Brooke Hipps shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Brooke, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I’m a delivery driver for Meals on Wheels in Fort Worth and my route is every Monday morning, so it’s how I take the pressure out of Monday mornings and being overwhelmed by what the week holds, and instead I actively make space for the community. Delivering to the home bound and checking in with them is always a sure way to start the week out positive and keep life in perspective. So, my delivery route brings me joy and I also like to cook – so when I’m not at a network event or working then I’m trying a cooking class or whipping up something good in the kitchen. The kitchen keeps me creative and chopping veggies is cathartic – it’s a way I like to share love!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m the Founder of Weekend Will, LLC. Weekend Will is a digital will SaaS platform and customers start an account and complete their last will and testament on the platform. I lost my 36 year old sister in 2022, and she passed away without a will. Settling her estate with no roadmap was devastating. From this experience I decided to start a digital will service and the goal is to make the process less intimidating and more convenient and affordable. Weekend Will makes it easier to have a will and communicate your wishes to your family should the unthinkable happen. We walk a person through the steps and then boom – they generate a last will and testament. Getting this document in place is important and most people don’t understand it or don’t think they have anything worth protecting; however, that’s just not the case. Do you own a home, are you married, getting divorced, have a child, have something meaningful like art or a baseball card collection? These are decisions that go into your will. And now you can grab your computer and complete it on your couch over the weekend.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
This memory is less about feeling powerful as much as it’s about feeling inner strength. I am from DeSoto, Texas and when I was growing up, cheerleading was huge. I remember trying out in 8th and 9th grades and not making the team – it was what I felt at the time …..devastating. I felt disappointment, rejection, sadness – all the emotions. I decided I would never put myself through try-outs again. Well, I did.
And when I finally made it for my sophomore year of HighSchool, it was the BEST, but what was best about it was finally attaining something I had to keep working for. That feeling of getting back up and trying again – It’s been a theme of my life and I think why entrepreneurship suits me.
I’ve closed a business after 5 years, I have lost over 10 grants/pitch competitions for Weekend Will, had a giant deal fall through that would have jump started the business, been ignored by people I thought would support me. But I keep showing up to try-outs because I know one day, I’m going to make it.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Losing a sibling is not something I wish on my worst enemy. Trying to describe it now I can’t even really describe it – this person full of life and laughter, your confidant & best friend suddenly gone without explanation or without warning. It’s a physical wound and manifests in the body, it’s primal pain. It’s suffering and darkness and wading around in waves of grief that knock you down again and again and again. I had to stay down and let it consume me knowing the only way around it, was through it.
Grief is the cruelest of teachers, but its lessons and its pupils – the strongest.
Life is precious, death inevitable and resilience is within. That’s what suffering taught me that no successes ever could. We know life is short, it’s a tagline we hear throughout our lives, but when it cuts a friend or family member down in their prime – the sentence becomes a wake up call. So, I’m thankful for my time more than ever before because it can be taken and it means that I’m intentional about my dreams. I had time to honor my sister if I climbed out of the grief. So, I channeled it and made it a mission – if I could help one family put in place a document that could save confusion and heartache then I had to do it. So, I don’t care anymore if people get behind the idea, or support me. I’m doing it anyway and I won’t stop because as cliche as it sounds she would be proud of the work I’m doing. And that’s enough to keep going.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That it’s o.k. To charge a working family $3,000.00 for a form document that a lawyer changes the names out in.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Social Media.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://weekendwill.com/
- Instagram: @the_weekend_will @thebhipps
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weekend-will
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578715042530
Image Credits
Kim Brown, Story and Strategy
