Female Disruptors: Carolina Panoff of Be You Disco On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Some of the best advice I can give is that acceptance is more productive than self-criticism. If you are ever feeling stuck and perhaps a block is coming up for you like comparison, imposter syndrome, procrastination etc… try to understand what that block wants for you instead of immediately resulting in self-judgment. Judgment holds energy in place whereas acceptance and self-love let it integrate.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, we had the pleasure of interviewing Carolina Panoff.

Carolina is a Transformational Life Coach that helps women create fulfillment, find freedom, and discover their true calling in life by taking them through the journey of fear, uncertainty, and imposter syndrome to ultimately claiming their own empowerment, and self-acceptance.

She has extensive training as a movement guide and embodiment facilitator and has studied under a variety of modalities. Be You Disco is the culmination of everything that she loves including: parts work, somatic experiencing, mindfulness, movement, playfulness, and connection.

Carolina fell in love with dance back in 2016 when she took salsa lessons at her local studio. She discovered that dance acted as a bridge connecting people of all ages, classes, ethnicities, races, and beliefs. Dance had the power to cut through all of the “perceived” otherness and bring people together celebrating our shared humanity.

Her core values are inclusivity, connection, family, and growth and she weaves these masterfully into Be You Disco experience. You can follow her coaching work at www.carolinapanoff.com and even subscribe to her mailing list for a free meditation on finding your authentic voice.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My journey into the world of being a CEO and life coach at Be You Disco has been a winding one. Initially, I worked in corporate settings, where I honed my leadership and interpersonal skills and traversed many industries including Aquaculture, Digital Marketing, and working with early stage SaaS Companies to grow their sales. I was searching for deeper meaning and couldn’t seem to land on it. It wasn’t until I looked into my own fears and voids that I was guided to how I can bring value to this world. As a kid, no matter how many friend groups I was a part of, I never seemed to feel like I belonged. I would share only the parts of myself that I thought would be accepted by the group doing this dance of conformity which left me feeling empty and alone. I also had some level of social anxiety even though I was outwardly very extroverted. It was as if I was hiding in plain daylight. I ended up hiring a coach in my mid-twenties to work through some of my core limiting beliefs and misunderstandings around purpose and belonging and it truly changed my life. I learned that true belonging requires you to be vulnerable and also requires a level of belonging to yourself first so you can show up courageously and authentically in the world. This experience combined with my love for dance and music formed the basis of Be You Disco.

Be You Disco is not just a dance party. It is a container where we get to truly express ALL parts of ourselves in a safe community. A space where we get to feel a sense of tribe and belonging without needing to ever even say a word. It’s crazy how we can be surrounded by people and still feel so lonely. There is an epidemic around people craving and yearning for deeper relationships yet we are afraid to take the steps that will give us exactly that.

Be You Disco becomes a playground for self-love, self-expression, and acceptance and it is exactly what I needed in my youth to help me build self-esteem and self-worth. I ended up also helping others discover their purpose and walk the same path that I needed to walk to create the life I am living now as the CEO of my own company doing work that inspires me and others.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Be You Disco is disruptive in the corporate team building environment in several ways, and its uniqueness lies in its innovative approach to fostering team cohesion and personal growth. The sessions at Be You Disco encourage participants to be their authentic selves by using the power of music, mindfulness, and non-verbal communication to inspire deeper connections. In the corporate world, employees may sometimes feel pressured to conform to a particular image or role. Be You Disco creates a safe space where individuals can express the full spectrum of their humanity and acknowledge that we are all doing the best we can. This authenticity fosters a more profound sense of connection among team members. Corporate environments can be stressful, and Be You Disco incorporates dance as a stress-relief mechanism, promoting physical and mental well-being. This approach not only helps team members bond but also supports their overall health, contributing to a happier and more productive workforce.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I once made the amusing mistake of believing that I had to be a flawless coach or facilitator in order to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. What I’ve come to realize is that authenticity and simply being present are what truly matter. Perfectionism and imposter syndrome used to hinder my progress, but now I help others break free from these obstacles on their journey to creating a life they’re passionate about.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I’ve been blessed to have several mentors who have played a significant role in my journey. One of the mentors who left the most profound impact on me bestowed upon me the invaluable gift of believing in my potential at a time when I had yet to fully believe in myself. Additionally, I’ve had the privilege of studying under various movement modalities with mentors in that realm. Furthermore, I’m fortunate to have a remarkable business mentor who is guiding me towards the next level, specifically in the realm of licensing my business.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disruption can be positive when it challenges outdated norms or systems that hinder progress, equality, or innovation. However, it’s not so positive when it disregards ethical boundaries, creates chaos without purpose, or harms communities. For example, technological advancements that improve healthcare access are positive disruptions, whereas unethical business practices can be negative.

