Today we’d like to introduce you to Tameka Neely-Dudley.
Tameka, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always say my journey was definitely not a traditional journey but rather a unique one. First and Foremost. I’m an ATliean, Grady Baby. I graduated from an Atlanta Public School (South Atlanta) and really didn’t know what I wanted to do afterwards. After high school, I worked at a grocery store and I remember working two weeks straight with one day off and my mom called me and said she was at Atlanta Technical Institute enrolling me into a program called Business Office Technology. She told me to get ready. She was on her way to pick me up to take a test because classes started the following week. In my head, I’m like I know nothing about technology and how dare she enroll me in something I never showed interested in… never the less I took the test and started the program the next week. Who would have known this program would be the gateway to my career.
The program taught me a lot about technology and administrative functions and allowed me to do an internship with the City of Atlanta. I was apart of the Y2K era implementing the Y2K Contingency Plan for the City of Atlanta constituent support and management systems. After my internship with the city of Atlanta. I graduated from Atlanta Technical Institute with a certification in Business Office Technology and was hired permanently. I’ve been with the city for 20 years and have evolved tremendously within the IT arena. During my IT career path, I continued my education by obtaining my bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems. I have been very blessed and fortunate to have been inspired, motivated and encouraged by both men and women bosses and also friends throughout my journey. For some reason, I believe people saw something in me that I had not yet seen in myself, which is why I was offered these opportunities that allowed me to excel in my career.
However, It wasn’t until later on in life that I saw what others saw. I had a gift, I loved people, I was eager to learn, I had drive and vision and I was very optimistic about life. I didn’t get to where I am in life or my career of who I knew. It was a favor and plus, I worked hard and gave it my all because I was determined and wanted to do something that sparked me. I want to be able to instill this trait and work ethic in my daughter and the only way is to show her through my actions which is why I’m so passionate about paying it forward to future youth, and especially mom’s with pre-teen, tweens and teenage daughters. Sometimes we don’t realize that the power to succeed is within us, especially if you love what you do. That is what I want to help bring out in others because that is what people who I’ve encountered in my life and career did for me – helped me to horn in on my talents, strengthen my skills and brought my abilities to light.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m a firm believer in the saying, “To whom much is given, much is required”… this road has definitely been bumpy with facing many challenges in balancing my personal and professional life, along with my own personal goals I wanted to accomplish. I struggled with trusting people who claimed they had my best interest but was only out for self-preservation. I had a person to take a proposal and present it as their own and that really crushed me. I had someone who said they were going to do something that would put me in a better position with my non-profit and they didn’t come through… so trusting people is like a new trait that I have to learn all over again. I struggled with carving time for family and friends because I was in solidarity mode where I needed to focus mentally and process my thoughts and some people just didn’t understand that. However, In my professional life, things were going good but I wanted more and had not developed time for my personal goals… like I was making everybody else look good. However, my daughter took precedence over anything.
One thing I did know is that I had to show up for her because she was growing and becoming into her own identity and this time was critical as she was going through her phase with middle school, I wanted to make sure I showed up for EVERYTHING she was involved in and that stretched me tremendously. I had to learn how to implement self-care and balance to maintain my mental state and it was a struggle for me because I didn’t want to talk or share it with anybody but I have this one person in my life who holds me accountable and knows how to get me to share my feelings and pose thought to provoke questions and that helps me to stay centered and recalibrate when needed. During this, I’ve learned its okay to be vulnerable a little while going through challenges, which are growing pains to me now. I believe everyone needs someone in their life who is genuine and will hold them accountable and you will know when you have encounter that person… your intuition will let you know.
Please tell us about BRAITCS and Forty12.
I believe one of the best ways to see the blessings of God operating in your life is by sowing a seed of your time, abilities and resources, which is what my mission is all about for my new business BRAITCS and my soon to be nonprofit organization Forty12. BRAITCS stands Business Resource and IT Consultant Services and Forty 12 (the quadragenarian and tween) is a non-profit my daughter and I started.
During this pandemic, I received so many calls from friends, family and even people I didn’t know about helping them with technical questions from hardware to software application and even providing resources and helping set up internet so the kids could access their school work virtually. My sister n law has her own business in esthetician, and she turned me on to so many of her clients that were looking to expand their offerings in the esthetician field and needed help with making training manuals, customizing certification certificates, etc. One referral needed help with shoring up her resume because she hadn’t worked in two years, I provided that service and she got the job. I decided to start my own business because the calls were coming more frequently. There were also times I was able to provide resources about the PPP loan offerings for my friends and family with small businesses. I provided resources and advisement about virtual events, mentorship programs and extra curriculum to keep their kids occupied. I felt so rewarding doing this, especially when people would call me and tell me how it helped them and they refer me to other people.
So I wanted my business to specialize in providing my acquired business and IT knowledge along with mentorship and coaching as a service. I’m most proud of my business because I launched during this pandemic and I have seen how it has helped so many families and friends who have turned into clients and they were able to refer me to other people and I was able to offer my support. I think my business is unique because of the climate we are in now with this pandemic. Some people are in fear of what is to expect with the economy, their jobs, businesses, financial status and I think BRAITCS provides resources that will prepare them and put them in a position to be ahead of the game when it comes to choosing the right technology, business resources, recommendations and tools needed for personal and small business or even if they are thinking about starting a business… my business offerings and advisement plants the seed. Forty12 provides mental hope, inspiration, resources and ideas through the lens of a mother and tween daughter experiences.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Continuing to have hope, drive, determination and a motivating spirit will be important to my success and anyone who has goals that they want to accomplish and just can’t see how during this pandemic. It is important to just keep going – that is my motto. Since the pandemic, technology has been highlighted more than ever… within the last five weeks… it has changed how we work, how we do business in addition to how our kids receive their education.
What we know now is that it works and we have accomplished this by using technology and expanding our resources through different mediums. We will see a major shift in how we work, do business and congregate and in order to strive during this, it is important to always have a positive outlook with keeping the end goal at the forefront. My business and non-profit will be here to provide the inspiration, resources, expertise and knowledge required to ensure people are effective.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 4042722280
- Email: braitcsllc@gmail.com
- Instagram: _forty12
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