Today we’d like to introduce you to Teresa Hernandez-Howe, MBA.
Hi Teresa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am the founder of Girls Of Color Take Over LLC, Wife, Mother, Mentor, Serial Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, and Philanthropist. My story started at an early age growing up in Dangriga, Belize Central America. My cultural background embodies the true meaning of entrepreneurship. Seeing the women in my life create jobs and opportunities for themselves inspired me to become a business owner. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it. My late mother Flora Hernandez, was my role model, she was a teacher, entrepreneur, humanitarian and she always lent a helping hand regardless of who it was. I was truly inspired by everything she was doing. She was fearless, resilient, and strong, and she always left a lasting impression on everyone who came in contact with her.
In August 2017, I went on a mission trip to the Philippines. I had the opportunity to spend time mentoring young girls. They had amazing dreams and goals but didn’t have the resources and funding to pursue them! My heart was immediately open and I knew that I needed to find a way to help these girls achieve their goals and dreams. I wanted to make a huge difference, and impact on these young girls lives. My passion to help and improve the lives of others was immediately activated. Ultimately, there was work to be done.
I returned home and started thinking of ways that I can assist, and then the unthinkable happened. A mother’s worst nightmare. November 4th, 2017, my 9-year-old was experiencing symptoms that were extremely scary. She was rushed to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. After a few tests were done, I was told that she needed to have emergency brain surgery due to a sinus infection that spread to her brain. We were told that she would not make it the next day and that a decision needed to be made. My husband and I immediately prayed and knew that God would bless and heal our Zia. It turned out that the infection was severe. The first surgery was not helping, Her brain was swollen and her bone flap needed to be removed which resulted in a second surgery.. days later no improvement. To make a long story short, my daughter had 4 brain surgeries and was hospitalized in ICU for 46 days. While watching her in a coma, prayer was the only thing that got me through. My faith in the Lord was activated. I would rub my daughter with oils to help with self-care. At the same time, it helped me with feeling less stressed, less anxious, and more uplifted.
After this traumatic experience, I took time off to care for my daughter. Ultimately, everything I wanted to accomplish after returning from the Philippines was put on hold. My mind was completely on how to ensure that nothing like this occurs again. As time went on, I remember sitting down to watch TV and catching up on the 2019 pageants. Miss World, Miss USA, Miss Teen, Miss Universe, and Miss America were all Girls Of Color!!! This was a PHENOMENAL moment in history. At this point, I got my momentum back and knew that I had to start working on empowering, mentoring, and encouraging girls of color from all over the world on the importance of knowing their worth and becoming whomever they wanted to be.
Girls Of Color Take Over LLC encourages girls of all colors from different backgrounds and ethnicities to take over any industry they desire without having any fear of doing so. No job is your job unless you have your own, this is why is it imperative that I mentor our girls on using their talents and skills to start their own businesses and create opportunities for themselves. I teach them how to start a business from the ground up. This includes registering a business name, deciding on the right business structure, trademarking, sales and marketing strategies, as well as executing a successful pop-up event.
Girls Of Color Take Over LLC also offers handcrafted body products that help with self-care. If you remember, I mentioned that while my daughter was hospitalized, I would use oils on her daily to help with self-care as well as to help with my emotions. The oils were helping her with some scarring as well as helping me to get through, I decided to start my oil business to show young girls that our talents and experiences can become our legacy. Most importantly I am leading by example, by showing them that I too started my own business.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting Girls Of Color Take Over LLC had its ups and down. Being an entrepreneur is never easy, it comes with uncertainties and plenty of risks. Access to funding has always been a challenge and still is. God is in control and I have faith that he will continue to open doors for me that will ultimately grow the business beyond my imagination. Girls Of Color Take Over is Global and the plan is to reach a mass group of young ladies who don’t have the same opportunities to be successful. I would love to bring this opportunity to them, and with the right tools they can start believing in themselves and knowing that they can achieve anything. Most importantly, helping them tap into their talents. We are truly appreciative of any contributions or donations to continue the work around the world. We accept all forms of donations, you can reach us at [email protected] with any questions.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Girls Of Color Take Over LLC?
The business offers both products and services. The products are Natural handcrafted body and skin care which helps with self-care. We offer botanical bath salts, body oils for both men and women, and organic body butter. The product options will be expanding in 2023.
Our services teach girls of color especially our black and brown girls how to start their businesses. Women of color have been marginalized, and still fighting for equality today. It is imperative to teach our girls from ages 10 and up how to create job opportunities for themselves. I teach them to step by step how to be a kidpreneur and ultimately an entrepreneur. Using their big ideas to start their own businesses. I offer one on one consultations, mentorship, and courses to help jump-start their dreams and goals. My goal is to ensure each girl I work with reaches their highest potential in life without any fear in doing so.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory was back home in Belize. On the weekends, my sister Beth and I would pretend to be grocery store owners. We would look for canned goods, cereal boxes, anything we can get our hands on from the kitchen. We would then set up a pop up shop outside the house, and invite friends in the neighborhood to play with us. The games and activities that I played as a child were ideal for my future endeavors, it was the perfect way to have a business mindset at an early age. This definitely helped my journey as an entrepreneur.
We imagined what it would be like to have our own grocery store and be our own bosses. I guess this is why we are all boss women in my family. We were blessed to have our mother in our lives. All my siblings learned how to be entrepreneurs from my late mom. She taught us all how to be self-sufficient. She never complained about working and always found ways to support her family and children. She was AMAZING and I can truly say that I am the woman I am today because of her passion, dedication, and love for us all. She showed us how to create opportunities for ourselves.
R.I.P Mom, Flora Isabel Hernandez, I miss and love you!!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.girlsofcolortakeover.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girls_of_color_take_over
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/261334725588026/?ref=share_group_link
