‘Life’s Not a Dress Rehearsal’ — How One Mother’s Legacy Became the ‘Force’ Behind Another Mother’s Passion

The events of the last year have certainly shown us that life is fleeting — an adage that’s not lost on Dr. Annie Vovan.

Three years prior to the start of the pandemic, the former Pharmacist-turned-serial entrepreneur endured one of the most challenging years of her life. In the span of a year, Annie lost seven loved ones; suffered two back-to-back miscarriages; and received the news of her mother’s cancer diagnosis.

“The impact of losing my father and father-in-law months apart was unbearable,” said Annie Vovan, the LA-based mama of two.

But it was the unexpected death of her 46-year-old nanny, Morena, shortly after which really shifted Annie’s perception around motherhood and the guilt that comes with it.

“(Morena) had unmet goals and unmet dreams,” Annie told Voyage LA. “She wanted to wait for her son to finish college before she would let herself ‘live.’”

To help cope with the impact of Morena’s death, Annie started a community of moms called Avenue Mama. What started out as a place for her to talk about the unglamorous side of motherhood, eventually turned into a community where she started teaching other moms how to launch their own businesses.

Annie was well-suited for the challenge. Just a few years earlier, Annie took the leap to leave her 14-year pharmacy career to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams, thanks to her firstborn son.

“Once I became a mom to a baby boy with a health concern, I knew I couldn’t be away from him,” she said. “I needed to find a way to still make money.”

Fast forward to 2021, Dr. Annie Vovan has helped ignite a fire within hundreds of women to pursue their mompreneur dreams, and practice self-care and self-compassion in the process.

While she’s no longer a practicing pharmacist, Annie’s made it her mission is to give moms the “prescription” to get out of their own way, start their own businesses, and design a life they love — guilt free.

Her goal is to help 1,000 moms start their online business by 2022 (whether it is a service based or lifestyle brand business) so that they can leave their legacy and impact for generations to come.

It’s been four years since Morena, Annie’s beloved nanny passed away, but her legacy still lives on in the work that Annie does.

“Morena is the force behind my passion to be intentional about my life, and to remind the moms in my community to do so as well,” she told Voyage LA. “Life’s not a dress rehearsal. We have to make each day count.”

Original source of quotes obtained with permission from avenuemama.com, unless otherwise noted.

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Attend Annie’s Free Mother’s Day workshop

Join Self-Care Society co-Founder Danika Brysha and Dr. Annie Vovan for Unapologetic Self-Care for Moms — a special event held the Friday before Mother’s Day.

In this 60-minute workshop, Annie shares tips on building an unapologetic self-care routine, include how to:

• Make more space to honor yourself, more deeply and more often
• Try on some new self-care hacks that take just minutes each day
• Build a custom routine that you can actually stick to Design your dream Mother’s Day (outside help optional)
• Connect with the big vision for your life and your family

Even a few minutes of self-care each day can actually add time back to your busy mama schedule — for you and your family.

Nominate a mom you love to get free access yourself ($34.99 value).

In addition to event access, both you and the moms you nominate will get a free mother’s day gift.

Unapologetic Self-Care for Moms

Date: Friday, May 7th, 2021
Time: 5:30-6:30pm PT
RSVP at myselfcaresociety.com/mom