[00:00:00] Simone Roche MBE: Hello and welcome to the Northern Power Women Podcast. I am your host, Simone Roche, and this is our path to power season. We're always talking about using your power for good. We're always talking about the fact that no two people have the one same path, and so this is the perfect solution.
[00:00:17] We're gonna have our series and our season talking about the inspirational people featuring on this year's Future and Power Lists. They are changemakers, trailblazers. They're making a difference from in and from their communities by challenging the norm and creating more inclusive cultures. And I love the fact that we can learn so much and we can pass that knowledge on and get all of that inspiration and advice to derive, whether it's your profession, your career, your personal goals.
[00:00:46] It's all about you. And I'm delighted to welcome this week's guest, Yulanda Duff, who's the founder and CEO of TMI Lifestyle, which focuses on providing businesses with the tools they need to be truly inclusive. And she does this through her offline and online ED&I workshops as well as consultancy, and also hosts the TMI Lifestyle Podcast where she and her guests help young entrepreneurs gain insight and grow towards their business goals.
[00:01:12] Yulanda is the PR director and works to upskill young women in entrepreneurship through game fired workshops. Yulanda took home the Start-up National Series Graduate Business of the Year Award, and of course was featured on this year's Future List. What a bio. Yulanda, welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:30] Yulanda: Hi Simone, thank you so much for having me.
[00:01:32] Simone Roche MBE: Your organization's called TMI Lifestyle. Tell us about it. Tell it what it stands for.
[00:01:37] Yulanda: Okay, TMI Lifestyle stands for The Millennial Introvert. So it's The millennial introvert lifestyle. And basically I wanted to, at the time that I started the business it was based in supporting young entrepreneurs on their entrepreneurship journey.
[00:01:55] I was like, what resonates with this crop of business owners that I resonate with? And I was like, well, we're millennials. There's this big introvert community of people who redefine what an introvert is. So at the time it was, we were still going out, we were still having fun. But then there was talk of this concept of like a social battery where although you do go outside and enjoy other people's company, you're still introverted in that you need time to energize by yourself and recharge by yourself.
[00:02:24] So I was like, yes, this is me. This is what I stand for I'm the millennial introvert. So I pulled that together. That was my phrase, and I was like, okay, TMI Lifestyle. And then I started off by building the TMI Lifestyle Toolkit, which was the tools that young business owners needed to set them off on that entrepreneurship journey and get them going in that speed.
[00:02:46] But then eventually I also stepped into the world of ED&I and value add course creation as well. So that's what I also do currently.
[00:02:55] Simone Roche MBE: Wow. And I think people might be surprised listening to this and hearing how confident you are to that. You are a self-confessed introvert, aren't you?
[00:03:02] Yulanda: I am, yes. People find it hard to accept when I say that because when you meet me, I'm never going to present as like, shy, un assuming and quiet. Like that's not going to be it. Even now, the little microphone thing is always on red because I'm so loud. But like I said, for me, the definition that I hold for introvert is that although I can be up out front, and I can get involved and I can bring people in and shine when it's my time to shine and have those moments. I also still need like then two days inside the house with no contact to recharge. So, yeah, I'm a bit of a weird dichotomy.
[00:03:43] Simone Roche MBE: But you are you, and I think that this series is all about the path to power and the journey that you get to find your own power and to share your own power.
[00:03:51] And I know one of your special powers is the fact you specialize in equality, diversity, and inclusion. That's one of your passions, isn't it? It
[00:03:58] Yulanda: It is, yeah. So in 2020, that was my first sort of time stepping into the world of equality, diversity, and inclusion. I'd heard about it obviously and businesses that I've worked with before, they had their CSR, they had their ED &I but then we all know 2020 really made a lot of businesses reaffirmed their commitment to ED&I.
[00:04:21] So the business that I was working at the time, they were also part of that and they asked me to help in their strategy for their ED &I going forward, I was like, yeah, sure, definitely I'd love it. And from doing that, I actually ended up big making my flagship workshop, which is bring their full self to work.
[00:04:39] And it was all about the blockers that stop minority groups bringing their full self to work every day and being who they are in the workplace every day. And that workshop actually ended up being the fastest selling workshop that business had at the time, ended up having to, I think it was like two or three extra, extra slots to cover demand.
[00:04:59] And from that I was like, okay, there's something here. People seem to believe in what I'm talking about. I believe in what I'm talking about. It's resonating with people when I'm saying it. So maybe there is something in it for me to take this further. And that's how I started bolstering my own knowledge outside of my lived experience of ED&I and putting together these training sessions and these workshops, these webinars, these virtual classrooms to help pass on that knowledge and help people further their understanding and commitment to ED&I as well.
