Meet HOPE King of ReUp Personal Care, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to HOPE King.

Hi HOPE, 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 had my son in 2015 and shortly became a doula because I saw the need in the community for birth and postpartum support. I’ve been a doula for 10 years and have but able to support mothers when they needed it the most. Through my time as a doula, mother and care giver I saw another need in my community. Accessible personal hygiene products.

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?
The path of entrepreneurship is never smooth. I launched my first business in 2020. I decided to become a doula full time after being furloughed during the pandemic. The business of birth is largely controlled by the major hospitals and there was a lot of red tape to get around. Ultimately that business model was unsustainable and I went back to being a doula for my friends and family.

Fast forward 5 years and my local mall was flooded with vending machines for trading cards, lashes, bundles, and other products that I as a consumer would never purchase because they never fit a need of mine. But everybody shits their pants. Personal care items require less in-person hours cutting labor cost, the products have great margins and the machines provide accessibility. It was a no brainer for me. I saw the need in the market and went after it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about ReUp Personal Care, LLC?
I have a personal care vending business. We sell diapers, adult diapers, wipes, deodorant wipes, emergency panties. everything you might need in a pinch. I don’t think I’ve seen a vending machine like mine. I’ve seen some machine just carry thing for infants and babies but my machine is for everyone at every stage of their life. Our baby packs come with everything you need for a blow out. our adult packs have everything a care giver would need during a long day. Breast feeding moms have access to bags, pads, and cold packs. We have pads, tampons and menstrual disc. And as always butt wipes.

I think I’m most proud of our guerrilla marketing campaign. As a micro business there is no marketing budget. But I invested in a good printer to cut cost on packaging. Now I’m generating stickers that I’ve placed all over the city. The stickers are funny and direct you to our machines.

My brand, my business and what drives who I am is serving the needs of my community. We’re the FUBU of personal care!

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck is what you make it. As a black woman “luck” has never been on my side. Elbow grease and tenacity has. If I rested on luck for success I’d still be wishing on a star. What did Langston Hugh’s say ? ” Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”. The things that I admire most about myself are all the things luck could never provide. My intuition led me to my machine. My grit and tenacity provided me the strength and the long suffering to see this vision through.

I think at this point in my business and my personal life I’d rather have the experience and knowledge luck doesn’t afford you.

Pricing:

• Buying machines second hand has proven to be better than a custom machine out the gate.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: reup_personal_care
• Facebook: ReUp Personal Care Vending