Women around the world are standing up and taking charge of the business workforce.
Tomeka Bell recently spoke at a roundtable at the University of Central Florida about what it takes to succeed as a female entrepreneur.
The discussion took place in the Blackstone Launchpad of the UCF Student Union on Friday, Mar. 20, with UCF students and employees present.
Bell is the founder of Validity Solutions, which is an Orlando-based company that works to provide human resource outsourcing as well as recruiting and staffing for businesses in Orlando and the surrounding areas.
She grew up in Oviedo, Fla. and is a graduate of UCF. While at UCF, Bell majored in Business Administration, with a specialization in human resources.
The four competencies that she learned at UCF that have stuck with her throughout her career are adaptability, flexibility, teamwork and community.
However, things don’t always go the way they are planned and career objectives change and evolve. Sometimes your contingency plan needs a contingency plan, but that’s okay.
In a world of male dominance, she said that it’s important to keep a global perspective.
“It’s so important not to whitewash things,” said Bell.
Self-assessments of one’s strengths and weaknesses are often the key to success.
“Strive for excellence, not perfection,” Bell said. “We don’t have to know it all, know what you’re not good at.”
It is important to voice your opinion. Pen and paper are some of the strongest tools that we have to accomplish a task.
“Don’t be afraid to speak up,” Bell said. “Be daring. Be bold. Be brave. Be fearless.”
Dana Abrahams is a UCF junior from N.Y. who was in attendance Friday. Bell’s words to “be daring” and to “be bold” really stuck out to her and will stay with her after she leaves. She said that Bell’s discussion of her experiences helped her to feel empowered because women’s capabilities are often limited, but she wants to go out and be heard.
“Society is so accustomed to placing women in a box,” Abrahams said.
Yasmine Moolenaar is a freshman from Broward County who is in her first semester at UCF. She will take away Bell’s business and planning strategies as useful information for the future.
It made sense to her to go out and take advantage of opportunities made available to her.
“I liked what she said about going for the minority opportunities. I want to prove my skills,” Moolenaar, 18, said.
Bell was well-received by those in attendance and was thanked for her attendance and expertise.
