We recently connected with Aaliyah Tee and have shared our conversation below.
Aaliyah , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
My risk was believing in myself before the opportunity existed.
My biggest risk was betting on myself. I pursued makeup artistry in a city where the industry was still growing, and that leap led to set design, creative directing, casting, and touring with major artists.
Along the way, I discovered the power of business strategizing and funding and OPM (other people’s money). I even took the risk to open up my own event space at 24!!! Now I combine creativity and strategy to help bring someone’s vision to life.
Believing in my artistry introduced me to my purpose. Now, I don’t just sit at the table—
I help build the table and bring others with me.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was 15 years old, 350 lbs , & had a dream from a small town in Alabama. I didn’t plan to build a business. I just followed what God placed in my hands.
I started doing makeup—first for fun, then with intention. I entered the industry in a city where makeup and film weren’t “big” yet. I wasn’t surrounded by opportunity, so I created my own. I moved to Atlanta with my
mom. Every small makeup job ( prom, wedding , exotic dancers, etc) I worked on, I treated as training, not just a job.
As I grew, my artistry evolved beyond makeup. I began experimenting with special effects, set design, creative direction, and casting. I started producing visuals and experiences, not just doing faces. That’s what led me to touring with major artists and working on films and large productions.
While doing that, I noticed something: creatives had the vision, but not the funding or the structure.
So I learned business—credit, funding, operations, OPM (Other People’s Money)—and started helping entrepreneurs and production teams get the money and strategy they needed to execute high-level projects without going broke.
Today, I run a dual-sided brand:
• Creative side: special effects makeup, set design, creative direction, production, casting, branding & rollout strategy.
• Business & funding side: business structure, healing financial traumas, funding, resources, credit strategy, and teaching entrepreneurs how to use OPM to scale.
In short:
I help people bring their visions to life—creatively and financially but also stewardship ! You never know where life can take you , so steward your money properly.
What sets me apart is that I speak both languages: artistry and strategy.
There aren’t many people who can sit in the creative room, build the idea, and then turn around and secure the resources to execute it. I don’t just build the vision—I help fund it.
I am most proud that I built all of this from a place of resilience. I was 350+ lbs, bullied, overlooked, and had to rebuild my confidence and identity. Losing over 150 lbs didn’t just change my body—it revealed my purpose and my power. Now I pour that belief into others.
I want people to know:
• You don’t have to choose between being creative and being successful.
– You can build the table and have a seat at it.
• Your story, your scars, and your faith can be the fuel that funds your purpose.
What I do is bigger than makeup or money—
I build confidence, opportunity, and access.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
My first experience with funding came from a leap of faith and a lot of learning in real time.
I co-owned a building in my hometown in Alabama that was used for film and production. I was traveling back and forth between Alabama and Georgia to work on projects, and during that time I realized something: the problem most creatives had wasn’t vision — it was funding and structure.
I started studying business credit, funding, and financial strategy for myself. Once I got funding for my own projects, people began asking me to help them do the same. I was getting paid to help other entrepreneurs structure their businesses, secure funding, and bring their ideas to life.
That income, plus the capital I secured for myself, gave me the ability to expand.
In Georgia, I secured an office inside the production space of a popular TV show. When the show eventually lost its licensing, instead of seeing it as a setback, I used that moment as momentum. I took the money I had earned, the funding strategies I learned, and the clients I had been serving — and I reinvested into opening my own space.
At 24 years old, I opened a lounge and event space with a full-service restaurant attached.
It was a major investment and a major learning experience — especially at that age. But it taught me two things:
• Access to capital changes the game, and
• You don’t have to wait for a door to open — you can fund your own building.
That experience is why I now teach entrepreneurs, creatives, and visionaries how to secure funding and use OPM (other people’s money) to build what God showed them.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the idea that everyone who shows up is meant to stay. In the beginning, I believed that if I gave people opportunity, access, and resources, they would automatically value the vision. But some people show up for the opportunity, not the mission.
I operated without boundaries or discernment and ended up drained, used, and disappointed. I learned that talent is not enough — alignment matters.
Now I build teams based on shared values, commitment, and belief in the vision — not just excitement for the moment.
You don’t need a big team. You need the right team.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Resourcefulremedies.as.me
- Instagram: @resourcefulremedies
- Facebook: Aaliyah Tee
Image Credits
@culturetickettalkshow on the photos
– I have a talk show as well