We had the good fortune of connecting with Yolanda Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yolanda, what do you attribute your success to?
I think the most important factor behind the success of my brand is my passion and obsession with analyzing what makes a great performer. I offer my training at a fair price and then I overdeliver. When you are in the business of helping clients abandon their self-limiting beliefs and see the potential in themselves, you want to reach as many people as possible. Once a client has booked in a 4-pack with me I can’t help but give them 24hr communication access and support. I’m now part of their journey and have a sense of responsibility. I’ve never had an issue of a client overstepping or abusing boundaries. I just can’t help It. I love It! My authenticity and transparency builds a quick rapport. I would say I have a 99% success rate for booking from a clients email inquiry. It doesn’t take much to spend time answering their inquiry in detail and giving them an insight to how I work rather than just respond with a quote. They say they felt comfortable with me very quickly and therefore chose me over their other instructors.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a Vocalist/Performer/Songwriter/Choreographer and charting recording artist. Born in Sydney, Australia I relocated to my dream city of Los Angeles in 2013 to pursue a career in the Entertainment Industry. With experience across most genres from singing and writing award winning rock music, to teaching and choreographing hip-hop, touring and performing globally, I think I bring a unique position of how to ‘connect’ MOVEMENT with ANY VOCAL style, without compromising either one. By offering nurturing and constructive feedback of a client’s current abilities and offering informative tools on how to reach their personal goals, my aim is to help them achieve “The best version of themselves!” “I was obsessed with that movie THE IDOL MAKER! If you can make an audience fall in love with a performer, then you can create a STAR!”

MY BRAND MY STORY; I have had some humiliating experiences on stage early on. When I was 10 I forgot my song lyrics in front of the entire school and froze and was ‘gonged’ off stage. I did a full-time performing arts Course and was the worst dancer in the class for an entire year. It was an ongoing internal battle! This developed in me Empathy for the struggle. A lot of people who are naturally gifted at what they do have trouble with having the patience teaching Beginner clients. This is my specialty. I’m fascinated in understanding each performer is unique and we all learn in different ways.

LESSONS I’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY; Surround yourself with optimistic people and stay childlike. Keep an openness to change and technology with a willingness to learn new platforms. Stay on purpose to have the courage, confidence and sense of responsibility to know you have something to offer. Keep control of every aspect of your business. I remember the days of waiting for someone to update my website. Now I am able to design and update my own websites. Understand SEO and keywords and the importance of owning your own domain name early on. I own YolandaThomas.com which is quite a common name. I was also filming every class and uploading to youtube very early on and that really helped my visibility on Google.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Visiting the beaches of Malibu and the national Parks for hiking are 2 activities still allowed during the Pandemic. California is blessed in that It can be nice sunny weather in West Hollywood and then you drive for an hour or so and can play in the snow on a mountain on a hiking trail. You cannot beat the weather in LA!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Derek Sivers who started CD Baby for artists and then sold It for millions was a big influencer. He would actually personally respond back to my emails! It used to blow my mind that I had access to this millionaire! He published a book called “Anything you want- 40 lessons for a new kind of entrepreneur ” The way he approached his business was a blue print for me.

Website: http://www.HollywoodPerformanceCoach.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theYolandaThomas/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YolandaThomasLA

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hip-hop-dance-courses-los-angeles-3

Youtube: https://www.Youtube.com/yolandathomasLAofficial

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Tamea Agle Robert De Anda Karuna Tanahashi William Greenberg Craig Newman Jerry Averill

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.