We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tyra Clark a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tyra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
The idea for my small but mighty multi-media entertainment company came in the middle of the night – well morning. Something (I’d say it was the Lord), woke me up around 3 am and told me to open up the book of Exodus. I used to sleep next to a pile of books on my bed every night. That’s right, I used to wake up and roll over to books!
20 of them at least.
One of the books I slept with was the bible. When I woke up after being startled by a deliberate voice (in my head), I opened up the book and was guided to passages about the Tabernacle, specifically the colors that were used to make it & the meaning behind the colors. It’s deep, but to make it plain I knew that night there was a demand on my life greater than I’d experienced before. I needed to carry out this instruction.
Although the absolute struggle to sit down and actually bring this vision to life from these spiritual nudges was unimaginably real, I still managed to press forward, push and develop a skeleton of what I think I was told bit by bit. I’m talking bit by bit. Over the next few months, I barely…vaguely strung (which is where the thread theme of my company comes from) words and pictures for logos together. I wrestled with multiple company titles. I prayed over the title names, tick-tack-toed them, eeny-meeny-miny-moe’d them. It was an excruciating process. A lot of doubt. An existential moment for a minute.
I eventually fell back on a skill I’ve been blessed to be exposed to which is the art of decision making. I was trained in a very radical way that indecision can kill you. Don’t go back and forth. Call it and move on. That skill mixed with finally believing in what I was doing (faith and work) was the recipe that gave me the courage to jump both feet in and never look back.
The secret to figuring anything out is faith. It is believing. Once you finally capture that floating belief you’re unlocked and able to surprisingly navigate the forest from there.
After getting some basic fundamentals in place, I reached out to local legal volunteer spaces that worked with budding entrepreneurs who were on a budget to get their businesses up and running.
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 think my most important characteristic is grit and I learned that from the family system and faith I was raised in along with starting a job at the age of 14. Once in college, I majored in Sociology and ended up taking a media studies course that sparked something dormant in me. After graduating college and matriculating into a confined corporate space, the creative flame that still marinated within made me realize I was built for something bigger.
That led me to work for my faith-based, community-based, social service-oriented family business which was a risk. I knew I’d be making way less, have to work even harder, and lose all kinds of benefits once I did that, however, the family business taught me valuable business lessons and slowed my pace which gave me the ability to start my own business.
Fast forward to now, I’m an Austin, Texas raised and based down-to-earth small business consultant, impactful grassroots community leader, and own a multi-media entertainment company called Strange Wisdom Entertainment™ that strategically aims to develop psychological, emotional, and spiritual wholeness through entertainment.
Strange Wisdom™, at its core, specializes in crafting original content and high-quality scripted & unscripted independent stories across a variety of mediums infused with mental health, behavioral health, and faith-based undertones for innovative specialty projects and underserved // under-resourced communities + niche markets.
The heart-centered stories being told through Strange Wisdom™ range anywhere from edutainment, experimental, dark comedies, to documentary-style narratives.
My entertainment company gave me the legs I needed to participate in a groundbreaking Anthology Feature in development and work with at-risk youth to help them tell their unique stories.
It’s been a meaningful journey.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Managing a team at its core is about active listening. Interpersonal skills, conflict resolution skills, high-level critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and authentic leadership skills are great. However, here’s what I know, being a good listener and a servant leader is a valuable step on the road to healthy management and high morale.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivoting from the corporate world to the small business world is gut-wrenching. It’s free-falling with a shotty parachute. Ha, but God! You have to remember, you’re wonderfully made. In essence, your brand is rooted in your DNA. You are the brand, there is no one like you. This makes your small business one-of-a-kind and success-proof.
Keep going because the world needs more originals unapologetically showing up to build game-changing, human-spirit-lifting, light-shining businesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tyra-clark.com/ & https://www.strangewisdomentertainment.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyratclark/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyra-clark/
- Twitter: @tyratclark
Image Credits
Claudia Sanchez [Drug-Free Youth ‘Missed Call’ PSA BTS Photo], Jaclyn Peralez-Fleming & Shay Fleming [Trouble at Cheery Meadows Short Film Poster], Courtesy of BFG [Black Film Geniuses Anthology Flyer], Deborah Valcin & Savanna Heydon [Catharsis: A Journey Through Anger Short Film Poster], Armando Martinez [4:15 AM Short Film Poster]