Entrepreneurs and business owners started their business with the aspiration of thriving in today’s business environment. They all aim to increase their business profitability in the long term. Arguably, profitability is the primary purpose of why they have begun their journey in entrepreneurship. Hence, entrepreneurs and business owners strive to find ways to scale up their businesses and increase their profit.
Various business experts and top CEOs will offer different ways to increase business profitability. But for Shelley, a serial entrepreneur and leading business strategist, the best way to boost profit is by leveraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in a business. Willingham has years of experience in marketing, sales, and business strategy under her belt. Over the years, Willingham has gained a great deal of knowledge and know-how on making a business profitable.
Recently, Willingham joined The Diversity Movement, an organization that advocates diversity, equity, and business inclusion. Her role is to lead the organization’s business strategy efforts.
Passionate In Helping Entrepreneurs
Willingham has been supporting entrepreneurs in their business pursuits. “Helping entrepreneurs is one of my passions. I am an entrepreneur myself, so I know the peculiarities of running a business. And I want to share what I know with others,” she explained. She aids entrepreneurs in building high-performing businesses through coaching sessions, luxury retreats, and masterminds.
Her passion is the primary consideration of why she took the offer of becoming an integral part of The Diversity Movement. “Throughout my life and career, I have pushed for diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially in the business setting. That is something the group and I have in common. Their goal is perfectly aligned with my passion,” Willingham said.
Willingham has been advocating diversity, equity, and inclusion in business organizations since 2003. That was several years earlier before The Diversity Movement. DEI was among the focus of her then company, The National Organization for Diversity in Sales and Marketing.
She is now using her expertise to develop business strategies that will encourage business organizations to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion. For Willingham, her role in The Diversity Movement is an opportunity to do something that she loves.
Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Drive Profits
Studies have revealed that organizations that embrace diversity tend to have more customers, more sales, and higher profits. Willingham said that diversity, equity, and inclusion could help improve a business’ bottom-line.
What are diversity, equity, and inclusion? Diversity refers to the mixture of people with different identities coexisting in an organization. Equity means fairness for all people in the organization regardless of his/her identity, while inclusion is everyone in the organization has a sense of belongingness.
One of the main benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion is increased productivity. There are two ways diversity, equity, and inclusion influence productivity. First, an organization with an effective diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy tends to increase job satisfaction and employee morale. It promotes a positive culture in the workplace because employees feel that they experience fairness and a sense of belongingness to the organization. People who feel valued tend to be happier and more productive at work.
Second, a diverse team tends to be more innovative than a non-diverse team. Diversity, equity, and inclusion allow a team to look at solving a task from different perspectives. The wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and skills gives the team access to various ways of solving a problem that drives results. As a result, the team can create many innovative solutions that drive the team’s productivity.
An increase in productivity correlates to higher profit. Happier employees can produce more, which drives more profits. A team that can create many innovative ways can provide different solutions for various customers, which generate more customers and higher profits. Undeniably, diversity, equity, and inclusion can improve an organization’s financial results.
In A Nutshell
Willingham said that she is willing to guide entrepreneurs and business owners in developing the right diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy custom-built for their business. “We can share the strategies to successfully incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in your business is one of the effective measures,” she added.
Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion in business organizations has been one of her expertise. Hence, those interested in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their organizations, Willingham is right here to assist them in this business issue. To learn more about Willingham’s DEI strategies, please visit her website at https://shelleywillingham.com/.
Shelley has also been featured in other publications like Thrive Global and Disrupt Magazine. You can check the articles here:
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/turning-your-great-idea-into-a-successful-business-with-serial-entrepreneur-shelley-willingham/
https://disruptmagazine.com/shelley-willingham-dives-into-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-entrepreneurship-since-its-crucial-to-your-business/
