As part of the Morning Lazziness series highlighting empowering women who are making a remarkable impact with their ideas, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chantelle Botha.
Known globally as The Catalyst, Chantelle is an unapologetic force for transformation and authenticity. Far from the typical motivational speaker, she’s an Identity Architect who dismantles outdated paradigms and awakens audiences to their truth—from the bedroom to the boardroom and beyond.
Her journey from the depths of addiction and self-abandonment to radical reinvention makes her living proof of what’s possible when we stop hiding and start living unapologetically. Chantelle’s signature framework, the (se)X-Factor, flips the script on confidence and leadership—not about sex, but about self. For her, authenticity isn’t something you learn; it’s something you remember beneath the conditioning and roles you’ve been performing.
As the founder of Phoenix and author of Phoenix Rising, Chantelle leads a global movement of personal reinvention. With her fiery, straight-shooting style, she blends provocative truths with deep compassion—delivering the “kick in the butt with loads of love” that sparks lasting change.
When she’s not on stage or coaching, you’ll likely find her chasing adventure around the globe. And one thing’s certain—her ever-changing hairstyles are as bold and dynamic as the message she carries.
In this interview, she talks about the obstacles she’s overcome, the milestones she’s achieved, and the wisdom she’s gained along the way.
What inspired your leap into entrepreneurship, and what personal experiences sparked the idea behind your current venture?
After twenty years of trying to fit the corporate mould I was done. I had dabbled in entrepreneurship several times and my CV looked like a hop scotch course. I finally got to the point where I knew I had to make it work – there was no plan B. I made a decision that I will never work for a corporate again.
Of course it really helped that the last job I held was the most challenging. I worked for a young arrogant guy who had just been promoted into management, and him and I clashed horribly. There wasn’t a day that we didn’t butt heads, that he didn’t tell me how incompetent I was, that he tried to wrestle me into submission to HIS way of doing things. It was really tough starting a business from a place of shattered confidence, but the desire not to ever experience that again was the thing that fuelled me then, and continues to fuel me today.
Personally, my life had been characterised by transformation. Twice recovered addict, single mom, several different addresses – by the time I cleaned up from my second addiction I started studying personal growth and development. I couldn’t lead the transformations I now lead without having first done the work myself.
And that’s not to say “the work” is ever done… that’s what I love about growth – there are always new layers to uncover and new territories to explore.
What core problem does your business solve, particularly for women or underserved communities—and how does your approach stand out in today’s competitive space?
I help people navigate transformation from the inside out by building integrity – wholeness. This means that my clients go on to achieve the things they never thought possible – whether it’s a career pivot, starting their own business, or just becoming the best version of themselves.
Although I work with organisations, I have a heart for women and run several programmes aimed at helping women get out of their own way, eradicate the shame that has held them back and step into the feminine power.
My approach is unique since it was founded through my sexual awakening. I learnt that our life force is the most creative and courageous energy we possess, yet we stifle it and bury it under a cloak of shame. There is incredible power and creativity locked beneath this cloak – if only we’d dare to lift the covers.
What were some of the toughest obstacles you faced early in your journey as a woman entrepreneur, and how did you navigate through them?
I’ve never liked the “women” movement, so I never considered the challenges I faced in the early days as being due to the fact that I am a WOMAN entrepreneur. But having gone through my personal Phoenix moment, I now see that my challenges were indeed about my being a woman.
You see, us gals tend to second guess ourselves a whole lot! Because of our innate nurturing nature, we sacrifice our needs and desires for our children, our families, and by extension – our vocations. I was no different. It took a confrontation with my sensuality to acknowledge that my whole life had been about performance, as opposed to my pleasure.
Today, the more I lean into my pleasure, the more life and business flows with ease. And I get to empower other women to do the same – how cool is that?
When the going gets tough, what keeps you grounded and motivated to keep pushing forward?
That decision that I made back in 2019. I will never work for a boss again. There is no plan B.
That’s not to say my business hasn’t gone through immense change in the last 6 years as I have grown. I wrote an article just last week called “6 years, 3 symbols, 1 truth” which traces my brand journey. Here’s the article if you’d like to read it.
