Adaaba is also where women share their stories, aiming to empower and inspire other women. We strive to represent the diverse facets of womanhood, encouraging each other to dream big and supporting one another to achieve our goals. Our space highlights women who challenge the status quo and embrace their authentic selves, through a feature we call APOGEE. Today, we are thrilled to introduce DAMI JUNAID, a woman who embodies our values and is making waves in her industry.
Dami Junaid’s day job is a tech role where she works as a Senior Business Analyst. She also has a fashion line,Talojẹ́ and a blog, The Adulting Nomad. As a business analyst, she acts as an intermediary between the business and tech team by gathering and communicating requirements to stakeholders in a way that is understandable to help to deliver solutions to clients. For Talojẹ́, she’s in charge of product design and business operations with the latter including procurement, managing vendors in the manufacturing process, marketing, sales and cultivating customer relationships. In addition, she documents her travels and journey as a third culture kid (TCK) in her blog, The Adulting Nomad. The blog focuses on helping immigrants, TCKs and global nomads living abroad navigate life so that they can move from surviving to thriving.
There is no doubt that Dami has her plate full but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
She loves that her role as a Business Analyst enables her to become a better communicator as she practices simplifying complex information in simple terms to multiple stakeholders, building relationships and practicing creative ways to influence them. This joy translates in the same way with Talojẹ́. She loves that she gets to connect with people through storytelling. Many people can relate to the frustration that comes with being put in a box and wanting to show up as their authentic selves, as they evolve. What's more, she enjoys the process of designing an outfit, from conception to implementation and ultimately creating a product.
“As I discover who I am, I get to share my journey with my audience so they can also embrace the truth that they are more than one story, despite outside voices.”
When it comes to the blog, she loves that she gets to experience the world, document it and share her learnings with others. It helps her to be intentional about travel and the experiences she chooses to indulge in.
She really loves her day job as well as running her business. She admits that doing both has helped her expand and discover her strengths and interests. To get to this point however, was a series of choices and counsel. Dami had to pivot from a medically focused path to one that included tech, healthcare & business.
After winning first prize in an entrepreneurship competition at her alma matter, she started a sexual health nonprofit, The ARISE Africa Foundation. On graduating university, she went on to work full time conducting reproductive health research at a lab in Boston and concurrently ran the nonprofit. This is where she discovered her strengths and was exposed to other disciplines she wasn’t aware of at the time.
When it was time to consider a graduate degree, Dami opted for an MBA rather than an MPH after seeking advice from a mentor and believes it was one of the best decisions of her life. Doing the MBA stretched her expertise, and enabled her to hone in on her strengths.
She eventually relocated to Toronto from Boston and believes that having an MBA provided her with an opportunity to transition into her current roles. With her entrepreneurial background, it was easy for her to provide evidence of her skillset and feel confident in the roles she applied to because she had been preparing by doing it independently.
Once she was settled in her day job in Canada, she launched Talojẹ́. Dami believes that pivoting has enabled her to reach a place of doing something more rewarding.
“I would say I’ve always had an entrepreneurial side, perhaps due to being a Nigerian but it gave me the courage to try again. I recognize that it’s not about perfection but rather allowing myself to be brave to try new things so that I can improve and constantly pivot even my current state.”
Her advice to women who want to make their dream a career or reality:
Explore your many interests. Don’t be afraid to try new things or be concerned about what other people would say. The journey to discovering what makes you happy and fulfilled starts with you doing what’s in your best interest. Sometimes that can be unclear so you need to allow yourself to be immersed in different environments and situations to determine what works for you. I didn’t know my current role existed until I tried out many things and from there, I came across information that propelled me to the next level. You don’t know what you don’t know. So spread your wings and experiment.
To engage with Dami in real time, follow her on instagram @missjunaid.
To learn more about Taloje, visit https://www.taloje.com and for The Adulting Nomad for travel tips, visit https://theadultingnomad.com
Don't forget to leave an encouraging message in the comments to keep Dami encouraged.