Women are actively taking part in the entrepreneurial world with the motivation of taking full control of their lives. However, it is not every woman’s task to forge their own path. It takes real courage to walk fearlessly in the marathon of entrepreneurship. Meet Tionna Pleasant: an inspirational woman determined to live life on her own terms, and find success by unconventional means.
Tionna Pleasant was born and raised in Buffalo, New York’s east side. She is the youngest of her siblings and the first college student in her family. She graduated salutatorian of her high school class, and completed her post-secondary education at a SUNY school, Brockport University with a four-year degree in psychology and a minor in pre-professional health.
Despite Tionna’s success in her educational career early in life, she knew she wanted more than what she had in front of her.
“I’m a hard worker, I was in college working three jobs while doing full time college education. I had to stop and think to myself, I love getting educated and I do like the job I’m at right now. But as it is currently, is it getting me to where I want to be ultimately? And the answer was no,” says Tionna
Tionna found that opportunity she was looking for to lead her on a new path that she had created for herself, instead of the path that was already charted for her. To date, Tionna is a mentor and trader in the financial markets. She provides support for new entrepreneurs to help them create their own business and learn valuable skills required to become financially independent.
When discussing her decision to choose entrepreneurship over a life of corporate climbing, Tionna says:
“I’m a very creative person and when you have that characteristic inside of you, you see things a little bit different. I understood the creativity that I could put into entrepreneurship. I saw the freedom that came with it. I love to travel. I love to meet new people. I love to connect and network with new individuals.”
Tionna strives to ensure that everyone she works with is given the tools they need to have the courage and financial backing to step out of their comfort zone and do something for themselves.
“This business is about freeing yourself. Free yourself from the system that doesn’t allow you freedom. A lot of us grew up in traditional homes where we were told to go to school and maybe even go to college to learn a skill to get a job and then get paid. I want to help entrepreneurs get that sense of fulfillment out of their work and life through building their own business and learning a skill that will help them to fund not only their basic needs but their hobbies, passions, business, anything.”
Tionna didn’t find the success she has today without facing barriers and obstacles along the way. She enjoys the value she can bring to her clients and her team through sharing her experiences both positive and negative along her journey with other aspiring entrepreneurs.
Her best advice? Keep reading.
Get out of your own way! “Along my journey I realized I had to stop allowing negative thoughts, opinions or attitudes to cloud my judgement or keep me in my comfort zone. I would tell myself that I’m a smart individual and in order for me to express that and to feed off of that and create off of that, I had to get out of my own way. I had to get out my comfort zone and begin to make relationships, that could help me get where I wanted to be”
Find your “why”. “Along the way I had a lot of people telling me ‘no’ or telling me I can’t do certain things and letting their negativity impact me. I learned to understand that your business is going to grow with, or without anybody, and you have to truly believe that it’s going to grow no matter who comes, who stays, who leaves – no matter what. So once I got that through my head and I really created my “why” for this path I’ve taken and this business I’m creating, I’m able see the bigger picture, and remember who I’m doing all this for.”
Work with what you have. “I learned that you have to work with what you have at the moment. You’re not going to have everything together at one time. You’re not going to have all the answers at one time, but seeking education and working with what you have, that’s going to be enough to gain more experience to bring you whatever else you need.”
Entrepreneurship can be hard. It can be difficult to choose to forge your own path, when there may already be an easier path right in front of you. Tionna leads by example in having the courage to go where she knew she would find abundance, happiness and success on her own terms. Success can mean different things to everyone, so in closing we will leave you with Tionna’s advice on how to put your hard work into perspective:
“Do not ever put a time limit on your success because it’s not just about you reaching a certain level or you making a certain amount of money. Success is progression of a worthy idea. So you can be a success just from having a productive day. You’re going to be successful doing little things. So don’t be so hard on yourself because at the end of the day even if you’re not quite yet where you want to be, every little thing you do to get there is a win.”
To find out more about Tionna and how she has become a successful businesswoman on her own terms, visit her instagram page @x_ondrayanicole.