Hannah Hillman

I would definitely say my dad, Darrell Hillman. My dad went through a lot when me and my sisters were kids, and I think him instilling in me to be the best young woman and showing me the type of morals and values that I should carry with myself - it was really hard on him raising myself and then two handicapped twins, my sisters, all by himself. If I could just be half the person that he is today, then I feel like I'm winning at life. My dad means the world to me. He's an amazing person, and I just thank God that he was my dad. He raised me to be the woman that I am today.

The best career advice I've received came from Scott, my manager at Evans Fitness Club, who was the best leader I've ever had in any job since I started working. He told me that you don't have to be the best at everything, just be the best at what you do. It's about biting the elephant one piece at a time, not taking on so much. This advice really calmed me down and helped me harness my energy into what I needed to do for that day. Whether it was membership sales one day, cleaning the next, or front desk duties, it helped me realize that you don't have to do everything all at once, everywhere. You just need to be the best at what you do today, and just repeat that every day.

Be yourself. I know that probably sounds like the most simplest thing, but it was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to go through in my life. When I was younger, I always was trying to follow the crowd, trying to be somebody that I wasn't, to fit in, to feel worthy. It wasn't until I got into my adult age that I stopped caring about what people think and just cared about what I wanted to do, what made me happy, my level of success, and not worrying about a timeline - like having to be married by a certain point, or have kids by a certain point, or start a successful business at a certain age. Those things weighed down heavy on me. When I started to just relax and be myself and focus on what I really wanted out of life, it really helped me. I just wish that I had somebody like myself to tell my younger self that it's okay to be you. You don't have to be anybody else, because they're already taken, and nobody can take your spot because you're you. If you just believe in yourself and follow your own dreams and not worry about what everybody else is doing, then that's already successful right there.

In the modeling and content creation field, I've had some amazing opportunities come my way. I've been offered to be a part of Charleston Fashion Week, and I've been offered to go to Charlotte, Atlanta, and even New York Fashion Week. I have this really good designer that I work with who wants to take me to New York Fashion Week, and I'm actually going to be a part of Atlanta Fashion Week this upcoming April. Within the content that I make, I've had a lot of brands reach out to me, even for paid collaborations, so I've had pretty good success when it comes to content creating and modeling. For my business, Horizon Gym and Swim, it doesn't really have any opportunities as of the moment because it is kind of under wraps since I'm still getting my samples. But I have had people let me know that whenever I start selling, they'll buy - I pretty much almost have a line out the door. I have a pretty good support system around me, and it makes me feel good.

Communication is super big to me - that way we can all be on the same page. I hate miscommunications or things being misconstrued and people not understanding, so I'm definitely really big on communication. Honesty is also crucial - even if you make a mistake, or if you lie about something, it's just best to be honest and say, hey, I messed up, how can I fix it? And showing up is so important to me. I love when people just show up, even if it's not at your best. Showing up does more for me than doing nothing at all. Just being able to show up, to be seen, heard, and doing the best that you can - those are very important to me.