Why Membership Matters to Y’vonne Ormond
By: Y’vonne Ormond – Founder, 5P Consulting
Y’vonne Ormond founded 5P Consulting in 2016, to provide business transformation for technology professionals. She has over two decades of experience working with organizations ranging from Fortune 50 to Non-Profits.
Y’vonne spent the first part of her career as a Department of Defense Consultant, then worked at Pfizer Pharmaceutical as a Global Director, and finally the last 6 years as an Executive Consultant in the Big 4 and independent space.
Over the last ten years, she’s volunteered for a variety of community leadership roles, working with organizations in the area of technology, pharma, healthcare, and academics. Y’vonne holds a LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt with a strong emphasis on data management.
What advice would you give to other women that want to start a business?
I’m a calculated risk taker so the advice I’d give is:
- Live LEAN -meaning zero to minimal debt. Don’t buy things you don’t need.
- Make sure you have 6 months of savings to cover your household costs as you grow your business.
- Don’t be afraid. If you have the drive, it will come naturally. Don’t live by outcome alone.
- Talk to people. Passion drives impact. Trust me, if an introvert like me can do this so can you.
- Build a great network. Help people don’t sell to people. Tell them what your vision is, where you’re scared, how they can support you.
I’m a second time entrepreneur. My catalyst for going into business for myself was multiple things. To put it simply, time with my children, owning my own destiny and less hours and travel.
After being in the corporate environment for close to 20 years, I started to feel suffocated. I wanted to make changes but found that process, revenue goals, contribution margin and resource discussions all became the focal point instead of the people. That, coupled with the fact the stress was impacting my health while also trying to balance my kid’s needs, meant I didn’t love going to work each day.
I craved an environment I could make the kind of impact I could control. The kind of impact that solved business problems without so much focus on sales goals. I wanted to pick up my children for dinner, be there to do homework nightly with them, advocate for their needs (Autism, ADD, life threatening food allergies), and have ‘social’ time Friday afternoons. I wanted to provide a work environment where my team felt trust, creativity, and ownership without hierarchy. I wanted to bring the ‘fun’ back into my life. This all started my journey in 2013.
Why did you join Women in the Channel and what have you gained from your membership?
I’m a very new member. So far I’ve been able to connect to a few great women in tech. I’ll be showcasing their careers at an upcoming Women in STEM event I’m hosting for AITP in San Diego.
I joined because a fellow tech goddess Jo Peterson, VP Cloud Services at Clarify360, was tweeting about WiC and it looked like a community I’d love to be part of. Women collaborating with other women. Amazing.
Editors:
Gina Kennedy, VP, Marketing for Fusion, is a member of the WiC PR Committee.
Ethel Klein, Senior Marketing Manager for Fusion, is a member of the Sponsorship, WiC Web/Tech, and Newsletter committees.