Thursday, January 16th, 2014 by
Yetunde Adeola Odugbesan-Omede is an extremely busy and involved 26-year-old woman.She is the Founder and Executive Director of Young Woman’s Guide, Inc., the founder and CEO of Yetunde Global Consulting and Creator of Putting Your Best Self Forward. She is Nigerian-American and her passions include leadership, women empowerment, human rights, politics, writing and public speaking.
She started Yetunde Global Consulting to provide organizational management, growth strategies and leadership development for companies, non-profits and their employees. Before starting her firm, the young entrepreneur had already gained expertise in communications strategies and in leadership development. She decided that her knowledge would be more useful through her own business. Her organization provides customized workshops and trainings for human resource divisions and for professionals. Most of Yetunde’s clients are located in the US.
The young entrepreneur revealed that her organization currently works with non-profit organizations, such as United Way of Essex and West Hudson, Nigerian Healthcare Foundation and Rutgers University, as well as with various entrepreneurs and senior management. Yetunde Global Consulting’s philosophy involves giving back to the world, so she is on the board of several organizations and volunteers her time for initiatives that she believes in.
Although already busy running her company, Yetunde nevertheless found time to create a nonprofit organization called Young Woman’s Guide, because she is passionate about empowering young women. She stressed: “I want to see them succeed and live a meaningful and purposeful life. And most importantly, I want them to be well equipped to assume leadership roles.” The nonprofit provides mentorship opportunitiesby providing a space were successful women can share life and career advice with aspiring young women, empowerment and leadership development conferences as well as public service opportunities geared toward women and girls in development. She encourages, challenges and supports women and her brand umbrella reaches thousands of women around the world.
For now, Young Woman’s Guide is funded solely by Yetunde. She strongly believes in focusing on the work, the greater purpose and she knows that everything else will fall into place. Her ultimate goal regarding the nonprofit is to create a ‘Young Woman’s Guide movement where young woman all over the world are recipients of our resources and participants in our Leadership Institute.’
Apart from being the founder of two organizations, Yetunde is also a Lecturer of Political Science at Rutgers University. A dynamic public speaker, the young entrepreneur has spoken at numerous events. As for her future plans, she stresses that she wants to continue her consultancy, ensure that Young Woman’s Guide empowers young women globally, possibly work in the area of politics…the list goes on. Yetunde is very proud of being Nigerian and visits her parents’ home country at least twice a year. She believes that being Nigerian plays a ‘big role in the way that I view success and my responsibility to pay it forward.’
In terms of her greatest accomplishments, Yetunde confesses she feels blessed and mentions she is proud of being a scholar, founding her own company and nonprofit, meeting and working with President Clinton and his foundation as well as Nigeria’s first lady.
Whenever faced with challenges and needing a dose of fortitude and perseverance, the young entrepreneur creates a dream board, which she hangs in her room to remind herself that, ‘although the journey may be hard, it is worthwhile.’
For her hard work, Yetunde has received numerous accolades, such as being named by Ventures Africa Magazine as one of the 13 Young Global Economic/Business Leaders to Watch in 2013, Applause Africa Magazine’s 30 Most Intriguing Africans in New York and Eminent Leaders Magazine #1 on a top 20 list of the Most Outstanding Nigerians. Yetunde emphasized that she has learned a lot from winning these prizes: ‘I learned that if you put your heart, soul and mind to anything, it could be achievable. I achieved because I believed in myself before anyone else did. I believed that I was and still am a leader, a mover, a trailblazer and that psyche and belief made all the difference. I also learned that the world will take notice when you work hard, when you consistent and when you do with genuine purpose.’
When asked about advice for young entrepreneurs, Yetunde stressed: “Don’t second-guess yourself, just do it. Life is too short for second-guessing. If you have a passion, purpose, mission, calling…answer it. The world needs your gifts and talents and it cannot wait one more second for you to realize it.”
If interested in connecting with Yetunde or finding out more about her work, check out these websites:
Yetunde A. Odugbesan: www.yetundeodugbesan.com;
Yetunde Global Consulting: www.yetundeglobalconsulting.com
Young Woman’s Guide, Inc.www.youngwomansguide.com
Putting Your Best Self Forward Blog: www.yetundeodugbesan.blogspot.com
Twitter: @YetundeO
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