I would say that disrupting an industry is positive when you are creating a more beautiful, brighter existence for those that are in or a part of that industry. I know this can still be arbitrary but we are talking about disrupting how people connect when it comes to Be You Disco. Connection is one of the most foundational and basic human needs. Most of our buying decisions are driven by the deep need to feel connected. Everything from the vacation in Italy, the lip filler, the concert tickets. We are yearning for connection and the biggest thing getting in the way is the fear of being vulnerable and being seen as different AND the traditional corporate structures that have been passed down from the early industrial era which was all about efficiency, productivity, where personal lives were kept separate. Although workplace conditions and workers rights have changed for the better and drastically since that era, we haven’t paid as much attention in the realms of human connection and allowing vulnerability in the workplace. This is what we are here to disrupt and we have seen time and time again that when people are given the space and the right container to connect more deeply with their colleagues magic happens. That is where we really begin to feel like we belong to something greater, when we can bring our full self to the workplace.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey?

Some of the best advice I can give is that acceptance is more productive than self-criticism. If you are ever feeling stuck and perhaps a block is coming up for you like comparison, imposter syndrome, procrastination etc… try to understand what that block wants for you instead of immediately resulting in self-judgment. Judgment holds energy in place whereas acceptance and self-love let it integrate.

Our voids create our value. If we are having trouble finding our purpose, can we look at the obstacles that we have overcome in our life or the heartbreak we witness in the world and see it as an opportunity to create positive change in the world. Most times we avoid the things that hurt us, and if we sit with that for long enough it might light a fire within us to make a change.

Lastly, your worth is not dependent on money, status, beauty etc…. you are beyond worthy. There is no scale of more worthy than or less worthy than. You exist and therefore you are worthy of being here just as you are.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

My next step for Be You Disco is to license the brand to larger fitness brands and premier destination hotels where they can now add an experience to their roster that serves as a way to inspire connections among guests and give people a space to practice emotional fitness. Most of our work has been corporate and with the meeting planning and incentive industry and I see us doing more work with Colleges and younger populations as I know how impactful the Be You Disco experience can be for finding your authentic expression, something many students struggle with.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Many women face the challenge of managing their professional ambitions and starting a family. Right now my business is my baby and I absolutely love what I do yet I also aspire to be a mother one day. I think building a sustainable business where you surround yourself with a team you can fully trust and who is equally as inspired by the work to give you time and space to be present for motherhood is a unique challenge that most female disruptors / entrepreneurs can face. I personally have received a lot of support when it comes to bringing this unique experience to the team building industry. I think people are ready for something different than your typical build a bear or escape room experience that only touches the surface.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

One of my favorite books is by Byron Katie. It is called “I need your love, is that true”. It is a beautiful account and process that has helped me to get free from many of my own limiting beliefs and something I use with clients on a regular basis. Another book I highly recommend is Untamed by Glennon Doyle. She is leading the way in what it means to be a heart-centered authentic leader.

If I could inspire a movement where people gaze deeply into each other’s eyes and did so with all of their close friends and family I would. We see each other all the time on the surface, but most times we avoid true deep eye-contact because we are afraid that the other person will see our pain. If everyone did this once per day we’d live in a far more empathetic and loving world that honors our common humanity.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would inspire a movement that teaches parents emotional mastery and also includes it in school curriculums. Most of us have learned to be judgmental or self-critical thinking that if only I criticize myself enough I’ll start to change. Judgment simply holds old patterns in place and diminishes our sense of self worth. I would have emotional mastery as a core principle and I think this would help the most amount of people to be kinder and love themselves more. I teach this in my 1–1 coaching work and this is also woven into the Be You Disco journey where we get to embrace all parts of ourselves, even the messy bits.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I used to have some major people pleasing tendencies and found it difficult to set boundaries. One quote that has really helped me is that “setting a boundary is like giving someone a blueprint on how to love you better, it is establishing how connection can happen… not limiting connection all together.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!