Lisa Crowell

I was born in Atlanta but I grew up on the sunny beaches of Destin, Florida. I went to school at the University of West Florida and worked full time while going to school. Looking back now, I realize that my jobs were always centered around helping others.

I married my best friend, Jon, and we moved to Dallas to pursue big city jobs. My first job was working as a recruiter for a small, placement agency and my clients included companies like Pizza Hut Corp., Mary Kay, Andersen Consulting (Accenture), and a few others that don’t exist anymore. Then one of my clients, Accenture (Andersen Consulting) wanted to hire me as their internal, corporate recruiter. I went through seven rounds of interviews before getting an offer. This was their brutal process. I learned a whole lot from working with them and also learned a new meaning of the word stress. This role gave me structure as a recruiter and helped me understand the importance of processes and procedures. I soon realized after a few years that my personality didn’t mesh well with so much structure and I didn’t like wearing pantyhose every day. Yes, this was back in the day. I moved onto working with smaller, technical consulting companies that seemed more creative, unstructured and suits were not required. Bonus.

I’m still married to my best friend Jon (wahoo), we have two girls, a miniature schnauzer and enjoy long walks on the beach. Not really. We have kids, remember. I love coffee, wine, sunshine and podcasts. I sometimes pretend to be a competitive Crossfitter at my local box, Crossfit Richardson. I have a passion for helping people be the best version of themselves and that’s what led me to recruiting in the first place. I loved being a recruiter but my priorities changed when I had my first daughter.

When my first daughter was born, I hired a nanny so I could go back to work. This didn’t last long as I realized I wanted to be at home with her. The struggle of career and being a mom hit me. I remember interviewing moms for my clients and hearing their stories about their struggles with trying to manage their kids schedules while also keeping their careers going. At the time, I didn’t understand because I didn’t have kids but now, I completely understand the decisions moms have to make.

I was fortunate to be able to have a choice to stay at home with my girls. Even though I knew it was the right choice for our family at that time, I struggled every day with wanting to work outside the home. I wanted to be in both places and read all the articles on how “moms can do it all” or “you can have it all if you just organize your day.” Well, I disagree completely and it places way too much pressure on moms to be perfect. You can “do it all” but in different seasons in your life. “You can have it all” if you surround yourself with other people that support you and help you. You can’t however do it all by yourself. We are made to be in community with other moms…other people.

When my girls were old enough and in school, I figured it was time for me to go back to work outside the home. I interviewed with a few recruiting companies and the people that interviewed me were way younger. Most of them didn’t understand that even though I’ve been at home I still had a brain. In my interviews, I talked about my volunteer jobs I took on at my daughters’ schools and at church. They didn’t really want to hear about those jobs. To them, it wasn’t a real job since I wasn’t “employed” by a company. The interviewer focused on the fact that I hadn’t worked outside the home in a few years and I probably wasn’t a match for them. Well, this was definitely humbling and frustrating. It made me realize how under appreciated moms are and how it felt like I was being punished for choosing to stay at home to raise my girls. It also hurt my confidence and made me feel like I didn’t belong out in the business world anymore. I knew other moms felt that way and through the years I met several of them. So many moms want to have the flexibility to work but also be there for their family. Many moms are afraid to get back out in the business world. They have lost their confidence; they don’t believe they have the skills anymore or there isn’t a flexible job out there for them so they give up.

I want to help moms believe in their ability and their value. I want to help moms use their talents and understand that those talents don’t disappear because they decided to stay at home. I want to help moms contribute to their family’s finances. I know so many talented moms who are CPA’s, attorneys, CEO’s, financial planners, journalists, marketing consultants, programmers, etc. that want to work but need some flexibility.

I believe companies can benefit greatly by employing moms. More and more companies have flexible work environments (hello 2020), so I want to help them find the right job.

After years of planning, not planning, and planning again…I’m ready to help moms build a future with some flexibility.