Meet DR. GLENICE DAVIS-GLOVER | PRESIDENT/CEO, BI-WI “BECAUSE I’M WORTH IT!” INTERNATIONAL, INC.

We had the good fortune of connecting with DR. GLENICE DAVIS-GLOVER and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DR. GLENICE, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business: When beginning Bi-Wi “Because I’m Worth It!” International, Inc., it was my desire to engage in a business that would, somehow, be a benefit to others. I wanted to do something that would enable me to give back a portion of the blessings that I’ve been given over the decades. Over my lifetime I’ve experienced hurt, pain, abuse, and hardship; but on the other hand, I’ve also experienced love, grace, help, resilience, courage, laughter, healing and wholeness threefold: (a) physically, (b) emotionally, and (c) spiritually. Life’s experiences have afforded me opportunities to gain wisdom from struggles and misfortunes; to show resilience when seemingly down to rock bottom; to glean a sense of accomplishment, self love, and a willingness to share with others both my gains and losses. It is a fact that we don’t encounter problems without a purpose. There is a reason for experiences we encounter. I believe there is a lesson in everything. We have to choose whether we will learn from our experience or lose in experience. Learning means questioning and seeking to find the purpose of each experience and choose to apply this wisdom to our life so that the next time a similar encounter is experienced, we will better handle the situation and not repeat the same failed experience over and over again. Life, I’ve learned, is made up of a series of tests. It’s much like being in school. If we fail the test by making wrong choices yielding unfavorable results, then, we will repeat that test again…and again…and again until we finally make the right choice yielding favorable results. Personally, I learned early to learn as much as I can from each of life’s encounters in my life, allowing me to progress and move forward without a lot of re-tests. This has provided for me the opportunity to share my experiences with others, hopefully assisting them with how not to repeat the same avoidable mistakes that I’ve made. It also allows me to share how to properly embrace every encounter as a learning experience, applying the knowledge gained from each experience, to our overall life. This ultimately makes us all better.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our business is Bi-Wi “Because I’m Worth It!” International, Inc. We are a specialized mentoring agency mentoring girls ages 8 years and above who struggle in the area of low self-esteem. We are partners with the United Way Palm Beach County, Children’s Service Council Palm Beach County, Quantum Foundation, ROSS, the City of Riviera Beach, and Palm Beach County Schools. We began mentoring in 2014 with 15 girls, and to date in 2021, we have mentored more than 350 girls in our specialized program.

The thing that sets us apart from other mentoring programs, I believe, is the fact that we are specialized in our approach. Bi-Wi gets spends the time to get to the root of the child’s problem. Why do they feel less than about themselves; and we address that negative root. Most other mentor agencies do great work across the board, but I’ve not encountered one who takes the approach that Bi-Wi takes, dealing solely with the root cause of low self-esteem in our children. It excites us to see the looks on the girls’ faces when there is a breakthrough in the way that they have been accustom to viewing themselves, and the new way to look at their unique creation of self. This is the highlight of what we do!

Achieving what we have achieved to date has NOT been easy. We have worked countless hours; we’ve received countless number of “no” to requests for grants, foundational support and funding from many sources; we have had to fund more than half of our years in operation from my personal retirement funds because we had no sponsorships. There were times when we wanted to give up and just quit because although the girls were being helped so well and they loved the program, the finances were down to the last. It is these lean years that when we reflect on them, give us the impetus to keep moving forward knowing that the funding will come if we keep doing the work that we are called to do.

