African American women face more difficult challenges in their career path, dealing with both gender and race discrimination. This is a challenge that Yasha Sterling, the Owner of Yasha Sterling Management Agency, had to experience in her journey.
Yasha faced stumbling blocks that made it difficult to join the tech industry, but her resilience, hard work, and passion for technology helped her overcome the challenges.
Instead, she used that as fuel for gaining more knowledge, pursued entrepreneurship, and became a true trailblazer for other African American women in tech. Yasha’s confidence is a blend of her unique processes and unwavering vision.
The Silver Lining of Leadership
What makes Yasha distinct from other similar businesses is her passion. She puts her unique stamp on all the work she produces. Instead of focusing on one step, Yasha creates her exclusive 10D method that reflects 10 essential steps. This process may seem time-consuming but it gives each project enough attention and care that it deserves.
Talking about the same, she says, “ 10D stands for Discover, Devise, Design, Develop, Deploy, Document, Debrief, Digitalize, Drive, and Devote. We customize the approach based on a client’s business plan.”
Guiding Innovation with Purpose, Passion, and Vision
Yasha’s career has spanned over 24 years. Upon graduating from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, Yasha bought herself a Gateway computer as her graduation gift. She knew only the basic concepts of a computer but when she got a hold of all its applications, she was completely immersed and impressed with the technology.
Since then, Yasha has been a “techie” person. She doesn’t follow trends rather she relies on data because she believes customers tell you what they need by their actions. When she starts a project, she uses the available data and readily looks for more to go deeper.
Moving with Strategic Vision and Impactful Initiatives
Yasha spearheads a beautiful vision to help African American teens get into the technology field. Regarding the same, she says, “We intend on offering learning materials and opportunities to gain certifications BEFORE they head off to college. In the long term, we expect to expand offerings into other digital areas, like Artificial Intelligence.”
The Pillars of Inspiration
Yasha has been inspired by the early success stories of women like Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. These women aided Yasha with her desire to work hard and embrace the challenges of being an African American woman. They have also uplifted her to help others as they progress through their development process. This is why Yasha takes every chance coming her way to empower and coach consistently. It ensures that she sees everyone doing well in their lives.
Awards and Accolades
Yasha, the award-winning web developer has acquired numerous notable recognitions throughout her career, including these major ones –
- Outstanding Technology Leadership Award
- 2-Time Leadership Award
- Top 50 Tech Leader Award
- Best-selling author
- Award-Winning Web Developer
Such recognition has helped her to maintain the desire for such improved performance and quest, and provide support to more African American women in the technology sector by giving them the recognition that they deserve.
Navigating Hurdles on the Path to Achievement
For Yasha the most daunting barrier she faced was racism. She overcame it through an extra focus on diversity and ensured she was learning more about diversity to face it head-on.
According to Yasha, success implies a different meaning for different people. To her, initial success was getting a Job as a Web Developer, which she did around two decades ago. Attaining the desired position helped her secure multiple opportunities and continue to grow and learn.
Golden advice
On asking Yasha what golden advice she would like to give to budding entrepreneurs, she asserts, “Let no one steal your passion. If you feel passionate about something, stand on it! If you desire to learn a skill, be bold enough to step out and learn the skill. Then, continually hone your craft and become so good at it, that you are the “go-to” person when people seek guidance. Believe you can do it, and it shall come to pass.”
