We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tonisha Gale-Jenkins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tonisha below.

Alright, Tonisha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Consistency is key to being successful. Without being consistent, no one will see you. I remember the first time I went viral on TikTok. I had just quit a door to door job and only depended on my business and Instacart at the time. I was probably posting 20 plus videos a week. It was some trend video going around at the time and I made my own version of it. I went on about my day with making products and when I went back on the app, I went from 2,000 follower to close to 8,000 within a few hours. That day moving forward, I told myself to be consistent no matter what.

Tonisha, 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 Tonisha and I am the owner of Temptinglipscosmetics LLC, a beauty, beard, and testicle care brand and I am also a content creator. I have been in business since June 2019, and I’ve been a content creator since I was about 21 years old, so going on almost eight years.

With my business, a problem I have solved was helping men find products for their beards that actually work. Most men would tell me they tried everything or was never taught how to care for their beards. My products are handcrafted by me personally. The best thing about all my products is that the main or base ingredient is aloe vera. You don’t really find that too much in products for men beard care and I think that what makes my products a little different.

My main focus is to always educate about product knowledge. So learning the importance on how to read products and know exactly what they are using on the beards or putting on their skin.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience for my business was a little hard at first. My business started right when the pandemic started and so many “businesses” were scamming people. At the time, I didn’t have a website. So I had to build trust with people. Having people that I went to school with purchased from me helped a lot. Once I did establish a website through Etsy, I had to build credibility. Showing before and after pictures of my male customer beard progress, having those same friends purchase again to leave reviews, etc.

The one thing I had to overcome the most with building my audience, especially with men, is to learn when to stop a conversation when it no longer served a purpose for my business. It’s hard being an attractive woman promoting beard care and testicle care to men without always being hit on or sexualized. I lost a lot of potential orders in the beginning because I would catch an attitude if I felt disrespected. I had to learn to just stop responding to certain messages and find the men who genuinely wanted to support me.

Once I learned social media etiquette and learned how to market to men efficiently, that’s how I build my audience a little more.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

To me, the most effective way I grew my audience and clientele is having to get to know me as an individual a little more. Getting to know the face behind a brand is so important. Learning what I stand for and my personal interest, connected me with a lot of my customers which in terms turned them into forever customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: temptingthebrand.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/temptinglipscosmeticsllc