Rhonesha Byng: No One Ever Slows Her Agenda
What (or who) is slowing you down for 2010?
Rhonesha Byng has never been the type to take no for an answer. Founder of heragenda.com at just 20 years old, Rhonesha practices what she preaches as living proof that “No One Ever Slows Her Agenda.” This is not only the philosophy she lives by, but the ideology behind her entire company, and an official phrase she seeks to have universalized- challenging women and girls everywhere.
“Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do something or that you can’t accomplish your dreams,” explains Rhonesha of this creed that will soon be made available on t-shirts and agenda books. “I don’t understand why people put the limits on themselves. If someone tells me I can’t do something—I want to find out from the source.”
And that is exactly what she had to do to bring her vision into fruition. Filled with the perfect mixture of inspiration and ambition at the tender age of 16, she began speaking of aspirations that many considered unrealistic and premature for a young girl still in her teens. Refusing to relent to these imaginary boundaries, she turned her words into actions to find out what she already knew—the sky was the limit.
“You are never too young to start thinking about what you want to do in your life,” says Rhonesha Byng.
Targeting young women ages 14-24, the website, www.Heragenda.com is an online resource to motivate young women into action. It operates as a springboard for opportunity, serving as an accommodating venue of internships, mentorships, and networking events.
Early on, Rhonesha recognized the power of the media, and was not satisfied with its minimal portrayal of women. “If that’s the only thing you see, then that’s how you think you’re supposed to be.”
Heragenda.com enhances the female image by highlighting the powerful career options for women that are not given enough emphasis. The purpose is to make these career goals easily accessible and attainable for individual girls.
Rhonesha is currently studying communications as a junior at DePauw University and interning for NBC Universal. She got her first taste of journalism while working at HarlemLIVE, an online teen magazine. This is when she first began writing, publishing, interning, and interviewing celebrities. From shout-outs by Charles Hamilton on his debut single “Brooklyn Girls” to being featured in Seventeen Magazine, Rhonesha attributes something very simple to her success as a young entrepreneur. “What set me apart is that I always carried business cards with me,” advises Rhonesha of her crucial networking trick that seems so obvious, but often goes overlooked by young business people.
The daughter of a pastor and quite humble by nature, Rhonesha does not think of herself as so extraordinary. “It’s so easy,” she says. The fact that her endeavors strike so many as unusual, remarkable, and borderline impossible are a major concern and one of her main motivations for launching the site.
Seeking to eliminate the word “can’t” from young girls’ vocabulary and replacing it with the knowledge, tools, and power to succeed, heragenda.com is here to help.
Written by Fariso Jordan