Meet Daphne Thibodeaux

We were lucky to catch up with Daphne Thibodeaux recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daphne, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

I cannot deny that the optimism I have was inherited from my parents. In different ways but they both instilled it in me, and I also believe it was given by God. One of my favorite scriptures is, Luke 1:37 “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” My husband says to me at least once a week, that I never worry. I remind him as sweet as he is, that material things such as appliances, cars and such break, they need repairs, but there is always good, an alternate route, a plan of escape on the other side. As I have grown wiser as a woman in her early forties, these eyes have seen and experienced so much. I know that God has kept me, and I am here to encourage others. I am here to be a light and shine for others. I am a big sister that cheers my sister on when she needs a boost. I am a little sister to a brother who calls when he really needs some encouragement. I honestly am a cheerleader of life, because I feel like as long as you have God with you and breath in your body there is nothing that is too hard for you to achieve. Not saying that the journey will be easy, but you can get to the top.

I have some many stories where I have watched God come through for me, and while I was waiting, I couldn’t be negative. I had to be positive. Don’t get me wrong I am human, and I have my days and my moments, but when the dust settles, and I stand up. I know God is going before me and I know that if it’s just a tiny step something good is going to happen.

As a child born and raised in Decatur, Alabama. I remember my parents encouraging me to always do my best. From dance class, piano, choir, education, and sports, seems like whatever activity I was doing, my parents always encouraged me. I do have resilience, as it is related to optimism, but I believe my optimism takes me further than most people, even when I almost want to give up.

Student Council
I can remember being at Julian Harris Elementary school in 2nd Grade to 5th Grade. Each year I ran for Student Council and each year I lost. No matter how hard my mom and I worked on my posters announcing my campaign, recruiting my older cousins to give me tips on my speech and slogans, I just couldn’t win. I remember they announced the winners over the intercom for all to hear, and my two-pigtail wearing, big smile, almost shy, little girl with the big heart was broken. I remember taking down my posters of pink and purple, my favorite colors at the time, and rode the school bus home to be picked up from the transit school. I held my tears back until getting in the car with my either my mom or dad. I remember dinner that night and my mom encouraging me to hold my head up high, and that I may not win every time, but if I gave my best, and it still doesn’t work out, that her and my dad would always be proud of me. They were truly proud of me year after year. My mom had two favorite sayings when things didn’t go as planned “one monkey doesn’t stop the show” & she quoted 2 Corinthians 5:7 ” For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
My mom was saying we are going all the way! I finally won 6th grade Student Council Secretary and it felt great. When I could have quit, I knew eventually one day I would win and kept pursuing the dream.

Mom and Cancer
When I was in fourth grade my mother became really sick with cancer. This was the early 90’s so most times you were put in the hospital and had to spend time in the hospital, away from your family in order to receive treatment. The best hospital that could give my mother treatment was at least an hour away. And it was a scary time for my family. We kept praying and believing God for my mother’s healing.
Seeing my mom’s smile, her faith, her positivity about being healed from cancer would calm our fears on the weekend visits. I knew that she was going to be healed of cancer. While dad worked, my aunts and cousin stepped in to help so nothing was missing or broken. My mom said she prayed to God and asked Him to let her see her children become adults, and God honored that request. In 2009 my mom was diagnosed again with cancer and as an adult I watch her never lose her faith and still believing God was a healer.
She passed on Nov. 23, 2012, but my mom left us with her fighting spirit and encouraged us to live a life pleasing unto God. To keep the faith and trust God no matter what. And I believe in God and forever will. He alone gives me hope, inspiration. When I could throw in the towel and give up, God gives me strength and I my optimistic view pops up and I am ready for anything.

