Jody Dontje took a "huge leap of faith" to switch teaching for coaching in 2018. She landed on her feet and now has a thriving business built around her public speaking and emotional intimacy skills.
Teacher Jody Dontje was touring an army bunker in Switzerland when her life changed. She hit it off with another tourist who was a branding expert and entrepreneur, and “he realised my teaching and charity work was great but I wasn’t necessarily living up to my highest potential,” says Jody.
“He sent me a multi-thousand coaching course saying, ‘I think you would be an amazing coach’ and I fell absolutely in love with it.”
She studied coaching in the UK and when she moved back to Australia, Jody was encouraged by her partner to connect with TCI: “It was so much deeper than what I found in the UK and I was like, ‘maybe there is something in this.’”
“I’m grateful to have had the confidence through all we’ve done at TCI to really jump into my speaking and to have won the Australian Impromptu Speaking Championships. I’m really grateful I’ve become a six-figure coach and am living my passion and serving people, doing what I love and living a great life.”
Now, after “the most incredible two years ever” since Jody took “a huge, huge leap of faith” by transitioning from teaching into coaching, she has a successful business ( Jody Dontje Coaching) and flexible, creative life she loves.
“Not only was it a big commitment on a personal level but also on a financial level. I had to take that leap to invest to feel my worth,” says Jody, a public speaking coaching who focuses on emotional intimacy.
“That was the most I’d ever invested in myself. I remember how limited my mindset was in regard to finances, I was thinking, ‘This going to cost me’ rather than seeing it as an amazing self-investment that would bring so much more into my life.
“From then on I started a journey with a healthier relationship with finances and developed a money mindset.”
Jody has also developed two online courses and runs events which lead into one-on-one coaching or her communities.
“I’m really grateful I’ve become a six-figure coach and am living my passion and serving people doing what I love, and being able to live a great life,” she says.
“And yeah, I’ve definitely increased my income.”
What has TCI given you?
One of the things I first had to develop was a contribution mindset. With coaching it’s not about you—when you put the focus and the energy on the other person you gain so much more. Through just being able to serve the finances started flowing and the incredible community I’ve been developing just grew and grew, all because of the mindset of ‘how can I be better for them?’
Where are you at with your TCI journey?
I am really taking my time. I’ll probably be here for the rest of my life so I’m not in a rush to jump through the levels. I’m doing Level II and I’m happy there, doing the Masters Academy. All the Emotional Intimacy, I’ve jumped in with that. I think it’s important for any coach who is getting started to know you cannot walk your clients through any door you haven’t gone through.
Your biggest breakthrough?
Last year I had a healing year, it was insane. I realised things from my past I had suppressed were holding me back … the biggest moment came down to my mother, she was an aggressive, angry mother and I associated anger as a bad thing and pushed it away. Once I owned anger I became more assertive and my clients had more breakthroughs.
What has TCI given you?
Community. I was very much that independent attachment style of ‘I’m all good’ and whenever we think we can do the whole journey on our own we’re coming from a space of ego. That’s not what we need, we’re social bonding animals. TCI is not just learning coaching, you gain a community and for anyone who has developed a business that’s one of the most important things—create a community to grow your business.
“Thank you to Matt Lavars and Remi Pearson for opening TCI into the emotional intimacy world. It was going deep into my emotional intimacy that made all the difference. Through learning that I was able to heal from the past so I could create a better version of me in the present."
What have you struggled with?
Definitely money. A lot of people come into coaching saying ‘I want to help people’ because they’re that person people ask for advice—and one of the toughest leaps to take is to charge for giving that support. To actually feel you are worthy enough to put a value point on it. I grew up with a dad who was very unresourceful with money, so a huge thing was learning business values.
Where are you at with your business?
Reaching over 100K is a big deal. I offer emotional intimacy mastery courses and public speaking mastery courses and those two really go hand in hand. I say I am building a purposeful living movement through owning our voice and our emotions. I have hundreds of members in the communities.
What does an average day look like?
I am my own boss completely, nobody tells me what to do. I have a combination of freedom and flexibility and also responsibility to make sure I own my days. In terms of the freedom part, I have cried numerous times at how epic it is.
Your most successful marketing strategy?
Word of mouth, referrals, have been awesome. Nobody can just go and find my course online and buy a spot, if they want to be accepted they email me and share their challenges. It’s creating a conversation rather than a huge automated marketing funnel. I want to have control over who I accept into the community. If they’re very passionate and keen to grow they get the results that transform them and lead to more growth.
What do you know about yourself that you didn’t before TCI?
That I have access to all of my emotions in a very healthy way at all times, and the ability to rock out and rock on no matter the emotional turmoil.
Advice for other fabulous coaches?
Contribution mindset. If you’re thinking about yourself, you are already not tapping into your potential and are holding yourself back. It’s paramount to know it’s all about the people in front of you and how you can serve.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
As a best selling author serving people in ways where I reach hundreds of thousands. So through books, keynotes, online programs, building a team to support people and I would have built an even larger charity platform than my Help Nepal Appeal.
What would you say to someone thinking of joining TCI?
Take the leap, it doesn’t matter if you are feeling uncertain or scared, trust in your ability to figure things out. With the support of TCI you’ll be able to figure it out and live the dream you want to live. It will be the best thing you ever do.
“TCI helps you go a little bit deeper to own the identity of a coach and become the expert as the coach because of the ongoing support."
Jody is passionate about adventure and experiencing new places and meeting new people. She is a guinea pig enthusiast who wants to develop her dancing and drama skills more. She walks through doors herself before she takes other people through them. She loves paddle boarding, water sports, hiking and biking because they balance out her focus behind the laptop.
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