We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiana Kamil a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tiana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My business wasn’t something I randomly woke up and created — it was the result of a long, connected journey that I didn’t even realize was preparing me for what I do today.

It really started in high school, in a broadcast journalism elective. That was the first time I was introduced to the world of media production. I wasn’t just a student; I was the reporter, the editor, the camera operator, and the behind-the-scenes director. I got to see firsthand how stories were built — how visuals, messaging, and production came together to create something people would watch. That experience planted a seed in me long before I understood its importance.

I carried that into college, where I majored in broadcast journalism and dove deeper into storytelling, communication, and media. Even though I later dropped out, the love for creative production never left me.

Around that time, I started my first e-commerce business — a jewelry brand. This is where everything began to merge. I was creating my own branding shoots, developing graphics, crafting visual stories, learning marketing, and figuring out how to make creative content actually sell. Without even realizing it, I was learning e-commerce infrastructure, consumer psychology, content strategy, and brand building — the exact skills I would later use to build an agency.

Then life shifted. I had my daughter, and I couldn’t work a traditional job. So I leaned on what I could do from home — graphic design. I had already been designing everything for my jewelry brand, so I turned that skill into a source of income. With my daughter next to me, I was creating visuals and branding for other business owners, and I started to see the connection between all these pieces: the media background, the storytelling, the creative direction, the graphics, the marketing knowledge, and the ability to turn an idea into a brand.

The “aha moment” came — ironically — during a really emotional time in my life. I was going through a heartbreak, and it forced me to reflect. I realized that the same way I built my jewelry brand into an experience through storytelling, visuals, content, and strategy… I could do that for other people. I could package up every part of my journey — media production, creative direction, branding, marketing psychology, and e-commerce strategy — into a service that helped founders create the brand they imagined, but didn’t know how to execute.

And the deeper I got, the more I realized something important:
most business owners have great ideas, but no clear story, no strong visuals, no strategy, and no understanding of how to convert attention into sales.
They didn’t just need pretty photos — they needed the whole ecosystem: messaging, content, campaigns, creative direction, and a plan.

That gap — the gap between ideas and execution — is what I built Kimana Agency to solve.

What excites me most is watching an idea turn into something cinematic. When a client says, “I sell hair products,” and we transform that into a full creative concept, a mini commercial, a storytelling visual — that process still gives me chills. It feels like producing a show, crafting a world, building a brand story that their customers can see, feel, and buy into.

Even in my personal life, I model and often work on sets because I truly love the behind-the-scenes magic of creating what people eventually see on their screens. Most people only consume content — I love understanding how it’s made.

So when I look back at everything — high school media, college production, e-commerce branding, graphic design, marketing strategy, motherhood, modeling — I realize all of it was preparing me to build this agency. My business was born out of every part of my story coming together, and now I use that entire journey to help other founders bring their visions to life.

That’s how the idea for my business was created — through experience, alignment, and a real love for turning ideas into visual stories that drive results.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Tiana Kamil, and I’m the Founder and Creative Director of Kimana Agency — a creative marketing agency for beauty and fashion e-commerce founders who want elevated visuals and a real strategy behind them.

My journey started in high school through a broadcast journalism class where I fell in love with production, storytelling, and the behind-the-scenes process of creating what people eventually see on screen. Later, when I launched my own jewelry e-commerce brand, I unknowingly built the skills that now define my agency: branding, content creation, visual storytelling, and e-commerce marketing. After becoming a mother, I leaned into graphic design and branding as a way to support myself, and that gradually evolved into the agency I have today.

At Kimana Agency, I help beauty and fashion brands strengthen their messaging, elevate their content, and build marketing systems that actually convert. What truly sets me apart is the fact that I don’t stop at visuals. Most branding agencies offer creative direction and “strategy,” but they don’t actually execute real marketing — things like email flows, SMS funnels, audience segmentation, content ecosystems, and the customer journey work that drives actual sales. I bring both sides together: luxury visuals and the backend marketing systems that turn those visuals into revenue.

Another thing I want people to know is that I genuinely love e-commerce. Even though I no longer run my jewelry brand, every client project feels like a chance to step back into that world. I get excited exploring their products, studying their audiences, and building strategies that help them grow. I treat every client relationship like a collaboration — it’s not transactional; it’s a team effort. We build together, create together, and strategize together. And that’s one of my favorite parts of the work.

I’m most proud of the way I’ve been able to merge my background in media, content, creative direction, and marketing psychology into an agency that doesn’t just make brands look good — it helps them sell, grow, and tell meaningful stories. I want potential clients to know that when they work with me, they’re getting a partner who cares just as much about the strategy as the aesthetics, and someone who truly enjoys bringing their vision to life.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The first book that truly shifted my mindset as an entrepreneur was From Mopping Floors to Making Millions on Instagram by Ronne Brown. It was the first time I understood what a brand really meant — not just a business, but the feeling it creates, the story it tells, and the personality it carries.

Ronne’s story of going from janitor to successful businesswoman showed me that branding is about identity, intention, and experience. That book helped me see that selling products is one thing, but creating a brand that people connect with is something completely different. It inspired me to transform my own jewelry business into a feminine, soft-life, luxury aesthetic — and it shaped the way I approach branding and storytelling for my clients today.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Yes, my business has supplementary revenue streams, mainly through digital products. Because my agency offers higher-end, premium creative and marketing packages, I realized early on how important it was to also have smaller, bite-sized resources that meet people where they are and warm them up to my expertise.
These digital products aren’t “master resell” materials — they’re original, practical tools that teach real skills, like how to set up email funnels, apply sales psychology in captions, structure content for conversions, or use platforms like ManyChat. I package these lessons into mini-courses, guides, and e-books that help new or growing business owners make progress even if they aren’t ready for a full agency package yet.
These products serve two key purposes: they generate revenue even when I’m not booked out, and they double as powerful lead magnets that build trust and naturally funnel people into my larger, signature services. It’s a sustainable ecosystem where every offer supports the next.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kimanaagency.com
• Instagram: kimanaagency
• Other: tianakamil