We were lucky to catch up with Markidra Williams-Tucker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Markidra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Well I started braiding at 14, I have 5 sisters and my sisters and my mom would let me practice on them. I started taking clients my 9th grade year of highschool and had a decent clientele at 15.My plan since 15, was to go into Cosmetology and open a beauty bar with a restaurant like my favorite movie B.A.P.s. The high school that I went to offered cosmetology and I planned to enter into it my sophomore year of highschool, but life happened. I lost my virginity and got pregnant by my longtime boyfriend at 16, so the school wouldn’t allow me into the cosmetology courses. They said it was because of the chemicals that I would be exposed to.

I decided to have my daughter after not being able to go through with an abortion. I got a job and quickly noticed that I moved up to management quickly and I enjoyed it. Plus being in management paid more, and I was a single mom. I graduated highschool and worked hard to get into college and get a degree in business management.

I still did hair on the side, by word of mouth and was a store manager at a clothing store for about 4 years. After that, I moved around in management positions over the next few years until the hunger to get back in the beauty industry full time ate at me. I was then married and decided to quit my job with the support of my husband and go to cosmetology school full time.

During school, I fell in love with the process of healing hair. I had also been struggling with my own hair growth due to a birth control I was on for 3 years, the IUD.

I started to study hair of all types and what stimulates hair growth and what keeps it healthy. During that time I created a deep conditioning treatment that began to grow my hair, my daughters hair and families as well!

I now have my own businesses out of Forney Salon Suites where I offer hair growth and healthy hair services. I have an online boutique, and I just launched my deep conditioning and growth oil called Iconic Curls!

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

I am first a woman, mother and wife. I have 5 children and my journey has not been an easy one, but I’m humbled by all my experiences, and struggles, which I am putting into a book that I have been working on for years.

At 33, I am an entrepreneur that wants to create wealth for my children. That is the goal! I try to always bring love, laughter and happiness and peace.

I have a beauty business and my husband and I own a credit business among other businesses!

What sets me apart from other stylists is that I care about my clients hair and well being. Not just making the money. It’s not about the money to me! I love what I do and I want to help black women have healthy hair at whatever length they choose! I want my clients to have an excellent experience with me everytime they see me.

I want my client’s experience with me to feel like sisterhood, even through the website.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My resilience comes from my mom! I watched her work hard to take care of 4 kids on her own, sometimes working 2 jobs to make sure we had what we needed and even the things we wanted. I always admired her beauty, strength and determination.

So when I got pregnant at 16, with a father who didn’t help and still doesn’t, then again at 19, and at 22 with a father who didn’t financially help, I didn’t make excuses, I worked hard, working 2 jobs and doing hair on the side and going to college to provide the future my children deserve!

That determination got me out of abusive relationships of different kinds and gave me the confidence to search for my worth and walk in it!

Once I built myself to the point where I felt I deserved better! I went for it! By any means necessary!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was working a 9 to 5 everyday to build someone else’s dream and never taking a risk of my own.

My mom worked hard to keep us stable but she never took a big risk that could upgrade our income in a major way, because being stable for her 4 children was more important. I commend her for that,and understand it was what she needed to do at the time. However, when I met my husband, I fell in love with his mind. He had a plan and a dream! He took risks and I saw how they upgraded our lifestyle.He helped to elevate my thinking and pushed me to take risks and work towards my dreams. I started our first business (a trucking business) with my income tax and his plan and vision. It was a big risk to me at the time, because that was the money I would normally pay ahead on bills with or something like that. I was afraid to take that leap, but I did and I discovered that you can’t elevate to that next level without risk! Now I take the business risk, if I fail, I learn from it and try again!

Contact Info:

• Website: Website: https://linktr.ee/KidrasCloset   Markidra.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kidracosmo?r=nametag
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/markidra.williams#_=_
• Other: http://styleseat.com/kidrascosmo https://instagram.com/kidrawiththatea?r=nametag https://instagram.com/kidrascosmocloset?r=nametag