Today we’d like to introduce you to Renee Hill.
Hi Renee, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Where to begin… I guess we’ll go back a bit to give a clear picture… I’m mixed – my mom is white and my dad (RIP) is black. We lived in a suburban area growing up in MN. I never really had a true connection with either side of myself – too black to be white, too light to be black. I became a mother at 19 when my first daughter was born. I had just graduated high school and my whole life changed. My dad passed away from Parkinson’s not long after she was born. His last trip out of the house until his death was to visit us in the hospital. I moved out because I wanted to be on my own. I worked 2 or 3 jobs at a time in order to stay afloat. I cared for my daughter alone by the time she was 2. I attended online college to obtain my associate’s degree in Business Administration. It required a lot of long nights, but I did it! I then created my first business plan for a plus-size clothing store. I had a co-worker who assisted me with some items and offered to fund my start-up. However, once I got my business plan finalized, he disappeared. I got married and had two boys. My relationship took a terrible turn when my husband became abusive. It started with just me and it started so slowly that I didn’t even realize it was happening. I endured for a while – I felt stuck, ashamed, embarrassed, and alone. I was isolated and trapped. I realized I was in an abusive relationship while sitting in the OBGYN office 8 months pregnant with our second son and reading a magazine that listed the circle of abuse, and I fell into every category. I broke into tears. When he hurt my daughter, I knew I had to get away. I left, with my 3 kids, after work one day and fled to a shelter with nothing but the clothes on our backs. A 6-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a 6-month-old. I was scared, the threats and calls started coming when I didn’t check in after work. I went back one time after he tried to commit suicide. I guess I felt bad, he promised to change…but 1 week in and I knew he wasn’t going to, so I ran again to a shelter farther away and never looked back. I was able to get my own place again and get back to some sort of normal until the next tragedy 3 months after leaving him. My 2-year-old son died in an accident. I was devasted and lost. I asked my mother to take my two kids and I checked myself into the hospital after wanting to drive off a bridge. I was there for about a month as I learned to love myself and forgive myself – an ongoing process I’m still dealing with 16 years later. Dinosaur chicken nuggets still make me tear up. I forged on and had another daughter down the road. Again, father did not stay around – addiction got him. I decided it was time to just take care of myself and my kids. A few years later I met someone at work, a woman who changed my life by loving me for me and all that came with me. We’re married now, just celebrated 5 years, and we have a daughter. So, my current household is our 12-year-old and 3-year-old daughter, my wife, and me. My son is in MN staying with family as he finishes high school, the move to Texas didn’t work for him and it was best for the entire family that he went his own way. My oldest daughter is in MN as well, along with my 4-year-old grandson. We moved to Texas in August of 2021. I’ve always wanted to own and run my own business, but my choices in life didn’t leave much time or money for that to happen. It seemed unattainable. When I arrived in Texas and started venturing into some groups with black women, I began to see all these successful women entrepreneurs who looked like me! I was inspired to get something of my own going. I went to a networking get-together and learned a bit about how others had started. I did some research and applied for my LLC and started my business! I love arts and crafts and wanted to start using my new Cricut. I started with creating custom wine glasses, my first paid project being a dirty thirty sets for my cousin-in-law. I bought a web domain and started working on a website and hired someone to make a logo. I started exploring other things to make, watching a lot of TikTok! I started making t-shirts, pens, and tumblers. Then we went into beauty and started making lip scrubs and body scrubs, lip gloss, foot soaks, and bath detoxes. Expanded beauty to include eyelashes, bags with inspirations on them, and customized bonnets. I started working on a ‘Be Yourself’ collection which focuses on inspirational verbiage to inspire, uplift, and remind women of their worth and value. I attend some pop-up events to promote and sell my products. They have not been as fruitful as I would like, but I keep trying! I also started working on my social media presence more and my goal is to get to 1K followers on TikTok so I can start going live. I’m currently focusing on getting my website switched over from Wix to Shopify. My biggest challenge is getting a customer base and reaching people who need my services. Somedays I want to give up, but then I pick my head up and charge ahead again. I’ve invested a lot of time and money into the business, and I will be successful. My wife is a huge supporter and helps out with ideas and the creation of some products. Her favorite is the beauty line and she’s the best at lip glosses!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road has definitely not been free of obstacles and challenges! But we wouldn’t grow without those things. Some of the obstacles/challenges have been: Not knowing where to get started or where to go next. Not sure how to navigate social media successfully and create successful content. How do I reach the right customer base for my services and products? Being frustrated by not making money and going into debt trying to get the business running. Feeling ready to give up sometimes. Battling my own demons – I struggle with anxiety and depression.
I work really hard at keeping my mind and focus positive. I watch so many others out there doing it and it looks like it’s so easy for them! Sometimes it’s inspiring and sometimes it makes me feel not good enough like I can’t be that person. But that’s my own struggle in my head that I have to manage. I know I’m capable and I will succeed. I look to find others that are willing to share their stories and their struggles to help me navigate mine. I have so much anxiety when I go to a pop-up event, but I push it aside and make myself be out there and present and interact with others. At the end of the day. the only thing that can stop me is me and I don’t plan on stopping.
As you know, we’re big fans of UpGlo LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I create many different custom products – wine glasses, tumblers, water cups, shot glasses, mugs, t-shirts, toddler sweat suits, baby boxes – a box of customized clothing items with the child’s name/initials on them, glitter pens that can be customed to add a name or business. I call this part of the business UpGlo Creationz.
Then there’s my beauty line – all handmade and natural products – lip gloss, lip scrub, lip mask, body scrub, foot soak, bath detox, eyelashes/glue/mascara, customized puff bags with inspirational sayings, customizable bonnets, sunglasses, safety keychains, I call this part of the business UpGlo Beauty.
My newest creation is safety keychains which contain a high-pitched alarm, flashlight, a safety stick that can be used for breaking a window or defending yourself against an attacker, and a mace can be added. They are on a lanyard and wristlet with cute accessories – pompom, credit card grabber for those with long nails for the ATM, sanitizer, and lip balm. Can add a name to customize it as well.
I want to focus on self-love and uplifting each other! Hence my collection – Be Yourself.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was kind of a nerd. I was a ‘good girl.’ Listened to my parents, cleaned my room, helped out, did my homework, got good grades, started working at babysitting at 12 and got a job as soon as I could, and always kept one or two. I wanted to be a teacher. I played tennis, figured skated, and swam. I didn’t have a lot of friends. I had one good friend, Jessica, who lived down the hill. She was outgoing and spunky, everything I was not. I was shy and quiet. The saddest day when she moved to GA. Being in the suburbs in the 80s, there was not a lot of diversity, so I didn’t see too many people that looked like me. I didn’t learn much about my blackness and wouldn’t really until my 30’s. I took a turn around 16 when I met my best friend Jenny in the choir. She was popular and outgoing and took me under her wing. I had a car and license and became the driver. I started running to the city to explore and started meeting boys that were actually interested in a thick mixed girl. In my suburban area, the boys were not really interested. I got into marijuana and hanging out and boys. My life track changed, and I already mentioned the rest after that!
Contact Info:
- Website: upglollc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upglollc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UpGloLLC
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@upglollc
