We recently connected with Gil & Renèe Beavers and have shared our conversation below.
Gil & Renèe , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Plot Twist
2020 was a whirlwind, to say the least. Our plans were flipped upside down. Our lives were put on hold, and our relationships were stretched beyond capacity and bent out of shape. Life as we once knew it was canceled.
What can we do to regain our spiritual and emotional health? First, we must talk, write, and read. Why? Because these three disciplines are good medicine for the mind, soul, and body.
We are Gil & Renée of the Rich Relationships Refuge. Gil and I (Renée) have shared thirty-seven of our fifty-four years of life in a relationship. In December, we will celebrate thirty- four years of marriage.
Marriage is our superpower, and divorce is our kryptonite. Empowering individuals and couples to build, repair, and restore healthy relationships is our life’s mission; it’s one of the most fulfilling pursuits.
When the pandemic emerged, rather than concerning ourselves with what we couldn’t do, Gil and I (Renèe) focused on what we could do and took action. First, Renée and I (Gil) thought about ways to help couples connect and develop new tools while building a healthy support system.
Gil and I were fortunate to have experienced a phenomenal anthology with Vernessa Blackwell about grief; it was a wonderful experience. Vernessa Blackwell encouraged and inspired me (Renèe) to begin an anthology.
My first response was no; this is your thing, not mine! I am not a group person; I am not interested.
I (Renèe) was reminded of my background in building businesses from idea to completion, Gil’s incredible attention to detail, his love for processes, and our shared desire to build healthy individuals and families. Partnered with a book, we began writing in 2009, and the rest is history. Rich Relationships Our Marital Code to Oneness anthology was conceived.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Whatever you don’t talk out, you will act out.” Talking is essential for all relationships with God, ourselves, and others. But unfortunately, talk is not the only component of communication.
Communication requires talking and listening. Talking can be a gift for the vast majority of the population, who are naturally extroverted.
Listening is an art cultivated deep in the minds of the remainder of our introverted population.
The masterpiece of talking and listening is being understood, which is one of our core human needs. In addition, reading and writing are fundamental for self-reflection, allowing individuals to know how and why they think and behave appropriately and inappropriately.
Writing is a powerful tool for developing self-control and personal awareness.
Readers are thinkers to understand others; you don’t only listen and hear them. You know them and the details of their story.
Reading provides a prolonged glimpse into the soul of others. Introverts and extroverts alike are often more transparent when writing than when speaking.
Writers are through leaders and are catalysts for change. Writing is a safe place to unpack, address, and confront the pain of our past. The questions in our hearts and mind left unexamined lead to regret.
Will all that being said, how could you better take control of your controllable??
We don’t know when all of this will be over, and no two things will ever be the same. Will we be better off and grow and change, or worse, will we remain the same?? Gil and I (Renée) have written two books together and created a podcast and online course, all on Rich Relationships. Today with our new normal, we are hosting our first couples camp on September 17-18, 2022. Rich Relationships Refuge is our solution and relief for the storm of 2020. Is it a risk? Yes! Gil and I want to use our gifts, time, and talents to make a difference. Gil and I (Renée) choose to be the change we want and need in the world. Join us www.richrelationshipsus.com
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Gil and Renée are originally from Detroit, Michigan. Their relationship started with a simple act of Renee rolling her pencil off her desk and Gil picking it up. They never knew such a small act would create a thirty-seven-year legacy of love.
Gil and Renée were only twenty-one when they happily committed to until death do us part.
Gil retired from the Air Force, and Renée is a former salon owner who has been an entrepreneur and an author for over thirty years. They have lived in over thirteen cities throughout the United States and Germany. They are loving parents to a talented daughter, Aharon (pronounced like Sharon, except with an A). After a family tragedy, they also adopted Renée’s little sisters (Carmen and Monique). So today, they are each on this journey called life.
This couple has helped many other couples establish a new habit of love to strengthen their marriage relationship through their tested relationship tools and principles and as marriage facilitators through the Prepare and Enrich Marriage program. Let’s get empty of the pain from our past, unforgiveness, resentment, shame, and uncommunicated expectations. Then we can live lives filled with love and healthy relationships.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
(Renée), my definition of an entrepreneur is someone who creates a solution to a problem and bears the full financial responsibility for this product, concept, or solution. You must be willing to make the most significant investment in what you create. However, when you create solutions, you add value, and investors will invest in proven test results. I am blessed that my husband Gil is and has been my angel investor. Pay as you go and grow had been our business-building strategy. Our first salon was a bill-free business in sixty days. How? Used salon furniture and small rental space and booked client schedules. Our system and our process were profitable, and so was our business.
Within our first year, we were consistently profitable and generating income.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I (Renée) don’t believe that life is about becoming any one thing.
I believe that life is a journey where we each solve one problem in a myriad of ways. I loved doing hair, and Gil loved serving his country. We both love marriage.
Today, after twenty-eight of separate career paths, we have shifted to serving couples and individuals together.
Broken identities and the effects of divorce are the problems we provide solutions for today. Rich Relationships Refuge is our plot twist.
Renée and I (Gil) live a life that we both love and have worked hard to earn.
We want to share our life experiences, training, and results-driven program with the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.richrelationshipsus.com
- Instagram: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richrelationshipsus/
- Facebook: Facebook :www.facebook.com/ReneeM.BeaversAuthorFoodCoach/
- Linkedin: LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/Reneem-beavers-6b398917
- Twitter: Twitter: https://twitter.com/USGILRENEE
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/Z8QoFNV1xg4
- Other: AS SEEN ON : HGTV HOUSE HUNTERS https://youtu.be/2H7BkpswGCo Gil& Renée Beavers in the Media: https://www.wxyz.com/news/rich-relationships-detroit-couple-shares-their-mission-and-message https://michiganchronicle.com/2021/04/01/a-durable-love-couples-author-books-inspire-others/#/?playlistId=0&videoId=0
Image Credits
Nomar Noslen Emily Wise