Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvoire Whittaker.
Yvoire, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. during which most of my time I studied pre-medicine, but after realizing that I am much more interested and suited for business rather than medicine, I switched majors and graduated with a B.S. in Health Care Management and Policy. Since graduating Georgetown University in May of 2017, I have been working at the largest management consulting firm in the world, Deloitte, as a human capital strategy consultant. At Deloitte, I have focused on change management, workforce transformation, human resources transformation, data analytics, and branding for government clients to improve national security, provide enhanced health care to U.S. citizens, streamline processes to effectively provide aid for international development agencies worldwide, and implement more sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within corporate America. Although I have been able to make a national impact through the work that I have performed over the past three years, I conducted a ton of self-reflection to re-assess where my passions lie. I thought about the famous quote from Aristotle: “Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation.” and realized that I wanted to pursue a career at the intersection of retail (my passion and talent) and business (needs of the world). As a first-generation Ghanaian-American, it is important for me to understand my roots. Last year, I have the privilege of traveling to Ghana four times. During these trips to visit my family in Ghana, I began my journey of starting a high-end clothing line with a Ghanaian spin on it. After months of working with seamstresses, freelance designers, and manufacturers, COVID-19 hit which put a damper on several activities. Additionally, I was beginning to apply to business school, which is a part-time job itself and was also my main priority. Between encountering several challenges with many different stakeholders and third-party affiliates that I was working with and applying to business school, I decided to put a pause of the development and launch of the clothing line. After taking a step back and reflecting on the challenges I ran into, I decided to document my experience, including my thoughts and feelings in the moment, in my personal journal. I then decided to digitize this personal journal and create an online blog, called Making Me, Yv, to share my story and experience in an effort to motivate others, inspire others, and relate to others who think they are alone in the process/journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Many times, I saw these challenges I faced as failures and wanted to give up many times, a struggle that many, if not all, aspiring entrepreneurs face. We encounter imposter syndrome, self-deselection, and doubt ourselves every step of the process. Because of this, the goal of the blog I started is to help uplift those who encounter similar negative thoughts and challenges and encourage them to keep going and build a support network. At the moment, I have taken a hiatus from blogging to focus on applying to business school and hope to attend business school in the Fall of 2021, in which I will continue blogging this Winter. After business school, I am aiming to re-launch my high-end clothing line and work on developing a mega retail brand. Outside of working at Deloitte, blogging, and applying to business school, I also work at a skin care start-up company, called Nour, which is founded by a current Harvard Business School student and is a company focused on bringing mineral-based skin care products to market for women of dark skin tones. At Nour, I lead the team to execute on brand and PR strategy. Additionally, I use my creative skills to develop branding guidelines based on target market research results to best connect with our consumer. I’ve realized that my purpose in life is to pay it forward by providing equitable opportunities and resources to people of color, specifically Black women and give back to my community, my family and my culture.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
1) Starting the clothing line and the blog was challenging. I consistently doubted myself before launching the blog, worried about what people would say or think about me, and thought what I had to say was not good enough / sufficient
2) Differentiating myself was hard, too. I consistently questioned how I was going to be different from other clothing lines or other blogs. I realized that at the end of the day, no one on this Earth is me and that was more than good enough
3) Understanding my brand was a back and forth process. How vulnerable, blunt or personal did I want to be? What was “on-brand” vs “off-brand”?
4) Working with employees overseas – constant barriers to communication and my lack of knowledge with textiles/materials when trying to get the clothes designed and made
5) Soliciting funding was frustrating since I had no product to demonstrate my business and I was trying to solicit funding in order to be able to make the product
6) Balancing a full-time job with being an aspiring entrepreneur – working at Deloitte can sometimes demand 60 hour work weeks and a stressful, “on 10” 60 hours at that
7) Changing my mind mid-way – doubt continues to seep in throughout the entire process
8) Finding my purpose with the company to resonant with consumers – balancing the fine line between being 100% yourself and being sure to provide something that resonant with your target audience
9) Understanding the significance of community – Sometimes I was worried that people would judge me, when, in fact, the more people you share your dream with, the more people you have in your corner to support and connect you with the right people
Please tell us about Making Me, Yv.
About business/company: ShantYv is a high-end clothing line I aspired to start in the Spring of 2020 as a tribute to my appreciation for my Ghanaian culture. Failure to launch the clothing line on time and postponing the launch led to me starting a blog detailing my journey as a Black female aspiring entrepreneur in corporate America
What I do: I am currently a Human Capital Strategy Consultant at Deloitte and on the side, I do marketing and PR for a skin care startup company called Nour
What I specialize in: I specialize in strategy, analytics, marketing, technology adoption and branding
What I am known for: I am known for being a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), retail, and branding
Most proud of: I am most proud of launching my blog because it took a lot of courage and vulnerability to put myself out there and share my story with others
Differentiating factor: I know how to have a good “keke” but I also know how to work hard. I conduct everything I do with poise, grace and class, ensuring that all things align with my brand. I am extremely creative, but also pay very close attention to detail. I bring a unique perspective growing up in a Ghanaian household in Plano, Texas and approach all challenges with a DEI lens.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would not have done much differently, I believe I gave it my all and prioritized what I did when I did due to my career goals and aspirations. But I will say I would have asked for help / leaned on others more. I would have leveraged my network more effectively to gain access to untapped opportunities and resources to provide me with the information, materials, and connections necessary.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.makingmeyv.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingme.yv
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvoire-s-whittaker-03a23374/
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