Meet Yudy Chara: An Entrepreneur, Broadcaster and Journalist

By Winston Muleba II, Zambia 

“Keep dreaming even when you’re awake” says Yudy Chara. 

Chara is a young woman from Columbia with big dreams who was born into a difficult economic situation.

She says since childhood she dreamt of achieving her professional and personal goals in order to improve her family’s economic situation and that of future generations.

“I enjoy reading, listening to music and interacting with people, I am passionate about my work and my life in general,"she says. 

Chara says one should dare tirelessly to reach for the dreams that they have. 

She was born on the 18th of July, 1986 in Cali, Colombia. 

Chara says she studied communication, aesthetics, hair and beauty. 

"In addition, I worked for 3 years in a radio station called Radio Colmundo as a broadcaster and journalist. I subsequently took the decision to start my own business which is drives my passion due to the personal freedom it affords me, my own personal grow and the ability to provide work opportunities for others. Currently, I have a beauty centre and hair salon where I provide a variety of services related to beauty and body aesthetics, we also provide various kinds of beauty products and cosmetics," she says. 

She says she also work as the Co-founder and Public Relations Director of a foundation called 'AfroEstilo' which is dedicated to bettering the lives of people of African descent in Colombia and across Spanish-speaking Latin America. 

Chara notes the most important factor of her success has been her perseverance. 

"I've always worked to overcome obstacles in my life without losing focus of my goals," she says.

She discloses that the challenges she faced before launching a beauty centre are multitudinous, notably having a lack of capital. 

"In order to launch my beauty center I had to halt many activities so as to save my money and also build my credibility amongst friends and family so that they can help finance my project, despite my lack of experience as an entrepreneur. There were no profits generated in the first months and I had to struggle in order to keep the business afloat, pay my creditors and also cover my expenses. In the process I learned how to manage revenues, accounting, customer service, personnel management and a tremendous amount of patience,"she explains. 

Chara says one of her most memorable moments in life for her was the day she opened the beauty center and the first client arrived and expressed that she loved the work they were doing.

"My mother and other family members were with me at the time and we shouted and jumped with joy for the success of our first day of opening. The most difficult moment for me was when my grandmother passed away - she was always in the beauty center helping to make my work more efficient, taking care of business and she would always boast about how her granddaughter had a beauty center in order to attract more customers," she reiterates. 

She says her motivation stems from her joy of reading - especially self-improvement books. 

"I often read about entrepreneurs and feel a deep passion for entrepreneurship. Reading inspired my dream to start business based on my experience of braiding, styling and applying makeup to my neighbors and relatives. In addition, I am fascinated by helping others with my business, especially showing women that they too can achieve their dreams and training my employees in customer service and personal financial management skills,"  Chara discloses. 

Chara says Nelson Mandela was a great African leader that she admires and that has inspired her significantly. 

"He fought consistently, possessed an enormous amount of patience and despite the long years of struggle and imprisonment he reached his goals. Incidentally, we also have something in common - we share the same day and month of birth (July 18th). In addition, I also like to read Robert Kiyosaki’s books to grow my financial abilities," she says.

She further says she created a business that helps generate employment opportunities in her community and help those people who cannot afford to educate their children. 

"Through the AfroEstilo Foundation, I’ve supported educational and cultural spaces that has allowed the Afro-Colombian community to grow in terms of identity, self-love and deepening their sense of history. Through our web portal, we’ve shared important information in order to educate our community, make their talents and contributions visible across Colombia and Latin America. I have also led by example in order to show that despite a difficult family and economic conditions, I’ve been able to change my living conditions through effort and depending on my own attitude towards life."Chara explains. 

Chara adds that her vision is to be an entrepreneurial leader that is able to successfully conduct business for the benefit of her family, community, country and her fellow brothers and sisters across the diaspora. 

Keep dreaming even when you’re awake, it is that simple, you can do it!