Entrepreneurship and Music: A Story of Healing | Tara Jenkins - Part 2

Listen to part 1 here!

In the second part of our conversation with Tara Jenkins, board-certified music therapist and founder of Harmony in Dementia, we discuss what it really takes to build confidence in your business. From letting go of perfectionism to learning the power of vulnerability, Tara shares how embracing the messy middle has fueled her entrepreneurial journey. If you missed part one, go back and catch up; this episode picks up right where we left off!

Three Key Topics Discussed:

1. Letting Go of Perfection in Entrepreneurship: Tara reflects on her journey from striving for perfection to embracing the messy middle in her work and business. She shares how letting go of rigid standards opened up new levels of creativity and confidence.
2. The Role of Connection in Building Confidence: Building authentic relationships with like-minded people has been crucial to Tara’s growth. Tara shares how networking and genuine conversations have played a key role in boosting her confidence as a business owner.
3. Overcoming Marketing Challenges and Embracing Imperfection: From misconceptions about music therapy to marketing struggles with privacy, Tara talks about her biggest marketing challenges and how she’s found success by staying authentic and intentional.

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Harmony in Dementia | TikTok
Harmony in Dementia | Website

Transcript

0:09

Hello. Before we dive into part two of this episode, I gotta ask, did you catch part one? If not, hit pause real quick. You'll wanna start from the beginning to get the full effect. The link to part one is right down in the description below. Go ahead, catch up, and we'll be right here waiting for you. Ready to dive into part two when you're all set. It's worth it, I promise.

Beverly: 0:28

So this season we are all about confidence. Last season we awakened some brand magic, Tara but this season we're all about visibility and confidence. So what does confidence look like for you as a business owner? How did you build it? And can you share a moment when you realized that you were truly showing up with it?

Tara: 0:48

This is a multi-layered question. Yes. For me, because I said I never wanted to perform with music. So when you think about musicians I just had this conversation. I went back to my university for celebration. Our music therapy program celebrated 50 years. So I actually was just having a similar conversation around confidence. As musicians we're trained, there's right and wrong notes. There's a right way to play an asure, whatever it is. And then there's like incorrect ways to do things. But as a therapist, we're all about the process. The messy middle. And so for me, where I really started to develop my confidence, and it was like maybe five, six years or more into my career, I was letting go of perfection. It was really hard for me because I am singing and playing guitar. I am doing all these things as a music therapist. We're assessing a lot in the moment. We're constantly assessing our clients and the environment and everything, but letting go of perfection. And it's still a, I don't wanna say a struggle, but a journey I should say with letting go of perfection. But I think also as a business owner to be like, it's okay to make a mistake, and a lot of times you learn more from maybe when something doesn't go well than when something does. And when it comes to clients, there's a little bit more weight there.'cause I obviously don't wanna cause harm. Being very intentional I think too. In my work I try to be very intentional in everything I do. And I think that's where the beauty is a lot is when you can be intentional, when you can let go of perfection. And also just, I think be kind to yourself. And I think that is another one that I'm on a journey with. But going back to, with some of the things that I have with medical conditions, I say this all the time about my clients, we need to celebrate their abilities, what they can achieve, not their diagnosis and their limitations. I sometimes don't turn that over to me, so trying to get better at, okay, these are all the things my body can do, like physically, maybe I'm having a hard time, but thanking for the health'cause I am very healthy overall. It's just these flare ups and things. So being thankful for that, and just acknowledging it and starting to acknowledge the what ifs of, what if this goes well, instead of the negative side of things. And again, it's a constant journey, but I think for me, that's where the sweet spot is for my confidence. And then just connecting with like-minded people. That's another thing for me. Connecting with people who share similar values and beliefs personally and professionally. And then having conversations. When I was talking about going back for that program celebration, I had a lot of meaningful conversations with people who are now colleagues who we were once students together, or friends or professors that I'm now colleagues with. And it was really eye-opening to just take that reflection of how far I've come being in that space where I was very under confident, very anxious as a student, and then I was back in that space as a very different person, almost 20 years later.

