This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gisselle Hernandez, founder of Glamlite. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Five years ago, I was running a cosmetic business that had generated millions in sales. And yet, my bank account only had a few hundred dollars in it. I felt trapped in a relationship with my romantic partner because I didn’t think I had the financial or emotional resources to leave.
That’s when I realized that, despite building a successful company, trauma from my past was still holding me back. With a friend’s help and encouragement, I left my relationship and took control of my company’s finances — and it changed my life.
My family didn’t teach me to dream big
My daughter and I moved into a beautiful six-bedroom house. The thing I was most excited about was having a closet to hang my clothes in: before that, even with my success, I’d been living out of a suitcase.
For me, the trauma was generational. My mom was an entrepreneur in the Dominican Republic. She was an orphan who ran a farm and a day care center. Eventually, she made enough money to invest in real estate.
When I was a toddler, we moved to the US. We were undocumented, and life was very, very, very difficult. My family never taught me to dream big: They just told me to get a job that paid enough to cover rent and food.
A college assignment helped me revisit my dreams
I dropped out of school in 9th grade and started working as a freelance graphic designer. I loved it, but my family didn’t encourage me. I obtained my GED and enrolled in a community college to become a nurse.
One of my classes required me to write an essay about the concept of the glass ceiling. As I wrote about how women are disadvantaged in business and entrepreneurship, I realized I was part of the problem: I was settling for a career that felt safe, rather than the one I wanted. Soon after, I switched my major to business.
My business took off when I started taking care of myself
I graduated with an associate degree, and a few years later, I was a stay-at-home mom in LA. I knew my relationship with my daughter’s father wasn’t healthy, and I wanted a way out. I thought money would give me that, so I spent $1,900 on a credit card to buy selfie lights, which I sold to makeup influencers. At the time, no one else was doing that, and it took off. I did about $80,000 in the first year.
I used that money to launch my beauty brand. In June 2021, Glamlite achieved more than $2 million in sales in one day, with $1.5 million generated from the website and the remainder from wholesale orders.
My daughter and I are living a life I couldn’t imagine
When I first became a multimillionaire, I had the money just sitting in my account. Because of my past, I wanted to save everything.
A wealth advisor explained to me that’s not how you grow wealth. She worked with me at a slow pace. First, we put money in a CD account, rather than a savings account. Once I was comfortable with that, we moved on to stocks. I’m still learning as I go.
Today, my daughter chooses whether she wants to ride to school in my pink Mercedes G Wagon, my blue Corvette, or one of my other cars. She’s living a life I couldn’t imagine at her age — even if the cars are mostly a business tool for when we do influencer marketing shoots.
I always encourage my daughter’s dreams. Currently, she wants to create content online, so I purchased the necessary equipment for her. She and I are both in therapy, and we’re doing the work to break family cycles of domestic violence. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished, but finding the strength to break free is my greatest success.
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