On this episode of Build Better Brands, Danielle Clarke is joined by Joan Idowu, CEO and Founder of Several Seats which is a mental health service for ethnic minority women to talk about her mission to empower, inspire and educate women of colour.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Several Seats is led by women of colour  for women of colour to empower, inspire and educate our future queens of this generation through mental health awareness as well as providing them with loads of opportunities for mentorship for those aspiring to become mental health professionals as well as those who just need a break and want to learn more about different things going on in the community, different barriers and challenges that other people are facing. It's about peer-to-peer support and learning.
• People normalise mental health to such an extreme that people just think it's an everyday thing that people just go through. Rightly so, it should be normalised to an extent where there's not a stigma around it where people feel like they can't talk about it, but the normalisation shouldn't take away the value of it – there should still be a level of concern around it that stays consistent.
• I've always been very much about women empowerment and I've always wanted to do something for women in the community, as well as something that helped me to understand my identity as well, as a woman, in my class, ethnicity, my culture and even in my religion to some extent. When I was studying my masters I was on the verge of leaving, I was knee deep in imposter syndrome, I didn't want to be there any more, I wasn't enjoying the process, I was mentally and physically exhausted. I drafted up a letter to send to the board saying I'd like to remove myself from the course. I called my mum in hysterics and she said: “Take a seat, let's talk.” That was the first time I'd ever spoken to my mother about mental health and it was the first time my mother had ever actively listened to me, every word. It made me realise the power of speaking and finding your voice .
• We want people to take the tools they're learning from us and start their own table, start their own network, start their own community groups, even inside Several Seats and they can start looking after other women in those areas. It's why we have a mentor scheme, we always invite women in our community to become mentors to help the mentees and vice versa. We invite the mentees that have just finished this years' course to come back next year to become mentors to the next mentees because they now have their own little tables that they're helping.

BEST MOMENTS

‘No matter where you are in life, imposter syndrome comes at you consistently in all areas! Where you are in life, or your position or status, doesn't stop you from having doubts sometimes, especially when you are the minority amongst the majority – being a woman and a woman of colour.'

‘Celebrating someone else's success without questioning your own is the most important lesson you need to learn.'

‘For a long time I was trying to take a seat at other people's tables, I was trying to find my voice in the midst of other people. Then I realised I didn't have to do that anymore, I could find a seat at my own table and other people could take a seat and hear my voice and what I had to say because I Had just as much to say as other people, but I didn't know who to share it with. That was the birth of Several Seats.'

‘When you start something yourself, especially something so personal, you become the brand. You're the face, people want to know who you are, you are the storyline behind it. It took a while for me to be confident and put myself out there, but my motivation is this is bigger than me and I believe in the vision of this organisation.'

ABOUT THE GUEST

Joan Idowu is CEO and Founder of Several Seats – mental health service for ethnic minority women – and Assistant Research Psychologist at Young Epilepsy and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Website: https://www.severalseats.org/ 

Instagram: @several_seats_

ABOUT THE HOST

Danielle Clarke is a Brand and Marketing Consultant, University Lecturer and Business Owner.

Since 2006 Danielle has provided brand design and marketing support for clients including Škoda, Gtech, UK Biocentre, UK Mail and GIRLvsCANCER Danielle is committed to helping brands that want to have a positive impact on people's lives. She spends her time consulting and working with business owners to help them attract and retain their best customers.

Insta - @danielleclarkecreative | [https://www.instagram.com/danielleclarkecreative/]

LinkedIn - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-clarke-creative/]

Twitter - @D4nielleCl4rke |  [https://twitter.com/D4nielleCl4rke]

Email - [email protected]

Website: www.danielleclarkecreative.com 

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