We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Taneka Joyce. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Taneka below.

Taneka, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I’ve had many teachers throughout my life yet the greatest one was my grandmother Barbara. She raised myself and two of my siblings since I was 5 years old. She has since passed this past year. Between the ages of 8-13, my grandmother would give myself and aunts journals. She directed us to write down what we wanted out of life and by what age. She said, “when you write it down, you can go back to it and see what you’ve accomplished or need to. Sometimes things change.”

I still have this journal with all these plans to this very day. It’s a Strawberry Shortcake spiral notebook to be exact. Going back over those things years later, I felt I wanted, I didn’t realize just how much of a risk it would be to accomplish them. I took the biggest risk of my life in 2020 when I decided to quit a 6 year medical career in pursuit of becoming an entrepreneur and proving to myself I could make a complete life changing decision without the guidance of my grandmother or other family members. I wanted to be free of all the boundaries, restrictions, opinions, and codependency that had been instilled in me for years.

I’d just not too long been promoted from a medical receptionist to a medical assistant position. COVID-19 was just being proclaimed as a pandemic. I was fearful of putting my children at risk from working in the medical field. I was honestly, tired. Tired of the same routine, making just enough money, three very young children. Patients and coworkers were coming back positive for COVID seemed like left and right. The ethics with in the environment of some were questionable and I just wanted OUT!

I realized my dreams in the medical field, in the city I’d been raised in for over 20 years of my life, I was over it. I desired a new start. I desired freedom. I desired to make my own impact and connection with others. I decided to move back to South Florida. I’d asked my family to care for my daughters while I locate a place of education or daycare facility to place my children.

I remember my grandmother begging me not to go. But I told her, “ I have to do this. You have to let me do this. If I don’t I feel I’ll regret it, I’ll never know for myself. If it takes too long to locate a place for the children, then I won’t solidify moving.” My God, the nerves I had driving 8 hrs from Tallahassee, FL to Miami, FL was almost tormenting. I automatically missed my children, I questioned myself, my intentions, my parenting, my decision to not take them with me right away. I was a mental wreck! I kept my apartment in Tallahassee in the event South Florida didn’t workout, a home for my children would remain secured.

I took the biggest risk July 2020 in search of more. I found and felt (at that time) less. I was gone two weeks. Two weeks made the biggest changes to me mentally, emotionally and spiritually. After an unfortunate event, I returned home to my children and our apartment in Tallahassee. Two weeks, felt like an eternity. I took a risk that could’ve led to detrimental effects on myself, children and family. I’m happy however, that I did take it.

Having done so showed me, I am brave, I am courageous, I am willing to take the necessary risks to attain better. I’m determined and ambitious. A go getter. It proved that I can do whatever I put my mind to and not to be fearful of the outcome. Instead remain prepared as much as possible for any outcome and know when it’s time to make a shift. It also showed me the importance of family and meaning of a true support system.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

30 years old, I was born and primarily raised in, Tallahassee FL. I’m a loving, powerful, goofy, magnetic single mother to three beautiful daughters. I was blessed enough back in 2018 to adopt my one and only niece just two years after birthing my first daughter. The following year I gave birth to my second born. I’d become not only a mother, but an aunt and adoptive mom. Life is amazing isn’t it.

Before becoming a mother and entrepreneur, you could’ve considered me to be a college drop out. I lost my mother a year after graduating high school, in my first semester of college at the age of 18. Being young, going through such a lost, I became very ambitious, determined, a straight up go getter. I stopped pursuing an education in psychology and began working two jobs one in retail and another in hospitality. In addition to working, I joined a street team promoting for local clubs in my area. Every weekend and every night the club was open. I was online marketing selling out tickets and on the scene saying hey at the door.

After sometime, I grew out of the club scene and desired a more stable, consistent and fulfilling career. So I returned to school at the age of 23 in pursuit of a medical trade. After graduating as a medical administrative specialist, I began working in the medical field leading to further education as a medical assistant and 6 years in the medical industry.

Throughout the past 8-9 years I’d made two attempts in building an entrepreneurial career. The first attempt was through a door to door service. The second I’d attempted to build an online drop shipping store which the platform and items I didn’t have a desire to sell. I remember saying, “ I don’t like this, if I’m going to do a store I want it to be my own built from scratch.” I just didn’t know that I would actually do it! I did not know I was speaking into existence at that time 6 years ago, building my own brand.

The year 2020, I was completely tired and no longer passionate about furthering a medical career. I felt I was no longer connecting with my initial intent. And what I truly desire to build. I have really BIG DREAMS. I felt they were getting lost. With three children, I needed more. More room in the house, more money saved, just more. I’d always loved fashion, styling, modeling and so one day I thought “you know what I’m going to start my own business.” I remember telling a close coworker this. “I’m going to do it.“

I’d been talking to my aunt in Tampa, FL who’d started her own business. After she’d advised me on what all I needed to do, she blessed me with my first sets of vendor lists. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I begin establishing my business in June 2020. Just before taking my big risk in July. I started changing all of my social medias around and began to start promoting that I’m starting a business.

During all of this, I was avoiding dealing with myself mentally and emotionally. I was suffering terribly from depression. The previous 3 years were a constant roller coaster. I had a failed engagement, bills were up and down, going through the courts and stress of dealing with family agencies in the case of adopting my niece and family issues were a mess. I wasn’t expressing myself, my feelings, my thoughts, I felt as if I were stuck at times. After returning to Tallahassee in July, I was in a completely different mental and emotional space than I’d known myself to be in and I was aware but was choosing to work instead of facing it.

