I met Janet Tanguay back in 2017 when I was one of her students in a 10 week business course. As a self proclaimed serial entrepreneur, Janet ran the Entrepreneur Boot Camp at the Capital Region Chamber. Her role was working with early stage entrepreneurs helping them grow businesses with the first 1-5 years. “I really found my passion when I found that piece of it.” she says.
Janet is someone I like to describe as a connector because she knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody. It happened organically, she says, because being at the chamber you meet a lot of people. Her mindset is not just about meeting people but also asks: Who else can they help? “How can this person help this person. You build a community that way. Then people started coming to me saying ‘Who do you know?’ I love that piece of what I do.”
Q: How long were you at the Chamber?
“13 years and prior to that I managed a staffing agency for 10 years, I started in this area in film and video. I was an associate producer before that I worked in radio as a talk show producer.”
Q: Where are we right now?
“We are in my chaos” she says with a smile. “I actually love to create in chaos. I am a mixed media artist. When I’m creating, I like things at my fingertips. I like to go with whatever is happening at the moment. I’ve learned that over time, it’s about the process and not the end result. I kind of just go with the flow. I work with glue a lot, and the glue dripped from an eye, and it actually was powerful because it became a tear and I didn’t anticipate that and I use to wipe it off and think it was the wrong thing but now I just say that’s an interesting thing I wonder where this is going. It might be something in the end if you just trust it.”
Q: What does your business look like now?
As a serial entrepreneur, Janet says she’s always had a side hustle. Her last company called Art & Soul, she represented artists and helped them get their work in a gallery and private collections. Last year, she felt like it was time to resign from her role at the Chamber and jump in and see if she could make her new business fly. Hammock Way of Life. Her overall vision behind this business was to be in a hammock somewhere, stress free, in her own terms but helping other people live their dreams as well.
Q: Can you give me a visual of what this looks like?
The idea was to interview successful up and coming people in a hammock, although she jokes and says she should have called it “Adirondack Chair Way of Life” because interviewing people in a hammock just wasn’t practical.
Her first interview she did was an interview in a single hammock, but in that moment decided interviewing people in one hammock wasn’t a good idea, corny, not comfortable. The second one was poolside, so now the hammock became metaphor living the life of your dreams wherever/whatever that means. “I’m building a great resource for someone of people I vetted and trust with integrity.” To Janet that means helping people live their dreams: typically around business, fitness, love, relationships, spirituality.
Q: Give us some stories or examples of your work in Hammock Way of Life:
“I had one woman who came and put something in the middle of her vision board that represented a woman’s hand holding 2 champagne glasses. To her the 2 champagne glasses that represented a partnership. A couple months later she called me and told her that she wasn’t finding that partnership.” So the woman and Janet got together again to reconstruct the vision board. In the new vision board, she put a picture from a magazine that represented the man of her dreams. Last September, she got married to the man of her dreams who looks exactly like the magazine photo.
Personally for Janet, years ago she put a picture of a Buddha which represented spirituality and centering. The Chamber had a trip and Janet ended up at the largest Buddha temple in the world, exactly like the vision board photo. “You get what you focus on.” she says.
Q: What is the most common misconception about your business?
The biggest misconception is people think she sells hammocks, and she doesn’t.
Another misconception is people think that what she does can be considered “fluffy”. It’s touchy-feely, especially for men. She tells a story of how she was invited to a corporate company and a man there joked with Janet, poo-pooing vision boarding. Sarcastically he said he would have so much in common with his kindergartner with all the glue sticks and paper. When they were done, he confessed that this was the only contemplative time that he had to sit down and focus on himself and his family. Many times with her clients, the tougher they are, the softer they are on the inside. “Those are beautiful moments when people can understand the power of these vision boards and start to see their dreams come true.”
Q: How do these dreams come to life?
She tells people to make 3 action steps to it achieve it. Its not just making the steps, you have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Embrace and accept it. You can’t rely on other people to make these dreams.
Q: What is one question you get asked the most?
People typically ask: “How can you help me make my dreams come true?” People don’t understand the “how” of it. I think a lot of people are stuck in jobs or in some part their lives, and they don’t know how to do it. The biggest question is how can I do it?
Q: Is it correct to say you are more of a life coach?
Yes. Life Coach, Business Coach, Relationship Coach. One of Janet’s highest values is kindness. “I always ask people what their highest value is because I think your values tie into what you do. I had such a foundation of support that I didn’t anticipate. I had no idea that was coming. That has been the most beautiful part of starting this journey/business. Just by being kind to people in the past, it has completely helped now.”
Q: Is this something you fell into? What qualifies you to guide people to achieving their dreams?
Janet is certified as an Expressive Arts Therapist. I really like inspiring other people. Creativity Coaching, certified from the European Graduate School in Saas Fee Switzerland trained under Marcus Alexander. Under her study with Marcus, he changed the trajectory of her career, shifted her perspective. “We are all our own worst critic.” she says, “He taught me to be gentle with myself. When I’m given something like that I want to pass it on.”
Q: What can you say to someone who is struggling to start something?
“Get out of your own way. Don’t be afraid. I’ve seen so many people take risks and is has huge rewards. What do you have to lose? What is the worst that can happen? I’ve seen people fail, but you have to learn from those mistakes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Accept it.”
Q: What is your other business?
Biz Idea Shower, a registry for entrepreneurs. There’s baby registry, a wedding registry, but not a business registry, so she decided to start one! It’s a business registry where entrepreneurs go on and register for the things they need. Not money, she emphasizes, but things, and potentially services. Entrepreneurs can register for anything such as podcast microphones, laptops, doormats, staplers, etc. So when people show up to their ribbon cutting ceremony and grand openings, new business owners aren’t receiving candy, flowers and balloons which the entrepreneur doesn’t need. It’s a great way to support entrepreneurs. What she’s finding is people are even donating to the list items that on the registry they own but have never used.
With registries, you have to register on multiple websites, have multiple user names and passwords for each registry. But at Biz Idea Shower, you just have one username/password and it’s all on one site. Janet and her team help drive traffic to the site as well. She hopes that it builds a community of other entrepreneurs. “It’s away to be supportive of other entrepreneurs because small businesses are the backbone of our society.”
The cost is only $60, or $100 if you want extra social media.
Q: What do you typically do for lunch?
Depends where she is during the day. If she’s home, it’s a salad, if she’s out, it depends on where she is.
To connect with Janet or start your own business shower, visit:
