We recently connected with UberQueen SC and have shared our conversation below.

UberQueen, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My children called me “Queen” when they were little. When I was going through my divorce I decided to start driving for Uber Tech. However, my first name was often difficult for people to pronounce. Especially at the late hours. So since I was their “Queen” I’d be Uber’s Queen too in South Carolina.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started out as a single mom, looking to make additional income for my family while also working as a social media manager for a company. I was so nervous, but I knew I could use my social media skills to do more than just be an Uber driver. I created a personality, UberQueenSC, and began driving with a guestbook in my vehicle. I referred to myself as UberQueen to my riders and offered them the guestbook to put in whatever they wanted. I advised them I would be posting all entries on my social media. It was a joke in the beginning and I would take the books into my “real job” and we would laugh at all the funny messages people left me. I would post them and I got great feedback. It became so fun and began to provide more for my family than my 9-5. So when the opportunity arose for me to make it a full-time job I ran with it. Ubering gave me freedom to make my own schedule and be around for my children. I was able to go back to college and get my degree in Applied Science in Media and start my own e-commerce brand.

UberQueenSC is now a known name and ally to many communities in The Upstate. I advocate for my riders who are primarily college students at Clemson University and surrounding areas. Through my influence I’ve been able to advocate for issues including protests to unsafe housing conditions. Bringing awareness to stories of those that felt unheard or unanswered.

I’ve been able to use my degree to pursue my passion in entrepreneurship & photography. Creating a e-commerce brand UberQueenSC.com. The brand has allowed me to creatively express myself and be my own boss. Which has given me an opportunity to teach my children about business. My degree has also created amazing opportunities such as doing Sports Photography for Arena Football. Leading me to be hired by the media company, Sports & Culture Media and covering Clemson University football games my first year out of college. I’ve gotten to do work for NBC Sports and meet some of my favorite celebrities’.

Never in a million years did I think I would go back to college and accomplish so much. I continue to use my degree to give back to the community every chance I get. I teach phone photography to underprivileged youth so they too can learn how to create content and be creative. I create safe spaces for people to learn, be captured, and can look and feel amazing about themselves. No matter if its through my presence, my photography or my merchandise.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2016 I was going through a divorce. I went from a 2 household income to being a single mom raising 3 beautiful children. My ex-husband had taken my vehicle and I was beyond depressed. My friends, family, and co-workers rallied behind me and my children and made sure we got to where we needed to go. From getting the kids to school and daycare, to getting us all back home at the end of our day. I would borrow my best friends car to go grocery shopping on my break, and store food in the company refrigerator. Those were some dark days. I was able to get a car and start ubering. I took my side hustle of ubering from a weekend hustle to brand. Creating a social media presence that is now monetized and an e-commerce store at UberQueenSC.com. I used my time my children were in school to take college courses. I remember ubering till 3am, napping, getting the kids off to school, and going to class. I would get out of class and go sit in the pickup line at their school and sleep. They saw me put in hard work to get my degree and walking across that stage with my family present made all the hard times worth it. I often look back at those times when meet a new challenge and remind myself “If I’ve made this far on my journey, nothing that is meant for me can be achieved”

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The best resource I wish I know earlier on is humility. The ability to ask questions and admit that you don’t have a clue what your doing but your trying to learn. There are so many times in my life I was scared to look foolish in crowd, but I learned that finding your humility to speak up and say something opens up the room. So often we all assume if we are in a collective space we are equal or there is a hierarchy. However, I have found that my thoughts as a creative bring valuable conversations to people and spaces. I often find I am not alone in my thoughts, but no one wanted to be the one to say what was being thought. I’ve made friends and gotten a lot of business from that primary resource alone. Its like super power we all have but never were taught how to use. As creatives we are passionate about our work and love when others ask for details. We work hard to achieve success but the humility to share knowledge and ask questions is what makes me successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://uberqueensc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uberqueensc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haveyourodewiththequeen
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tesshea-adams-2b2ab619a/
• Twitter: @UberQueenSC
• Other: https://uberqueensc.pixieset.com/

Image Credits
Photos of me in my merchandise were taken by Nick Belt Photo of me on Clemson University field was by Cory Fravel All other photos are mine taken by me