Beverly: 3:39

Full circle. I think it's interesting when you talk about perfectionism and imposter syndrome and those kinds of things. We work mostly with female founders, so that is so prevalent with female founders. And I think it comes from the litany of messages that we get from society. You have to be the perfect mom. Have to be the perfect wife. Gotta wear your hair this way, gotta wear your makeup, gotta do this. We have all these pressures put on us that are not even really necessary, but you're talking about all these things, Tara, and I was like, was she in my last session? But I Definitely have confidence more so than ever before. And I think clarity in who I am and how I serve and some of that. I just turned 50 last week, so maybe there's something to be said about that. My version of excellence is probably way better than somebody else's version. So I just need to lean into, do the best that I can. Tweak what I can. But if you get so stuck up, stuck in this idea of perfection, you will not make progress. Because you'll never release the course or never release the thing. Yeah. If you're so worried about perfection and. By releasing it, you get feedback, you can make a change. And in today's day and age, you don't have to print a whole lot of stuff anymore, so it doesn't cost you that much even to pull it down, make some changes, put it back up. So it might be some work, but it's not like it used to be.

Tara: 4:53

We're connecting on a deep level. Yeah. Because it's a lot about what I talk about as well and again, I've had some recent experiences both going back to my university and a couple other reflecting experiences on my career that's really taken me full circle. But also, trying to be kinder to my younger self, say like my younger self would never have imagined that I'd be doing and working with all the people and the things that is happening in my life. So I think just taking that moment, I think to be your cheerleader and celebrate yourself, which is not something I always do. Trying to remind myself to do it more.

Beverly: 5:29

Yeah. Good advice. I would never talk to my child that way. Of course. Yeah. But I talk to myself that way, right? Yes, exactly that. I'm not sure how trauma ridden your childhood was, but I carry some things with me, and those things have formed who I am and I'm not angry about those things. But it certainly has informed some of that additional work I've had to do, of course, to claim my space in this world like that I think is part of it. Okay. Let's talk a little bit about marketing.'cause that's my favorite thing, right? What has been the hardest part about marketing what you do?

Tara: 6:01

I think the hardest part is the misconception of, what I do, honestly because as a music therapist and there's a lot more education out there and there's a lot more people, but the advocacy burnout of constantly having to share no, we're board certified and this is why it's different from somebody who just comes in and plays the piano and that has its place. I'm not saying, don't schedule entertainment and all of the things, but we are part of it, the allied health professionals. And so sometimes that is really challenging. So making it clear. And I think in my marketing, I've become better at, sharing those examples because. You don't know if anybody has ever come across a music therapist. So there were times where I was jumping into what I do and I was like, oh, I actually need to back up and let people know, this isn't a hobby. Our degrees require education in music, medicine, and, therapy and all of the, all of these things. So sometimes it's like backing up, and then getting to know who am I, who is my focus, right? Who do I wanna reach out to? Who do I wanna connect with? So that is one challenge. And I think the other challenge for me is I can talk about things forever. So when it comes to social media marketing, I've gotten better at like short. Clips and snippets and more meaningful stories. And the other challenge too, is a lot of my work I can't show because it's HIPAA, there's privacy indicators there. And also I had this conversation with a group of professionals. If I go into a community setting and the community gives me approval to video, is that person living with dementia, would they. In their moment, give consent, and now they no longer can, but the family has given consent. And so I try to be very intentional with that. I've talked with family members who have a presence or influencers in the care space and they've said my mom was an educator and a teacher, and we had those conversations and I know she would want that out there if it's helping people. But not everybody's coming from that intentional place. So I try to be really intentional and then if I'm working with someone or sharing a story, I try to just make sure that I feel good about the stories I'm sharing or I try to change some details or make them more vague, things like that. So those would've been and continue to be some marketing challenges. cause I think music therapy, the best way to explain it is to see it. And you can't always see it depending on who I'm working with.

Beverly: 8:24

It's interesting. You market to the advocate and you serve the community. What has been the best marketing that what works the most for you?

Tara: 8:32

I think for me the most is a conversation, like actual conversation. The cold calls and the emails, I do those,'cause that's how you start when you don't know anyone at somewhere where you want to connect with someone. Yeah. But I think having the conversation, for me, I found it very beneficial, especially here in Wilmington. The community's been so supportive, the aging space, but going to networking events for aging and senior living, and typically I'm the only one of me. A lot of times there's a lot of. Marketing people from the different senior living buildings and Yeah. And they're great. Don't get me wrong. I love the marketing people. I used to have a great relationship with our marketing department when I was full-time in, in a community, but I get to have these conversations and sometimes that speeds up who I need to connect with. They're like, oh, you need to talk to this person at our building, or you need to, this is who I need to connect you with, or whatever. So I think that's been really important. And then again, on social media I put stuff out there. I never know who sees it. You see the numbers, the likes, but recently I've had multiple people say, oh my gosh I love your content, or, this was helpful for me because, and I like to share a lot of education, tips, resources, what does a day look like as a private practice music therapist and spoiler is very different every day. It's never the same but. I think those have been some exciting things when it comes to marketing. And I like talking to people and I like building relationships and coming up with ideas. That's the other thing. My program is not a one size fits all. It's going to look very different if I'm working with the Alzheimer's Association, which, I've had the opportunity to do that and work with the local chapter here versus if I'm working with a caregiver in their home with their person living with dementia, with the person they're caring for. So I get excited thinking about how do I tailor my services to you? How do I support you best?

Beverly: 10:23

So you do have some in real life relationships that are helpful when you do the in-person networking. I'll tell you the post covid in-person networking has been a little challenging for me to leave my little bubble

Tara: 10:33

Yeah. I sign up for things and don't always make it there. Yeah.

Beverly: 10:37

That's real life. That's the messy little right there, Tara. Okay, so we're gonna change direction here a little bit. I'm gonna shake things up and we're gonna do a little bit of magic. But before we do that, if you are enjoying this conversation, please hit the follow subscribe button so you never miss another episode. And if you know someone who needs to hear this, maybe they have a aging parent who is going through dementia or those kinds of challenges, please send it their way. This might be exactly what they need to spark the best next idea for them. Okay, so my lightning round comes from a sparkly purple hat. Love it. Love it. There's lots of questions in here I'm going to ask you a few, and it's just more of a rapid fire question and answer session. What's a common misconception about your industry that you love to debunk?

Tara: 11:22

Ooh. I'd love to debunk that we're not entertainment, which I highlighted earlier, but we are more than entertainment.

Beverly: 11:28

I like that you're not just a piano player who's gonna be there to help. What's a surprising way that your personal values show up in your business?

Tara: 11:36

I think going back to marketing, my personal values of being intentional, of being transparent, of putting myself out there tho those values are showing up more in how I also market my services. And I think that's been really exciting to grow that part of it

Beverly: 11:51

and super authentic, which resonates far better. If you could wave your own magic wand and solve one current challenge for your business, what would it be?

Tara: 12:01

I wish more people had the budget. Do you know? I wish more funding was accessible, let's say that because not everybody can magically get funding. But the magic wand of, I wish it was easier to seek out funding

Beverly: 12:12

to get services to the people who need it.

Tara: 12:14

I'm all about community partnerships and community programs and I would love to offer more free services to the people in my community and beyond. But it comes down to funding.

Beverly: 12:23

What's something in your business that brings you pure joy?

Tara: 12:26

The moment I make a meaningful connection with a client, and it can happen from them tapping their toe when I didn't know that I was connecting to them, sharing a story, I pick a song and I don't know if it's a song they like. I'm a detective in some ways. And so they've told me what music they like, we've engaged and then we share a song and then they have this beautiful story that accompanies it. Or they have a memory or they start singing along or they sing the harmony or, any of those things.

Beverly: 12:52

Have you ever thought about quitting and what pulls you back?

Tara: 12:55

I, every so often will look at jobs that have nothing to do what I do. Like maybe I wanna just like full-time work for Apple. I don't, but I'm like, maybe I want a job where like I could be making more. It's happening less. But every so often I explore that and what brings me back is after I have a session, after I'm with a client, I come back home or I sign off and I say, why would I do anything else? Like the amount of energy and joy that I get to help someone in that way is pretty big.

Beverly: 13:24

That's pretty awesome. So what's one thing people overcomplicate about marketing that you think is actually really simple?

Tara: 13:31

I think, again, the perfection piece, like wanting to, and I was doing that too, social media is one oh, I didn't say that word right. Or whatever, and go back and you're editing it and that eats up so much time and just put out the messier version. And I found that people connect more with the more authentic versions of the different things that I share when it comes to that.

Beverly: 13:52

That's great advice. Don't overthink it. You can overthink it to be so polished that it lose its humanity in it. So be human. That's why live is so powerful, I don't do a lot of lives. Just so we're clear, my recovering perfectionist would probably have an anxiety attack. The more that I do these things, the more that I do the podcast, the more that I do video, the more that I show up and practice, the more confident I feel doing something like that. What's been your most unexpected, serendipitous moment in business? Where all the stars aligned?

