Initially, Yoadan never envisioned owning a business, nor did she have concrete plans or goals in life. She started organizing events with her friends in the U.S., by orchestrating weddings and birthday parties, but she soon realized that her strengths lay in corporate-level events.

At the time she came back to Ethiopia, Yoadan planned for only a short visit, but she felt a strong pull to stay in her home country after spending 15 years in America. Eventually, she found herself continuing to organize events in Ethiopia when she arranged one for a friend unintentionally, and through word-of-mouth over a year and a half, Flawless Events gained traction without any formal advertising as each successful event led to recommendations for subsequent ones, fostering organic growth for the business.

Yoadan Tilahun is the Founder and CEO of Flawless Events, an event management company specializing in the comprehensive design and production of international conferences and corporate events. Flawless focuses on events with meticulous attention to detail, tailoring designs, plans, and executions to clients' needs. The notable and biggest event among their projects was held in 2011 E.C., drawing 7,000 attendees with 13 parallel sessions, impacting the transformation of Millennium Hall from a conceptual space into a bustling conference venue.

Managing Talent

Beyond monetary compensation, Yoadan highlights the significance of emotional connection to inspire employees and acknowledges the importance of addressing their individual growth needs. She said, small and medium-sized company founders often overlook the well-being of their team members, but they should prioritize and master the art and science of effective human resource management. Yoadan believes that performance evaluations should focus not only on salary increments but also on facilitating discussions to better support employees and foster mutual growth between them and the company.

Advice for Diaspora's

Yoadan offers a recommendation to diaspora individuals on the importance of managing their expectations when they come back to Ethiopia. She underscores not to view returning to Ethiopia as a charitable act or perceive the country as a charity case, suggesting that individuals should approach their decision to return with realistic expectations and refrain from comparing Ethiopia to their current place of residence, as setting realistic expectations is vital for finding happiness upon returning.

Before making the move, diaspora individuals should reflect on their reasons for returning. Are they genuinely excited about the country's potential? Do they believe they can make a meaningful difference? It's essential to consider what unique perspectives they bring and how they can contribute effectively to the market.

The Future of Flawless

Yoadan believes that Flawless’s potential and possibilities are endless due to its strong brand value. However, she acknowledges she doesn’t know what the next level of Flawless entails, recognizing her strengths lie primarily in event management and feels that someone may have the capacity to expand Flawless into different sectors where the brand has untapped potential, supporting the idea of passing the company to someone who can nurture its growth further, and she envisions Flawless becoming a legacy institution.

Yoadan advocates for a board of directors mechanism where professional directors lead executives to ensure the longevity of the brand, asserting that a business should not perish when its founders are no longer involved, whether due to mental or physical limitations. Like a child becoming independent, the business should be nurtured to the point where it can sustain itself, relinquishing control as the business matures, allowing it to thrive beyond the influence of its owners and founders.

Learning Mechanisms

Oprah Winfrey has been a significant influence on Yoadan, she learned the power of empathy and the importance of learning from others' mistakes from Oprah. Yoadan prefers to glean lessons from others' failures rather than experiencing failure firsthand, and she values real-time books for the insights they offer into the journeys of people and entrepreneurs. Rather than the actual work of event management, Yoadan finds lessons from her team and enjoys attending trade fairs to stay abreast of industry trends and innovations from around the world.

Life Guidance

Yoadan suggested that not everyone is suited to entrepreneurship, and gaining experience as an employee before venturing into business ownership is advisable. Acquiring expertise in one's career before pursuing entrepreneurship will help youngsters value the process of upholding their commitments, learn the responsibilities of both employees and employers, build their brand through their daily actions, and develop a strong work discipline early in their careers. She recommended business owners to be transparent about the challenges and hardships they face, rather than glamorizing entrepreneurship.

Yoadan advises youngsters to trust others' self-disclosures about their personalities and capabilities. For example, if someone admits to being a player or describes themselves as crazy, it's better to believe them and move on rather than attempting to change them.

Yoadan advocates for women's economic empowerment to enable them to take care of their emotional well-being. She encourages women to have open and honest conversations with their partners before marriage like sharing their priorities and plans as it is necessary to address issues at an early stage, whether in business, relationships, or social life.

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