Juliet Hall, A Woman of Excellence

By Jacqueline Holness

Juliet Hall created OWN YOUR OPPORTUNITIES, an inspiration-to-action speaking and training platform, in 2016 after 17 years working at Chick-fil-A where she was the third black female business consultant for the franchised, multi-million dollar business.

A Restaurant Epiphany: I was in a Chick-fil-A restaurant on Piedmont Road, and I had this conversation with God. I said, ‘Lord, what I am going to do because I don’t want to send out all of the résumés? I want to be very intentional about where I’m going to work.’ And it came to this. I call it the 3 P’s: I wanted to work for an organization where the principles were consistent with mine. I wanted there to be a focus on people. And I really wanted to be excited about the product. At that time, I took a bite of my sandwich and I said, ‘I can get excited about this.’ That’s when the epiphany came and I pursued Chick-fil-A.

Diversity Challenges: In my department, I was the third black female, but on my specific team, I was the only black person and female, and I was the youngest. So I’m working with all of these white men, some of whom were old enough to be my dad. It was a growth opportunity.

Leaving Chick-fil-A to Launch OWN YOUR OPPORTUNITIES: Right before I started working for Chick-fil-A in 1999, I made a commitment to myself that my quality of life means more to me than any amount of money or any title. I worked for the best company in the world and had so many wonderful opportunities to grow and develop as a leader and see the world. But by 2012, I felt like I was stuck in a cage and couldn’t spread my wings and fully utilize my gifts. So I prayed, ‘Lord, I want your plan and your purpose for my life because I know it’s far greater than anything I could ever imagine for myself.’

On OWN YOUR OPPORTUNITIES: The premise is that we are all meant to dominate. We are to lead in the areas of our gifting and not necessarily over people. It is a model that encourages people to really identify what their gifts are and invest in that and to deploy that. It’s a replica of my own personal journey. I conduct leadership trainings. I occasionally coach people. I’m working on a book as well.