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Jan 01 2017

Assiatou Diallo of TAAB Cleaning

assiatou-diallo

Assiatou Diallo was born in Guinea, a small country in West Africa, into a polygamous family of 11 children.  Assi was the last and only girl born with 6 brothers from her father’s side and second born with 4 children (2 girls and 2 Boys) on her mother’s side. She never new her dad, because he passed away when Assiatou was 9 months old.

Assiatou endured many hardships growing up, including being raped at the age of 11 and twice more at the age of 16.  It was clear that the fighting spirit inside her would be required to survive.  Assi did more than just survive…In 1998, she worked in a gas station to support herself while going to school.  When she finished College, she always dreamed of getting out of Guinea and going to Europe, but destiny chose a different path for this young dreamer.

In 2000 she got hired by a German company called Hydroplan, who had a project to build 250 water pumps in rural communities, to access clean water.  This opportunity changed her life. For the next 2 years she started travelling out of the city and country through her work. Her first time to take an airplane was in February 2001, at the age of 25. She got so stressed before getting on the plane, but once again her fighting spirit took control and she went to Gambia for work.

She performed so well that Hydroplan decided to pay for her to take a vacation to Paris (visa, pocket money and so on).  She went to Paris in August 2001 for 3 weeks. She was so culture shocked, when she arrived, that she decided to go back to Guinea after 2 weeks and decided not to be so adventurous, because her experiences did not match the expectations she had for this dream trip.

After her contract with Hydroplan ended, Assi got married in November 2002.  She was excited to start a family with her new husband, but destiny stepped in, once again. After 5 miscarriages and extremely poor health, she decided to go to Germany to study the language and seek medical advice about the difficulties she was experiencing trying to conceive a child.

After living for 1 year in Germany, she went back to Guinea and started all over again. She opened Nayleen Drugstore, where she sold cosmetics and fragrances (Lancome, Chanel, etc). Before moving to Germany, in 2000, she had also registered a cleaning, childcare and security company and was actively networking to develop the business.

In 2003 she went back to Germany, as an au pair, where she lived with a German family for 1 year, taking care of their 2 children, while at the same time acquiring her German Language Certificate.  In 2004, she went back to Paris, where she lived for 1 year.

In 2006, Assi was blessed with a pregnancy that would finally lead to her first child; a beautiful baby boy.  She arrived in Montreal, Canada, in October 2006,

6 months pregnant and looking to start a new life. She knew this was the place for her, because she fell in love with Canada the moment she stepped off the plane.  You can only imagine how difficult it was to be alone and pregnant in a new Country, trying to navigate the bureaucracy of immigration, but she kept fighting and received her Permanent Residency in just 5 months.

Assiatou Diallo was still fighting to make her life better and help others.  A single mother, with a 1 year old son, she got involved in volunteering and went back to school at H.E.C. (an affiliate with the University of Montreal) to study Human Resources. Although she went through depression and stress, she never gave up and decided to move to Toronto.

She came to Toronto and lived in a shelter (transitional housing, Beatrice House) for 2 years. When she arrived in Ontario, she could not speak a single word of English. She decided to go to school for ESL classes at College Boreal and, in just 5 months, got her ESL level 6.  Next, Assi went to do her upgrading with Woodgreen through the Boundless Possibilities for Women Program.

Assi had aspirations of working in the banking industry in Canada and it seemed that her hope was going to become reality when she was promised a position with BMO.  She planned to move out of the shelter, got an apartment and began making plans for her new career, when the job was pulled out from under her due to personnel changes and poor internal communication at the bank.  Another obstacle that would test Assi the fighter.

She was undeterred by this latest disappointment and bounced right back by securing a position at the Centre Francophone de Toronto.  She worked at the non-profit for 4 years as an HR Assistant, Receptionist, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director and Settlement Worker in the schools. Although the work was fulfilling, Assi decided to go on her own, be her own boss, focus on her business and go back to school part time to study Business Management.

Assiatou Diallo is an entrepreneur, mother and avowed feminist. From a young age she has actively participated in initiatives supporting women’s issues. Her current interest is to promote the emancipation and financial independence of women in general and especially women who are victims of domestic and family violence.  She is dedicated to helping others and is very involved in her community. In 2013, she was recognized by the YWCA for her success and delivered a keynote speech at the YWCA Women of Distinctions Awards, in recognition of her positivity and incredible perseverance.

