Mamaprenista and Chief Operating Officer of Emmanuel Consulting Agency, Julia Akinyooye, on Discovering her Path to Entrepreneurship

Marion-Willis-1

Hello Julia! Please share a brief introduction about yourself.

I am the Chief Operating Officer and Lead Business Consultant at Emmanuel Consulting Agency Inc, a premier business consulting firm based in New York that helps health care businesses get licensed, grow, and adhere to regulatory compliance.

What excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?

The encouragement, opportunities, and collaborations the league provides. There are so many women who have compelling stories, and so eager to work with other women.

What made you take the leap to start Emmanuel Consulting Agency Inc?

The leap of faith happened literally when I saw the amount of revenue and profit that the company I was working for at the time was bringing in every year. When I weighed it up against what I was bringing to the table, what I was receiving in salary, the travel and effort I made on a daily basis to produce quality work, it didn’t add up. I was always on call and responsible for all day to day operations. However, I was not being compensated nearly what I was worth and had no quality of life. I was glued to cell phones, laptops, and coffee.

So Julia, what was your background prior to starting Emmanuel Consulting Agency Inc?

I am a master’s prepared Registered Nurse with over 15 years of experience serving the home care community, directorship, case management, and teaching. I started off as a bedside telemetry nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in NY. At a point, while I was working as a Director of Nursing I also owned my own brick and motor fashion boutique.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entreprenista?

I did not know I wanted to be an entrepreneur until I learned the “ins and outs” of running a home health agency as a Director. I saw a need for better internal structure to improve patient care, so that patients can receive high quality value based care that they deserve. I am the only entrepreneur in my family and always thought I was the “odd one” for wanting to be an entrepreneur until a few years ago when I learned that my late grandfather was an exceptional entrepreneur. Although he had no formal education, he was able to build an empire. To this day, his profits from his businesses are still being used 40 years after his passing and allow all his grand children back in Nigeria attend college in Nigeria and the United Kingdom from his trust fund. It dawned on me it is in my bloodline.

When launching a new business, marketing is crucial! Julia, can you take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out?

Word of mouth. We have actually never done paid advertising. Word spreads very quickly when you are either really good or really bad! We are thankful for our clients who have been with us since inception. Networking and referrals are our preferred choice of marketing. It allows prospective clients to feel comfortable knowing a colleague or friend have utilized our services with success and it allows us to work with clients that have the same mission and vision.

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered along the way and what did you learn from it?

Frankly being a woman, being a “Nurse turned Entrepreneur”, being a woman of color, being a single mother, and being young. I started when being an entrepreneur was not the “in thing to do”. Many people thought I was nuts like “how could you be a Nurse, and not work in the hospital”. In terms of handling biases and prejudice’s I’ve learned that all clients and partners are not “your” clients and partners and that’s okay. The impact that I have had on those clients that seek me out or have seen my work and want to work with me makes me continue to walk in my journey and know that I am leaving a great imprint on the industry I serve. The challenges I face also allowed me to hone in on my skills, and encourage more nurses who desire to be an entrepreneur, more women of color, and more mothers. I also love mentoring, and I believe the challenges I face make me a better mentor.

What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?

With the glory of God, he allows my team and I to turn failing businesses around so that our clients can provide for their families and create more jobs for the economy. Most importantly, it allows people of all ages to stay in their homes to recover and receive care in their own homes. I also have the honor of being able to start businesses from scratch and see it grow. Our track record till date has been home care businesses that have started with us whose owners invested fulltime in their businesses have made on average 1 million in revenue or greater within 2 years of our team obtaining licensure. Further, when they have their first audit they have very minimal and minor deficiencies. We have also helped other types of business non-healthcare related start and scale using our our proprietary framework.

Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?

Yes, highly- I am a single mother and I must say- It takes a lot to keep up. You still have to make time for yourself, run a business, attend all school activities, take care of family, and live in the moment. I wrote an eBook back in 2018 titled “20 Ways for Moms to Get Work Life Balance: 20 habits in 2018”. In the book, I talk a lot about “outsourcing” areas of your personal and professional life. We can’t do it all. There are people that can do things better than I can and I am okay with that. They can do things in three minutes that I can’t even do in 3 hours. My principle is you will take more time trying to “figure it out” when you can be making 3 times the amount you will spend on outsourcing it. And it will get done better and more efficiently plus it creates jobs for people like students, retirees, stay at home moms, or anyone that wants to keep busy. This has been so helpful for me.

What’s a piece of advice you can share that you wish you’d known when you first started your Entreprenista journey?

Always have a mission, vision, and purpose for your business. People skim on this, but I believe you will always come back to this if you do not have one to start. Your mission, vision, and purpose provides you with direction. In my opinion, if you skim on this you will lack clarity and purpose for your business and it will be more likely for it have slow progress or fail. This is all part of business planning and fundamentals. Even if your business plan is not perfect to start with you need it. You can’t just open up a business and get an EIN and a website. There is much more than that. When onboarding our startup clients, this is something we do with them to ensure their business is successful.

What have you achieved recently that you’d like to celebrate with our community?

We also just received The HIPAA Seal of Compliance by the Compliancy Group. Our partners and clients entrust us with secure confidential data and we have put forth all necessary processes, procedures, and financial investment to ensure our clients, business partners, and all associated patient information are secured with the most up to date technology.

