Meet DeAndrea Byrd: DeAndrea Byrd, CEO & Founder of Tutu Maniacs

We had the good fortune of connecting with DeAndrea Byrd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DeAndrea, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
To be honest I always wanted to start a business since I was little. I got my entreprenuerial spirit from my mom. Although she was a teacher, she always keep a side hustle. I remember one time she had a babysitting service called “weekend waymakers” for those parents who were flight attendants or worked weekend type jobs. I also had a fascination with Madame CJ Walker. I did all my school projects on her.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tutu Maniac is a premier birthday party company with innovative and trendy party concepts. Tutu Maniac specializes in pampering girls and teens aged 4-11. We offer party packages that include special features like: mini manicures, mini glam shots, spa crafts, glitter & gloss sessions and much more! Tutu Maniac’s mission is to promote positive self-care habits, comradery amongst girls, and help young girls feel beautiful and fearless on the inside and outside. We help create priceless memories that will last an entire lifetime.

At Tutu Maniac, your daughter is celebrated like the true star she was born to be! We transform any girl’s princess party dreams, into an unforgettable birthday celebration!
Our goal is to make sure every girl indulges in the Tutu Maniac Experience and feels special on their big day!

Launched in 2016, Tutu Maniac is owned by DeAndrea Byrd, a licensed cosmetologist and beauty expert with over 10 years experience in the beauty industry. Tutu Maniac is the answer for busy parents looking for a hassle free party arrangement.
How can Tutu Maniac make your daughter’s birthday super unique, special and unforgettable? Who do you know that wants to be known as the best mom or dad ever?

We are located inside of Greenbrair Mall in SW Atlanta.

Now let’s get to the juicey part. How did I start my business. Well its actually a funny store. I used to own salon in Stone Mountain. Then my kids were small and my girls would be at the salon with me on the weekends while I worked long hours.

I would make the tutus to play around with, let them have spa days and do crafts to keep them busy while I worked.
I also would make the girls tutus for special occasions and themed holidays. People would stop me and ask who made their tutus and ask me to replicate.

My youngest loved tutus so much she would sleep, play eat and live in tutus. It was a going joke around my house that she was a “little tutu maniac”. Thats actually how I can up with the name.

People would see the spa parties and other themed parties I had for daughters and again beg me to replicate.

So I decided to come up with a few party packages and began hosting parties in the back of the salon. I started making money kinda fast and the business just took off.

Have I faced any challenges, OF COURSE!
So one of the things I have had a hard time sharing was that when I first started my business, I ended up taking on a good friend as a partner. She was my creative soulmate and she too also did hair. She passed away suddenly and unexpectedly less than a year after we partnered. This was something that was hard for me to cope with and understand. Even with all my success I get sad when I think about the fact that she is not here to share the dream with me, It hurts,

Another challenge that I faced was that the commerical space that I had before I moved into the mall I am didn’t work out as I planned. It started out successfully, I added party packages a camp, etc. But there was not a lot of foot traffic in the location so I had to dish out way too much on marketing, then my grandmother died and I was a complete mess,

I keep it going for as long as I could, but eventually had to make a decision to go mobile when the overhead started to make my profits go into the red. I switched my business to an online and mobile option. Thank God I had a good relationship with the plaza owners, they helped me out so much during my transition and mentored me in ways you could never understand. They also encourage me to not let a small transitional phase make me give up.

Now when the pandemic first started, boy was that a challenge, I mean who was booking parties, no one… At first I was overwhelmed, but with some sound advice from my hubby I took some time to reflect.

I was able to pivot my business and offer shippable products and activity boxes that girls could enjoy in the safety of their own home. But little did anyone know that I had also commited to a mall lease(smh right). I ended up pushing my lease start date to July of 2020, but did not open my doors until Jan, 1, 2021 inside the mall. Before opening in the mall , I continue to just operate in the online space and build my audience.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Okay so first we are definitely stopping by Greenbrair Mall to show off my store.

The we are heading the following places:

Zoo Atlanta
Piedmont Park
The Trap Musem
The Culture Experience
Little 5 Points
Camp Creek to shop

To eat we will go to:
Mr Everything
Papdos
Big Bang Pizza
Area 4
Slutty Vegan The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to my amazing family (hubby, kids, mom, grandad, brother, aunts. uncles & cousins). My village keeps me going!

Website: www.tutumaniacs.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tutumaniacs

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tutu-maniac-3728391a1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tutumaniac?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tutumaniacs/

Image Credits
Photographer Mauriceo Richardson