[00:05:30] Simone Roche MBE: You talk about lived experiences, have you experienced that prejudice because of your race or gender?
[00:05:36] Yulanda: Sadly, most definitely. Multiple times throughout the years.
[00:05:39] I actually remember and it's quite sad. I was thinking about it, but I remember the first time I experienced racism in the UK. So I was born in Guyana in South America. But these people will say that we are Caribbean because that's how our culture aligned. So I was born in Caribbean. I moved here with my family when I was 11, and I remember, so we moved to here.
[00:06:01] We got here on the Saturday, then I had the Sunday to fix the time difference, the time zone effects on me, the five hour difference. So we slept all day. And then on the Monday I started school. I remember Monday coming home from school was the first time I got spat on. So three days into, I'm the 11 year old me, I was 11 at the time.
[00:06:23] So three days into life in the UK that was the literally the first time. Yeah, I had my first racist experience, and sad to say that hasn't been the only time throughout my lifetime. So yeah, lived experience. I definitely know what I'm talking about, about bias and prejudice.
[00:06:41] Simone Roche MBE: And how does your now, Yulanda and your 11 year old Yulanda, overcome that.
[00:06:48] Yulanda: Well, I think your 11 year Yulanda, just put that under the carpet and move on with life. I don't think I ever interrogated that when I was younger, but now I'm definitely confident enough and self-assured enough in myself that when I know that's what's happening, or that's the cause of its unconscious bias, or just overt racism, I am comfortable enough in calling that out.
[00:07:10] And I only now surround myself with people who are active allies so if I'm out with people, I know that they're going to have my back, whether it's because they're having the same of experience as me, or they are allies to minority groups and helping them overcome the downsides of their lived experience. So those are the ways I overcome it, is I address it myself and I make sure that people around me , we advocate for each other.
[00:07:38] Simone Roche MBE: and you talk about the success that you had with the programs that you were creating. Do you think more organizations are waking up to the power of equality, diversity, and inclusion.
[00:07:47] Yulanda: Definitely because. I think they're understanding now what they have to gain as well from it.
[00:07:54] Like on the flip on one side, it's a nice gesture. I'm not sure if I'm picking the right word there, but it's a nice gesture to minority groups to say, Hey, I see you, I understand the hurdles that you have to be who you truly are, especially at work, and you're going to be at work for most of your adult life.
[00:08:13] So you need to feel included in that environment. So let's make sure that this is a safe place for you to be and feel seen and feel heard. That's one side of it, but then also I think a lot of employers are understanding that this is far more than tokenism because a diverse workplace brings them so much more value.
[00:08:35] And I think the stats say that diverse work environments have profit margins that are, I think it's like 32% higher than the ones that don't. So the numbers speak for themselves. Like when you diversify an environment, whether it's based on whatever characteristic, you're getting value because you're getting rebel ideas.
[00:08:56] You're getting black box thinking, you're getting the sentiments that don't just fall into an echo chamber of people who look like you and think like you bring the same voice and same concepts to the table every time you're going to get people who don't look like, you don't think, like you don't have the same experience as you.
[00:09:15] So can see things from a different angle and bring that innovation, bring that change, and bring the stuff that will set you apart from your competitors and make it worthwhile.
[00:09:26] Simone Roche MBE: There's no one path. There's no one solution is there. There's no one kind of, here you go. We're going to unlock all the solutions and all the answers to what good EED&I looks like.
[00:09:35] There is no one size fits all solution is there, but what, are there any kind of transformations that you've seen out there, organizations that you've worked with, or individuals that you work for that you've gone, you know what? I am literally high fiving myself because something so simple has really made change within that organization.
[00:09:52] Yeah, definitely. I think the biggest one for me is the first organization that I ever did the Bringing your Full Self to workshop in, because the feedback from that one was just, Phenomenal. So many people were writing into me saying, Hey, never knew this at all, never considered any of this.
[00:10:12] And you've given me enough information that I can take this away and carry on my own personal learning, which is the thing that I most strive towards. I want to have my modules be in such a way that people can digest them, but then also it's enough information for them to go away and continue learning about very specific things that are stopping minority groups bringing their full selves to work.
[00:10:35] I also build my workshops in a way that allow the conversation to happen and flow without anybody feeling blamed or attacked or being asked to take on their shoulders the guilt of whatever has happened to whoever in the past. That's not how I start the conversation. So I think that also allows it to flow and make people sit up and engage instead of ugh, I've just been told I have to come to this mandatory session that I don't want to be here.
[00:11:10] It's like, no, like sit into the fold and bring your opinion and ask the awkward questions that you might think is awkward but I am opening up myself to answering honestly and truthfully for you because you really want to know and engage on this.
[00:11:25] It, it is literally, walk the walk is the title of your, your workshop, isn't it?
[00:11:29] It's bringing your whole self in. Don't be a passenger, don't just tick a box on this, but be present and be you. And ask the questions. Ask the questions that you think you can't ask us or you shy away from because you're frightened of saying the wrong thing or something like that, you know? Let's get back to Introvert Yulanda. You host a podcast, you help your entrepreneurs on their business journeys. What are the most common challenges that young entrepreneurs face in the early days of starting their businesses?
[00:11:54] Yulanda: I think universally, all entrepreneurs will go through a stage where they have to figure out the big picture. So you might have the best concept or idea or product ever. You really want to bring that to market. But there is so much more to business before you can take your product to market that I think it's in that space where a lot of young businesses fail. So when you have to start looking at things like.
[00:12:22] Setting up your trademark, deciding what type of company you want to be, whether you want to be a limited company, a sole trader, yada, yada, yada, whatever. Do you want to have non-exec directors on a board to help you along? Or how are you going to build this website? Are you going to build it yourself or are you going to eat the cost and hire somebody to do it for you? How are you going to market this? Where are you going to get funding from? Like all of those back office things I think I've come to find from my own experience and from dealing with all the young entrepreneurs is, those are the hurdles. It's the beforehand hurdles that actually can snuff out a really bright idea or a concept.
[00:13:03] So that's what I'm actually working on program at the minute to actually address those concerns for young entrepreneurs. And it also addresses intersectionality for those young entrepreneurs. So things that stop people feeling supported enough for them to continue on this journey, like young LGBTQ plus entrepreneurs, like one of the hurdles they have is they're usually the only plus person in their family, especially their immediate family.
[00:13:31] So that isolation, when you can't talk about the unconscious bias you're facing because the rest of your family aren't facing unconscious bias based on their sexuality, but you are so then that support system might not be there for you and your immediate family or your immediate friends cause you are the only person that is of LGBTQ plus status in those environments, like those types of hurdles, how do you get past that?
[00:13:55] How do you find a community of people who understand of other LGBTQ plus entrepreneurs. Well, okay, let's put you in touch with the network so you can build those friendships to have that support group of people who understand. That's the program that I'm building of it's going to cover all of the calling back office hurdles that young entrepreneurs face that'll help them understand them, first of all, and then give them the practical tools that they need to then overcome it regardless of what minority group they fall into.
[00:14:26] Simone Roche MBE: And it can be that shared learning content and finally the path to power that this series is about. We talk about using your power for good. And I know you volunteer for Girls in Charge. I know you're massively passionate about working with Cheshire Warrington Lab. You're passionate about being a Northerner. Why is it so important to use your power for good and give back? What do you get out of it?
[00:14:46] Yulanda: I think for me it's very easy to give back when you hold it in your heart and inside that there's enough everybody. I think some people might struggle to give back cause they think, oh, I need to grab what I want and reach my goals and not let giving back stop me from getting as far as I want to reach.
[00:15:06] But it's like, actually no, the more you hold that door open and the more you give back, you end up with actually a stronger community, a stronger network. It's just good karma. It's just good to hold the door open and share your knowledge and give other people some of the insights and tools that you needed to get as far as you are so that they can get as far as they want to get. It's nice.
[00:15:34] Simone Roche MBE: And we are so passionate about that we do our power ups every single month, and they're absolutely guided around that principle of using your power for good and giving back, paying forward. But I always know, and we do those monthly sessions that are open for all.
[00:15:47] So whether you are an entrepreneur, whether you are at the middle part of your career, whether you're an undergrad, whether you're still working out what it is, I think I might be at times, but we put them out there. So you can pass on that skills and knowledge because it's a gift, isn't it?
[00:16:00] It's a gift to give and I think that's why you end up feeling so good about it as well. Cause you, if you can help or you've passed on that knowledge as well. So, Yulanda, thank you so much for joining me.
[00:16:11] Yulanda: Thank you for having me.
[00:16:12] Simone Roche MBE: We'll put all the details in the show notes so if you want to find out more about literally Yulanda's growing portfolio of programs, which I know she's massively passionate about, or get involved in the podcast or take some of that advice and guidance away, because this is so important that's what we created what we do, isn't it? To pass on those skills and knowledge.
[00:16:30] Thank you so much. Thank you for listening. Remember, we have these episodes weekly. Make sure you subscribe. Please don't miss an episode. Please do share because we are on a path to pass on our knowledge and power for good. And if you would like to find out more, please sign up to our digital hub, wearepower.net.
[00:16:48] You'll find all of our voices, our power voices, our power network, our power events, and our power insights. You can check out all of our brilliant Future List & Power List all over them. My name is Simone Roche. This is a Northern Power Women podcast and what goes on media production.