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

Our objective in the upcoming years is to assist a greater number of clinicians in establishing their own healthcare organizations. We firmly believe that individuals who are actively involved in and knowledgeable about the healthcare industry have the potential to create and manage healthcare organizations that excel in delivering improved patient outcomes.

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!

Share it!

Posted in
Tags

Leave a Comment





Katia Conte Honors Daughter’s Legacy with Childhood Cancer Nonprofit

Hi, Katia! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: My name is Katia Conte, and I am the President/Co-Founder of the Daniela Conte Foundation. Our nonprofit organization is a beacon of hope for families battling pediatric cancer. Founded in 2020, our mission is deeply rooted in the memory of my daughter, Daniela,…

Kristen Chimack Provides Real-World Coaching for Success

Hi, Kristen! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: Hi, I’m Kristen. After a 30-year stint in corporate America, culminating in a whirlwind four years leading the public relations department at a Fortune 40 organization, I decided it was time to hang up my corporate hat and chase my true passions. In…

How Dr. Sophia Yen is Transforming and Investing in Women’s Health with Pandia Health

“One in five women with menopause have considered dropping out of work, have foregone promotion. And we are just at the top of our game and to take us out at 50 is not okay. It’s about empowering women to be the best that we can possibly be.” When Dr. Sophia Yen co-founded Pandia Health,…

Amy Rees Celebrates Solidarity With Personality Plates

Hi, Amy! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: Hi, I’m Amy. Women are at the heart of Personality Plates because I could not have gotten through my difficult divorces and heartbreak without my friends and chosen sisters. I couldn’t have raised my daughters as the strong, independent young ladies they are…

How Julia Haart Reinvented Her Life at 42 from Restrictive Upbringing to Fashion Leader

“Ignorance, people, is good! Jump in. Enjoy it. Ask the questions. Study. Learn. Be an eternal student. That’s how you succeed.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Julia Haart, the founder of +Body by Julia Haart, a body-positive, technologically advanced shapewear brand that aims to empower women to unapologetically express themselves and…

The Most Common Mistakes When Starting a Business—and How to Avoid Them

When you’re first starting a business, there’s so much you don’t know you don’t know—like how to price your offerings, market your business, or hire people to support you. Every entrepreneur learns along the way, so why not save yourself some time and money (and potentially even business heartbreak) by learning from the candid stories…

Logan Rae on Her Journey to Founding a Digital Marketing Agency

Hi, Logan. Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: I’m Logan Rae, I’m 29 years old and Founder & CEO of Argon Agency. Who are your customers? Mid-size businesses mostly in the behavioral healthcare field. What made you take the leap to start your own business? I had done entrepreneurship once before…

Jennifer Jank on Helping Entrepreneurs Reclaim Their Time and Energy

Hi, Jennifer! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: Jennifer Jank (JJ) is a productivity consultant helping business owners make more profit in less time and with better systems. Her goal is to help entrepreneurs, especially women, reclaim their time, energy, and attention away from busyness and towards joy… without sacrificing profits.…

How to Make an Impact as a Podcast Guest with Patrice Poltzer

“We’re being bombarded all day with so much content and noise. “Please, please. I need your attention here, here, here.” You really have to learn to think about who’s listening. Really ask yourself, what is the takeaway for the person listening? Why does that matter? And if you can’t think of that, then you don’t…

Andrea TheoJohn Helps Clients Grow and Market Their Brands

Hi, Andrea! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: Andrea TheoJohn, MBA is a marketing and branding professional with over 15 years of global and corporate experience. She’s managed over 70 brand professionals in 17 different countries, handled the branding and communications efforts for 160M Euro M&A ventures and now brings that…

How Laurel Mintz Is Empowering Diverse Leaders in Venture Capital

“We transitioned almost everyone out of the company and really flipped the entire company around. It was one of the most painful few months of my entire career, but also one of the most impactful. And if we had not done that, we probably wouldn’t still be standing today.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we…

Valeria Lasak’s Marketing Agency Focuses on Fashion, Beauty, and Personal Brands

Hi, Valeria! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: Hi, I’m Valeria. Cofounder of MKT Besties and Nomad, a marketing agency focused on fashion, beauty, and personal brands, I’m also a community leader with the New Miami Girls community and host the street podcast ‘Who Is She Miami.’ This project is especially…

Leigh Burgess on Her Passion for Consulting, Coaching, and Curated Events

Hi, Leigh! Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business: Leigh is a CEO & Founder and driven entrepreneur who is passionate about helping organizations and individuals achieve their fullest potential faster. By continuously stepping out of her comfort zone and pushing boundaries, Leigh has not only grown her own company into a…

How to Avoid Legal Challenges with Lauren Bercuson from Storylock Legal

“In the beginning, if you don’t have a team or a system or community around you, it’s very easy to feel lost. There are these amazing communities out there for amazing female founders that will really help guide and support you. So, the greatest lesson I learned pretty quickly was that you’re never alone. Or,…

The Secrets to Building a Community Led Business with Ingrid Read

“You really have to understand that, in order for you to scale, you have to learn how to do certain things and master them before you move on. If you don’t do that, then your audience is going to feel just as lost as you feel.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with…