Interview with Victory Omotayo, founder of “Twenty-Four Hour Woman”

Inspire, empower and elevate women to get out of their own way, and simply “do”. That is the mission of “Twenty-Four Hour Woman”, an online and in-person community of women, founded by Victory Omotayo. In this interview we had with Victory, you’ll learn more about TFHW :

Twenty-Four Hour Woman

“Twenty-Four Hour Woman (TFHW) is an online and in-person community of millennial women who break glass ceilings in order to achieve the career and life of their dreams. Our mission is to inspire, empower and elevate women to get out of their own head and simply “do.” We cater specifically to women who want more beyond their 9-5. and are looking to turn their passion into a purposeful and intentional life.

TFHW was founded after I started to notice a trend among my friends and other people I spoke with. Majority of women had a general idea of what they wanted to do however, they lacked the clarity, resources, tools and community support to do so. As someone who has started multiple businesses, I understood the amount of loneliness one can feel throughout this experience and so as much as TFHW was created for other women, it was also created for me.”

“It has been known that having women in an organization or at the helm of a business has positive effects. However, women are known to self-sabotage and doubt their abilities. That’s why with TFHW, we were very specific in choosing our mission because women need to be inspired, empowered and elevated in order to become the best version of themselves. A popular instagram page isn’t good enough, funny memes aren’t good enough, relatable quotes aren’t good enough – we need to start providing actual tools and resources for women to achieve their dreams. We need to put them in front of the right people, elevate them within organizations and empower them to start their own business and break glass ceilings in order to build the life they want.”

“Entrepreneurship has been the forefront of Africa for as long as I can remember. My mum had her own business when we were in Nigeria, and my dad was the one who had the full-time job. African women are as strong as they come – they are truly multi-faceted as they can juggle being a wife, mother and running a business, among other things.

I believe entrepreneurship, especially for African women, can really change Africa’s future. Entrepreneurship can be a buzzword in other parts of the world but in Africa, it is usually more out of necessity due to lack of jobs, schooling and resources. With entrepreneurship on the rise, we will have leaders who create these jobs, who provide the funding and resources needed for schools and businesses. I believe women leading this will really help shape the culture and the generation to come. Women won’t have to rely on men or their husbands in order to make ends meet. This will provide freedom and autonomy needed for women to raise the new generation of women who will have the confidence and knowledge to run and scale their own businesses. Seeing my mum run her own business definitely had an effect on me as I was growing up. It made me believe I too could do the same. I believe women need more of these types of role models.”

“We hope to change this by providing the tools and resources necessary to scale a business. Starting a business is hard yes, but running and scaling the business is harder. There aren’t a lot of companies like TFHW that focus on creating a community that inspires women to thrive and pave their own way in the world. A company that provides the answers during critical times, a company that is solely dedicated to seeing women succeed in their career and life. I honestly do believe this is one of the reasons why there is a gap between male-led and female-led startups. I am leading the charge on changing this narrative and putting the power in the hands of women to build and scale the next million and billion dollar companies. We will be hosting workshops soon that will provide education with hands-on experience on all things related to starting and scaling a business. We hope to get to a point where we can provide co-working spaces, sponsors and investment capital for women-led startups. Our goal is to put women in the right situations, on the right side of the table and on the right side of the narrative for entrepreneurship.”

The first ever event, Build n’ Brunch was held on Sunday October 14th at Bazille Restaurant in Nordstroms. We had amazing women in the Ottawa area come to share stories about overcoming obstacles, seizing opportunities and living life with intent to achieve their dreams.

Our next event will be in Toronto in the month of November to engage with the community there as well. Our goal is to host our first annual conference in spring 2019 where we will discuss how to turn your passion into purpose.

I would love to see a world where women really believe in their talents and do not let their doubts and fears stop them from going after what they want. It can be scary but the only way to truly combat your fear is to simply “do.” I also believe there is power in women supporting other women and with TFHW, I hope we can build this type of community.

To learn more about TFHW, please visit the website at: Twentyfourhourwoman