We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yolanda Scarborough a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Yolanda, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My mother was the original Yolanda. We share a first name. Her middle name is Carolyn. This is where I get the business name Carolyn’s Hope. I am her oldest of five children. We were raised in extreme poverty due to her battle with sickle cell anemia. There was no way my mother could work with her health and raise five children as a single mother. Her story was a cautionary tale of bad choices, plus choices out of her control. I never judged her. I saw what she did financially with little to nothing. I saw her make miracles with food and housing. My business is an ode to her perseverance, her wisdom, and her knowledge passed on to me.

Yolanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I never wanted to be an entrepreneur, or a Small business owner. I had a good job, I felt I was changing my community through food knowledge,, but I was not treated as well or as fairly as I should have been. In hindsight, the way I handled what I thought was unfair treatment lacked emotional intelligence and wisdom. I felt trapped, used, and unappreciated. While all of this may have been true, my anger in the situation was futile. It is very hard when those who are harming you push you to anger then accuse you of being a bully. I was categorically not what I was being called but I did not know how to fight for myself. I am a fighter, but the wisdom and insight I have now I did not have then. I quit the job, started my own business and went into deep therapy and healing work. I found myself. I found my healthy voice, and I worked hard to build my business. I forgave what never was apologized for and have moved on in my work in food and families, and our community.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Growing too fast in a business is equally as detrimental as not growing fast enough. The summer of 2022 I had business coming out of my ears. Well one thing I did not budget for as a young business owner was the importance of upfront capital. I thought if payments on invoices were due, payments would be made on time. I boot strapped my business in the beginning. I did not have investors, or any seed money. Ignorance was not bliss. I had seventeen employees, 30 youth employees, and was serving 500 plus students a day. It was payroll time and nada!!!! I turned all my invoices in on time, and payment was net30 which gave me a two week window to still make payroll on time. I panicked, and began to ask for loans and family help make payroll. Thankfully the day of my first payroll that summer the money hit my account. In crazy faith I submitted the payroll to my payroll company. The first payroll was on time, but payroll two and three of that summer was not. It was the most embarrassing situation that I promised to not find myself in again. Financial education, budgeting, and having money upfront when possible has been essential to my company’s survival and reputation. This part of business has been a challenge, but learning and education has helped me meet payroll on time with integrity. I was paying out of my own personal account trying to have integrity. I will not ever do that again, it’s not fair nor is it wise. I have reduced my team to an affordable size, and only take one projects I can afford even if the invoices are not paid on time.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

While financial success is EVERYTHING to a business, being human-centered is just as important.. I believe in servant leadership as the main philosophy on how Carolyn’s Hope operates. More than just generating funds, I want to make sure my team is full of good people, helping to build. more good people. As a CEO, Founder, my job is not to be served, it is to serve others. I serve my team, my stakeholders, my family, and my community. Yes, I would love a profit every year, but I want my heart to profit first. I want to make sure I walked in honesty and integrity, even when that means I have to make hard choices of letting people go who don’t fit the servant leadership model. I had to learn to fire quickly, and take time in hiring. I know that sounds cruel, but releasing people to their dreams is not a cruelty. It is not someone’s fault if they don’’t enjoy working with young people, but they need money. I understand the need for money, but the heart and dedication to our youth is more important. I don’t need place holders “babysitting” youth. I need passionate change makers who are willing to pour into the youth and families, while also being paid well as they pour out of themselves. Sitting on the phone, and taking more than you give, is not integrity. I do us both a favor when I help you discover your best by helping you realize it’s not Carolyn’s Hope. . I have to be ok with being a manager, a leader… I have to be ok with having to make hard choices. Even though I am a servant, I can’t ignore the leader part. I must lead my team with bravery, and fairness. This year I will be getting training for our admin team on how to more excellently be a servant leader.