Deanna M. Laster is a native Houstonian with an extensive background in personal development, project management, education, and technology. She started her professional career in information technology and progressed into business consulting making her mark as a proven leader implementing and managing technology portfolios of global distributed teams that deliver strategic business value for Fortune 500 clients. She shares her thought leadership on business and tech topics via speaking engagements and media.
In addition to a strong commitment to servicing clients, Deanna believes in giving back. She founded SistersNBloom, a philanthropic foundation whose mission is to provide funding to women’s empowerment initiatives.
What is DeannaMichel, Inc. all about?
DeannaMichel is a corporation consisting of the culmination of DeannaMichel Boutique (custom ladies apparel using digital designs); The Be Factor (online boutique); and DeannaMichel, Inc. (a niche provider of project management and technology consulting solutions that implements best practices and products to efficiently enable business capabilities).
SistersNBloom is my philanthropic foundation whose mission is to provide funding to women’s empowerment initiatives through transformational programs that foster confidence, poise, leadership, and creativity.
I also recently co-founded Her-Wealth in 2020, which is a business collective dedicated to providing business resources to women of color (WOC) entrepreneurs. Each of these enterprises fulfills the commitment of my life purpose–philanthropy, women’s empowerment, and professional leadership.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I have always been driven to analyze and break down how things work and how they can be made to work better, so technology was fascinating to me. When I launched my company DeannaMichel, Inc. in 2014, I wanted to do it all, but I realized that I needed to scale down my vision. I have so much passion as a consultant leading large technology initiatives, but on the flip side, I am creative with a love for fashion design. However, scaling down did not mean sacrificing what I love; it allowed me to also incorporate my creative side and blend the best of both worlds.
While excelling as a consultant in the oil and gas industry, I asked myself, what else can I do? That moment of introspection led to me teaching computer science courses as an adjunct professor at Houston Community College. I had my class create a vision board at the end of each semester around their goals, and one of my students created a board on fashion design. I was so impressed with his creative expression that it inspired me to also enroll as a student at HCC to learn more about design. I wanted to incorporate a little bit of several of my passions into my company, and here I am today. I eventually found a way to blend my creative and technical sides into a successful brand.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
These are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur:
I would say that continuous learning is important. Technology is a very fluid industry and what is hot today may not be hot tomorrow, so professionals in the space need to always be evolving, learning, and keeping up with the latest technology solutions. Not necessarily the latest trends, which can be short-term, but being a continuous learner in the areas of methodologies, frameworks, platforms, and best practices is important. I would encourage leaders who feel they are at a standstill to restart their engines by continuing to always have value-added services they can provide that clients may not be able to leverage from their internal teams.
A good balance of strategic and tactical thinking is also critical. There are many moving parts when running your own business, so having a sound strategic mind is absolutely critical so you don’t get bogged down by the workload and varying responsibilities. You have to see both the forest (long-term goals) and the trees (day-to-day details). If this isn’t a skill set you possess, then hiring someone to balance out your team in this area is essential.
An ambitious nature to lead and guide the company through peaks and valleys is the third key skill I would recommend. As an entrepreneur you’re not only leading a business and often a team, you’re leading yourself. There’s not an entrepreneur alive who would say that this road is always easy, so being able to proactively plan for lows and ramp up for highs takes a lot of flexibility, grit, and skill. Leadership has to be seen as a skill so that those who may not innately possess that quality can seek out training and mentorship to grow personally while their company grows as well.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge has been to actually continue challenging the status quo. Professionally, that may be limitations due to a prescribed role, title, skillset, or opportunity; personally, it could be education, gender, or race. Regardless of any of the above, it is important to me to own my areas to develop, seek feedback, and push through closing gaps one challenge at a time.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Being “busy” is not the same as “being productive.” It’s good to have focused time to reflect and simply think with other times being intentional on progress. This balance helps you to keep momentum while not burning out or spinning your wheels.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
If I only had $1,000 to start a new business knowing what I know now, I’d still spend it the same way—on education. Having expertise that has client demand and that you’re passionate about is priceless. Furthering my niche with education to strengthen core competencies would be key.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
I love what I do! Helping executives with a transformative strategy to competitively navigate their organization through change is extremely fulfilling.
What is your favorite quote?
Mahatma Gandhi’s quote,
“Be the Change You Want to See in the World,”
Mahatma Gandhi
is one of my favorite quotes. When I want to see a difference in diversity in a profession where I have typically been the minority in both gender and race and feel a company should be doing better in this area, this quote helps me to remember to implement those same best practices in my own company. Being the change that I want to see is important to me not only for my own progression but to inspire others as well.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
I would advise others to find their own authentic voice. When you’re young, you often think that life is about finding yourself; as you grow up, though, you realize it’s more about creating yourself. To do that you have to get out there and try, fail, pick yourself up, and do it all over again. The key to success in that process is listening to your own inner voice that will help guide you along the way.
What is your definition of success?
My definition of success is a life lived on purpose. What that means is that you don’t stumble through life without any dreams, or worse only living out someone else’s mandates for your life, but that you listened to the call deep within your soul and followed it. There’s no true failure when you’re intentionally doing what you were born to do.
How do you personally overcome fear?
I personally overcome fear by visualizing ultimate success. When you have the end goal in mind, it becomes a north star that serves as a guiding light to remind you that you are not alone and that you’re striving for something bigger than yourself. My faith is also a key factor as well: prayer and purpose are powerful tools on your journey.
How can readers get in touch with you?
Readers can get in touch with me via my website deannamichel.com to learn about all of the work that I do across brands. I am also on LinkedIn @ DeannaMLaster. I look forward to connecting!
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