Today we’d like to introduce you to Tia Perry.
Hi Tia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a young girl, I always imagined myself growing up to be a successful business woman. I had no idea what type of businesswoman I would be or what skills I had to help me along in that journey. I was just a young go-getter with a very intense eye for details. After I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science, I immediately jumped into the corporate world. I confirmed my young dreams could really be my reality as I quickly learned the corporate world was definitely the space for me. I started in the finance field working in banking and private financial firms. I was able to gain my first project management experience and I really fell in love with the work. I discovered a field that fits my natural skills of time management, organization, attention to detail, leadership, teamwork, and communication. Once I got a taste, it created a new hunger and specific path I wanted to venture.
From there, I was able to move into my current career field, where I continued to cultivate and grow my project management skills. Starting off with very small projects moving to become an International Project Manager. It is amazing to be able to enjoy my 9 to 5 and work on projects that have a real impact. I’m excited to see how my corporate world journey evolves. God is most definitely the reason I have been so successful in my career. As I’ve built my relationship with Him, I’ve started to understand He has purposed me and wants me to incorporate Him in my business journey. Whether that is to be a light in my workplace, be an example of a Christ-like employee, and/or make decisions with the aid of the Holy Spirit. That is all something that is very needed in EVERY workplace! A black Christian businesswoman is someone that the younger version of me was never exposed to. So I’m making it my mission to build a platform to show others that it is something that can be done.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road at all. Every journey encounters obstacles along the way and mine is no different. My two biggest struggles were finding my purpose and learning to navigate Corporate America as a young black woman. We all were created perfectly unique with a God-given purpose. I tried for years to find my purpose without building a relationship with God. I was worried that because I wasn’t an entrepreneur, I was working to fulfill someone else’s purpose and not doing what God intended for me. It left me trying to assign my own purpose and going down paths that were never meant for me. That created feelings of being unfulfilled and lost a lot of the time. It created situations of hardship that I could have avoided.
Once I took time and really built my relationship with God a lot of things started to make sense. There was still a journey to find my purpose, it wasn’t an instant epiphany, but I felt at peace throughout that journey at that point. Navigating Corporate America as a young black woman is not easy. Unfortunately, there is no playbook that you can reference when situations arise. It is either learn by trial and error or find someone similar to yourself with more experience you can lean on and learn from. Unless you happen to start out with a strong network before you enter the workplace, you usually have to go the trial and error path. That leads to a lot of mistakes and lessons learned. I would recommend to any young black woman in Corporate America to find at least one mentor that has a similar background to yourself. A good mentor is one of the most underrated tools you can have in my opinion. Both of these struggles led to so many mistakes that I wish I could have avoided but I’m glad the lessons learned shaped me into the woman I have become.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an International Project Manager. I lead teams of individuals located around the world to ensure the project cost, schedule, and performance goals are achieved while mitigating project risks. I’m most proud of the impact the work I do makes. I would say the attributes that set me apart from others is my spirituality, my drive, and my level of efficiency.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Hearing or seeing the difference that I make in someone’s life or business by successfully completing a project really makes me happy. To me there is no greater joy than using your God-given talents and seeing the fruits of your labor.
Contact Info:
- Email: tiap@tiaperry.net
- Website: lnk.bio/_tiaperry/
- Instagram: Instagram.com/_tiaperry/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tiaperry20
Image Credits
Cory Moore
