Tiana Neal on Her Consulting Company and HR and Payroll Podcast

Hi, Tiana! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business:

Hi, I’m Tiana, Founder and CEO of the Transcenders Consulting Group. I’m a true southern girl from the south who, during my career ventured out to the West Coast and found my way back home here in Georgia. After years of dedicating myself to my career and being so loyal to companies, I decided to step out on faith and start my own. My consulting business focuses on support in the HCM space covering HR, payroll, tax, HRIS, benefits and implementation for clients. I also run an HR and payroll podcast that focuses on important industry topics and I have many guests on within this industry trying to get their businesses more exposure.

Who are your customers?

I cover all industries from government to financial to small business owners. I mainly work with C-suite execs, VP/Directors of HR and Payroll.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

I started my career in payroll at ADP and eventually left there after so many years handling training for payroll, HR operations roles and working for consulting companies where I managed over 40 consultants and handled many vendor partnerships.

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

After dedicating most of my life to these companies and bringing in so much money, ensuring employees were happy and systems were running smoothly, I continued to get downplayed by horrible and jealous bosses. My last situation put such a bad taste in my mouth after I brought the company in millions of dollars only to be treated poorly. Once I stepped away, I promised myself to put my all into a business for myself before I stepped back into another corporate job.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Not at all. I actually never saw this for myself but early last year, many colleagues kept singing praises to me on my work and knowledge base. That started me to do a podcast the middle of last year. Then once I separated with my FT job, I continued to have colleagues encourage me to do this on my own so I went with it and here we are.

Take us back to when you first launched your business; what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?

The key here is that I totally missed the marketing strategy. I just started on a whim and due to me having so many solid connections in the industry, I just knew I wouldn’t have any problem getting in the door with clients and partnerships. Man was I WRONG, like so wrong, haha. No one came through for me as how I expected, and I found myself doing outreach on my own. Luckily a few people gave me a shot and I proved myself along the way. I am now trying to figure out this marketing thing in hopes that more work will come soon enough.

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered along the way so far and what have you learned from it?

The push to network, stay out in the forefront so people always remember you for when they have a client who needs your support. Due to me being a behind the scenes systems person for so long, it was tough to have to get out more and talk to more people letting them know of my business. Now that I am more comfortable it flows easily but I still get nervous from time to time which is a natural feeling. The push to keep going is a must.

Do you have any recent wins from the last year that you’d like to celebrate with our community?

I just launched my firm this year in 2024 and am proud of landing some hefty clients. Alongside that, as mentioned above for my podcast the large guests that I am having on is a major win.

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

Over the next few years, I plan on landing more major partnerships for my consulting firm and with that will be focused on more non-profit work. I already do a lot of volunteering but my hope it being able to contribute financially and travel to Africa. For the podcast, I am gearing up for more in person tapings as well as live webinars with special guests.

What is your top productivity tip? 

Plant a seed everyday! Even if it’s just sending one email or getting to that follow up email, do something every single day. Some days were exhausting, nerve wracking and I doubted that the person would even respond or that what I thought would even amount to something but every time I did, eventually something would work out and if it didn’t work out then at least I knew that door was closed and I could move on. It’s important to keep it up daily whatever that looks like to you just make sure to check a box daily.

On the flip side, how do you avoid burnout?

When your body is telling you it needs rest, listen to it. Sometimes I would just need a nap, get to be early or simply take a walk and get some fresh air.

What is your approach to work-life balance / integration?

Take the time to spend some time with the family and friends that matter to you. Even if it’s just coffee or a quick lunch. Starting a business usually doesn’t mean that financially you can plan for a big trip across country but you can still make time for the small things if it means something to you.

What is one thing you wish you had known when you started your Entreprenista journey?

The realization that not everyone has pull at their company and you definitely need different avenues to your business plan. In hindsight, I should have focused more on marketing BUT these larger marketing groups tend to require a company to have been in business for a certain amount of time and have pulled in a certain dollar amount. I wish I would’ve buckled down more and learned on my own how to market and done that daily because it does pay off in the long run.

What advice do you have for aspiring Entreprenistas?

Keep going and that it’s okay to ask/need help. A lot of times we carry our pride heavy but it’s okay to ask for help because starting a business is tough and it takes a village.

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