LaWann Moses

LaWann Moses is the Founder & CEO of WannMo, LLC. She is a Success Strategist and Business Executive with a consulting firm that provides coaching services to clients. LaWann is the Creator and Host of the More Than A Mother podcast, where she helps moms find freedom to pursue their dreams and be great moms at the same time. LaWann is an advocate and visionary leader who has a passion for empowering others to rise up, reclaim their power, and live a life of boldness, purpose, and authenticity. She helps moms ditch the guilt, master their time, and maximize their energy so they can do more of the things they love and enjoy.

Months before graduating high school, LaWann found herself pregnant and at a crossroads. With her plans for college thwarted, LaWann did not know what she would do. Thrust into the unknown world of teenage motherhood and poverty, with life taking many twists and turns, depression soon engulfed her. At the brink of suicide, LaWann’s son appeared to her in a dream and said “Don’t go, Mommy. I need you.”

Immediately, LaWann knew she had to live. If she couldn’t live for herself then she had to live for her son. Her life was not over, she simply took a detour. From there, LaWann. She sought counseling, developed a mindset of success, and created a life plan. It was not easy, but LaWann refused to give up. She became determined to succeed. She remembered her identity, reclaimed her power, and rose above her situation to accomplish each and every goal set forth.

Detailing her journey in her best-selling book “Rising Above Statistics: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Success Against All Odds”, LaWann uses her story as a teen mom to inspire and help all women create their own unique life plan, no matter the circumstances.

LaWann now speaks to groups and individuals about reflective self-discovery practices, personal transformation, and living a purpose-filled life. She believes lives are transformed through storytelling and we become portals of empowerment when we share our stories. LaWann’s message are built upon hope, encouragement, and positivity.

LaWann has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master of Science degree in the Administration of Justice, with a concentration in Leadership & Administration from Wilmington University. She is a Certified Domestic Violence Specialist with over 10 years of experience in client management and advocacy. LaWann believes love is the greatest gift of all and she strives to do everything in love.

Where did the idea for WannMo LLC come from?

For years I have been on a personal development and self-discovery journey, making myself and self-care a priority. Over the years, I found that I lost myself in my roles, responsibilities, and duties and forgot who I was as a woman. More Than A Mother as birthed out of my own journey of remembering I was a woman before I was a mother and that it is okay to be an individual apart from my roles. I wanted to inspire and encourage other mothers to stop putting their lives on hold and instead rise up and pursue their dreams while being a great mother at the same time.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I am in a unique position where I still work a full time job while building my business on the side. During a typical day, I get up early so that I can check emails and perform some administrative tasks before taking my daughter to the bus stop. Then my other daughter and I prepare to leave for school at work.
During my lunch break at work I handle tasks for my business such as calls, emails, etc. My evening is dedicated to building my business, recording podcast episodes, creating content, meeting with clients, etc.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I tend to get my best ideas in the car or the shower, so I keep my phone handy so I can record voice notes. I learned from my business mentor to use notecards to help bring my ideas to life. I separate my ideas into 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year (or longer goals), then I work on those immediate goals and look to delegate the longer term goals. I do a lot of visual mapping and charting out processes on paper. I love computers and technology, but there is still something about good old fashioned pen to paper planning and execution.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Content creation. I love seeing content go from idea to creation. Then online seeing how so many people have similar ideas, but the content they create is so different and curated specifically for their audience. I love seeing creatives in action and being creative myself.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I don’t believe in multi-tasking however I believe in prioritization. I list out my priorities daily and designate my top 3 priorities for the day. Those are the three that I want to ensure I get done during that day.
Also, time-blocking is my favorite strategy to use. Instead of jumping from task to task, I block out time to allocate to a specific tasks. When the time is up, if I’m not finished then I get the task to a stopping point and move on to the next item.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I became a mother right after graduating high school so if I could give my younger self advice it would be to “slow down, girl”. Slow down, you have your whole life ahead of you. Enjoy these carefree moments, make the most of them, and life to the fullest.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

There is no such thing as multitasking. Attempting to multitask leaves you with many incomplete tasks, and takes you longer to finish a project or task.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Template and automate. If you find there is a task you constantly do or an email or message you constantly write, then create a template and find a way to automate the action. Save yourself time and energy by implementing workflows and automations as much as possible.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Networking and collaborating with peers. Building a business can be stressful and lonely at times, but connecting with those on similar journeys really keeps me motivated. Also, through collaborations, I am able to connect with others outside of my audience and give my brand exposure through different channels. This leads to organic growth and community building.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I made the mistake that many entrepreneurs do in trying to serve everyone. My message was very generic and way too broad. I was trying to cater to everyone and ended up one confused mess. I overcame this, but niching down, clearly identifying my target audience/client and building my business and services for that audience

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Now is the perfect time to start your online business. You literally have the world at your fingertips. Assess your skills. Figure out your strengths and start your business today. For example, if administrative tasks are your strength or you’ve ever worked as an administrative assistant then it is extremely easy to start a virtual assistant business with just your computer and few systems.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

The best $100 I spent recently was on a one-on-one business coaching session with a business coach. It really helped me unpack my ideas, create a plan, and discover a strategy for moving my business forward.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Dubsado is a tool I cannot live without in my business. It makes my business operations run smoothly. I use Dubsado to manage all of my clients and projects. My clients can schedule appointments and communicate with me through their customer portal. I set up email templates and workflows to automate my communications. I also track invoices and payments through Dubsado.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I recommend my book “Rising Above Statistics: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Success Against All Odds” to your community. This book is the blueprint, the plan that helped me launch my success. Life happens and it is so easy to get distracted by our problems, but the true power lies in remembering our identity and rising above our situation to achieve success. No matter the obstacles, you never have to give up on your dreams. This book is the motivational source you need to inspire you to get up and keep pushing forward.

What is your favorite quote?

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.- Maya Angelou

Key Learnings:

• You can successfully build a business and work a 9-5 at the same time.
• You can pursue your dreams no matter what happens in your life.
• Adapt and pivot, just don’t quit.
• If you have a skill, talent, or an idea for a business, get up and get started. Stop waiting for the right time or you’ll be waiting forever.
• Template and automate. Running a business is hard enough, find whatever ways you can to make your business run on automatic.