How Motherhood Led to Self-Discovery with Leslie Crawford
Whether planned or not, motherhood changes a woman. The new frontier of new responsibilities, life changes and family norms brings about a different life perspective. One day it’s just you. Then the next day you have to nurture a new life upon discovering your chosen path as a parent. Then you birth your new beginning and take hold of your new life expectation.
For literary mogul, Leslie Crawford, motherhood is what changed her vision. “Before having my son at the age of 23, I was only focused on me. I wanted to work, party with my friends, and shop. The day I found out I was pregnant, I promised myself to do things the right way,” explains Leslie. “ Motherhood doesn’t come with a handbook, but life experiences are the best teacher. My son and I traveled this journey together,” she continues.
After working in the financial industry for 14 years, Leslie decided to step out on faith. She took her parenting role to a new level. “I followed the dreams of others for 14 years before I took the leap to pursue full-time entrepreneurship in 2018. My son was getting older and I wanted to be available more. The only way I could do this was to create my own schedule,” Leslie explains.
Many mompreneurs often neglect their business responsibilities when first starting out. However, Leslie quickly fond her stride to make positive outcomes in her new found lane. “When I worked as a part-time entrepreneur, business was hard. I didn’t put in the time I needed to because I still had a full-time job. I had the mindset that I was receiving a paycheck every two weeks, so I didn’t need to worry about pushing a business,” states Leslie Crawford.
Leslie quickly discovered that she needed to devote more time into her business. She made 3 rapid lifestyle changes that paved her lane as the literary goat that she is today.
- The times when I would sit up all night watching television, I was now working on my business;
- Instead of spending money on clothes I probably wouldn’t wear for months, I put that money into my business; and
- I started ignoring phone calls so I could focus on my business.
These key steps launched her from start up to purpose driven entrepreneurship. “I was grown up when it came down to my age, but I had to grow up in my mind. I had to make the first step to work on my mindset. Once I did that, everything started to fall in place,” exclaims Leslie Crawford. To date, Leslie now owns her own self-publishing company known as Exposed Books. She’s also an author who ventured out to have her own online bookstore for children that’s known as The Literacy Shop. She took her goals even further with her youth writing program called When Children Write. She empowers youth to use their writing as their voice to motivate.
Stay tuned for more literary greatness. Leslie is also launching an apparel line of goods to empower writers of all kind. Connect with Leslie Crawford online at: https://www.exposedbooks.com/; https://www.whenchildrenwrite.com/; and https://www.theliteracyshop.com/shop. Follow her on social media as @author_leslie and @theliteracyshop.
Writer, C. Scott, is a mother of one; author, social worker, early literacy interventionist and entrepreneur. Follow her on social media as @curls_coils and @mysweettealife.
