I haven’t known Andra Bianca for a long time, but as soon as we started talking, it seemed like we had known each other for an eternity. She is beautiful, smart and very cheerful. It is a pleasure to talk to her so time passes very quickly in her company.
Andra Bianca is very active, socially involved, does charity and likes to help.
After several ventures in different industries, she became a coach. Many of us have heard of this job but do not know exactly what it entails. So I thought I’d find out for you.
Below you can read details about the life of a beautiful human being.
Tell me a few words about yourself, your family.
My name is Andra Bianca, I was born in Ploiești and raised until the age of 6 by my maternal grandparents, in a small village 30 km from Ploiești. I was lucky enough to grow up with a brother 6 years older than me; he had a major impact in my childhood and I always feeling protected by him. Over the years, growing up, he started taking me with him to group meetings, so I can say that I was privileged to be among people older than me, from whom I had something to learn. My parents are simple, honest, hardworking people who did everything they could for me and my brother to get the best education. They have always encouraged us to follow our dreams. I felt in them a burning desire for us, their children, to surpass their achievements.
What is your most beautiful childhood memory?
I fondly remember the mornings I spent with my grandparents, who used to drink their coffee on a wooden table by the window. One day, I asked my grandmother to also make me a cup of coffee instead of the usual cocoa with milk. And in order not to refuse me, I remember how my grandmother poured some coffee from her cup, which she then filled with water… It was actually a coloured water, not really a coffee, but my feeling of pride in joining them was indescribable. I felt that I was one of the adults, even though I was only around 5 years old.
What did you answer to the obsessive question “what do you want to be when you grow up”?
I wanted to be in the spotlight. I dreamed of being an actress, a singer, everything about being on stage and showing myself to the world. That’s why, at the age of 12, I started doing modern dance and modelling classes and I was slowly moving towards the stage. I really liked to dance and pose as a model, and my father supported me in this regard, going with me to various castings in Bucharest.
What are your hobbies?
I love to dance, and music has the power to change my mood instantly. I like clothing design, television and I even took classes in this regard to be a little more than a hobby. I also like to travel, explore new places, try new activities and test my limits. I am a free spirit and I like to live by my own rules. Maybe that’s why I took action to enter the world of entrepreneurship quite early, at the age of 23.
What do you do in your free time?
In my free time (the little I have) I like to go out in nature to recharge my batteries, visit my family in Ploiești or choose to read.
What business did you have? Can you share your professional history with us?
At the age of 23, when I was still in my last year of master’s degree, I started a business in the beauty domain, more precisely the Nomasvello franchise, brought to the city of Ploiești. Through this franchise, we offered facial rejuvenation treatments, treatment of acne and post-acne signs and permanent hair removal through intense pulsed light. After 3 years of activity, I sold the franchise and moved to a new city. And because the love for fashion and entrepreneurship still existed, I started taking clothing design classes at Adrian Oianu’s school and later at the Atelierele Ilbah Academy. After finishing my studies, I started the creation process, setting up the company and everything that needed to be set up to have a small business. But things did not work as well as I had imagined because I wanted to go in to a niche that was quite difficult to achieve, namely the creation of unique pieces, which involved a higher cost of production, which is reflected in the cost of sale. After this experience, I continued with my second great love – television. I wanted to know more about this industry (having flirted with it a bit in the past with modeling), so I started studying at Intact Media Academy in Antena 1.
Immediately after finishing my studies in television, I was presented with a travel project that clicked in my mind and completely changed my perception of how I would like to live the next years. And from here I started to travel a lot, to discover beautiful places, new civilizations and to make friends in various corners of the world.
I know you’ve travelled a lot. How did you end up doing this?
I was presented with a travel project of a very large company from the United States of America, a project brought to Romania in 2014. I really liked the concept of the club and the benefits offered, but also the idea of developing the business in Romania, so I became a member of this company, and in 3 years I managed to visit more places than I had ever done before.
What is your favourite place from what you’ve seen around the world?
I have travelled to many beautiful places, but my favourite place remains Bora Bora. I am a great lover of exotic beaches, turquoise water and tropical vegetation. The most relaxing holiday for me is definitely one by the ocean.
Would you go to the same destination twice?
