Today we’d like to introduce you to Yolanda White.
Yolanda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I thought I had it all planned out at 22 years old. I got my undergraduate degree in accounting and dreamed about being the best marketer I could be. I saved my money, got loans and even worked every day while I was in school to ensure I could secure my MBA, and I did it with honors. I worked for a couple of companies and finally landed my dream job at Coca-Cola. After 17 years of leading billion dollar brands, promotions and extensive travel, I realized I had the skills and desire to run my own company.
So, I began to redesign my life to see possibilities and opportunities that could make an impact on women. So I turned my energy outside of the company. I looked at the world like it was new and I began to listen to what women needed and wanted. And one day, after listening to my friend, I found the idea that resulted in the development of DAYO. Her story was about fear, disappointment and lack of self-love and it was the light bulb I needed to see that the busy professional woman forgets about herself way too much… it happened to me! So, the birth of DAYO became my mission.
I resigned from Coca-Cola and began working every day starting at 8:30 am and in less than six months, I launched DAYO. I didn’t let obstacles or lack of fashion experience scare me… instead, my lack of industry knowledge was my fuel and I coupled that with my extensive corporate experience to create a movement. Beautiful products designed by women for women! I wanted to prove to myself and to show my children that they can do whatever they want if the stay brave, fearless and unconstrained by systems! So, when women wear DAYO, they are supporting possibilities, dreams, fearlessness, and self-love… lounge in love.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The journey of building DAYO has been one of the most enjoyable things I have done professionally, but I have encountered several challenges:
Building my competitive knowledge in a new industry: I didn’t have extensive knowledge about the fashion industry beyond being a consumer. I had to stay committed to developing my industry knowledge to ensure I could launch a sustainable business model.
Finding credible investors is a hard task and requires patience and persistence. My advice to all entrepreneurs is to not give up, but do not give in to the first person who comes.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about DAYO Women – what should we know?
I’m most proud of the fact that we are on a mission to disrupt the loungewear segment, which has seen little to no innovation. We are bringing women style, comfort and functionality, which doesn’t exist in the luxury loungewear today. DAYO is more than fashion. This brand challenges the status quo in loungewear to ensure women will not forget to love themselves.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
If I could provide any young woman with career advice, it would be to stay brave, curious, fearless and unconstrained by systems! Lastly, understand your financials (where you work or your own business!). Scrutinizing the value of every dollar spent and every dollar earned to ensure you build a sustainable financial model for either your company or yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: dayowomen.com
- Email: customerservice@dayowomen.com
- Instagram: dayowomen
- Facebook: dayowomen
- Twitter: dayowomen
Image Credit:
Ron Hill Photographer, Shay Garcia – Makeup Artists, Jenni Han – Stylist (optional), Hyacinth Shaw-Oyama – Hair Stylist (optional)
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