New city, No car, no Job and a problem
After a few good years, I was still feeling there was more to my life. Alabama was not where I was supposed to be. God showed me that Texas would be my new home. Without a job, or any prospects, and no place to live I packed my things and moved to Dallas, Texas. I only one cousin who lived in the area who I hadn’t seen in at least 15 years. After a little time in an extended stay and interviewing for jobs, and my money was running low, my cousin invited me to come stay with her for as long as I needed. We needed each other. After three months I had a moment or two, I wondered “Why would God bring me 10 hours away to Texas, away from security, family and friends to experience these trials?” My sister, my best friend, my cousin and a few family members encouraged me to keep going and that things would get better. I had a few family members that were negative and told me I should pack my things and return to Alabama. God didn’t tell me to return, and I was not going to leave until He told me to. I remember getting a call from a very close family friend around Christmas and she encouraged me, spoke life and postivity and gave me scriptures to keep reading and praying. She had no idea of what I was facing, but she definitely helped me recharge and keep my faith and focus. ** Remember her for later **.

I had gained part-time employment as an assistant, but I needed full-time employment and benefits. And after three and a half months I finally received a fulltime job in healthcare. It wasn’t long before better healthcare jobs, better pay, and better benefits were available to me. I shared an apartment with my sister, as she later moved to Fort Worth Texas and God and life was great. We had a great church community, work friends and Texas became my home.

Dating life
When I finally got established in Texas I attempted to date, but the men in the DFW area were an entirely different vibe that I was used to. They would invite you out, make plans and then no-show or go out with you, but then ghost you later. Of all my single friends I was always the one encouraging and again being optimistic that God has someone for each of us. Telling them while encouraging myself that God was protecting us from the men we didn’t need. July 3, 2019, was a turning point in the way I saw my singleness. I met a guy through online dating and although it seemed as if we had an interest in each other, things quickly changed. We had plans to attend an early July 4th Fireworks celebration that evening after work. However, after texting all day but the time I was leaving to meet up with him, he ghosted me. I decided that day that I only wanted who God had for me. I was tired of getting my feelings hurt and rather just be single.
In August I prayed this prayer as my ex-boyfriend started calling and texting again. I knew I didn’t need to go down that road again. I prayed ” Lord you know I want to be married. I believe that you have someone for me. A good Christian man that loves you, more than he loves me. That he has his life together and that he is wanting a wife. If he is out there, will you please connect us. You know exactly who is right for me and I can’t pick them. ”

I was still optimistic even though I had a less than picture perfect dating history, that God had an amazing man to be my husband. And by the end of August, I went to the gym with this guy from my church. It’s funny because I had known him since March of 2019, and we would always say hello and hug because that is the type of church we went to. God showed me within two weeks of going on dates and hanging out that he was my husband. One night while talking my then new boyfriend told me that he was tired of being lonely. He had prayed that God would send him a wife. He wanted a Christian woman that loved God with her whole heart. And someone that loved him as a husband and wanted a relationship and to be happy. Well fast forward 6 months later, he proposed, and we were married in 2020 during covid.
From my dating experiences I started a podcast called “Daphne Pearl’s World of Dating “. It is a Christian podcast to encourage ladies to stop settling and not give up on dating. That you can be a Christian and have morals and still want to be married.

Business Life
I originally started my business in October 2018, with one client. I was overwhelmed working in healthcare and trying to run a business and this just was not it. I never thought that I did something wrong, I just thought maybe it wasn’t time and put that idea of being an entrepreneur back on the shelf.
Fast forward to 2023 God and my husband let me know it was definitely time to walk away from healthcare. It was time to take the leap of faith. It was time to do the things I was being led to do in this season. As of August 31, 2023, I turned in my resignation and walked away after 17 years of being in healthcare. Let me tell you how God works. He gave me the unique idea of Podcast Management and remember the close family friend that called me in 2015 to encourage me when I was unemployed? She became my first client. My husband was so encouraging and supportive and even though I was not seeing the growth in new clients. He was optimistic believing it would soon be a flood of clients.

I began helping my first client with her social media pages, while we planned her podcast launch. This began to gain the attention of other entrepreneurs wanting me to manage their social media accounts also
I officially launched, Chermoore Consulting on Feb 1, 2024, and it’s been a blessing ever since. When it seemed like I was not getting the push that I wanted or needed I kept trusting God and was definitely stayed optimistic that my business would grow and had to stand on faith. God told me to prepare while I was waiting on clients. I spent the fall of 2023 working on my business systems, creating my website, and learning what I could about podcasting and designing.

