We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Latoya James Torrance. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Latoya below.

Latoya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Human Over Perfect, my “joy hustle” as I like to call it, was birthed from a personal experience. I was having a moment of vulnerability with my husband, and I remember going into my room, looking in the mirror, and seeing the shame and embarrassment all over my face — all because I was experiencing a human emotion or response.

That was a defining moment for me. I had just read Brene Brown’s Gifts of Imperfection, and I started to think about the many ways we aim to portray this perfect version of ourselves and forget that we’re human.

With that, I wanted to create a safe space for my fellow recovering perfectionists to lean into authenticity and the power of “good enough.”

And although many people struggle with perfectionism to some extent, I wanted to look at it through the eyes of Black and brown women, how it manifests in our lives, and how it impacts our health and wellness. Our experiences differ from our white counterparts’ in many ways, and I wanted to speak specifically to those unique experiences. And more importantly, position mental wellness as a tool for healing from perfectionism.

Latoya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a marketer in tech by trade and a writer and entrepreneur at heart. I enjoy telling stories and connecting people and ideas in meaningful ways.

The beauty of this work is that I’m a cojourner with my community. I haven’t reached this fictional state of a “recovered” perfectionist. I’m still learning and practicing how to show up as my authentic, human self. And I get to share my experiences and lessons learned to help someone else on their journey. And I find joy in sharing what I’ve learned to help others.

Currently, I offer free resources to my community, including an email newsletter and articles. I’m currently working on more free and paid offers to continue building this community and growing the scope of the business.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This might sound cliché considering the focus of my business, but you can’t wait for the perfect conditions to start.

As a marketing professional, I’m used to organizing and executing well-thought-out campaigns with tight launch schedules and timelines. And your content, messaging, and timing largely dictates your success.

So, I recently took a hiatus from my business to welcome my 3rd baby boy into the world. And I’ve held off on showing back up, feeling like I needed a perfectly curated relaunch or “re-emergence” to return to this space.

I realized I wasn’t embodying the values that I promote: To show up as your human self and to realize you, and what you have to say or share, has worth exactly where you are right now.

Every day you wait, two things happen: 1) Your desire for perfection grows, causing you to be more critical and making it harder to show up. 2) The person who needs what you have, potentially something that could change the course of their life, is missing out.

So, just start. I’m on the path to embodying that more in my business and life in general.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Back in December 2022, I left a six-figure role after experiencing severe burnout. Around that time, I’d also done a lot reflection on my values and what I wanted my life to look like.

I was fortunate to take six months off from work before landing my current role, but that time solidified the vision of my ideal life.

And that “ideal life” remains my North Star. It guides how I show up for my family, the roles and opportunities I choose to pursue, the relationships I maintain, and the time I allocate to my side and passion projects.

That season of burnout was hard, but it was a pivotal moment and helped reimagine how a successful life, for me, looks and feels.

Contact Info:

• Website: humanoverperfect.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/humanoverperfect
• Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/company/humanoverperfect

Image Credits
Jamaal Torrance of Good People Media