Black business Facebook admin aims to inspire through community involvement, podcast and book
By day, Lirec Williams is a systems program manager for DHL in their Columbus location, but work doesn’t end when he clocks out. Instead, he goes into the next day donning the hats he wears.
Williams’ indefatigable drive to inspire is demonstrated through his involvement with organizations like Ohio Youth Development and the Africentric Personal Development Shop. He also oversees a Facebook business group, does a podcast for strengthening families and wrote a book to help fathers build better relationships with their children.
This is just a handful of the labors of love for this native Texan, who moved to Columbus about five years ago. “I came here because I wanted to grow in supporting businesses, which I was doing in Houston, but on a smaller scale,” Williams said.
To that end, he joined Columbus Black-Owned Businesses, a Facebook group that now has nearly 80,000 members. As the numbers skyrocketed, Williams was handed the baton by the original administrator and he ran with it.
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“I’m hoping to build the community and support businesses to be a sustainable hub for Black-owned businesses in Columbus, to be connected to resources,” he said.
The group isn’t just open to Black members, Williams noted, referring to “a huge chunk of allies around the city” helping to support Black-owned businesses and bridge the gap in resources for them.
“We have to create a bigger megaphone,” said Williams, who creates materials for the group, including courses, webinars and videos.
Lirec Williams' most important job
At home in Westerville, the 35-year-old continues creating in his home studio, where he does a podcast, “15 Minutes with Dad,” co-hosted with his teenage daughter Mariah.
“I became a dad at 19 and all the thoughts I had were: I didn’t know how to be a man. I didn’t know how to be a dad. I didn’t have a dad growing up. I didn’t know how to be a husband. All the reasons I should run,” he said.
Williams didn’t follow his initial frightened instinct to flee. He chose to fight back against his own traumas.
“I was homeless and in a whole different mental space at that time. I said, ‘I am sick because I’m not taking care of myself. I can’t go another year like this.’
“My connection to the world was my child. No one could take care of her the way I could. I had to do something to change the trajectory of my daughter’s life,” he said.
So, Williams made a vision board outlining his goals: getting a car, an apartment and a job, plus employing methods like hypnosis, meditation and daily affirmations to heal.
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“Within three months, I had completed most of my vision board,” he said. "I believe in manifesting what I say I’m going to do.”
From his recovery grew his book, “Man Up: From Our Traumas to Being Impactful Fathers.”
“I was always teaching how to be a better father, how parents can connect with children because there’s a difference between being present and being a presence. I thought, ‘What kind of tool can I provide to fathers to apply to life?’” he said.
“I try to inspire in everything I do with anybody I touch on this planet. Your legacy is just that: ‘How many people did you impact while on this earth?’ I want to dedicate my next 50-60 years to inspiring people.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Lirec Williams aims to inspire others through community involvement