Assiatou is currently the president and CEO of TAAB Cleaning Inc., a commercial and residential cleaning business, which also offers nanny and home babysitting services. She plans to dedicate a part of this community enterprise to support the elderly.

Assiatou Diallo will make it to the top, because she is a fighter, positive, and strongly believes in herself and her own future success.

‘’My vision of entrepreneurship is to inspire others.”

taab-cleaning

TAAB Cleaning Inc. offers various services for many different needs. Whether you are a company or an individual, we can assure you that we will offer the utmost care and professionalism to bring that sparkle and beauty to your space. All of our equipment is highly specialized, making us the perfect solution for any project or circumstance!

Our services:

  • Office cleaning
  • Condominium cleaning
  • Industrial Plant
  • Day porter custodial services
  • Warehouse cleaning
  • Construction clean-up
  • Carpet steaming cleaning
  • Strip and wax
  • Green cleaning

TAAB Cleaning Inc. is confident in its ability to offer the best service anywhere. With that claim we can offer a Service Guarantee to our customers!

“If your request has not been handled adequately, during the next service day you will be entitled to receive the next service for free”

TAAB Cleaning Inc. is the only cleaning company to offer what the competition will not and cannot! Your satisfaction is our motivation!

Contact Assiatou

PHONE: 647 458-7789
E-MAIL: INFO@TAABCLEANING.CA

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Featured Member · Tagged: assiatou diallo, Canadian, Canadian Small Business Women, featured member, small business, small business woman of the month, woman, woman of the month

Mar 15 2015

Is it still a man’s world?

sandra

I watched Get on Up, the movie based on James Brown’s a few months ago.  As I watched him sing This is a Man’s World it made me wonder if this is still the truth, especially after recently celebrating International Women’s Day.  Of course, the song continues that the world would be nothing without a woman or a girl, but it still begs the question, are men still the one’s in control?

I think we are seeing a shift that may change the way James Brown would see the world today if he were still alive.  While we still aren’t seeing enough women in the boardrooms of the corporate world, I see a lot more of us deciding to leave the corporate culture altogether and do their own thing.  I’m not going to quote statistics here, but I’m pretty sure that the numbers of women starting their own businesses are on the rise.

When I go to networking events, I see more and more women out there promoting businesses that they are passionate about.  Whether they are doing direct sales or starting a business from the ground up, more and more women are realizing that the usual 9-5 isn’t going to give them the lifestyle that they want.  We all want more freedom, more time to do the things that are important to us, while earning an income that allows us to do it comfortably.

While many still consider becoming an entrepreneur to be a risky endeavor, it is also one of the most gratifying.  What is so great about the abundance of women entering the world of entrepreneurship is that you don’t have to look very hard to find support and encouragement along the way.  There are a lot of women out there who are trying to change the way we do business.  No one is denying the importance of being mindful of your bottom line at all times, but there is more to business than making a profit.  It’s about fostering long-term relationships and coming from a place of service rather than focusing solely on the sale.

I’m curious to see where the next 10 years will take us.  Will the number of female entrepreneurs continue to increase, or will we see a plateau?  Personally, I believe that as more women become entrepreneurs and achieve success, they will inspire more of us to do the same.  I think it’s up to us as existing business owners to support and encourage those who are considering entering the world of entrepreneurship.

I believe the most important thing is to be honest about the journey.  Don’t sugar coat it and paint this idealistic view of what it means to leave your full-time job and do your own thing.  This isn’t to scare anyone off, but to give them a realistic view of what’s in store.  The saying that it takes 10 years to become an overnight success isn’t an overused cliché, but the truth!

It might still be a man’s world today, but I don’t think that it will stay that way for long.  Women are taking control of their lives and their futures.  We no longer want to be bound by the limitations of a typical corporate job.  We want more, and we want to do it on our own terms.  Scary? Definitely!  Worth taking the risk? Absolutely!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!
Connect:
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Sandra Dawes · Tagged: 9-5, boardrooms, business development, Canadian Small Business Women, coaching, control, corporate, direct sales, Embrace Your Destiny, entrepreneur, Get on Up, girl, International Women's Day, James Brown, Lifestyle, Man's World, promoting, Sandra Dawes, success, This is a Man's World, woman, women

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