Meet Tanya Lashley

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tanya Lashley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tanya, 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?

My optimism comes from experience. When you’ve seen enough dark times, you learn that the only way forward is up and once you start looking up, you can’t help but see the light.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m the creator and executive producer of the Meet Me In series a statewide sitcom that turns neighborhoods into movie sets, residents into A-listers, and businesses into blockbuster brands.

But what we’re building here is much bigger than a show it’s a movement. I’ve officially coined the term Filmvertising to describe it.

Filmvertising is a brand-new way to advertise, a fusion of film, storytelling, and community that connects audiences to local businesses in a cinematic, emotional way. Think of it as the next evolution of marketing the same way streaming and influencer marketing changed their industries, Filmvertising is redefining how brands come to life on screen.

Every feature in the Meet Me In series showcases real people, real places, and real stories. We don’t use actors. we use residents. We don’t just film commercials we make episodes that people actually want to watch. And that’s why this model works: it’s authentic, it’s entertaining, and it builds community pride.

Our flagship, Meet Me in New Jersey, is just the beginning. The vision is national Meet Me In can happen anywhere, because every town deserves its moment on screen.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Some of the most impactful qualities in my journey aren’t things you can necessarily teach in a classroom.

The first is human connection. Whether it’s in business or storytelling, everything comes down to how well you understand people. From the sales cycle introduction, rapport, needs analysis, presentation, and close the most important part, by far, is rapport. When you know how to truly read people, listen to them, and connect with them, you can move mountains. That skill changes everything.

The second is comedy. The ability to make people laugh is one of the most powerful tools in the world. It disarms people, it builds instant trust, and it reminds us that no matter who we are, we all love to laugh. It’s universal. Comedy opens doors that seriousness never could.

And the third is intuition. I’ve learned to trust my gut to listen to that inner nudge that says, this is the move. When you’re building something that doesn’t exist yet, like Filmvertising, intuition becomes your compass.

For anyone early in their journey, my best advice is: focus on understanding people, not just processes. Pay attention to what makes others light up. Learn how to connect, how to read a room, and how to make people feel seen. The rest the strategy, the technique will follow naturally.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

I don’t always have the time to sit down and read, but I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I really believe that what you put into your mind is what comes out so I’m intentional about feeding it with things that expand me.

Some of the most impactful books for me have been Will by Will Smith, Kevin Hart’s memoir I Can’t Make This Up, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, and of course The Secret.

In Will Smith’s book, he talks about Quincy Jones one of the greats we sadly lost and how Quincy was an alchemist, a conductor of humans. That idea hit me deeply, because that’s how I see what I do: bringing people together and turning raw human energy into something magical on screen.

Kevin Hart’s story also resonates with me on another level. I have so much respect for people who made something out of nothing. It’s one thing to build from a foundation it’s another to create from pure grit and imagination. Kevin talks about going where the current takes you and I swear, when I heard him say “I’m talking to you, Tanya,” it stopped me in my tracks. It felt like the universe was speaking directly to me through him. He actually says this in his book. Like for real.

Then there’s The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, which completely reframed how I think. It taught me that the only real barriers are the ones we build in our minds. And The Secret was the foundation for all of it it helped me understand the law of attraction on a practical level. It shaped the way I think and how I move through the world.

These books all share one theme: the mind is everything. If you can master your mindset, you can create anything even from nothing.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Veronica Yankowski of Veroluce Photography

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