Tara: 14:21

I think for me, moving here to Wilmington, honestly because. I got so much community support that I didn't expect. I've lived in multiple cities and it's been challenging to break into certain spaces. And here it's been the complete opposite. Everybody's been so warm and welcoming, and if they can't help me, they've got ideas and suggestions where people that they need to connect me with. And it goes beyond just professionally, like even just in our neighborhood when we first moved in. Just the comradery and the community support has really been overwhelming and unexpected. And I think it's been really serendipitous in the sense of we moved here for a quality of life change. We moved here for a lot of personal reasons, not necessarily professional reasons, which is how we've moved in other aspects. And that all aligned without us even knowing that it would.

Beverly: 15:14

That's beautiful. I was born in Alabama, but raised in Michigan. We've lived in Virginia and North Carolina and Pennsylvania. We lived all up and down like the eastern seaboard, I feel like. I have found my neighbors and the people here in North Carolina to be the most warm Just really kind people. My husband's deployed right now, and I had my 50th birthday and two of my neighbors brought me flowers because they knew my husband wasn't home. So great. And then I was alone for Mother's Day, so one of the neighbors invited us to go do pottery with their kids. Just making sure that I know that I'm supported, which is amazing. We've only been here. Eight months, nine months. So it hasn't even been that long to really establish those kinds of relationships, especially as an older person.

Tara: 17:01

Yeah. The older you get, it is harder to make meaningful friendships. I think it's more challenging. You're doing a lot of work very. Yes. Siloed or at your home so you're not meeting people in that way? It's similar to me,

Beverly: 17:12

but a lot of us work from home, so that's actually really nice. Oh, that's good. Yeah, we're all home, which is nice. But it's been very special. So I agree with you. We're living here for a while. We left and we came back'cause I was like, I I wanna end up here because I have a lot of strong connections and relationships that have been built here. So I agree. That is the last question in the magic hat round. I hope that you enjoyed those questions. The next thing I have is I have my wand. Oh, love it. It has some magical powers, Tara, and it helps us time travel essentially. Love it. So I'm going to wave the wand the first time and it's gonna take us back to the day 2007 that you graduated. That more shy person. What advice would you give her that you needed then that you have now

Tara: 17:51

to take a breath, to slow down and to be kinder to yourself. I feel like we've highlighted on some of these things already, but I think I was really hard on myself and I compared myself to everyone. And I still do those comparisons sometimes, but I'm a lot kinder with those thoughts or I acknowledge those thoughts and let them go a lot easier than I used to. So letting go as well. Not holding on to a lot of those negative, like self-talk thoughts.

Beverly: 18:20

Yeah. I found that I can get a little obsessive with that, right? Yeah. So by either talking through it or journaling it, it gets out of there and stops marinating around and sitting it own juices of not healthy. Yeah. Yes, I feel like it's super powerful to acknowledge it and let it go. My therapist refers to them as the echoes and shadows of doubt, of yourself. So it echoes and shadows and I try to name them and claim them now, so they can't just lurk anymore. I call'em out and shine the light on'em and tell'em to get out. So i'm gonna ask her what she thinks of you now, what would she say?

Tara: 18:52

Oh man. She would be so pumped. She'd be so excited. She'd probably be jumping up and down, very excited, wanting to celebrate and just asking all the questions. How did you get there and how did you connect with this person? And oh my gosh, what was that like? I think she would just be so celebratory. I think she would just be so happy to see that, even though there were moments that I thought I wouldn't graduate, I really was like, maybe I can't go through with this. That I had those moments mostly in my junior year. I had a pretty tough time and I think she'd be like, we did it. We did so much more. We did what we wanted and more, I think she'd be really happy and excited.

Beverly: 19:30

I have a disco ball over there. Do I need to turn it on and have a party?

Tara: 19:33

Maybe. Yeah. Have a dance party. Yeah, definitely a dance party about it. Yeah.

Beverly: 19:38

That's so good. So I'm gonna wave the wand again, and I'm gonna take us far into the future where someone is reading your eulogy. What do you want people to remember most about working with you and what will be the greatest impact that you will make?

Tara: 19:50

I think, again, it goes back to relationships. I want people to feel supported and safe and to feel that my impact in their life has helped them to connect with their loved one, or has helped them to express their frustrations of what's going on with them and how they're living. And I think my biggest impact would just to make the world and the space that I occupy a little kinder a little more supportive and just a little more joyful,

Beverly: 20:21

that's beautiful. Okay, so I'm gonna take the wand and bring us back to 2025. For those people who are solopreneurs that are listening or are starting a business of their own, or maybe they're just burnt out, Tara. What is one tip that you could give those who are trying to build more confidence in how they show up and run their business?

