My name is Lenise Williams. Many have dubbed me the original mompreneur. I had the social media handles and used the term many many years ago. I created a brand around being an entrepreneur, raising kids and trying to balance it all over ten years ago. It went great! I offered business consulting services and as a lawyer also helped business owners protect their brand. I even wrote a few books! The most popular were the 31 Day Guide to Building a Personal Brand (original and edition 2). Knowing how to craft a powerful personal brand has been transformational in my professional life.

I traveled all over speaking and teaching on entrepreneurship. The most notable was my trip to Morocco for a United Nations Conference and speaking about How Climate Change Affected Female Entrepreneurship. Nerdy, I know! I'm def a little nerdy! While there, I had the concept to launch my leather import company, Made Leather Co. The concept was to import handcrafted leather goods from artisans in Morocco to the USA. Well the brand quickly took off and I stepped away from consulting. We embarked on success after I negotiated contracts with athletes to promote the products. At that point I realized the power of athletes as influencers. I had garnered quite a following on my personal social media and also engaged in negotiating and securing my own influencer deals.

I'm now an empty nester; I have a son that is a sophomore in college and another preparing to begin his first year of college with a football scholarship.My eldest played basketball competitively year round and my youngest has always had his heart on playing football. For many years I sacrificed my weekends to be in a basketball gym or football field. I loved every minute of it (even when I complained!)

I share all that to show how all my life experiences have come full circle and lead me to launching Sideline Counsel. I'm excited to offer business & legal consulting services to student athletes as they navigate through this Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) journey. Offering services and products to help them build a strong personal brand so they can take advantage of all the influencer money that's available. Sports is a big business and now it’s my business.