We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tameika Isaac Devine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tameika Isaac, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I am happier as a business owner. It is sometimes challenging but it is so worth it. Being a business owner means you set your own schedule, you can impact how much money you make and you can make decisions about investing in the community. All of that make it worth it to me, especially as a working parent. Flexibility is very important to me. I want to be able to take off and spend time with my kids when I want, I want to be able to bring them to work with me when I need to and I am able to show them what it is like to be an entrepreneur.

Very seldom I think about having a “regular job”. Usually when I am looking at the amount of time I spend on administrative tasks. But I quickly think about all the benefits that come with working for yourself and I immediately become grateful for the ability to work for myself.

During Covid, I had the thought more often. I found myself working from home, while children were home and still having to work and to make payroll for my staff. We are a small office and did not have systems set up to allow for remote work. I often had to get up early and go into my office before kids started school to handle things that could only be done in the office. Since my staff was not in the office, I was doing my job and theirs. I then had to research different systems to see which was best to allow my staff to work from home. It was a lot and I was sleeping about 4 hours a night. As the owner, I got paid last so I went some times without a paycheck, which was difficult.

But as offices started making workers to come back to work, with no regard to their childcare issues or safety for people’s families, I was glad I was in the position to make decisions best for my household and that I could work with my staff to support their individual needs as well.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a practicing attorney with my own law firm and a public speaker and consultant. I started my law firm in 2001, after 5 years of working for state government. I primarily practice in the areas of real estate, probate and personal injury. I am a wife and a mom of 3 school aged children.

After many years of people asking me to speak about work life balance, I started a speaking and consulting business and I speak nationally on the topics of women in leadership and work life “balance” . I primarily help working moms with work life integration strategies so that they can excel at work and at home.

I am most proud of the fact that many women after working with me understand that they do not have the limit themselves professionally in order to be a good parent. I have had clients start businesses, go back to school and finally start families. They feel empowered to go after their professional dreams, while being intentionally about living a happy and fulfilled personal life.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first started my law practice, I was single with no children. I then got elected and subsequently served 20 years as a member of city council. I got married 2 years after I started my law practice and a year after I was elected. A year later, I had my first daughter.

Early on, I worked non stop trying to make sure none of my professional obligations got neglected but I found myself missing important time with my young family. I knew something had to give so I started being intentionally on my schedule, priorities and not over committing. As I started putting systems and strategies in place, I not only saw my professional business get better, but I also had more time to enjoy life.

This shift started with understanding that works for others does not work for everyone and that I needed to follow what works for me. I became more intentional and set priorities around what brought me joy.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I picoted my business when Covid hit.

In the law firm, I had to focus on delivery of services and client contact in a remote setting and in my speaking business I had to focus more on virtual presentations. Both pivots supported better work life integration so it actually has helped in growing my business

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adevinelife.com & www.jilawfirm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tameikaisaacdevine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tameika.i.devine/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tameikaisaacdevine/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TIDEVINE
• Youtube: Tameika Isaac Devine

Image Credits
LaShay Price