As part of my series about prominent entrepreneurs and executives that overcame adversity to achieve great success, I had the pleasure of interviewing…
Tanisia Moore, partner and co-owner of Moore Legal Solutions, LLC d/b/a Moore and Young Legal Solutions in Birmingham, Alabama. Mrs. Moore is a sought-after intellectual property attorney, published author, and TEDx speaker. When she’s not doing that, she can be found spending time with her husband and their daughters.
Jason Crowley: Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this specific career path?
Tanisia Moore: I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever own a business. Let alone a law firm. The road to becoming an attorney was easy, but hanging my own shingle was not as easy. I had my oldest daughter seven weeks early due to a pregnancy complication. Because of her being born early she spent some time in the NICU. Once she was home and we got into a routine, there was no way I could go back to work. I attempted to work out a schedule with my former employer that would allow me more time with my daughter. However, we couldn’t reach a deal and I made the decision to leave my job. Of course, with the support with my husband.
I attempted to be a stay at home mom, but I had a nagging feeling inside of me that I wanted to do more. That I had to do more. Afraid, I started working towards setting up my law firm. In 2015 I started giving lectures to fourth year medical resident students regarding how to negotiate their employment contracts. I even would do a few contract reviews for my friends who had their own business. Sad, to say my fear grew louder and I actively searched for an employment outside of my home. Additionally, I felt as I was a burden to my husband and wanted to pull my own weight.
I was able to secure a temporary in-house position with a prominent corporation in 2016. While, I enjoyed the experience and the opportunity, I knew that I couldn’t go back to work in the traditional sense. However, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to restart my law firm, but we needed money because I had pulled the last of my retirement.
It wasn’t until I became pregnant with my youngest daughter that a fire was lit! In that moment I knew that I had to figure out my next move and determine what type of legacy I wanted to leave for my daughters. Giving up was not a legacy I wanted to leave behind for them. In 2017 I relaunched my law firm as a solo and in 2018 I added a partner to the firm.
Crowley: Can you share your story of when you were on the brink of failure? First, take us back to what it was like during the darkest days.
Moore: July 2018 was and remains the darkest days of the law firm. It was also the darkest time period of my personal life. A month after my partner and I finalized our agreement, it seemed as if the clients disappeared and life issues were rearing its ugly head. The firm account had enough to cover the expenses, but my personal accounts were sitting at zero. Literally.
My husband gave me an ultimatum of 30 days to figure out how to make money or I was going to have to find a job. Any job that would help pay our household bills and provide for our girls. I remember feeling depressed and hopeless. It was if the air was sucked out of me and I had nothing left to offer.
Being an entrepreneur next to motherhood was the hardest thing I have done. The days were long and sometimes the nights were longer. Especially for a person who knew nothing about running a business. It was a moment of failure for me as wife, a mother, and a business owner.
Crowley: What was your mindset during such a challenging time? Where did you get the drive to keep going when things were so hard?
Moore: Its funny how a person can find motivation during times of crisis. For me I began to dig deeper into my faith in God. I knew that this lowest point would not be the end of me, and that giving up on my law firm was not an option. It was also during this time that I stumbled to across Jen Sincero’s books. I felt empowered after reading these books and pushed forward.
I also found motivation in my daughters. Remembering the legacy, I wanted to leave behind for my daughters, I pressed forward not knowing where or how I would be able to grow the firm.
Crowley: Tell us how you were able to overcome such adversity and achieve massive success? What did the next chapter look like?
Moore: The following month things picked up. Clients started paying their balances, new clients were onboarded, and for the first time my partner and I were able to take home over a thousand dollars. That may seem insignificant to some, but in the beginning of a business the ability to take anything home is a rarity. Both my partner and I made the strategic decision to bring on an intern to handle our social media.
Crowley: Based on your experience, can you share a 3 actionable pieces of advice about how to develop the mindset needed to persevere through adversity? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Moore: The first thing I would say is get connected to a higher power. I’m a Christian and for me that meant praying to specific prayers to God. It also meant that I had to do the work. I think most people are afraid to the do work. I can have all the faith in the world but if I don’t start moving then I will be in the same position. Second, I recommend finding a strong support system. You need people around you who can lift you up when you’re going through a dark patch. But you also need people who can let you in a loving way that you need to get it together. Lastly, don’t give up!
Crowley: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Moore: There a few people who have helped me a long the way. First, my husband has been extremely supportive. Although, he became frustrated because things had gotten tight financially, he still believed in me and in my success. I also must credit my law partner. She is my right hand when it comes to running our firm. The times I have wanted to give up, she runs down the list of why I cannot give up. If it were not for her, I probably would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.
I must confess that prior to my partner coming to the firm, I didn’t take the firm life as serious. In the back of my mind I felt that I needed to find a job. Not realizing that running a business is a full-time job and it required me to put my everything into it. When she joined the firm, I had developed a sense of accountability. Plus, I couldn’t sit by idle while she did all the work and I do nothing.
Crowley: Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Moore: I’m in the middle of studying for a big test in February. I can’t say what test at this point. But it will help to expand the business. I will also be working on my next romantic comedy novel. I’m super excited to write this new book, but it will have to wait until after my big test.
Lastly, my husband and I are in the beginning process of adopting. We’re super excited to welcome a new family member into our home and expand our family through adoption. I believe that God has blessed us to be a blessing and offer a child a chance at life. We also plan to co-author a children’s book together talking about adoption.
Crowley: You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Moore: It’s weird to even think of myself as a person of influence. I love being able to help people and sharing a piece of warmth. I would love to take abandon homes, revitalize them, and offer to them to homeless people. I would also create a workforce task to help them get jobs and put them put them a position to take care of themselves.
Crowley: Any parting words of wisdom that you would like to share?
Moore: Stay the course. Being an entrepreneur is hard work and not for the faint at heart. But there’s beauty in overcoming and getting to the other side.
Crowley: How can our readers follow you on social media?
Moore: You can find me www.instagram.com/mooreandyounglegalsolutions
Or on www.facebook.com/moorelegalsolutionsllc
Our website is: www.moorelegalsolutions.com
Crowley: Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Moore: It was my pleasure! I hope that my story helps to inspire someone to keep going forward.
