Helena Cunningham’s journey to law school was different than the typical, straight from undergrad student.
After graduating from Southern University, Cunningham began working as a CPA but found that accounting wasn’t the greatest fit for her. With the support of her husband, an attorney, she decided to follow her true passion to become a lawyer.
“I started law school the same day my son started pre-k,” Cunningham says. “I remember dropping him off that morning for Sacred Heart.”
Adding on top of her schedule as a student, Cunningham had her second child during her year two of law school and for most of her tenure, she was also working. She says she couldn’t have done it without the support of her family.
“I had a tremendous support system that allowed me to do all the things I wanted to do—be a mom, a student, and also focus on my career at the same time,” Cunningham says. “You have to have a support system in order to go through it, but also to go through it well.”
It was during a law clerk internship at the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency in her hometown of New Orleans that Cunningham got her first taste of the affordable housing industry—and she thrived in it.
“I loved every moment of it,” she says. The whole objective of the organization was to serve underserved people, and quite frankly, I put my upbringing in that category—I was raised by a single parent. Although I had an excellent childhood, I know programs that LHFA had available could have been beneficial to people like my family. It was rewarding to create programs to offer resources to those people in need, provide opportunities to do better, get better and live better.”
She had been thinking about starting her own business for several years, but it wasn’t until about a decade ago that a friend encouraged her to pull the trigger on that dream when she asked Cunningham why she didn’t have faith and confidence in herself. Cunningham founded the National Housing Consulting Services in 2011.
“I figured she was right,” she says. “If I don’t have faith and confidence in myself, how can I expect others to? My biggest regret is that I didn’t start my business sooner.
Her favorite thing about being an entrepreneur? She controls her livelihood and doesn’t have to rely on other people to dictate what happens to her career and her family’s well being.
“I love to see young women think that way and I would encourage women—don’t wait,” she says. “If you know you’re good at something, are achieving excellence and don’t think you’re being appreciated? Do it for yourself.”
She suggests that women make sure they’ve got a support system before kicking off their businesses.
“I think I was afraid because I had a well-paying job with a family and responsibilities,” Cunningham says. “It’s hard to take that next step unless you have confidence you’ll be OK financially, so you have to have that support to back you up as well.”
Read more about Cunningham’s ongoing fight to diversity business board rooms in Baton Rouge through her work with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber in a recent Business Report feature.
