We recently connected with Tia L. Woods and have shared our conversation below.
Tia L. , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
Legacy can mean many things to different people. Depending on where we come from and experiences had, it will definitely differ. I don’t believe there is a wrong answer to this question. There are so many meanings to the word legacy. To some it may mean finances or other tangible items left behind for loved ones. To others it may mean family traits or skills that are passed down. To me a legacy is how I want to be remembered when my physical body is no longer here on earth. I choose to put in the hard work now so that my legacy can speak for itself. I would like my legacy to be one of love, loyalty, hard work, purpose, humbleness and dedication. The love of my family, close friends and culture. Loyalty to life, I’ve learned through this pandemic that life should not be trifled with, be purposeful everyday that you are blessed to open your eyes. Hard work & purpose goes hand in hand to me. If I have taken the time to realize my purpose in life than I will work hard to make sure my purpose is fulfilled. My purpose is to Enlighten, Empower and Encourage people to push through any obstacles that stand between them and their destiny. Humbleness is a must, I was taught that God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. I believe that when all of these come full circle in harmony, then the finances will overflow to where we won’t have room to receive them. This is what I hope my legacy will be.
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?
I am a single mother of 5 wonderful children. I grew up in the inner city of Hartford, Ct. My experiences in life weren’t all bad but, they surely weren’t all good. I had one champion in my corner growing up from a child through my teen years, my mother. She always told me that I could do and be anything that I wanted to be. She drilled that into me, and until this very day I believe it! I wanted to be an attorney growing up but life’s choices and challenges turned me in a different direction. I can say now, I do not regret my choices or the challenges that were in my path. They are the reasons I am who and what I am today!
Today, I am a caring, determined and passionate person. I am an author, life coach, business owner, mentor, volunteer, and elected official because of my choices and challenges that I pushed through. I authored, “My Story My Truth No Secrets and At Peace” to enlighten, empower and encourage people to push through any obstacle that comes their way. I founded Be Free, LLC, a coaching company to help individuals know that it is ok to be free from all of the negative energies around them no matter what form they come in.
I literally got into business by chance. A drum/dance line based out of New York came to Hartford, Connecticut recruiting children for their organization. The CEO of the organization saw that I was a very active parent. He asked me to come on as the director for the Connecticut group. Things were going ok, we were international. We traveled to London, England to perform. We did shows at the Apollo, performed for Nike, opened with Rhianna for her Fenty brand at Bloomingdales. We traveled and performed in many parades across several states.
But, even with all of that being said, after a couple of years it was discovered that the CEO was mismanaging finances among other things which led to the closing of the Connecticut group as we knew it. Some children in Connecticut still wanted to dance and drum. The facility the CEO agreed to rent in Connecticut was originally too big and expensive for the first group, and now that the organization was closed, a smaller group really couldn’t stay there. However, our landlord allowed me to open across the street in a much smaller facility he owned. That’s where the name ITS the Room came about. We wanted to give room for untapped talent through the arts. We were making space for ourselves. Now, with one drummer, 7 dancers and God blessed us with a great dance instructor, we started, ITS Black Illusion Drum & Dance line. We did a few performances in our area but we soon discovered the smaller group alone could not maintain even the smaller space financially. So, ITS Black Illusion dismantled. However, we still had this space.
We brainstormed as to how to best utilize this space. My oldest daughter came up with the idea of having a place where creatives can come and express themselves through poetry, music and even art. So, ITS the Room was again open for business. We had several events in our new space. Poetry events, art gallery displays for new artists, open mics, pop up shops for budding business owners among many other small events. It was going well. Then the town where the business was located sent a letter saying that we had to cease and desist all activity because we were not zoned to perform these actions. I literally knew nothing about zoning or the rules thereof. And of course the town gave no real assistance in figuring this all out. After many phone calls to the town and my landlord hiring an attorney for us to consult with about the situation. We finally got a meeting with town hall and they said we were zoned for retail. They informed us that we had to do retail or close our doors. We were not into retail, we knew nothing about it! However, with the creative juices flowing again, we decided that if this space had to have retail then that’s exactly what we were going to provide. It was decided to have an everyday pop up shop all day long without the vendors. Basically, we opened a store, a consignment store. It allowed small black business owners to place their items on a store shelf that they didn’t have to man themselves. This was an experience that most of these business owners had never experienced before. Part of our stores’ mission is to expose and expand black talent through retail.
In our store, we sell everything from all styles of clothing and accessories to natural soaps, hair products, beard oils, bath essentials, jewelry, candles, handmade soaps, waist beads, ties, cufflinks, and so much more.
There is a need in our community to have a place to be able to buy things for us and by us. It gives a sense of pride to know you are walking in a store that is black owned and all of the products are from black people. So we solve the problem of not being left out by an industry that doesn’t always make room for us.
I am proud of the fact that through all I have gone through to get to this point, I never gave up. There were many times during the formation and opening of my businesses I wanted to throw in the towel. But then I thought to myself, “Then what, go back to a full time job where someone else tells me what to do all day long. Go back to not having complete control over my destiny. No, that’s definitely not an option for me. I can’t leave a job to my children. But I can leave a business, so I have to keep pushing.”
I would like our potential clients to know that we do it for the culture. We do it to be an example of excellence. To show that we can be and have whatever we are willing to honestly work for.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source for new clients is always word of mouth. The word gets out when you consistently provide great service, have a plan that no one else is able or willing to provide like you. You must treat everyone that walks in your establishment like they are your best friend when you see them. People want to feel wanted and appreciated when they walk into your place of business. I believe that is the way to get returning customers as well as new ones constantly walking through the door. I was taught that a person can forget everything about the encounter with you except they way you made them feel. Now once they come in and see the merchandise now that’s a cherry on top of it all.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Building a reputation in this market has not been difficult so far. We are still in the beginning stages of course. No one offers what I do in my area. So the thing that has helped me build a reputation has been me being apologetically me. I have no problem with showing my flaws, talking about the mistakes I have made in this journey and in life in general. I believe people like authenticity. People love the finished product but I think they also like the journey. They want to be a part of it and that is what I give them.
Contact Info:
- Website: itstheroomct.com
- Instagram: @Authortiawoods & @itstheroom
- Facebook: ITStheRoom TiaL.WoodstheAuthor
- Linkedin: Tia L. Woods
- Twitter: AuthorTiaL.Woods