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

Tanequa’, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

How did I come up with my name, A Touch of Brandy?! Well, when I decided to get back into braiding hair, I thought long and hard for a name that suits me. My girlfriend told me, to let it come to me. I kind of gave up on thinking, until my sister texted me, and asked “what do people call you, or what name do people know you by?” I replied “brandy”, because of Facebook. She said there’s your name, “A Touch of Brandy”. And I been rocking with it ever since.

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 have been a braider since 11 years old. My mother use to braid, so it kind of came natural to me. I learned to braid with weave at the age of 13. I use to braid hair on the front porch of my grandmas house. When I moved to savannah, I became of of the neighborhood braiders, when people found out i can braid. Cornrows were really my thing. As I got older I continued to braid up until the age of 21, where I discovered I had carpal tunnel. I wanted to go to hair school. But got discouraged, due to my “disability”. But once Knotless braids became a thing I figured I’d give them a try. Once I got the hang of that, I used it to the best of my advantage to get back into the hair game. Knotless braids, and faux locs.. until I became a beast at doing Loc retwists. When Covid hit, doing hair was my money maker since I no longer had a job. This is where the real hustle came into play. I would sanitize my home for people to still be catered to. That lasted me a year before I moved into a shop. Moving into a shop gave me more motivation to keep moving due to receiving great feedback and even more clientele. I’ve lost a few people due to price change or distance. But I’ve gained more due to the neatness and customer service I gave. With the feedback I received from my clients, it makes me happy because I never thought I’d be back doing hair. So being a stylist with carpal tunnel, I may be limited to some things, but I will always give great customer service and a safe space for my clients.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What I believe mostly helped me build my reputation, is, one, my personality. I’m very understanding and bubbly. Secondly, word of mouth from my most supportive friends/family. Word of mouth has helped me tremendously, knowing how social media works. Thirdly, MY DRIVE! I do my best to go above and beyond for my clients. From the styling, to time management, and the neatness of what I’m passionate about.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media can be a tricky thing. You can either build or fail. I’ve build my social media platform by changing my ways of how I think, post, and respond to others.

My followers began to come from friends, and also promoting myself. My targeted audience started to come about once I realized what kind of followers I were looking for. Understanding your targeted audience makes it easier to build your platform. Be respectful with your post, be you at all times, but remember you’re still running a business, and respond to those looking for your service. Separate your personal life from your business life.

Contact Info:

• Website: Atouchofbrandy.as.me
• Instagram: @atouchofbrandy_ / @macisbrandy
• Other: Tiktok @___macisbrandy