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Violet: More than just a CEO; a champion of women’s empowerment

What you need to know:

  • Violet’s journey has taken her from Tanzania, where she served as a civil servant, to the United States, where she has built a thriving healthcare business

Not every day do you come across a human being with so much determination and self-belief that you know their determination can move mountains.

Violet Mwandenga is such an individual; her focus and will to achieve her goals are impregnable. At the age of 8 years, this young girl from Mbeya sat down and wrote what she wanted to be when she grew up, and not just a wish list but a detailed plan of what steps she would take to achieve her dreams.

Now,  as a mother to three children, she is the CEO of two companies and the president of a non-profit organisation. On top of that, she is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Seattle, with the convection that she organised a few weeks ago sold out.

Violet wears many hats; she is also an author, mentor, and motivational speaker. She is set to appear in a global women’s empowerment summit to be held in Miami, where she will be the key speaker.

Her recent book “Winning Strategy,” which she co-authored with the renowned Brian Tracy, is braced to become a bestseller. Violet has no plans to slow down. “I am so grateful that I get to utilise my talent,” she said.

In her journey to be a successful diaspora and a respected member of the Seattle community, she had to persevere through turbulences that would shatter anyone, but she attributes her trump to her integrity and never quaver in times of challenges.

Violet held a senior position in Tanzania’s Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) in Mwanza, where she worked for 13 years, but fate would have her relocate to the US searching for greener pasture.

Upon arriving in the US, she quickly adapted to the new life, where she immersed herself in the healthcare business that is now thriving, owing to her work ethic and always going above and beyond to make sure she stands out in everything she is doing.

She employed the same work principles as a civil servant at PCCB. Violet prides herself on working with the highest form of honesty, passion, and dedication, some of the key factors that have always turned everything she touches into gold. “I believe that I can grow anywhere; even if you drop me in the desert, I will survive and strive,” she mentioned.

Her positive mindset in times of adversity has helped her overcome many challenges that have come her way. She said most people are held back by fear; they can’t go after what they want because fear keeps them from trying.

She said her fearlessness has often led her to pursue her dreams and goals. Violet’s resilience was put to the test when she went through a traumatic divorce. She advises women to find their voice and never let their voices be muzzled when they face domestic violence.

As a life coach, her own life experience has made her a champion for women’s empowerment, and she has made it her mission to mentor and coach women into successful entrepreneurs and financial independence.

She established ‘Unique Journey Life Coach’ a platform to mentor, coach, and inspire women. To commemorate its first anniversary, she organised a women’s conference in Seattle, Washington.

She booked a venue in an affluent hotel and advertised her event, and it was so successful that it sold out, something that even surprised her but also encouraged her to surge forward in her quest to empower women.

She is already in discussion to bring something similar for women in Tanzania. She wants to empower women in business but also women who have gone through barriers, both professionally and personally.

She said she became a public speaker because, she said, words are powerful, and the power of life or death is in the tongue, and she has chosen to speak life to women.

She said that’s why people need affirmation; you have to say I am rich, my children are successful, and it will be, and so will the negative words and thoughts.

Violet knows that some women in marriages suffer in silence and the dogma that a woman is only successful if she is in a marriage with kids, and rarely are the professional milestones considered an achievement.

“All men who torment women due to fertility issues or marriage status are a sign of weakness from that man,” she said.
Her book was just released in the US, but she is already in talks to make it available to Tanzania and is also weighing the possibility of having it translated into Kiswahili so that many women in Tanzania can get to read it in their native language.

In her book that she co-authored, she talks about unleashing business brilliance and thriving as a newcomer.

She said the book is helpful for anyone who is starting their life anew overseas, in a situation when you relocate to a country like the US and how you can prosper.

She went further to write about marketing, branding one’s self, and eight pillars of mindset, the information that she strongly believes would help many Tanzanian readers.

She is determined to set up a branch of her office in Dar es Salaam so that she can extend her services closer to home. She is closely in touch with different experts who are in Tanzania to see how she can achieve that.

With the spike of domestic violence in Tanzania, Violet advises women that there is no point in staying in an unhappy and violent marriage just so you can have a facade of a happy marriage or endure pain for the sake of the children.

She urges women to know their worth. “I am not here to break people’s marriages, but to share a word of caution,” she said.

She recommends women not feel pressured or stressed if they see other younger ladies succeed; she said everyone’s journey is unique, and anxiety comes from comparing one’s self to others.

“If you look at the founder of KFC, the fast food franchise, Colonel Sanders, he started the company when he was 62 with a small capital,” she added.

She attributes her success to not only her courage but her ability to plan and have clear goals, and once you have her goals set, she will put her mind and energy into seeing them come to fruition. “Whatever ambitions that give you sleepless nights, those are the objectives you hold on to,” she mentioned.
The economic graduate, Violet, emphasises the importance of knowledge-based entrepreneurship, where women have to be trained before starting a business so that they have longevity in their endeavour. She said business acumen should be taught to women to see their businesses flourish.

Violet attributes her power of positive thinking to her success, and within just three years of her stay in the United States, with two companies that she sits as a founder and C.E.O. and one non-profit that she is a president of, her story is an epitome of how her determination, courage, and focus can get you.