Acquisition International - Influential Businesswoman Awards 2022 17 May22479 Brand Analyst of the Year (USA): Yolanda Smith randing 4 Success collaborates with organisations to ignite employee engagement and assists teams in creating a strong brand identity to influence cross-functionally and deliver positive results. Through its replicable system, clients can create a powerful ‘Brand Signature’ to articulate their value and stand out for visibility and recognition to achieve optimal results. Founder, Yolanda M. Smith is a parallel-preneur who also works in corporate America where she leads a team of communicators supporting diversity, equity and inclusion, social impact, employee engagement, and wellbeing. She has been in the pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years, yet it wasn’t until she was mid-career that she had a mentor, sponsor or coach. She tells us, “My goal is to engage, educate, and empower individuals and organisations to develop a powerful brand, own their career, and ignite engagement within teams to drive meaningful results personally and professionally.” With extensive experience in the healthcare industry from sales and marketing to external/customer relations and communications, it is Yolanda’s diverse set of skills that enable her to align to her ownable assets versus a job title. These experiences have a few things in common – building relationships and being strategic. She says, “My strong suit is being a strategic thought partner, helping others to discover their vision, understand the current state, and identify the gaps they need to solve to achieve that vision. It’s the foundational work that allows them to have a solid structure to sustain and replicate for success. From the branding perspective, this is where my passion flows. “I am a certified brand analyst and I love helping others through the brand discovery process to uncover their superpowers, purpose and passion, and developing that ‘Brand Signature’ statement that they can share with confidence to the world.” Throughout her career, Yolanda has seen plenty of success, including numerousawardsand recognitions, all ofwhichsheappreciates, however starting her own company has been her greatest accomplishment to date, with her saying that she loves “to see individuals, entrepreneurs, and organisations excel, elevate, and achieve based on my guidance, collaboration, and coaching”, which “is truly a remarkable feeling”. So, how did Yolanda get to where she is today? Did she encounter challenges as a woman working in the corporate environment? How did she overcome them? She shares, “Everyone’s path is different. I think like most women, it starts with self-belief and confidence. I never really struggled with confidence because I was raised by a mother that instilled B Founded by Yolanda M. Smith in 2018, Branding 4 Success, LLC (B4S) is a business consulting, coaching, and professional development company specialising in branding services for organisations, corporate professionals, and entrepreneurs. It empowers teams and individuals to develop a powerful brand for business growth and career advancement. In light of Yolanda’s awards success, we got in touch with her to learn more. the confidence and belief that I could be and do anything I wanted if I was willing to learn, work hard, and be resilient. I believed her. As a black woman, diversity was also a factor, being stereotyped by individuals that assumed you were less than, or didn’t deserve opportunities, or better yet, the microaggressions that are still pervasive today.” She continues, “It was and still is not easy, but you must be resilient and know your worth. This is what I teach – Branding is the ability to articulate your value, live authentically, and stand out to position yourself for recognition and career advancement, because you can easily be looked over, start to shrink, and feel invisible, questioning yourself, your skills and abilities. This is why imposter syndrome is so prevalent among women in corporate America.” Yolanda goes on to share her advice for other women who are looking to succeed within the industry. “My advice is that you must be the CEO of your career, own it, and take control of your destiny. You must be comfortable telling your story because if you are not telling your story, someone else is, and that’s risky. Telling your story and allowing people to know who you are, what you do, and how you can add value to them is how relationships develop, and once someone knows you, knows your story, and feels like you fit, that is when the magic happens, and doors open. It’s all about building your brand.” Ms Smith also actively supports other women within the industry both inside and outside her company through mentoring, group coaching, speaking at women conferences, and volunteering for non-profit organisations like Girl Talk Incorporated and Dress for Success, offering her branding workshops to educate and empower women. Aside from this work, her focus as she moves forward is on B4S and building it into a premier business and brand coaching company which helps people and organisations across the globe to build powerful brands to achieve their goals and get the rewards they desire. Yolanda also plans to write another book, her first book ‘Reputation to Reward’ is still a great seller and takes the reader from concept to action through ‘Brand Signature’ formula where they learn the five essential steps to building a powerful brand. She also says she has another book or two in her and is contemplating which one to write next – Stay tuned! Company: Branding 4 Success, LLC Contact: Yolanda M. Smith Email: yolanda@yolandamsmith.com Website: www.branding4success.com
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