Hoda Kotb may not be an entrepreneur, but she knows how to inspire a group of women. She had to work her way to the top, and she recently celebrated women in business with her own success story as inspiration.
Toting her interview short, Fairfax native Kotb tried to launch her career out of college by making a first stop in Richmond where she was told she wasn’t ready for TV. She was redirected to a television network in Roanoke where she was told she “wasn’t ready for Roanoke.†After thinking to herself, ‘Who the hell’s not ready for Roanoke?’ Kotb continued on her way, rifling through ABC, CBS and even NBC-affiliated television stations throughout the South. Finally, in Greenville, Miss., she was told, “Hoda, I like what I see.â€
“It just takes one person to change your life,†Kotb said to a group of a couple hundred women, and a few men, at an intimate dinner … earlier this month. Kotb was on hand to celebrate October as National Women in Business Month as well as the release of her book, “How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee.â€
Throughout her adventures trying to land her first job, Kotb said her mom was more worried about the safety of the car she had borrowed when she left Alexandria than her own daughter landing a broadcasting spot. But, the Virginia Tech graduate insists her Egyptian mother was the support she needed to carry on.
“Behind every strong woman, there’s a stronger woman,†she said.
Photo by Cheerful Givers