Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sidney Hill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Sidney, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To obtain success one must be willing to sacrifice to gain what one desires. I love to correlate yin yang to many areas in my life, if you are looking to build a meaningful/impactful life you will have to give something up.

Sidney, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hey everyone, my name is Sidney Hill and I’m the owner of Renee’s Twisted Chocolates.

Life growing up wasn’t the best-my mother passed when I was young, my father was not in the picture, we constantly moved around, etc. Life was a struggle as a child but I appreciated every moment of it. I believe it made me who I am today as we control our outlook on the past.

Getting into this industry was completely by accident. I did not like the consistency nor the flavor profiles of store-bought chocolates, so out of curiosity, I decided to look into exactly how chocolate was made so that I could figure out whether it was feasible for me to create my chocolate. I researched chocolate creation for four months, then bought my first melanger and single-origin chocolate nibs and executed chocolate-making for the next three months to discover the flavor profiles I liked.

I decided to turn my knowledge and understanding of chocolate-making into a business in September of 2019 so that I could display what I look for in chocolate. I love to focus on the single-origin style because it allows me to shed light on the different countries in which cocoa is cultivated in. Each country is unique in its own way and so is the cocoa obtained from them. I want to be the person to assist others in experiencing what I can do to make a difference in the chocolate world.

I am most proud of having the ability to express a different side of chocolates to the world. What my life has taught me is that it doesn’t matter where you start, it matters where you finish.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was in high school, my goal was to play in the NFL. I was on my way to pursuing this goal because I could play at a higher level, had a woman who helped me with my anger issues and I had received football scholarships but with two major concussions, everything changed. After those concussions, it was tough to retain information and harder to stay focused like I used to. I realized my dream of becoming a professional athlete was no longer an option so I returned to the entrepreneurial world. Since I was seven, I’ve always been infatuated with the business side of things, so when balancing out one decision for the other it became quite easy when the concussion specialist told me I could become a “couch potato” if I continued football. I decided to make a pivot and follow my culinary passion instead, which has led me down this amazing path

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

Yes, most definitely we do! When I first started, I knew nothing about chocolates. The only thing that I knew was Hershey’s, Ghirardelli, Lindt, Godiva, Cadbury, and a few other brands, so I spent seven months researching chocolate production, the different styles of chocolates, the history of chocolates, etc. As I travel down my chocolate journey, some of the lessons that I’ve learned are to never be scared to ask questions, consistency is key, always stay creative, do what you feel is best, and always put your heart into it.

Contact Info:

• Website: TwistedChocolates.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneestwistedchocolates/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReneesTwistedChocolates
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/renee-s-twisted-chocolates-san-antonio?osq=renee%27s+twisted+chocolates

Image Credits
Jago Castillo Sidney Hill