Meet Lanisia Rhoden | Social Entrepreneur & Non-Profit Management Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lanisia Rhoden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lanisia, what do you want people to remember about you?
My legacy is the positive impact I would have made on the lives of numerous individuals, especially young people in Jamaica, mainly through an NGO I founded, Young Women/Men of Purpose (YWOP/YMOP). I want people to remember me as a woman who found her purpose, by helping others to identify and fulfil their purpose. I want to be remembered as someone who was quiet yet bold; cautious, but at the same time a risk taker; a dreamer and a doer.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

The NGO Journey Consulting Agency is a business designed to help individuals and companies who want to start, register, grow and sustain their own high impact Non-Profit Organizations or Social Enterprises.

Firstly, there are not many Non-Profit Consultancy businesses that I am aware of in Jamaica, but what really sets us apart from others is the wealth of knowledge, level of expertise, practical know how, and real experiences that myself and my team has setting up, running, growing and sustaining our own Non-Profit Organizations and Social Enterprises; this is the added value for our clients, they are working with consultants who understand and know exactly what they are trying to do and know how to do it.

I officially started this Non-Profit Consultancy Business in 2019, after having 10 years’ experience starting and running my own Non-Profit Organization and Social Enterprise and after providing free advice for many years to individuals who wanted to start their own Non-Profits, register them or just get advice about getting funding or developing and implementing high impact projects/programs. I got to where I am today business-wise, because I took a risk in my early 20s to start my first commercial business, where I did everything for myself at first because I couldn’t afford to hire help. This eventually worked in my favour because it equipped me to share with my clients what I learnt about the process of starting and operating a business in Jamaica, the how to, the dos and don’ts etc. This is also the same for the Non-Profit Organization and the Social Enterprise. In addition to my practical experience in starting and operating different businesses, I also had the opportunity to pursue studies in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship in the form of a Master’s Degree and I have been using this theoretical knowledge, along with knowledge from other entrepreneurship courses to combine with my practical experience to help others to start and grow their businesses/Non-Profits.
It has not been an easy journey, I encountered many challenges on my journey, experienced failure and learnt many lessons, but one of the key ways that I used to overcome challenges was my faith in God and the fact that I am a solutions oriented person, who always tries to find ways to solve even the hardest problems.

Some of the key lessons I’ve learnt along the way are:
– All things will work together for your good, just trust the process
– Your business is not about you, it’s really about your clients (meaning you did not start the business for yourself, you started it to solve problems for your clients)
– Believe in yourself and your abilities and do not be afraid to launch out, because there are persons with less experience and qualifications than you, doing exactly what you are doing and more, simply because of their self-confidence

Lanisia Rhoden and The NGO Journey are committed to helping other people setup organizations and businesses, that are not only focused on making profits, but are committed to creating impact to create a more positive environment.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting, I would take her to Negril, Jamaica. Negril, while a touristic town, is quite laid back with numerous and diverse options for lodging, restaurants and activities. I would take her to the West End, stay in one of the small and unique cottages. We would eat and drink at Rick’s Café, overlooking the cliff and take in the beautiful sunset. Finally, we would enjoy beautiful morning walks on the white sand beaches and be entertained by the locals.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My success has definitely been because of the support, contribution and assistance of several individuals and organizations, including my work team and my team of volunteers, organizations and companies who would have provided technical and financial support and professional development opportunities to me, my team and my organization/businesses, my mentors, inner circle of friends, family and church family. There are however two persons that I would like to really shout out and those are God, without Him I would not have achieved anything of the things I’ve achieved and secondly, my mother, who has been my biggest cheerleader and my rock.

Website: www.thengojourney.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thengojourney/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanisia-rhoden-107a0124/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ngojourney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thengojourney

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFTUYBAGEdzEkTZpypqmbEg

Other: Listen to The NGO Journey Podcast on Google Podcast, Spotify, Castbox, Anchor FM or where podcasts are streamed

Image Credits
Photos taken by Adrian Creary of StudioCraft