Inspiring Interview With Rachel Davis, Founder Of LaLa Tigers

Read our inspiring interview with Rachel Davis, mum of two and founder of LaLa Tigers.  Rachel gave up her 9-5 job to fulfil her dream of writing children’s songs which help teach kids throughout the world.

Tell Us A Little About Your Background First

I started playing piano at just age 5 and wrote my first song at 15. My parents had not considered music a real career and so not having found anything else that lit me up, I stumbled through college and fell into a career in sales, which I did successfully for many years.

When my 2 boys came along, I just knew I couldn’t go back. The long hours, pressure and travel would mean I couldn’t be around for them and I really wanted to show them you could do something you loved for a living.

So, I returned to my first love and set up music sessions for under 5’s, called Tiny Tempo, which I ran in a church hall in Brighton for 6 years.

However, the tragic loss of half of my family and a very difficult divorce, had bought about a complete life collapse for me. I found myself trapped in my head with racing thoughts and bringing up 2 children alone, who were also dealing with strong emotions and anxiety.  It was a big, fat mess.

My decision to turn my attention inwards in order to heal and become the best parent I could be, changed my whole outlook on life, hugely affected my parenting and sparked a huge fascination with the internal world of thoughts and feelings.

The more I worked on my own emotions and limiting beliefs, the more I began to shift my own perceptions of what was really possible for me.  I retrained in NLP and Hypnotherapy and learned how the beliefs we form in early childhood, go on to drive most of our behaviour for the rest of our lives, on a largely unconscious basis, which forms the basis for much of my current work with LaLa Tigers.

How Did Lala Tigers Come About?

Purely by chance, I had discovered that songs would reach my children where my words would fail.  I had begun writing songs to get my kids to brush their teeth, get their shoes on and calm them down for bed.  They worked so quickly, that I began to realise that I could also use music to teach them so much more.

I started combining my experiences with my knowledge of thoughts, feelings and beliefs, with the amazing power that is music, so that I could teach them powerful strategies for living and cultivating happiness, so that they could unlock their own potential.

I wanted to teach them about these deep life wisdoms in a way that they would understand and that would stay with them forever.

You see nobody remembers anything their parents told them when they were 3, but we remember all the songs and they become part of our unconscious mind. They stay with us forever.

I knew this information was life changing and would help others and so I started recording and filming them as a journey of lessons, to take other families through the same process I had used to transform my own life.

These musical workshops form the backbone of LaLa Tigers and my online parenting programmes, where I teach powerful strategies for handling difficult emotions and behaviour, whilst helping both parents and children uncover their inner strength and find the courage to live from their heart.

2019 Has Been A Great Year For You, What Has Been The Highlight?

2019 has been incredible. The release of my second album and the launching of Raise a Tiger have been great achievements for me, but the highlight would have to be my TEDx Folkstone talk, “Inspiring confidence & self belief in children through music.”

It was an honour to share my work on a larger stage and I felt it showed beautifully what you can really achieve when you change the way you think, feel and behave. I hope this shows others what is truly possible for all of us, if we are willing to open our minds and see things differently.

What Are Your Tips For Setting Up Your Own Business?

The main tip is to simply believe in yourself and that whatever it is, you will figure it out.

The second would be to prioritise your own health and well-being. It can be so easy for your work to take over your life if you let it, so balance, along with knowing and acting in alignment with your own personal values, is crucial if you want to create a business that will both sustain and nourish you the way you really want it to.

What Have Been The Challenges?

Time, money and tech! Bringing up my children single-handedly gave me some huge challenges and tech is seriously not my strong-point!

With the right mindset, great friends and some hard work, I believed that anything was possible, and I trusted that the right people would come into my life. Whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can’t, you’re always right, which is the power of belief at its finest.

YouTube and networking with other female entrepreneurs taught me a lot about tech and marketing, but you learn so much by just having a go and making lots of mistakes. It hasn’t been easy, but then the best things in life rarely are.

How Do You Build Your Own Confidence?

Meditate, journal and I work on my mindset daily. I treat myself the way I would want others to treat me, with respect and kindness. I listen to great teachers, read inspiring books and I strive to let go of things that no longer serve me.

A really big driver for me is to teach my children that real courage is not the absence of fear, but the understanding that there is just something more important than it.  I want to show them it is possible to create a life doing something you love, whilst still serving a purpose much bigger than yourself, in the hope that they will go on to do the same.

How Do You Both Balance Work And Life?

Dancing!  Sometimes it’s only in my kitchen, but it really lifts my spirits. I also do yoga regularly and make sure I have at least one day a week when I’m not on a screen.

I go to bed at 9pm and I start work at 5am most days so that I can get the work done but still be there for school pickups most days. That’s really important to me.

What Does 2020 Hold For You?

2020 feels like it’s going to be amazing for me both as a family and as a business.

I’m planning to travel throughout the Summer with my children, which feels really exciting and I’m working on a 3rd album which will be finished later this year. I’ll also be running my online parenting programme 3 times this year and planning more speaking, whilst also working on a plan for my book.

Rachel Davis is the founder of LaLa Tigers, find out more via https://www.lalatigers.com/