I am single and don’t have a fall back. I learned long ago that no-one is coming to save me. If I want success, it’s up to me. This is a central part of my message to my clients too – only YOU can create the life you want to live. So stop blaming, stop making excuses and just do it already.
What daily habits or non-negotiable routines help you stay focused, creatively energized, and balanced as a founder?
Ever noticed just how many articles, podcasts, books etc there are out there telling you exactly why THIS morning routine will get you where you’re going?
It’s not wrong advice in principle, but where it falls flat is that people will follow strategy blindly with scant regard for what’s going on in their heads. I believe success is 20% strategy and 80% psychology, so you can follow “morning routines” till you’re blue in the face – it aint gonna bring the change you’re after.
My non-negotiable is to work on my thoughts and feelings every day. When I am operating in gratitude and presence, it’s easy to enter flow. But if I’m following a checklist of prescriptive routines, it’s empty.
Change is effected when we FEEL. It’s the feelings that create the thoughts that lead to the behaviours that will move the needle on our goals.
I enjoy running, swimming in the ocean, journalling, meditation, authentic movement, dance, and just about anything that happens in nature. But nothing is prescriptive, and I teach my clients this too. Find the thing that you need today, the thing that makes you feel good. And it’s ok if that’s different every day.
What’s been the most effective growth lever for acquiring new clients or expanding your customer base?
In the early days I would have said LinkedIn – I grew my following through organic posts to 70k. But I’ve lost interest in social media. It doesn’t feel as aligned as it once did. It feels too performative. I know there’s value in social media, but right now, I’d rather share authentic news about my book, my retreat and real transformation as opposed to meeting a prescribed metric of posting for the sake of posting.
Right now, my biggest lever is my book, Phoenix Rising. From a business perspective, this has given me a new layer of credibility and is expanding my client base daily. I speak on integrity, authenticity, wholeness in your identity – and I couldn’t do that unless I’ve lived that journey.
I have built my December Retreat and my monthly woman’s membership tribe, Reclaim the Flame out of this. The book is a story on reclaiming my power through liberating my sexual story.
It’s an unusual book with some juicy deliciousness for those who are curious about my experiences, but it’s really a book designed to confront every belief you’ve ever held. It’s the key to letting go of shame and living as your most authentic self. It’s freedom.
The book is available here.
What branding or marketing decision had the biggest impact in elevating your business and building trust with your audience?
Again – definitely the book. But what flowed out of that was my decision to rebrand the business, previously called Dragonfly to Phoenix.
The rebrand has only just happened, and some platforms still need work, so it’s far to early to say what the impact of the rebrand has been, but the early signs are there.
With the rebrand, I have also launched my Identity Map and Phoenix Blueprint. This speaks to the depths and layers that we traverse when navigating transformation in our lives. It is a visual representation of the myriad possibilities, limitations and routes to success. My blueprint contains 81 different configurations to explore different aspects of personal development and self-understanding. My Identity Map has a spiral staircase in the middle representing your DNA. Everything I have developed suggests limitless uniqueness – exactly as we are.
Early days, but it’s taken me 6 years to craft these tools, and they bring clarity and confidence to the clients exploring working with me. It’s a body of work that I have curated by walking through the fire myself – this is not textbook stuff. It’s real.
And I know that this takes my business to the next level.
How do you personally define success—not just as a business owner, but as a woman living a purpose-driven life?
Is it any surprise that I’m going to tell you success to me is a feeling? It is nothing tangible, but something that sits deep inside my soul and permeates my entire being. This is the feeling I engineer, curate and expand every day.
That’s not to say I don’t have tangible markers of success. Everything we do in life starts in our minds and is made manifest in our reality. So if I wake every day feeling unsuccessful, guess what kind of behaviour you’ll see me enacting that day?
I am already successful. My outer reality is still playing a bit of catch up, but I know it’s assured – because I create it every day.
Can you share a mistake or misstep that taught you a lesson you still carry with you today?
Ooh yes! I’ve paid PLENTY school fees over the years, but my biggest mistake (and greatest blessing!) was bringing an investor on board.
I didn’t approach this investor – he contacted me with a proposal that seemed like a really great solution to help me scale at the time. Because I believe in synchronicity, I felt like the universe was opening doors for me that I didn’t even realise I wanted open.