I believe that these obstacles are just a testimony to show that I will praise while I wait. Again, I walk by faith and not by sight.
God has a plan for our lives and I and refuse to accept anything less than God’s best.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a Podcast Manager, Podcast Host and a Social Media Manager. I am the owner of Chermoore Consulting in Fort Worth, Texas. I got into podcasting after starting my own podcast about Christian Dating. I had no previous knowledge of podcasting or how to start. I began studying and researching how to start my podcast in 2021. Now my husband and I work as a team. While I am teaching clients how to podcast, help them develop topics, set up the behind the scenes for publishing and creating their social media campaigns, my husband does the audio editing.
I am focusing on helping my clients bring this vision this goal to life. It is important to them, and it is important to me.

I love being able to help a client achieve not only their dreams but reach and develop an audience worldwide. Whether it’s promoting their products, books, services, ministry, etc. I like the excitement when the podcast client sees the vision come to live. They hear the trailer for their podcast that we have created with their voice and music, and it becomes a reality, “Hey I’m a podcast host!” I also like when a social media client sees the promotion on their pages or the reels that I have created. They are all entrepreneurs, authors, travel agents, commercial cleaning services and they see their advertisements or the reels that I have created for them. The sermons and or speeches that I have broken down for 60 to 90 seconds and this too is being shown all over social media.

I am a trusted source. I don’t take the responsibility lightly, that this is someone’s business and dreams. This is how they are creating and generating wealth for their families. I am a dreamer and believe in taking action. I encourage people to start where you are. You may not have all the fancy equipment and technology, but you will eventually get there. You may not have all of the followers that you want, but you have got to start somewhere. You may not have a million views or listeners, but if you aren’t creating or promoting there will never be a goal achieved.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Learn your craft. No matter what the industryor subject matter is for example, starting a business you should become an expert on this subject. We are blessed to have technology at our fingertips. You can now sign up for free classes, watch tutorials, pay for classes, and vlogs online of people showing you the “How to” of something. If you need to go back to school and further your education, you are never too old to learn. If you need to hire a mentor or find an influencer online or make colleagues in that industry you can and should do that also. Be the answer to someone’s need.

Customer Service & Communication. Learn how to talk to people and be confident when speaking with them. If that means being firm on policies, you can still be respectful and give someone respect without belittling them. Communicate with a good friendly tone and proofread emails when working with others. Often times something may make sense to us, but with someone who has no expertise this could be a new subject and also be patient with them. How would you want to be treated in this situation. Even when commenting on other’s post be respectful. You will be remembered. Also learn to listen. If you listen to others whether in conversation or even reading people’s comments on social media you can develop a solution in your industry or improve the solution which could generate income and wealth for you.

Be alert. Stay on top of industry standards and programs. Learn about updates, sign up for newsletters and be aware of new trends, software, safety updates, etc. and check in with colleagues regularly. If you don’t have colleagues, make acquaintances with people in your industry. You are not in competition necessarily with them but it’s nice to know how the market is doing if its’ a small industry such as Podcast Management.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I am feeling overwhelmed, I take a break. A break can be a quick reset or a full two days to regain my focus and clarity. Taking a break can be as simple as taking a walk through my neighborhood and the park near my house. It could be prayer and quiet time or listening to an inspirational sermon and or message or music. Reading my Bible for encouragement. It could be an afternoon nap. It could be that I am unorganized.

Prepare. If you have to be up early the next day or have an event prepare your clothes the night before, make sure there is gas in your car, charge electronics, prepare snacks and lunches just in case you wake up late.

Keep a “To Do List”. This can be on your phone, computer such as a CRM, Alexa, or an old-fashioned piece of paper or notebook.
Know when does this need completion and what is the order of importance of the tasks, that are on my plate.

If you are in a position that you can work ahead on materials and creation, plan accordingly. You never know when the weather will be bad which can lead to internet service outages in your area. Also, if a certain software or computer network goes down you have a plan B.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chermooreconsulting.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/chermoore_consulting
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Chermooreconsulting
• Other: Podcast website- daphnepearlsworldofdating.buzzsprout.com or any podcast platform

  IG – instagram.com/daphnepearlsworld