“Internally, I would struggle with being able to live off of this hobby, but portraying that everything was always fine.”
Beauty and Fashion lifestyle blogger, Tangeia Smith (Tan-Gee-Uh), 26, is making a name for herself in the e-commerce industry world. Below she shares a little bit more about how she manages to do it all and how she turned her battles into blessings. “I was born in Panama & raised in the Greater Metropolitan St. Louis, MO area. My company is called Touched with Style and encompasses all things creative, fashion, and beauty. I am a freelance traveling make-up artist, and I also create custom apparel and specialty items. The newest addition to my business is Nine Twenty-Nine Beauty, which is my new cosmetics line where I carry Mink strip lashes, lip gloss/lip toppers, cosmetic glitters, and a 15pc brush set.”
Rewind
“My most valued accomplishment is simply the growth of my business and brand. I started it as a hobby and just to be a resources in college, and over time, it turned into a profitable business. I have become somewhat of a 'go-to' for making the plain GLAMOROUS and I love it!”
“My biggest BLEM/SH was both internal and external. Internally, I would struggle with being able to live off of this hobby, but portraying that everything was always fine. I wanted to make my parents proud as most children do, but I felt that I wasn't (hell I still feel like this sometimes) that I'm just not doing enough. I often feel like I'm not where I should be in life and that I’m behind so many others that are my age. I sometimes feel that the responsible thing to do would be to give it up and get a normal 9-5 job.” “The thing that always stops me is the realization that you only get one life and that you should spend that life doing things that truly make you happy. Due to the growth of my platforms I now have an AMAZING support system in the people that follow and watch me on a daily basis. I show them the behind the scenes of being an entrepeneaur and that the life isn't sweet. It's a ton of work, and every time I feel just a little down I get a bunch of messages reassuring me that I'm on the right path and that I am making a difference. I don't say I'm feeling down or defeated I just have a connection with my audience and they just seem to always know when I need that little extra push!”
Fast Forward
“I do not want to take on too much at one time as I am trying to run my business TWS and my personal influencer brand, Tangeia Smith, and both require a lot of time and attention to detail. For TWS I am working on my branding and marketing to make it look as professional as possible. I am continuing to build a connection with my audiences so they feel good about supporting me and the many things I do. When I feel I've done all I can with this step in my business growth I hope to be able to add more products to Nine.Twenty-Nine and to begin to hire people to mentor and teach them some of the ins and outs of running a social media and e-commerce business. I just want to share my knowledge and reinforce that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Get Inspired
“JUST START! As a YouTuber/Influencer/Entrepreneur the #1 thing I hear is people waiting for the 'right time'. There honestly is NEVER a right time. There will always be something that comes up that will make you think you need to hold off. It's just the devil and we pay him no mind. Move forward with executing your 1st plan. It most likely will change and you will have failures, but that is how you learn how you want to run your business more successfully. Stay self motivated and keep going even when others cannot see your vision.”