A few months into this new partnership, I started feeling like I had lost control of my business, like I was working for a dreaded boss again. I lost my energy, my spark. And with it, I lost momentum on a lot of the plans I had previously been pursuing for the business.
We parted ways, and this led to my business very nearly crashing down around me. I had no pipeline. No momentum. A diluted brand. And nearly zero income.
But this was the catalyst for my Phoenix moment. The transformation that led to the book and my success today. I can’t help but be immensely grateful for this very difficult lesson in hindsight.
What’s your best advice for women just starting out—especially first-time entrepreneurs feeling overwhelmed or unsure of their next steps?
Just start. You will iterate on the way. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it’s really about the journey anyway, not the destination. Stop preparing. Stop getting everything ready. Stop trying to be perfect. Just get really honest with yourself about the next thing that you want and go after that.
As the journey unfolds, you will notice the breadcrumbs along the way – intuition, synchronicity, the things that excite you, the things that make you cringe. Align with what excites you, iterate and keep going.
I am a big picture thinker, so there are times when all my big ideas can overwhelm me almost into paralysis. Where to start? What to do? How to do it?
That’s when we narrow our vision. What do you want and what is one small thing you can do today to move the needle. Simple.
How do you approach risk and innovation, especially when breaking new ground in a male-dominated or fast-changing industry?
I am such an adrenaline junkie! It has taken me 40 years though to embrace that part of me, and use it to my advantage in business. This means that I love risk, I love innovation, and change is my middle name. It excites me!
I think the term “male-dominated industry” can sometimes be a mindset. Yes, I know the statistics, but if I constantly bleat on about it, that becomes my reality. I am Chantelle. I am unique. I am the ONLY version of me that this world will ever see. And it is my duty to let the world the world see me, to serve, and to live my purpose in true Chantelle-style.
The more I change me, the more I grow me, and the more I step into my own wholeness, the less the circumstances around me matter.
If you lead a team, how do you foster a culture of trust, inclusivity, collaboration, and growth?
I hired someone in that terrible year when I nearly lost everything, and it taught me another valuable lesson about staff. I don’t want any. Ever. I work with independent contractors and freelancers. But I don’t ever want to “own” people.
The people I work with come to me through mutual connections and through relationships. I aim to have at least one coffee chat with someone interesting every week and this builds my network internationally. It also allows me to get to know people long before I ever decide to work with them.
What are the top 5 mindset shifts or personal practices that helped you overcome self-doubt and grow your confidence as a woman entrepreneur?
a. Embodiment. We cannot think our way to a new way of living. We have to live our way into a new way of being.
b. Feelings are not facts. We base so much of our lives on our feelings, but many of them come from the stories we tell ourselves. When we become curious about the messages our feelings are sending us, we unlock the deeper meanings and create space for growth.
c. Courage rises in a split second but is gone just as fast if we don’t act. Curiosity, courage, and confidence are the keys at the heart of my Phoenix blueprint. These are not just words – they are values I live by.
d. My number one job today is ME. If I don’t take the time to both build and protect my energy, I cannot show up as my best self. When I sacrifice putting myself first because of the demands on my calendar, my output is always subpar.
e. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Busyness kills intuition, stops flow in its tracks and stifles creation. Sometimes the calendar gets hectic, that’s when I slow down the most.
If you could spark a global movement through your work, what would it be—and why is that mission meaningful to you?
I will – watch this space 😉
My global movement is about coming home to yourself. Realising the power you hold within. Learning to be whole. Living in integrity. Connecting deeper than you ever imagined possible.
And ultimately – stepping into your full potential. But that’s not possible until you come home to yourself and know yourself intimately.
What’s a quote, philosophy, or guiding belief that shapes how you lead, create, and live every day?
“Stop asking why, Chan, and start asking what next.”
These were the last words my dad spoke to me before he left this earth. This was at a time when I was cleaning up from my second addiction and I had burnt through every relationship that ever meant anything to me. The only person in my corner was dad – and then he left.
But he left me with those words. I have never forgotten them and never will. They were instrumental in rebuilding my life from destruction. They were what helped me start the business. They were what got me through that year I nearly lost it. They guide me every morning in both the small decisions and the big decisions.
Where can our audience connect with you, explore your work, or follow your entrepreneurial journey online?
Here are a couple of links:
