We were lucky to catch up with Destenee’ Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.
Destenee’, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I’d like to think that I developed my own work ethic, but I think there would be a few people behind me clutching their pearls at the thought of me taking all the credit. I come from a long line of hard working women, and everything I do is built on the foundation they laid for me.
My mom has had the rug pulled from under her more times than she ever deserved, but every time she got up, dusted herself off and kept going. She shows up, she reinvents herself and she maintains multiple streams of income to make sure no one can ever pull the rug again. From her, I learned resilience. The kind that doesn’t wait for things to get easy to show up.
My grandmother is a fighter in every sense. She’s the kind of woman that doesn’t back down from a challenge and uses her strength to help others find theirs. Watching her taught me how to stand tall, move with intention and how to keep the faith even when things don’t go according to my plans.
And then there’s my great-grandmother, my granny as I like to call her. She was the matriarch, the teacher, the pastor and the heart of our family. I got 18 years with her and those years shaped me into the woman I am today. She taught 6th grade math and when I was little I used to sit in her classroom and do problems alongside her students while she bragged about her “smart granddaughter” to anyone who would listen. She never missed a day of work. I’ve been told stories of her walking through snow to make it to work because she didn’t want to let the people she impacted down. My mom always said she knew to never call my granny while she was at work. And long after she passed, people would tell us stories about how much they loved her and how much she impacted their life. That’s how strong her commitment was.
I see that same spirit in myself now. When I’m up studying before the sun rises, when I’m balancing motherhood, a full time job and building a business; that’s their spirit showing up in me. My work ethic didn’t start with me; it’s generational. It’s rooted in women who didn’t have the luxury of giving up and that’s exactly why I don’t either.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hi! I’m Destenee’ Moore. I’m a notary, bookkeeper, accountant (soon to be CPA, fingers crossed!), mother, professional and, most of all, an individual. Right now, I’m in a really special season of my life. Everything I’ve been working towards for years is finally starting to take shape. I’m wrapping up my CPA (certified public accountant) exam, building my business and learning to give myself grace through the process.
For years, I was scared to just start. I created mental roadblocks, convincing myself they were protecting me from failure, but really they were keeping me from everything I’ve ever wanted. This past April I turned 28 and during reflection, I realized I wasn’t doing anything that made me feel like I had a purpose. I had the skills, certifications, values and the knowledge to branch out on my own; so I did. The years were passing by with or without me and I was just letting them. All because of a “What if I can’t?”. But, what if I can?
For me, this season is about more than a certification or financial success; it’s about proving to myself that the version of me who once doubted she could do this was wrong.
Professionally, I’m focused on creating something purposeful and sustainable. My current business, Moore by Destenee, which offers bookkeeping and notary services, grew from my natural pull toward organization and my love of helping others. It’s also the first stepping stone toward my ultimate goal of developing a full-service CPA firm that serves individuals and small businesses.
At its core, Moore by Destenee stands for accessibility and authenticity. I want clients to feel seen and supported. Whether it’s balancing books for a business or notarizing documents for a major life event, I take pride in being a reliable presence people can trust.
I’ve always had a strong work ethic and consider myself a productive, detail-oriented woman. But throughout this journey, I’ve learned that success doesn’t mean constant motion and perfection. It means being intentional. I want to build a career that reflects the balance of working hard, creating space for my daughter and living a life that feels like mine. And in the grand scheme of those things, I get to help others along the way and that’s what makes it all worth it.
In the coming year, I’m excited to expand my services to include more financial consulting and tax preparation support as I complete my CPA journey. If you’re a small business owner or just an individual looking for reliable and personable support, you can find me at Moore by Destenee. I’m always here if you need me.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I’d say the three most impactful qualities in my journey have been resilience, curiosity, and intention.
Resilience has carried me through moments when I wanted to give up, whether that was sitting for another CPA exam through pure exhaustion, balancing motherhood or navigating constant uncertainty in my life. I’ve learned that resilience isn’t about being unaffected by challenges, it’s about choosing to keep going despite them.
Curiosity has been my hidden superpower. It has pushed me to ask why things work the way they do and how they could work better. We tend to forgo our curiosity as we get older and settle into routines. We do things just because that’s the way they’ve always been done. But staying curious helps you find creative solutions and keeps work and life from feeling routine.
And intention has shaped the way I move about life now. I used to think success was about doing as much as possible as quickly as you can. Now I understand that it’s about doing what truly matters to you. Being intentional with my time, my energy and my goals has helped me align my career with the life I want to live.
To anyone just beginning, build your resilience by giving yourself grace. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just don’t stop showing up. Never lose that child-like spark. Ask questions. Take notes. Learn from everyone and everything you can.
Be honest about what matters most to you and build from there. Growth isn’t linear. It’s layered, lived and oh so personal.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I ground myself and go back to my roots. As some would say, I go touch grass. Being overwhelmed can feel all consuming, like everything needs to happen at once. When I start to feel that way, I make it a point to step away and reconnect with things that really matter.
Sometimes that means taking an evening to do something fun with my daughter, maybe going to brunch with a friend or even taking a walk around the block. The little pauses help to remind me that the world won’t fall apart if I just take a second to slow down. It’s helpful to see how small the chaos actually is in the grand scheme of things.
Once I’ve had time to breathe, I can usually see things more clearly. That’s when I sit, organize my thoughts and start working through what I can handle. Just one piece at a time.
My advice? Go touch grass. Then come back and prioritize. Delegate if you can. Delay what isn’t pressing. And most importantly, give yourself permission to slow down. You can only do what you can. And that’s always enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.moorebyd.com
- Instagram: @moorebydestenee
- Facebook: Des Moore
- Other: TikTok: @dstneeirl
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