Good to Great Speakers Wanted
November 26, 2024
Meet Veronica Njodinizeh, Founder/Independent Consultant, VNIZEH Consulting Inc.
Tell us about your business:
People First. Projects Second.
VNIZEH Consulting Inc. is a purpose-driven, people-centered consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, project management, program development, and leadership training.
What inspired you to get into your business?
I started my business in May 2018. It was the 12 year anniversary date of my mother’s murder. And during that time, I was battling a disease. I was going through a divorce, and I was facing the imminent death of my father to cancer. While trying to be a mom and primary parent to my son, I was forced to learn very early in my corporate career–working in big board management and consulting–that time is the most precious gift we have with people. And many of us, especially women, come to business because the balance of family. We don’t get the gift of time as some of our counterparts do. We’re just buying time, and I never wanted to ask anyone permission to spend time with people I love. I’m so grateful to God as I share my story of how he’s using my business as a platform for Kingdom ministry. And so that’s why I started my business.
Why did you join NAWBO?
One of the things I learned in my most recent client project is that the highest performing individuals are lifelong learners. And for me, there’s never going to be a time where I said I’ve arrived. It’s really about growth. I wanted to grow and learn from my local network. I started my business journey in California and just moved back to Ohio for family, friends, and community. It was very important for me to have local networks, my local church, all these local resources to help me feel, at every level, that I could grow. And in addition, in my faith as a Christ follower, I want to make sure that I’m also giving back. I felt like NAWBO would allow me to meet people at all different levels of their businesses. So, I can not only learn but give back.
What is your favorite motivational quote?
It’s actually from my mother who remains an important light and love in my life. But it was originally from Booker T. Washington. It says, “Success is to be measured, not so much by the position one reaches in life but by the obstacles one overcomes while trying to succeed.”
Fun fact, I actually met the great, great, great, great grandson of Booker T. Washington, who also happens to be a descendant of Frederick Douglass. Both were historic figures in the Civil Rights Movement before it even had a name. So that is my quote. My mother’s a reader and writer. So, she would leave little cards with quotes for me before school and this was one of them.
