Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Yewande Faloyin, Founder of OTITỌ Executive Leadership Coaching, located in London, UK.

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

At OTITỌ, we offer Executive Leadership Coaching for business leaders. We primarily work with Founders, CEOs, and their direct reports at critical transition points, such as in periods of hyper-growth and during challenging external shifts. We specialize in helping our business leaders manage their energy for a direct business impact.

Tell us about yourself.

My professional life can be divided into two phases: Pre-Burnout & Post-Burnout. Before my second burnout in 2017, my CV was GOLD, and I was ticking the serial high-achiever boxes.

Up to that point, I had made multiple "impossible" moves up the ladder:

  • Becoming the youngest VP promotee in Morgan Stanley PB, despite starting my career in tech.
  • Leaping from Morgan Stanley to McKinsey without the typical influence of an MBA.
  • Leading and counseling CEOs and their C-Suite through very challenging business problems.

I was successful on paper, but something didn't feel right. I was exhausted and didn't feel I was creating the impact and reward I wanted. So, the burnout: physically exhausted, emotionally edgy, and no personal life. As a result, I walked away from McKinsey in 2018, wondering if I would find what I wanted.

I decided to take a different exploration route to find my ikigai (life purpose). My approach was to do anything and meet with anyone I connected with, even if I didn't know why, and trust myself and my intuition that I would find my next adventure.

In my 7-months of exploration, I went off to Vancouver for one month to become a certified yoga instructor (I love yoga, so why not ) and discovered that I loved problem-solving (the consulting side of me). Still, I love empowering others to solve their problems even more so. Plus, I was pretty darn good at both. Before I knew it, I had pilot clients and was incorporating my business.

What motivates me to do what I do each day is the gratitude that I have for being able to do what I love every single day, seeing the real impact of my partnership with my clients, and having all this support the lifestyle and personal connections that are so important to me. As a bonus, I still see so much opportunity for growth in all areas of my life. That balance between gratitude for today and excitement for tomorrow brings me joy daily!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Consciously creating my business so that my professional, personal, and social lives complement and support each other. With this mindset, I've developed what I previously thought was impossible. I have built an impactful, purpose-driven business that I love, coaching leaders to achieve their most ambitious goals.

And I do so in a way that enables me the freedom and flexibility to enjoy the big things, e.g., spending months of the year with family in Nigeria and exploring new cities as I can work from anywhere in the world, to the small things, e.g., never set the alarm - I wake up naturally and start the day with a grounding, non-rushed routine of yoga, prayers, and music 🙂.

My biggest external accomplishment is securing a coaching programme with a £2bn hedge fund client. I was particularly proud of this because earlier in the year, I had set my sights on getting a hedge fund client. I didn't know when. I didn't know how but decided to practice some manifestation. I told myself, "Yewande, this year, you will be 'Wendy Rhoades' (from Billions)." Haha.

And next thing I knew, a hedge fund CEO (my boss's client when I was at Morgan Stanley) reached out about a Performance Coaching "project" they were working on. And the rest is history. Learnings: i) the chain of trust is strong, and so are your networks, ii) manifestation is actual even if our brains can't analytically make sense of it. And iii) put yourself before you think you're ready to.

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

One of the hardest things as a business owner (particularly a sole-founder business owner) is balancing where you put your energy. There are so many competing factors - serving clients, working on strengthening current operations, supporting & developing your team, planning strategically for the future, developing yourself as a leader... the list goes on. Juggling all of that without getting overwhelmed and doubting yourself can be difficult.

What has helped me is putting a structure in place that allows me to prioritize what's most essential and stay present at the moment (so that I am confident that I'm always performing at my best), as well as having a solid group of people around me that support me - in particular, my coach to help me work through and stay on top of any potential adverse leadership patterns that may pull me down.

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

  1. Take a step before you are ready. It becomes so easy to wait and wait and wait until everything is perfect but what you realize down the road is you are more prepared than you think and often are ready before you know that you are. Find your strengths and run with them.
  2. Find your tribe and build your team now. Having the right team around you will help you accelerate. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. It might be recruiting a strategic friend as a sounding board. Or an online expert with who you resonate and use their free resources. Or a VA 10 hours a month.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.otitoleadership.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/otitoconsulting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yewandefaloyin/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yewandefaloyin/

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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