Tara: 20:43

I think a tip of building confidence, part of it is knowing your comfort zone and starting there.. If you can look at something that you're good at in your business and hone that in, or something you're excited about or you enjoy doing. There's a lot of things I don't enjoy about my business, the accounting piece of it, amen. Amen. And maybe you hire someone for that eventually, right? Yeah. But I think focusing on what you feel good about, what you're excited about, what you're passionate about, and that will grow your confidence to then maybe go to something you're less comfortable with, something that's more out of your comfort zone. Something that maybe you've been afraid to try or you've been nervous to explore, and then grow that. I think if you can grow your confidence and feel good about an aspect of your business that is going well, that you are excited about, it can give you that energy and that push to do something that you're a little bit more nervous about, and I found that the things that I've been more nervous about, or I've applied for something or I've said yes to something, and I'm like, oh, why did I do that? A lot of times when it's a big thing. That's my initial reaction. And then I get super excited about meeting the deadline the presentation, whatever I've said yes to. But I think there is something to doing things that make you nervous or scare you a little bit, and it can grow your confidence.

Beverly: 22:01

I use the example a lot, I use a example of a circle. And the circle is a comfort zone. We hang out in there. That's where we like to live. That's what we know the best. It's super comfortable. But when you just take even a slightest small step, you create a little bump on the circle, and then the circle has to go around the bump. So you've increased the circle and you can't go back to the small circle because you've already created the bigger circle. And if you just keep inching it out step by step, even if it's just the smallest step, it's maybe today it's signing up for an event at the chamber. Maybe today is posting a story that kind of comes from your heart on social. It's just one thing. Or even a social post that actually has your voice in it for the first time. Do something outside your comfort zone, those things. My husband jumps out of airplanes for a living. I am not that person. Yeah. However the things that scare me the most usually are the things that I'm most proud of and I'm most excited about afterwards. I am very much in fear of heights and they have a military weekend where the spouses can go and we can do some of the things that our army spouses do. And there is one where you can jump, go to the tower. It's like a 20 foot tower, and you can get all geared up and you can jump out of that as if you're training to jump out of an airplane. And I got up, walked up all the steps, and I was all geared up. And I got up there and I was like, absolutely not, because it's a free fall. It's not like you're on a zip line, you have to fall and then it catches you, it's a free fall. Yeah. And I was like, oh no, I'm good. And my husband said to me from the ground, you will be so mad at yourself if you don't do this. And I was like, he's so right.

Tara: 23:35

I don't want him to be right, but he's right.

Beverly: 23:37

So I took the step outta the 20 foot tower. Obviously I was fine and I'm glad I did it'cause I would've been so upset at myself. That's how you live with regrets. Is not doing those kinds of things that make you a little bit scared and push you to a different level. So I have a favor to ask for the listeners. If today's episode has sparked something in you, maybe pushed you a little bit outside your comfort zone, then take a minute and leave us a review and let us know how this podcast has helped you do something a little bit different or given you courage or confidence or maybe just a tip that you're using. And then if you really love it, share it.'cause that's important too. Gives us inspiration to other people. Tara, this has been a really fun conversation. Yeah, I agree. Thank you so much for sharing your love of music and therapy and wisdom and your journey and your magic with us. I know our listeners are gonna walk away with so many amazing things, but tell everyone before we go how they can find you and learn more about what you do.

Tara: 24:35

Sure. Www.harmonyindementia.com is my website and I'm harmony in dementia on social media. You can find me on LinkedIn as well, but yeah, if you can connect with me in any of those ways, send me a message, start following me. You can read more about the services and the education I provide, the podcast I've been on. This one will be up there too, but I share all of that on my website as well. So if you're looking to hear from me more, those are some ways that you can connect.

Beverly: 25:05

I'm so grateful for your time and the impact that you're making in the world, Tara. It's very important work. Thank you. This has been so fun. I hope today's episode has lit a fire in you and gave you new ideas, and most of all, inspired you to take some action because here is the thing. Your message matters. Your work matters, and the world needs to hear what you have to say. Marketing isn't just about visibility. It's about impact. It's about connecting with the right people in a way that feels genuinely true to you. So keep showing up. Keep sharing your brilliance and keep making magic in the world. And hey, if you ever feel stuck, know that you don't have to do this alone. We're here to help you turn that spark into a wildfire. Until next time, keep sparking and igniting