Vicky Omifolaji | Empowering Women to Heal, Change and Grow
Vicky Omifolaji is the Founder and Chief Trainer of ADVERSITY-TO-ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMY which teaches people to overcome their challenges; conquer their fears and attain their goals and dreams. She is also the Founder and Director of the NIGERIAN HIGH ACHIEVERS FOUNDATION (non-profit) – Inspiring and leading a new generation of Nigerians with the tools, resources, methods, and means to attain their higher potential. Through her foundation, many women have been empowered with financial assistance to start businesses or financial injection into their businesses.
Vicky has 15 years’ experience in counseling individuals from different ages, diverse backgrounds, and cultures. She is an accredited Mental Health Social Worker, helping her clients through focused psychological strategies. She is the author of nine books, including Positive Self-Esteem: A Guide to a Better You, Claim the Land and When Parents Separate - Easing the Trauma for Children, with over a million copies sold on different platforms, including iTunes.
Give us a bit of background about yourself and when/how your entrepreneur journey started?
I have dedicated my life to helping people by the hundreds, the thousands, and soon by the millions. I endured much adversity and hardship in Nigeria until I left for South Africa seeking a better life. Despite having a university degree, I was unable to find employment. After years of attempts and many job applications, I immigrated to Australia where I worked hard to achieve a double master’s degree in counseling and social work respectively and became a licensed/clinical accredited counselor and psychotherapist, more specifically, a Clinical Adversity Authority and a Private Achievement Coach.
As a Clinical Adversity Authority, I help people overcome any issues causing stress, anxiety or holding them back. As a Private Achievement Coach, I help them accomplish far more in their career, business or life than they ever dreamed possible. Inspiring influential leaders all over the world with my encouraging messages in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Adelaide, Australia and also in Nigeria, Manila in the Philippines, I am the absolute authority in attaining success.
Tell us about some of your incredible achievements.
I struggled as a student with reading and comprehension. A book that usually takes others just one time to read and understand, takes me much longer. My parents never got me diagnosed, so I pushed through even though it was incredibly challenging. I wrote and published nine books, and I also support and encourage women around the world to write their stories and assist them to publish their stories through my publishing company, The Omega Publishers.
Through my foundation, so many women have been empowered financially to set up businesses so they can support their families.
Please share three business and life lessons you have learned.
The way you think about yourself becomes your reality. Don’t trouble yourself with what others think. Remember, what others think of you is none of your business. Regret is a waste of both time and emotional energy.
What inspires and motivates you? Why do you wake up every morning, get the work done and do it all over again the next day?
My three teenage children inspire me. Showing them; not just telling them; that they can achieve anything they set their minds to motivates me to keep doing what I do. Hearing my youngest say to me times without number “Mum, I am so proud of you; of all that you have achieved, makes me happy to call you my mother. I love telling my friends about you” reminds me of my “why.”
The change I see in my clients is another reason why I keep doing what I do: inspiring and motivating people. My tagline for one of my businesses is Heal, Change and Grow, and this is the journey which my clients go through when working with me.
What has been your biggest fail to date?
About 13 years ago, I had a boutique business and was also completing my second master’s degree program, had young children and a hubby who is the director of a medical clinic. So, juggling all these became too much for me, and I nearly had a nervous breakdown. I made the call to close the business. Although I was so relieved after I closed the business, I struggled with the feeling of failure.
This feeling affected me to the extent that I was almost paralyzed with fear of failing and I refused to entertain and explore new ideas. I wasted two years living with constant fear and not being able to move on. My biggest fail was the two years I spent looking at myself as a failure, fearful of what other people were thinking about me for closing my business.
You are a very influential entrepreneur. From your experience, what is the best way to market your business or yourself?
I make it a point to WOW my clients who, in turn, become my advertisers in the sense that they share their success stories with friends and family. The majority of my new clients are referrals from friends or family members of my existing clients.
What is the secret to your success?
My supportive husband who cheers me on at all times. He is very supportive in everything I do and, without him, I would not have been where I am today.
How do you handle haters or people that don’t support you? What advice do you have for fellow female entrepreneurs?
There will always be haters, and no matter what you do, you can’t make them like you. I make a point of it to ‘delete’ and move on as my way to self-preservation. My mantra is “Someone else‘s opinion is not and does not have to become my reality.”
What quote do you live by and why?
“Don’t die with your music still inside of you” – Dr. Wayne Dyer. Since I overcame my fear of failure, my speed of implementation of new ideas has been legendary. I can stay focused, and I just go for it.
What advice do you have for female entrepreneurs on the same journey as you, wanting to achieve the same success?
Don’t give up. Surround yourself with positive, like-minded people. Join network groups and keep going for it.
How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? What makes you unique?
I deliver an extraordinary service to my clients at all times. I am solely dedicated to helping them conquer their fears, so they have the courage to reach their goals and dreams.
What can we expect from you in the next 12 months?
I will participate in more public speaking engagements globally, and I am in the process of publishing my next two books that will be available within the next 12 months.
GET IN TOUCH VICKY OMIFOLAJI:
www.vickyomifolajiconsulting.com
vicky@vickyomifolajiconsulting.com
Facebook: vickyomifolajiconsulting