We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Tara, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started Luvbites because I wanted to help more people understand their sexuality and have a better sex life. Before starting my sex and relationship coaching business, I was a college professor (and I still am). I love teaching positive sex education but I didn’t want to limit the effects to just the classroom so I started my coaching practice in downtown LA. I have helped lots of individuals and couples overcome their sex and relationship issues. A little after I started my practice, I wanted to help more people feel comfortable talking about sex so I started my podcast Luvbites by Dr. Tara, and social media @luvbites.co on Instagram and TikTok. In 1.5 years, I amassed over 2 million followers on TikTok and now I’m normalizing sex talks for people from all over the world. It’s very rewarding.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started Luvbites, my coaching practice, and sex-positive social media, without any business experience. I’d say what sets me apart from others is my non-traditional coaching methods and my wide variety of personal, professional, and sexual experiences. I have lived in many places in the world so I understand intercultural relationships more than coaches who have never experienced the world outside of their own country. My approach is also goal-based so I want to help you get to your goal, give you the tools to maintain, and not keep seeing me forever. My content on social media is also very different from other creators in my area because of my unapologetic style and language + my unwavering enthusiasm.

I’m excited about growing our Luvbites community so that more people can become sexually powerful and have a fulfilling relationships.

An important person that helped my social media grow is my assistant, Adam. I highly recommend any new business owner/entrepreneur to invest in human resources first. Hiring a team is essential in growing.

It’s not easy growing my business. The main challenge I had to overcome was censorship. On social media and advertisements, sex-positive content (even when it’s educational) is often banned. I was banned from IG reel bonus as well as TikTok creator fund. I had to overcome this by pivoting my content, find other sponsors, and starting a YouTube channel (which we are monetizing but only a few videos are monetizable)

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is when you want to create a personal brand without working tirelessly all the time, you have to invest in hiring a team. You need help and it’s the first place is spend money on.

I want the world to know that this is only the beginning of Luvbites! I’ll be dedicating every day for the rest of my life growing Luvbites and normalizing sex talks everywhere.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in DTLA so the first place I’ll take them is to get a morning coffee at il caffe on Broadway. After that, we’ll stop by my husband’s art gallery on Spring Street then head to the Grand central market to grab a light lunch. We’ll spend the whole afternoon admiring plants and flowers at the Huntington Library (the best place on earth). Finally, we’ll end with an amazing dinner at Hai Di Lao Hotpot at Century City, grab a gelato at Eataly, and watch a movie in reclining seats at the theatre.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband has been the biggest fan of my work ever since we met. He encouraged me to pursue my passion outside of academia. He has always believed in my cause, my message, and my methods. He told me a long time ago that I will help millions of people feel more comfortable with their sexuality and now I’m doing that! When I have a hard day at work and I don’t feel good about myself, my husband always reminds me of how great I am and how important the work that I do is to others. Thank you, Brent! I love you!

Fun fact: He was also featured on Voyage LA 🙂 His name is Brent Estabrook

Website: https://www.luvbites.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luvbites.co/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtaraluvbites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/luvbitesco

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Luvbitesco

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@luvbites.co

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.