Meet Yolanda Smith | Branding Expert & Business Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yolanda Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yolanda, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?

This is a very interesting question as the book I am currently writing is titled: The Power of Letting Go: Release To Succeed.”

I share this because while we have always been told never give up, don’t stop, keep going until you get it right, and give out before you give in, there are moments in our lives where we will benefit ourselves to stop doing certain things and reclaim our power simply through the art of giving up.

To be successful in life you have to be willing to give up something, you cant stay in the same place and expect profound things to happen.

I am not saying give up and throw in the towel just because the going gets tough and you are not patient or resilient. I am not saying give up because you encountered a failure; your job is to learn from failures. The quitting I am speaking of comes from doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results that repeatedly cease to come. Its wasting time and energy on negative returns, its being stuck between that rock and a hard place, feeling undervalued and overworked.

People hold on to things for far too long, Things that do not serve them well. They hold on to the past, dead end relationships, stressful jobs, small thinking, toxic family members, bad habits, poor business decisions, limiting beliefs, debt, negative behaviors, and complacency.

You must “Let It Go”.

Once you give up things that stifle your mindset, do not propel you forward or support your growth, the magic happens. This is where opportunities are birthed through positive and influential relationships, collaborations, client attraction, career advancement, big ideas and 10X results.

In the end, its imperative to value yourself, think big, trust your instincts and take a risk on you. Be willing to go against popular opinion and Be a Quitter, but don’t be just any quitter, be the best quitter so you can be the best you and get the results and rewards you desire.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Branding 4 Success (B4S) is a business consulting, coaching and professional development company specializing in branding and business growth strategies for entrepreneurs, organizations, and corporate professionals. Through coaching and online tools, I support entrepreneurs and corporate professionals utilizing proven systems and techniques to develop a powerful personal brand for business growth, and career advancement.

Through our replicable systems, you build sustainable business strategies and create a powerful Brand Signature that articulates your value to stand out for visibility and recognition and position you to achieve optimal results.

What sets Branding 4 Success apart is Yolanda M. Smith a highly driven woman who was born to break barriers. She proves that when powered by purpose, people are unstoppable. Yolanda is a speaker, author, and business strategist with expertise in personal branding and professional development. She’s built her storied life and career brick by brick, fighting fears, failures, and setbacks to have the success she’s always known was hers to claim.

Her passion for empowering others to achieve their highest potential, led her to launch Branding 4 Success, LLC where she currently serves as CEO and Chief Brandthrupist™. Using her unique expertise and brand analyst certification, B4S offers high touch coaching and business consulting services for clients using proven transformative techniques and strategies including the P3 Accelerator and Brand Signature Formula.

There have been challenges along the way, so whether developing the speaker or coaching side of the business, it’s important to surround yourself around people you can trust and that can pour into you and likewise, you can add value to them. Your greatest investment is the investment you make in yourself.

Being a young company, B4S has the luxury of being agile and flexible. However, one of the biggest challenges was acquiring and setting up the needed technology, software and platforms to run efficiently. Technology is not my greatest strength, so knowing what to buy, who to trust, and how it would work, etc., was a primary challenge. Once I read the book, “Who Not How” by author Dan Sullivan, it became clear to me that I needed to hire the expertise versus spending countless hours attempting to learn things I had absolutely no interest in learning. That was a game changer.

I have had a very rewarding career, won numerous awards and received multiple promotions when in corporate America with increasing responsibility, and now in full-time entrepreneurship. I am honored to have received these recognitions, but I believe that my greatest satisfaction is seeing others thrive and realize their dreams with my support and guidance. I feel most proud watching the excitement of my client who achieves a breakthrough, hits a target or reaches a goal.

We are all a brand, and in today’s environment a personal brand is a requirement, not an option. I want my brand to exemplify excellence, credibility and most importantly value to others. To accomplish this, one must be strategic and intentional about the who, what, why, how and when. Because everything you do matters. People are watching and making judgments within seconds of meeting you or looking at your profile. I want to be known as the premiere branding speaker and coach that adds value beyond measure to help others achieve their goals.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I’ve had the pleasure of great mentorship and coaching along the way because I believe it is important to invest in yourself. Your level of success rarely exceeds you level of investment.

Some of the people who have impacted my journey to entrepreneurship and public speaking include Linda Clemons, who lit the fire in me back in 2019 when I attended her Sisterpreneur conference, and it’s still burning today. I believe our meeting was destined and not by chance and I told her that day, she wasnt getting rid of me. She is an amazing mentor, teacher, and spiritual being.

Dr. Cheryl Wood, is an authentic mentor and leader who genuinely connects with her mentees, giving her knowledge freely to inspire and build us into powerful speakers. She helped me perfect the art of storytelling and understand how to create a sustainable speaking business while serving people. Her energy is infectious and she’s as “real” as it gets.

Spectacular “Sensei Spec” Smith, who I affectionately call my godson impressed me from the moment we met. His wisdom beyond his years, spirituality, and expertise in business and social media drew me in instantly. I knew he was someone I needed to get connected with and I was right. Spec has helped me put the proper business systems, people and processes in place to serve entrepreneurs, scale and take Branding 4 Success to the next level.

Lastly, I wish to pay hommage to author, Hal Elrod, whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting, but his book “The Miracle Morning” impacted my life in a transformative way, and if I had not picked that book up on a cold December day, I would likely still be giving energy to the things I cannot control – specifically the past.

Website: yolandamsmith.com

Instagram: @branding4success

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/branding4success

Facebook: facebook.com/yolandasmithbrandingexpert/

Image Credits
Faith Blackwell Photography LLC Monroe Bush, AniMotion