Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tamara Smith . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Tamara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career
I would change the way teachers are viewed. Most teachers are viewed as a glorified daycare teacher (no shade to daycares). A lot of teachers deal with disrespect from the educational system itself starting with how they are paid. The next thing I would change is how a village isn’t helping a child anymore. 8 hours a day may seem long but it’s really not. That extra 15-30 minutes at home reviewing makes a ton of difference in students knowing their school work and bettering themselves. We can prepare students by actually engaging with them and less device time. Ask them about their day to build up their vocabulary and just to make them know you care. Love and guidance is what we need students to get so they think and know they can achieve anything!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hey, I’m Tamara but mostly everyone calls me Mara. I got in this industry three years ago on a spur of the moment thing to be honest. I always had shades for outfits and my friends would borrow them anyway. So then one day, I was like I wonder how I can grow from this. So I did exactly that. My “grand opening” was at a pop up shop. I was so nervous but I sold out. I took that as a sign from God that I was in the right industry at that moment. I’m a very creative person and I try to put that in all aspects of my life and career, so why not my business? Every year I tell myself, let’s go bigger! This year we went big! Halloween’s theme was the Last Airbender. The graphics down to the sunglasses were everything that I wanted and visualized!
I want everyone to know, don’t fit in when nobody can do you better than you! Photogenic strives to make you more photogenic in everything you wear.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My first year as a business owner was like a rollercoaster. One month I was sold out constantly, while the next I would have a full inventory. Winter was the hardest because most people didn’t want to wear shades in the winter time. So I had to pivot from shades to the Nerd Collection. The Nerd Collection was for my babes who didn’t want the shades but just regular glasses with blue light to add some more flare to their style. Leading up to the drop was so hectic but my marketing was there & so were the customers. Everyone loved my first Nerd Collection and I always add some to every drop now instead of just waiting until the winter time.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Starting off, I used my other business to find Photogenicbymara. So that way I wouldn’t touch the funds nor would I have to go into my paycheck as well. Afterwards I applied for grants to get more inventory in to expand.
Contact Info:
- Website: Photogenicbymara.com
- Instagram: Photogenicbymara
- Facebook: Photogenicbymara
Image Credits
pairuhdyce Stellashots ShyCooley photography