We were lucky to catch up with Yolanda Villegas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Yolanda, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
If someone told me I’d find my purpose at this stage in my career, I would have looked at them sideways but that’s exactly what happened when I was laid off after a successful career in the corporate environment. My entire career has been working within global environments doing marketing communications, brand strategy, and advertising. I was having the best year of my career, suggesting new strategies, enhancing where we were taking the brand and developing a social media strategy. Then, I was laid off and my world was changed forever. Not only was I devastated and uncertain what I’d do next, the infamous imposter syndrome set in and I wasn’t sure where my next move would be.
After months of “working on me”, I decided the best thing was to embrace what I loved doing most and putting myself out there. My passions are brand strategy – what truly makes your brand tick? – and multicultural marketing – how to reach Latino and African American consumers. I started consulting on the side, getting involved in organizations that empowered black/brown communities and within a year, I’d found my purpose. Helping businesses and communities to empower their brands – whether that was for small to medium sized companies or students who were uncertain where they’d like to go after high school.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
****Some of this discussed in the “purpose” discussion so please pull from that**
My business focuses on helping organizations reach their full branding potential. So often, brands have all the right things in place – website, social media, marketing materials and advertisements – but they lack someone taking a holistic view of their brand presence to ensure it resonates consistently. That is my passion – digging deep into what a brand wants to say to its clients and providing insights into how best to ensure consistency. I also love finding new business opportunities for clients – in most cases, their products could easily be targeted to the multicultural audiences which generates more revenue. I help showcase what the opportunity is and develop a strategy in how best to reach those audiences with messaging that resonates in a meaningful way.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three skills that were most impactful in my journey were:
Agility – being agile in your work and personal environment is critical. The one consistent thing in this world is change; you have to be open to adjusting your circumstances to change and coming out with a positive mindset
Life-long learning – continuing to keep yourself educated on trends in the marketplace, ongoing training in your respective field, etc is so important. Our world is moving faster than ever before so it is critical to be on top of trends in order to be seen as an expert and thought-leader.
Never stop networking – this was my biggest mistake that I’d hope those early in their career would recognize. Networking isn’t always about trying to find a job; it’s a skill-set that allows you to talk with people, sell yourself as your own personal brand and make great connections that could turn into friendships. You never know who is connected to who and how their connections could lead to something beneficial.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
When I started my business, it was overwhelming and confusing. I’d never been a freelancer and had no idea where to start or how to begin. I hired a business coach – Julie Cortés based in Kansas City – https://www.juliecortes.com – who helped develop a plan with key milestones to reach and monthly calls to keep me accountable. Although there were many who provided me personal guidance and assurance along the way, hiring a business coach is highly recommended in order to lay out a plan and “check off” those key steps to get a business going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.villegasmarketing.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yolanda-villegas-2021/
Image Credits
Lane Goodin photography EnchantChristmas.com
