me and that if I trusted him, he would see it through. So, I leaped.