Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Elizabeth Williams-Riley, CEO of Elizabeth Williams D.A.S.H. Consulting LLC, located in Woodbridge, NJ, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training, Coaching, and Organizational Development - corporate and nonprofit executive leaders and leadership teams, DEI committees, Employee Resource Groups Performing Arts Organizations.

Tell us about yourself

I entered the human relations industry more than twenty-five years ago. I worked on a regional and national level, managing and designing programs fighting bias, bigotry, and racism. In 1995 I journaled about having a business working intimately with individuals to dismantle systemic and institutional oppression. Drawing on all the education, lived, and learned experiences on this journey, I launched DASH Consulting LLC to eliminate deficit thinking and work to help individuals and institutions "Develop Assets for Successful Habits."

I am motivated by the promise of seeing how influential I can be in helping transform organizations to be more inclusive and diverse. After all, our institutions and systems are only as good as those leading and making decisions. When leaders have a mindset that embraces the value and contributions of all types of people, and they feel a greater sense of belonging, we all thrive. I believe empowerment comes from within, and when the conditions are in place for individuals to achieve, they will. I have witnessed the transformation in my clients, and it is rewarding to see the promise fulfilled.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Expanding work into the performing arts, working with NYC Ballet, one of the nation's most prestigious ballet companies, and conducting diversity, equity, and inclusion sessions with several Tony Award-winning Broadway theatre companies and their casts and crews.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Worklife Balance- making sure that I am working to live and not living to work is essential and the most difficult.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be visionary to allow innovation to thrive. It also supports your capacity building.
  2. Plan to throw away your plan to make room for your emerging future. Ridgid thinking can be harmful to your ability to expand to new markets.
  3. Money Matters - make sure you are on top of your finances and pricing your services to remain competitive. Don't be afraid of strategic partnerships. With the right agreements, they can advance your prosperity.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I always tell people you never know how much your past will affect your future until it shows up in your present. This is also a guiding principle for me as I continue to evolve as an entrepreneur in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.dashriley.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashconsultingllc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dashconsultingllc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ewilliamsriley
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-williams-riley/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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