I’ve learned several lessons along the way. I have to revert back to my most precious mentor, my Dad. As a father from a broken home, his life-long dream was to build a family that stayed together. When he was in 3rd grade, he and his six brothers returned to their small home in Ocilla, GA only to find his dad driving off in his pickup truck with their mom strapped to the back of the truck screaming. They were all seven, left to fend for themselves, until age 18, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and fought for our Country in WWII. This broken family left him longing for a sense of family. He met my Mom in 1954 and they began our family of 6 siblings. Daddy was a Gospel quartet singer and with Mom’s encouragement, he taught us all to sing and play instruments. He was a guitarist and taught me guitar. One of the lessons I learned while he trained me in guitar was a lesson that I’ve taken with me throughout my lifetime and I’ve applied it to the success of my business as well. Playing the electric guitar has wire strings that cut into the tender tips of your fingers while pressing the strings. I remember my tender, eight year old fingers blistering and bleeding because of pressure placed on the wire strings against the neck of the guitar. I showed them to my dad and he had mom to mix a concoction of very warm water and epsom salts, and had me to repeatedly soak my fingertips in the water. I thought, as an 8 year old child, that I could stop until they heal before beginning again; but daddy said, “No, you can’t stop; you must keep on playing, even though it hurts you. This is the only way you will build calluses on the tips of your fingers. Once the calluses are developed, then you won’t even feel the pain anymore.” This made no sense to me; but I trusted the process. Sure enough, even today as I play guitar, I can stick a pin in my fingertips and feel no pain. The persistence and the practice in the midst of the pain allowed me to move past the painful place and get to the place of healing and victory. I never forgot this! I’ve applied it to my business. The pain of not having all of the resources needed in the early years and the pain of the pandemic in the current year would make some quit and wait until its over to begin again; but not me! I have learned to continue even in the midst of what appears to be possible failure and watch things work out in the long run.

If we could leave a legacy and a nugget about our brand and our story, it would be that “life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” Pursue your dreams! It is never too late to begin again! Bi-Wi “Because I’m Worth It!” International, Inc. is a product of me beginning again. After working for 35 years for someone, the latter part of my life seemed so incomplete. I felt compelled to do something that would help others and give back a part of what I’ve been blessed with. Skepticism, fear, finances, aging concerns, you name it and it crossed my mind and could have hindered progression. Paralysis of analysis almost got the best of me, but I saw the need to help these girls and women as greater than any concern I had to not begin. My legacy is to help the next generation and generations to come. There is a scripture that says “a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” (Proverbs 13:22). I strive to be that “good man” who leaves an inheritance, both financially and an inheritance of wisdom, for my grandchildren and yours.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my bestie was visiting me for a week, although I don’t do this often, I would take her to South Beach to experience the night life, enjoy the music and the ambiance of . We would probably eat at Joe’s Stone Crab, one of my favorite restaurants, and I would introduce her to their fried lobster! The absolute best! Neither of us are drinkers, so we would pass on the drinks. We spend a lot of time talking and hanging out at home, enjoying the sunshine and palm trees. We both have a shoe fetish, so we may go shopping at the Bal Harbor Shops or go up to the Outlet Malls in Palm Beach. A trip to Worth Avenue on Palm Beach is always a pleasure. We would definitely take in a Bible Study and a Sunday worship service, as this is our foundation and we are both still very active in our respective churches.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The person I am today is definitely owes honor and homage to many others. My greatest gratitude goes to my parents, Elder and Mrs. Freddie & Margaret Davis, both now deceased, departing this life in 2019 at the blessed ages of 94 and 83 years, respectively. There is no way that I would be the person I am today without them. They introduced our family to the importance of a firm and foundational belief in God. The way we were taught to live was by the principles and precepts of the BIBLE. We were taught that there is a solution to every problem you encounter and it is found in the Word of God/the BIBLE. Additionally, Mom and Dad taught us through their living example, how to lean and depend on GOD for our every need. They instilled in us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. I owe everything to them. They also showed us that hard work never hurt anyone. Although they taught us how to depend on God to make our dreams come true, they also taught us that “faith without works is dead”. We must work hard for everything we achieve. Nothing worth having comes cheap. Salvation is the only thing that is free and even it came with a price, the shed blood of Jesus the Christ. This is my foundation, God Almighty, Mom and Dad.

Website: www.bi-wiinternationalinc.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/@dr.glenice

Linkedin: Dr. Glenice Glover

Twitter: @BiWorrh Bi-Wi “Because I’m Worth It!”

Facebook: www.facebook.com/@BiWiGirls