SHE had a mission to ‘make a difference’.
Well, inspirational young people’s coach Teresa Reynolds is doing just that as her passion drives her on to helping young people develop personally and make their way into business.
With her company, Incredible Brilliant Youth, she hands youngsters the opportunities to gain access into jobs, apprenticeships and internships.
Teresa set about making something beautiful, putting behind her the times when she was bullied at school to become a youth worker and professional make-up artist, therefore gaining the knowledge needed to help aspiring young people follow in her footsteps.
She runs workshops and talks for young people, to help with their self-esteem, body image, education, employment and understanding their unique beauty. Teresa also provides one to one coaching and leads a team of volunteer mentors.
Her company has just celebrated its four-year anniversary, while she first had the idea for a business in 2010.
Her introduction to Naked Leader was through the Prince’s Trust, Teresa was selected on behalf of the Trust to speak at Naked Leader’s annual Conference last year.
‘Incredible Brilliant Youth is four-years-old and I couldn’t be happier,’ she maintains.
‘Running this beautiful business has been one of the biggest learning curves of my life. At times it’s been rough, worrying and scary. But also inspiring, empowering and a huge source of joy.
‘In the last four years I have worked with more than 700 young people all over London. I have watched many of them grow and become more confident people, brimming with ideas about their futures and how they can change their communities.’
‘I’ve become an Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, have an office space in the City and Incredible Brilliant Youth was in the final three for Enterprise of the Year for London and the South East in last years regional Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success Awards, which is a huge achievement.’
Helping others feel better about themselves is key to Teresa.
‘Improving the self-esteem and access to opportunities for young people is at the core of my work,’ she says. ‘I grew up with low self-esteem after being bullied at school and suffering extreme isolation. This was why I started Incredible Brilliant Youth. I didn’t want anyone to grow up feeling the way I did.
‘When you give your dream a chance, something beautiful happens. Something beautiful happened for me. That small voice inside became a roar and I couldn’t not hear it. The time came for me to actually do what I’m on this planet to do – to help young people be the best they can be.’
Incredible Brilliant Youth’s fourth anniversary celebration focused on Self-Esteem in the Digital Age.
How much of what we see online is real? Are we over sharing or is it about time that we opened up? ‘So many questions were asked about the impact of social media on ourselves, our lives and our relationships,’ she adds. ‘Our panel were fantastic. We had Hayat Rachi, Founder and CEO of Neon Moon, a body positive, feminist lingerie brand, rising star Mahalia, a singer and songwriter and also one of our Ambassadors, Isra Saker, another one of our awesome Ambassadors and Taslima Khan, a fashion designer and activist. We talked about the effect of social media on self-esteem and if it helps us to feel better about ourselves or worse.
‘It was passionate and engaging.’
So what does the future hold for Incredible Brilliant Youth? Expansion into different areas, opportunities for people to become volunteer mentors, and more events for young people to help them reach their full potential.
Who couldn’t be energised listening to how Teresa has developed?
You can go out and do something similar. Do it today!
If you want find out more about Incredible Brilliant Youth’s work or find out their volunteer opportunities, please email info@ibyouth.org.uk