When I returned, I found myself in a hole that I had to get out of. I started going harder promoting my brand, I started by selling mink lash strips but it wasn’t only for the money. It was only to just get “more”. My grandmother often visited my house and so one day she said “you know just because you’re going through something, doesn’t mean you have to look like it. Don’t do that, don’t let yourself go like that.” I was walking around looking crazy! My family wasn’t used to seeing me look wore out and down. I looked DEPRESSED. I want only suffering depression, I’d been going through postpartum depression. I looked in the mirror one day and I looked at pictures of myself and said “what are you doing? What is going on?” I started seeking help.

While working on healing myself, I began to see more of a purpose in my business. To uplift and enhance each and every person physically and mentally. I realized that when ever I dressed up, took quality care of myself, having a consistent life routine, I was happy. I felt stronger to take on the day. I felt better emotionally. When I first began my thoughts as an entrepreneur honestly were misguided. So I began to research and study more about the beauty industry.

I began to take courses specific to the beauty industry and business. I studied myself, I reflected on how I’d marketed my business in the previous months and what I could do better. Where I needed to scale back. What needed to be highlighted.

Dimple Queenz B&M where your style meets royalty, caters to the beauty and grooming needs built to uplift, encourage, and promote physical, mental and spiritual enhancement in both men and women. Curvy women fashion, mink lashes, make up tools. Beard care and men’s hair care. One of the best selling services provided are our custom gift sets. Through these custom sets I’m able to hand craft gifts utilizing my products to create a unique and Royal experience. This has been one service in our area that I can say has been unmatched. In presentation and quality. My customers absolutely love it. From the women to the men. It’s my goal to make every customer I attain to feel like they’re receiving a true luxury gift filled with love. Each ordered is treated with the intent to uplift them soon as they open the package. Our men’s products (beard oil, beard balm, Argan Pomades) have gained customers throughout the state of Florida, North Carolina and even New York.

I have to say as an entrepreneur of 2 years, I am most proud of my endurance and resilience. As a business owner we often feel overwhelmed and weak. We battle depression daily just to keep going to build our empires to get to that point of making a true impact. I’m proud that I have given up. I’m proud of my family, friends and peers who truly support not just me but my business. I’m excited to see the day I open a storefront. My brand doesn’t stop at beauty enhancement. I’m ready to take this to the next level and connect with the communities dealing with HIV/AIDS, Domestic Violence and Adolescence child abuse. These are the communities that I’ve known personally whom suffer most from depression and I’ve experienced this directly and indirectly throughout life. As my brand continues to grow, I want all who see the name Dimple Queenz B&M to know we are more than pretty packaging and what we appear to be face first. We here to build a community of love, kindness and stability within our being.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I first began my business my finances weren’t in the best position. I was actually visiting my dad in Tampa, FL and at the time I had maybe $200 or $300 dollars in my account. I’d called my aunt and she advised me to visit Sunbiz.org to start my business. I didn’t initially began as an LLC. I took the cheaper route and started as sole proprietorship. I paid between $150-$160. So either half or more than half of what I had in my account was gone.

From there, I’d contacted a vendor and discussed their minimum order quantity (MOQ). Luckily, my vendor didn’t have this requirement. I spent a total of $45 on my first shipment order. With a total of 12 lashes I was able to make back 3 times what I’d spent for that single purchase. I instantly sold out and customers wanted more! I did this three more times only ordering 12 pairs at a time as it took a shorter shipping time, tripled what I’d spent creating a enough revenue to order in bulks of 25-50. I was also still working utilizing that income to fund my business. Now that method didn’t always work but I created a system around each paycheck to maintain bills, and build on products.

I started bringing in more products such as our customer favorite, the 2-n-1 lash adhesive liner and started our men’s beard care line. I was making between $800-$950 each shipment. Then I introduced fashion for both men and women. This generated within a few days near $1500. Each clothing shipment. I was able to maintain a savings and still build inventory.

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

Ariel Cares About Your Healing self help book and journal by Ariel Thomas. Her books have been an honest treasure to me through the second year of entrepreneurship for me. If I can say anything I can say, it’s important for entrepreneurs and individuals in general to work diligently on self care and mental health. I can’t express how many times I’ve opened my journal and the topic is right on point for the moment in time.

Her book and journal has helped me to resurface who I am and heal areas in my life that have actually affected me as a business professional. I’d attended her mental health expo earlier this year and was blessed to better understand her journey and learned that we both grew up with very much the same story. It made me appreciate her more. As she is actually the first in our generation to become an author and form a non-profit organization.

Ariel Cares About Your Healing has helped to empower me throughout my own healing journey. It has helped me to develop better communication skills and self management. These were things that when times got rough would effect how I handled managing myself, business and communication. Using her journal, has helped me to reflect over those hindrances that were pouring over into business. I was creatively blocked for a while until I started utilizing my journal. The more I released, the better my ideas and content has become. Spending time using her journal helped me to create a focus centered around self care, creating a better mother, friend and business woman. I recommend her book to everyone I meet that’s traveling down this entrepreneurial path and healing journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dimplequeenzbm.com
• Instagram: dimplequeenz_bm
• Facebook: Dimple Queenz B&M LLC
• Twitter: DimpleQueenzBM
• Other: TikTok: dimplequeenzbm

Image Credits
Power Circle Visuals Pro credits for Featured photo with children and single photo of self.