Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to T’keyah Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi T’keyah, thanks for joining us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

I got my first real client that wasn’t a family, friend, or friend of the family by meeting this random guy at a bar downtown Savannah Ga. I was out with my sisters, just having a good time when this guy sat next to me. Somehow we managed to engage in a conversation, and I told him about Dope Kraftz. He seemed to be really intrigued about what I do, so I told him to follow my business page on instagram to see more of my work. He followed my page that same night, a week or two later I received a message from him. He asked me to make him a customized coaster set in a teal color. I was so excited and super stoked, because I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear anything from him after that night. The conversation was great, we laughed and went our separate ways that night but it was cool to see that he remembered me and was interested in Dope Kraftz. Being in that moment felt amazing and so refreshing!

T’keyah, 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?

Well for those who don’t know me, my name is T’keyah Johnson. I’m 26 years old, a wife, a mother, a full time online student, a teacher, and a small business owner! I’m from a small country town located in South Ga, Douglas Ga to be exact. I’m a country girl, and proud of where I come from. I moved to Atlanta in 2017, and now I reside in California. The idea of Dope Kraftz came into fruition in 2021, I was living at my mother’s house at the time saving up for my own place. I was working full time as a preschool teacher although I loved being a teacher and educating the little ones, I wanted to explore new ventures and try something different. I’ve always wanted to start my own business, but I wanted to create a business that I enjoyed managing/doing. I sat and thought for awhile about what I like to do the most, and for me that’s participating in 4/20 activities……. If you catch my drift. I thought about how I’d always ash in a cup or in an ugly ashtray, which led me to believe that I could make an ashtray better than what I’ve seen in the stores. Once I came up with the idea, I googled what some glass ashtrays looked like. I knew I wanted to create mine to look like glass and I wanted them to be creative, so I found a way to make the ashtrays out of epoxy resin! After a few YouTube tutorials, I bought the materials that were needed and instantly got to work. I practiced and practiced making them until I thought they were good enough to present to the public which was a year later. I decided to wait a year because I wanted to have everything in tact first, meaning I wanted to have my website created, logo, business cards ready, etc. Well when Dope Kraftz day-viewed I didn’t have ANY of those things ready, I took a leap of faith by making a Facebook post of the resin items I had already created and to my surprise I received a lot of positive feedback. After that day, Dope Kraftz has been making a name for herself ever since. We specialize in creating resin products customized to our customer’s pleasure. We create coaster sets, ashtrays, memorial pieces, trinket trays, stylish keychains, pretty much anything you can think of. When it comes to solving problems for my customers, I’m always coming up with a plan that’s best beneficial for my client. I offer one free remake of the item they ordered, and if they’re still unsatisfied they’re free to have a full refund. I believe in making sure each of my customers are satisfied to the best of my ability! So far, I’ve been blessed to have kind easy going clients. Thank you to you ALL, you guys rock!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn is that just because people are your family or friend, that doesn’t automatically guarantee you their support and that’s okay! Everyone isn’t into the same things you are or maybe they’re simply uninterested, do not let the lack of support from your loved ones deter you from your goals and dreams. If you’re a believer in God, he will direct your path and place the right people within your pathway to give you all of the genuine support and love you need! I honestly don’t have a backstory to this learned lesson; however, I will say that I’m an observer and I developed this lesson just by watching the ones I call my friends and family, continuously scroll by the numerous business posts I’ve shared without as so much giving it a like or a share. Most people think that you want them to spend their hard earned money on your product/services, when it’s usually the opposite; we just want you guys to help us succeed at what we’re doing and to help us grow our business by reposting our posts and giving us a shout out every now and then. A little support goes a long way!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Last year Dope Kraftz’s business page was receiving a lot of buzz and views of our content; however, this year our numbers have decreased drastically. We went from seeing thousands of views to just a few hundreds, I believe due to Instagram now offering the “verified” badges, the algorithm has changed who posts we can see on our tl. I don’t even get to see majority of the people I follow posts anymore, which I think is sad because I’d rather see them than some random person I don’t know. Once I saw the decrease, I became discouraged of making content. But I had to remind myself that the numbers really don’t matter, your consistency does. Even though 200 views may not seem a lot compared to thousands, it still is! Imaging if 200 people came and told you “you’re beautiful” in one day, that’s a numerous amount of compliments to receive in one day and would feel quite overwhelming. Running a small business is hard, you’ll have some good days and some bad days but the good will always outweigh the bad. Anytime I feel discouraged or defeated, I think back to the purpose of me starting this business and the people who support me. The people who really matter is what motivates me to keep trying no matter the obstacles that may arise. You have to have perseverance, strong faith, and a solid foundation around you to be able to keep building your success. You can literally do anything if you set your mind to it and DISCIPLINE yourself. Never, never, never, never, never, quit. You may stumble sometimes, and even fall but you always have the ability to get back up and try again. Success isn’t achieved over night and Rome wasn’t built in one day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dopekraftz?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: T’keyah Johnson