Yes, if the place is special and evokes beautiful memories, I would definitely like to return to admire its beauty. I would return to Bora Bora at any time. I don’t think I could ever get bored of this location. It is a paradise.
How did you get into coaching and what kind of coaching do you do?
Also during this period, I started reading a lot of personal development books, I participated in many national and international personal development events, including Date with Destiny and Unleash the Power Within supported by one of the most valuable motivational speakers Tony Robbins.
Being in this environment, every day I wanted to be able to bring a change in the lives of the people I met. That’s how I started flirting with the idea of becoming a coach. I enrolled in Andrew Neitlich’s school, Center for Executive Coaching, then I became a member of the International Coaching Federation, I certified myself as a Leadership and Executive Coach and from here began the beautiful journey to the profession I have now.
At the moment my focus is on implementing the concept of Mindfulness Leadership Coaching among women entrepreneurs. Very often, successful women tend to work long hours a day and forget about maintaining a work-life balance. This is where my work comes in, helping them to eliminate the stressors from their lives, to be more relaxed and productive at the same time and to achieve any goal, be it personal or professional.
When do you think is the time for someone to make a radical change in life?
The right time to make a radical change in our lives is when we no longer feel fulfilled with where we are. If there is a feeling that something is missing in our lives, then we need to trust our intuition and act, even if it may mean stepping out of our comfort zone.
Did you have more clients who came to you for personal or professional changes?
Very often the two areas are interconnected, because if there is an unresolved situation in the personal part, it will certainly be reflected in the professional area.
From your coaching experience, what is the most common mistake made by someone in business?
The most common mistake I have seen in my clients in business is not respecting certain commitments they make.
What is the difference between a therapist / psychologist and a coach?
A therapist / psychologist works with the client to eliminate certain traumas from the past, goes a lot on the emotional side and to the causes that created the current situation of the client. A coach works with people who are already qualified, successful, eager to evolve more and achieve new goals, but who have encountered certain blockages in their path. A coach focuses only on the present and future and helps the client to find solutions in achieving the proposed objectives.
What is the difference between a business consultant and a coach?
A business consultant is a person who comes with expertise, analysis, reports, statistics and personal advice to the client. A coach comes to the client with a structured process of very strong questions that helps the client to analyze the situation he or she is in and to find new solutions on their own. A coach does not come with advice and does not give the client solutions, but helps the client to develop a new way of thinking. The role of a coach is not to make the client become dependent on him or her, but to develop their own of thinking. Basically, a coach does not offer the client a ready-caught fish, but teaches how to catch that fish to manage on his or her own in the future.
Do you also do coaching to promote a healthy lifestyle?
Yes, I am a follower of a healthy lifestyle and people come to me to help them in this regard.
I know you are an example of a healthy life. How do you manage to do you combine a very busy personal life and a healthy lifestyle?
For me, nutrition plays a very important role. The recipes I cook are very easy to prepare, tasty and low in calories. This way I manage not to consume too much time and to control the number of calories. Also, whenever I have time, I practice yoga, pilates or go roller blading in nature.
Are you on a certain diet?
I recently went on a 4 week food detox program based on a raw vegan diet and borrowed a lot from the habits of this food style.
Do you do charity? If so, what exactly?
Yes, I do charity at ICF Romania by offering pro-bono coaching classes when we have events.
What would the ideal life look like for you?
The ideal life for me would be to live somewhere by the ocean, to enjoy the sun and the beach every day, to be surrounded by successful people, with the same desire for continuous growth and to be able to move my entire business online.
What makes you have the same hard work and the same optimism, every day?
The results and feedback of my clients and my evolution as a coach. Being a coach is a profession in which I am always in learning mode, so I don’t have time to get bored. I always learn new things, and this makes me keep the same enthusiasm.
What have you learned from the past? Would you change anything from your past?
From my past experiences I have learned that every stage of my life has come at the right time and has been a brick in place for what I want to build from now on.
Yes, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to do the Faculty of Finance and Banking and the master’s degree in Strategies in International Affairs. I would have chosen a completely different faculty, probably in the area of communication.
Thank you Andra Bianca, I wish you to have your dreams come true by the ocean and to have feedback that will keep your overflowing momentum high!
You can reach Andra Bianca via the following contact details:
E-mail: biancastoican05@gmail.com
Tel: +40 726 989 531
Facebook page: @andra.bianca.stoican