Meet La Juana

We recently connected with La Juana and have shared our conversation below.

La Juana, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

To be honest, I can’t take full credit for developing my confidence and self-esteem, especially when I was younger. That foundation was laid by my parents. From the beginning, my sister and I were told we could do anything. I know that might sound like a cliché, but in our home, it was a truth we lived every day. There was never a narrative of limitation. We weren’t taught that our race, our gender, or our background were obstacles. We were taught that those things made us stronger.

The hardships of our ancestors were never framed as something to feel ashamed of. Only the strongest made it over the ocean. Only the strongest survived slavery. These were not things meant to hold us back. These were legacies of power. That resilience runs in our blood, and we were taught to draw strength from it, not fear.

So when challenges showed up, we never assumed they came from within us. We didn’t believe we were the problem. We were taught that obstacles are external, and with hard work, determination, and grace, they can always be overcome. I carried that mindset into adulthood. It shaped how I approached learning, leadership, and life. If I didn’t do something, it wasn’t because I couldn’t. It was because I chose not to. If I didn’t know something, it wasn’t because I was incapable. It just meant I hadn’t learned it yet.

Now I see that same self-assurance in my daughter. Recently, someone asked her how she could be good at both science and drawing, as if being gifted in multiple areas was a problem. She simply said, “Because I don’t believe I can’t do it.” That stuck with me. When you don’t believe you can’t, it puts you in a position of power. It opens up your ability to explore, create, and lead with confidence.

Of course, belief alone isn’t enough. I’ve put in the work. I’ve faced setbacks. I’ve made sacrifices. But that inner belief system, that knowing that I belong in every room I enter, has carried me through every season of my journey. And today, whether I’m building strategy with an entrepreneur, consulting with a nonprofit, or teaching in the classroom, I bring that same message forward. Confidence is not about ego. It is about understanding who you are, where you come from, and knowing that there is no limit to what you can achieve when you walk in your power.

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?

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, three things stand out as game-changers in my journey: Excel, Stoicism, and Curiosity.

Let’s start with Microsoft Excel. Many people have called Excel my love language, and honestly, they’re not wrong. That tool has been a quiet powerhouse in my life. My ability to organize, analyze, and strategize using Excel has given me a level of clarity and control that strengthens everything I do as an entrepreneur. Whether I’m building a budget, tracking performance, or planning growth, Excel helps me make sense of the moving pieces. If you’re just starting out, I can’t stress enough how valuable it is to go beyond the basics. Learn the formulas. Play around with pivot tables. Set up templates that actually serve your business. You don’t need to become a data scientist, but you do need to know your numbers, and Excel is a great way to stay grounded in them.

Then there’s Stoicism. Remaining unbothered is one of my superpowers. Seriously, lol. Entrepreneurship will test you. Things will go wrong. People will let you down. The market will shift. And you have to be able to center yourself, make clear decisions, and keep moving. Stoicism isn’t about suppressing emotion. It’s about learning to respond instead of react. That mindset has helped me stay focused, especially when the pressure is on. If you’re early in your journey, I recommend leaning into it. Practice pausing before reacting. That emotional discipline becomes a real strength over time.

And finally, curiosity. That’s the thread that runs through everything I’ve done. I’ve always been hungry to learn something new, and that hunger has taken me places. Every day I’m looking for insights I can apply to my life or my work. Whether it’s something I read, a conversation I have, or a random rabbit hole I go down online, curiosity keeps me evolving. I’m old enough to remember pulling encyclopedias off the shelf or spending hours at the library just to chase down answers. Now we live in an era where knowledge is right at our fingertips. My hope is that we don’t get so overwhelmed by the abundance of information that we forget to use it. We are living in a golden age. The knowledge is out there, and the speed at which we can apply it is a real equalizer.

So if you’re just starting out, my advice is simple. Build your skills. Steady your mindset. Stay curious. That combination will take you further than you can imagine.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

This is the first time I’m really speaking about this publicly, but over the past couple of years, I’ve been navigating something deeply personal: phobic disorder. It’s something that’s always lingered in the background, quietly shaping certain decisions and limiting certain experiences. But in the last year, it started to seriously impact my quality of life, and I knew I couldn’t ignore it anymore. So my biggest area of growth has been facing it head-on and building a support team to help me move through it.

I’m working with a psychotherapist, a hypnotherapist, and an acupuncturist. Each one brings something unique and powerful to the table, and together they’ve helped me make real progress. I’ve also changed how I nourish my body, focusing on foods and habits that support my mindset and overall wellness. I decided that if I was going to overcome this, I was going to throw everything I had at it. No holding back.

The truth is, life is short. And I refuse to let a fear that I can conquer hold me back from living fully. This season has reminded me of how important it is to ask for help, to trust experts, and to commit to doing the inner work. Healing isn’t always linear, but it is possible, and that gives me so much hope for what’s ahead.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lajuanawhitmore.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-juana-whitmore-consulting
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXRCXL2G?&linkCode=sl1&tag=wbvllc-20&linkId=72c1b5aa72c8a79f0cd34d42fc4da07b&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl