What is your name?
Moyo
What do you do for a living?
Solution Owner at Slalom and Founder of Just Looping
Do you do other things outside your work? Side hustle? Community commitment? Please list them.
Career Coaching Founder of a tech skills development institute Founder of a community interest company, supporting POC who are mid-career changers.
Describe a typical day in your life
My typical day usually starts and ends at home( as I mostly work from my home office). It simply consists of my duties and responsibility to myself, my family (husband and children), my profession & job, and then my business.
Are you married?
Yes
Do you have kids? If yes, how many?
3
How do you manage your day-to-day activities considering all your commitments?
Well, everything has its time so I make the appropriate time for my commitments and prioritize based on need, demand, and availability. So with having a full-time job, solely founding my business, and participating as a co-founder for our family business, the one thing that I never compromise on is my family, most especially my children. Everything I do is planned around them, even all my calendars including work calendars have my children's school pick-up time scheduled plus other commitments for them. My family is my biggest motivation and drive for everything else I do and when I need to be there for any of my kids, I drop what I'm doing or delegate it where possible to be available for our children.
Well, I started by taking a BA course, then got a job and worked as one. I approached the organization I worked for then to give me a chance at trying out as a Product owner because I loved it and saw myself growing in that path. I never stopped pursuing what I wanted and believed was good for me in my career. I also joined a few communities of like-minded folks to learn from and found myself a few mentors who supported me along the way. These mentors did make a huge difference in my career and life. In a nutshell, I researched, studied, and actively worked towards what I wanted, and sought help from people with more experience than myself and who had walked the same or similar paths. Practically, I always have a vision board of what I want or where I see myself (in all areas of my life) and then work my way back from there, writing my action plans and objectives, never shy of asking for help / requesting feedback.
Were there any challenges or blockers on your way to becoming who you are now? If yes, what are those challenges?
Challenges are there to push us or test us to see if we need to grow. Many times, I was refused what I deserved and had worked hard for but I persevered, never giving up on myself even if I gave up on the organization I was working for. Some of the challenges I face were even personal but I learned to speak out about them. We all need someone to rely on and help us get out of our heads or perhaps we simply need a cheerleader and my husband was all that and more for me consistently. Some obstacles were out of my hands as decisions were not mine to make etc. However, for things that didn't work out or I'm yet to achieve, I always had a way to reflect on them, never dwelling on them, and just had the attitude of perseverance.
How did you overcome these challenges/blockers if any? Please share the practical steps you took.
I spoke out about unfairness- some conversations are hard to have but necessary and I have had those conversations. I have had to practically change the things I didn't like by proposing change ideas to try. Challenging the status quo Improving my knowledge of something Learning for people and mentors Seeking help when needed Sometimes doing nothing has helped me overcome some challenges
Who is your role model and why?
Strong positive bold people, especially women who love to help others grow and succeed are my role models.
Do you have a mentor or a coach? If yes, which one? if not, why not?
I do have a couple of mentors for different reasons
If you are married with/without children, how do you balance/align your home commitments with your career/side hustle workload?
Similar to my response to question 7- My husband and children are a part of me, they are aware of what I do and support me as much as they possibly can. My job and colleagues are aware of my family and know they are the most important people to me. They are also aware I am trying to build a business and are quite supportive of me- as long as I do my job exceptionally which I do. I like to think that I have an open relationship with all my commitments and no hidden commitments and surprises. I have also made it a necessity to make time for myself whatever that may be or look like for me
What one piece of advice would you give to other women about them stepping into their power and purpose unapologetically?
Well, I have more than one...
First believe in yourself because if you do not, then you won't believe when someone else does in you and neither can you achieve much.
Secondly, If you're one of the people who complain as I used to, STOP. Instead, make the changes you want to see, and do not wait for someone else to do it as they may never or they might not do it right.
Lastly, be aware of your environment, celebrate your wins, ask for help, show empathy and kindness always
Thank you so much for your time, Moyo. We celebrate you today and always.
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