Today we’d like to introduce you to Yanika Daniels.
Hi Yanika, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
First I must say that I was born and raised in Jackson, MS so I am a true southerner. It represents the lens in which I see the world when you come from a poorer state with less resources and a history of racial injustice. It was also a place where I saw black entrepreneurs thrive. My uncle owned his own optometry business and the church I attended, Central United Methodist Church was full of entrepreneurs; black people who were thriving in their careers. So I always saw examples of businesses that served their community. That is one of the many reasons that as a business, I strive to help my community by ensuring people of color can access, navigate and thrive in their careers. I do this as a career coach and HR strategist for nonprofits.
To start, I went to Vanderbilt University and majored in engineering because I was great at math and science, but really my superpower was problem-solving. At Vanderbilt, I realized the disparities in education and coming from Mississippi, for the first time in my life realized that my K-12 education didn’t adequately prepare me to succeed. I saw many black and brown students drop out of the engineering program. This experience would stay with me as I started my career. After I graduated from Vanderbilt in 2002, I took a job in Austin, TX at Dell Computers and began my career as an engineer.
Fast forward to December 2015, I started Daniels Solutions LLC after almost 14 years in private industry and public education. The first ten years of my career were in the tech industry after receiving an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. I supported Fortune 100 companies in creating processes and implementing technology to help them become more efficient and solving their most complex problems. Because of my love for problem-solving, I got a Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in logistics and supply chain which deepened and solidified my belief that the biggest components of company success are People, Processes and Technology.
Although the work in the tech industry was challenging, I wanted to make more of an impact in society and I was looking for more fulfillment so I decided to solve problems for education. Remembering my K12 experience and seeing those who dropped out of the Vandy engineering program, I thought maybe I could fix education. In 2010, I moved to Atlanta with IBM and in 2012 began working at Fulton County Schools District in the Human Resources Department. Having seen how big organizations focus so heavily on new processes and technology but rarely invest in their people, I knew that I wanted to spend my time supporting people which is a natural desire of mine. After 4 years in the education/ nonprofit arena, I started Daniels Solutions as initially a solopreneur to help organizations create more diverse and equitable workplaces. As my company has grown over the years, I saw how individuals in their careers struggle to navigate the culture, navigate progression, decide what is the next best move for themselves, their families and their passions. And so I wanted to fill the need for individual coaching of those seeking career transitions and needing guidance by offering direct coaching. We are certified leadership coaches and we help those struggling to define what’s for their career and how to PIVOT.
Seven years in as an entrepreneur and we have gotten really clear on the types of individuals and organizations we want to support with their people. We understand the success of any organization lies directly in its ability to recruit and retain staff. We consider ourselves a talent acquisition and talent coaching company. As a Mississippi native, justice, equity and education have always been in the fabric of my upbringing, so I am clear that people of color have been under-resourced, marginalized and disadvantaged in this country. And so, I wanted to ensure the work that I do is work that supports black and brown communities in order to create a more equitable society. We seek out organizations that focus on racial equity and the support of black and brown communities as our clients. We seek out women-owned minority-owned start-ups on the cusp of growth who need the right people in their organization to grow. We offer them recruitment, HR strategy and leadership coaching to these organizations to ensure they are successful. We coach individuals of color who want to transition into more impactful roles through our individual and group coaching for career shifters. We understand the challenges people of color face rising to senior level and C-suite positions and we provide the community for individuals to successfully pivot in the way that best serves them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was very scary in the 2016 to officially leave my full-time job only six months after starting my LLC. The security of a paycheck and benefits were a comfort to me but being in an organization that I felt undervalued, my strengths and what I could bring to the table propelled me to make a shift.
For the first couple of years, I partnered and subcontracted work so that I could learn and hone in on my craft but that also at times had me second guess my voice or not really understand the vision for my own business. I struggled with narrowing my business focus or figuring out how to execute my own vision. When you work with or see others doing something that’s working for them, you can second guess your thoughts or direction or try to model after someone else and lose your voice. When I saw the direction of my business did not feel authentic to me, I had to cut off some partnerships to be true to who I was. It’s hard to know when to walk away from partnerships that no longer serve you but that’s a necessary part of growth.
Secondly, as an entrepreneur the work can be very isolating and so I’ve found that it’s important to surround yourself with the right community of people to help support you. You have to be your own daily cheerleader, no one else will make your business thrive. So to find and build a community of others on the same journey is important. I have joined entrepreneur meetups and have frequent connection points like lunches with other entrepreneurs to build community. I invest in my own learning by getting certifications, taking more business classes through the SBA.
March 2020 was extremely tough when the pandemic started. My clients who had contracts signed with me went ghost, the phone stopped ringing. Fortunately, I had business savings which I always keep to ensure there is cash flow to keep the business going. After about two months of silence, clients were coming back and asking for virtual training options and asking me to shift my processes to zoom and I had to make that shift to stay in line with changing times. We had to PIVOT.
This year as I take on new employees, it is scary to also grow and ensure that I am growing in a way that is sustainable to my own personal life but also growing safely to ensure the business can support full time staffing needs that I will make by the end of the year for our team. So I’ve enrolled in Small Business courses and connect with other business owners who have grown. I am also trying to take the advice I give my nonprofit clients as well.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a consulting firm, whose mission is to create a world with organizations have diverse workspaces where individuals can thrive in their careers. We also seek to help individuals pivot in their careers through our career coaching program.
– We offer coaching to leadership teams and individuals on career transitions and leadership development.
– We offer talent acquisition and HR strategy support to mission-driven organizations that support black and brown communities.
We are known for our ability to recruit great talent, to help people pivot their careers or their organizational direction. We do this by recognizing that the important pillars of work are how people integrate with processes efficiently with the best technology possible. We know that is you get the People aspect right then the organizations can grow and thrive and ultimately make an impact on their community. Our clients are nonprofits across the country that focus on impact of black and brown communities through racial equity or ed-adjacent work.
Our clients are also in the start-up to turn-up phases of their organization and a majority of the CEOs are black leaders. We seek to help these types of orgs grow by recruiting and retaining the best talent.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
March 2020 was extremely tough when the pandemic started. My clients who had contracts signed went ghost, the phone stopped ringing. Fortunately, has had business savings which I always keep to ensure there is cash flow to keep the business going. After about two months, clients were coming back and asking for virtual training options and asking me to shift my processes to zoom and I had to make that shift to stay in line with changing times.
We learned that you always have to be ready to pivot and that is what I try to instill in my clients who are individuals, leadership teams and organizations. You can’t get complacent especially with an ever-changing world. We had to lean into our strengths, one of which is utilizing technology to support the work that we do. Our training went virtual from in-person – pivot. The way we recruited and supported nonprofits to find great talent had to be done differently – pivot. We had to continue to learn about new platforms and offerings in the facilitation and human resource world to better support our clients. We couldn’t stay stagnant during COVID-19 and many of the businesses that didn’t make it post COVID-19 refused to shift or pivot their practices.
I also am a person of faith and in times of crisis really leaned on my faith in God.
Pricing:
- Executive Leadership Coaching – $350/session
- Group Career Coaching in Fall 2023
- Non-Profit Organizational HR Support – by request
Contact Info:
- Website: http://danielssolutionsllc.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanikadaniels/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/danielssolutions
Image Credits
Images were taken by James Smith (those in the purple) https://www.instagram.com/j.versaille/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D Images in Blue taken by SHOOTT photography Angelica
