We recently connected with Toccara Samuel and have shared our conversation below.

Toccara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with inspirations and heroes. Are there any historical figures you look up to?

A historical figure I look up to is Madame CJ Walker. She never gave up on her brand and she kept pushing.

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 am Toccara Samuel, Licensed Esthetician, CEO and Creator of Exceptional Creations with Toccara and the Exceptional Private Label Company. I specialize in Hair growth, skincare, beard care, coaching, product education and product creation. In addition to being an Esthetician I work as a Beauty Specialist, I’m an author and I assist others on their journey towards wellness and beauty. My journey began while in school to become an esthetician. I lost my hair due to health issues and started experiencing issues with my skin. I started developing all natural products to assist with hair growth, eczema, acne, pain and more.To go from having no hair to fully growing my hair back myself was a journey that led to me assisting others while tracking my growth via social media. I proved my products work by being my own walking billboard while assisting others. After obtaining all that was needed to launch my business I began networking with barbers, stylists, beauty supply stores and other estheticians to expand my brand. My products are now available on my website and have shipped throughout the United States.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what helped me build my reputation within my market is honesty and authenticity. Being my true self during a journey that was challenging allowed others to truly see my drive and to connect with me. I wasn’t afraid to share my challenges and I wasn’t afraid to relate to my audience and my clients during my journey.

I took the time to visit and connect with stylists, barbers, estheticians and massage therapists. Those connections helped others to understand how our industries were all beneficial to each other and how I could assist them and their clients by offering my products and services. Going live on my social media platforms regularly allowed me to educate others as well as answer any questions that they had. Another thing that helped me build a reputation within my market was joining networking groups. Networking groups allow you to meet people you may not normally meet on a daily basis and offers a relaxed environment for you to share more about your brand.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot for me was going virtual during the pandemic. I went from being in a suite to creating a website and shipping my products. I really enjoyed being in my own suite and in a physical location. Just before the pandemic hit I became ill and decided the best move for me would be to take a break from having a suite and just focusing on my product line instead. It has been both challenging and rewarding at the same time. The pandemic gave me time to grow as an individual and to grow my brand. It gave me time to study and develop my brand further. I was able to restructure and rebrand my product line as well as offer private labeling. In addition to that I became a business startup coach and author during the pandemic. Not only was I able to have more one on one time with my clients virtually but I was also able to help other business owners develop their brands. I enjoyed some aspects of it but also developed a new approach to helping others in order to not exhaust myself in the process. I’m excited to introduce my new approach this coming year and to branch back into assisting other business owners.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.creationswithtoccara.com
• Instagram: @creationswithcara