We were lucky to catch up with Taneka Torain recently and have shared our conversation below.

Taneka, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

“What it takes to be successful?”, is a question that I am constantly asked. For me, I look at successful is accomplishing your goals. I have a checklist that I one by prior to attending college on how I wanted my life to go. Unfortunately, sometimes our time line does not go as planned because life happens. As long as you get to the rainbow, it does not matter how long it takes you. To encourage some of those that feel like life is moving slow, I did not become a nurse until I was 30. I went to college at 18, had a baby at 20, failed the nursing entrance exam at 21, retook a few classes, failed the entrance exam again, switched my major and graduated with a Science degree, went to summer school to retake a few courses, reapplied to the nursing program and finally got in at the age of 28. The morale of this story is to remember that you will become successful, it just takes takes some of us longer than others.

As a business owner, “success” is a process as well. I am still learning the business and building my brand. It takes time. I am not where I want to be, but I am realizing that advertising is a great way of getting noticed. I tend to post Reels on Instagram from time to time, which shows my business to those that have never seen me. Post your business as much as you can. Show your talent. Talk about your business. It will all pay off eventually, just remember, take your time, do not stress over a timeline.

Taneka, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Taneka and I am a mom of 2 beautiful girls, a Registered Nurse by trade, and an event stylist. My nursing speciality is labor and delivery. I am currently a travel nurse, which gives me the opportunity to work at different locations and compare the standards of practice at different facilities. I am also a clinical instructor for an HBCU, where I help prepare nursing students for their future career. As a nurse and a nursing instructor for maternal child health, I emphasis the importance of patient advocacy, especially in a field where women of African American descent die 3 times more likely than Caucasian women. Educating patients and their family members are essential in my book. It is something that we should all be aware of and sensitive to.

As a nurse during the pandemic, I was faced with many adversities and the unknown of what healthcare would become. Things changed drastically. When the world was on lockdown, healthcare professionals had to be present at work at all times. In 2020, my daughter’s 2nd birthday was approaching and I needed a relief from nursing and wanted to do something fun to celebrate her. Of course everything was closed, so I had to get creative. I decided to decorate the outside of my home and do a drive by party, so that we could see our loves ones after time spent apart. I did some research on party planning and decorating, and boom, the rest was history. Since then, I created my business called ReVamped by T LLC., formerly known as t.decor parties, in 2021. I am best known for balloon creations, intimate events, and kiddie parties. Eventually, I will focus a career in educating nurses and nursing students and putting an emphasis on my business endeavors. Be sure to be on the look out for all the amazing things that I have in store for Taneka the RN and Revamped by T.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I started ReVamped by T, I had no idea of what I was getting into. I basically started my business by investing my own finances. I was not aware that there are many grants for small business owners. I am also learning about marketing and how to price products. Pricing has been the hardest issue I have had when starting a business. I want the services I provide to be affordable, but I also want to make a profit for my time. I have come across informational sources such as YouTube and the Maryland Business resource guide, which has helped guide me into forming ReVamped by T. I have built relationships from other small business owners, which is helpful in expanding your brand. Partnership is key as a small business owner.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

A goal that I have been focused on that is driving my creative journey, is to own and operate an event space. I would love to plan weddings, anniversary, baby showers, etc, while having the option to offer my clients my own venue. I come across clients all the time that are searching for the perfect place to celebrate their events. It is my mission to create that perfect venue to lessen the stress off of clients and perspective clients. It is a huge goal to accomplish, but I believe that I can become successful in all goals that I set for Revamped by T.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _revampedbyt