Meet Tasharia Burke | COVID, Medical/Surgical RN, BSN & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Tasharia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I have always been interested in fashion and incorporated it into my lifestyle. I always believed that when you look good, you feel good. I do not mean for people to take this the wrong way, such as you will only feel good about yourself if you look good. I want people to understand it as if you are feeling down or going through a rough time in your life, you do not necessarily have to show it. Dressing up or putting a stylish outfit on can help uplift both your mood and confidence to overcome whatever challenge you are battling at the current moment in your life. Before I realized my passion for helping others, I wanted to own a boutique. Although I did not put fashion as number one on my career goals, I always knew that I would come back to it sooner or later. After I graduated from college and got comfortable with working in my field, I began to brainstorm online boutique ideas. I suddenly started to think about how much I work. I noticed how many days out of the week I am at work and that sometimes even when I am off, I rarely go out anywhere to wear any outfits. I felt the need to assimilate fashion into my everyday life, and since I am a nurse, there are not many ways to do that other than with scrubs. Then, it hit me! I wanted to create a boutique that sells not only fashion pieces but fashion scrubs as well.
I thought that it would be nice to give healthcare personnel the option of wearing stylish, comfortable scrub sets while at work. Who doesn’t want to look good while working hard? I also realized the demand for scrubs since so many professions wear them. Not only do nurses and hospital workers wear scrubs, but dentists, dental hygienists, estheticians, lash and nail technicians, and spa-workers do as well. Many other professions that do not wear scrubs now have the option to wear my fashion scrubs because not all of my scrubs look like the average, generic, hospital-wearing scrub sets.
Because I work in healthcare and the world is going through a pandemic, I know how critical medical gear such as masks, goggles, shields, gowns, shoe covers, and even hair covers are. I want to be a source that people can come to in order to protect themselves, their families and loved ones, and others who choose not to partake in wearing a mask.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I believe what sets my business apart from others is the goal of my business, which is to satisfy all types of people of different genders, ages, styles, and personalities. The fact that my business sells both fashion and healthcare gear is the prime example of what differentiates my business from others. I’ve heard of boutiques that sell only fashion and uniform stores that sell only scrubs and uniforms, but I have rarely, if ever, heard of a store that sells both fashion and scrubs along with medical items. I know every business is supposed to have a specific target audience, but I want my business to target as many audiences as it can because I want my business to satisfy as many people as it can. I also believe that me as the business owner and an RN sets my business apart from others because it shows my dedication to both nursing and the fashion industry. It shows the love that I have for them both, which some people can take as knowing that I will put my all into my business in order to satisfy my customers. In my opinion, me working as an RN also while running a business that sells scrubs strengthens my credibility as a business owner. I consider my scrub sets as fashion scrub sets because not all of them look like the basic, hospital wear scrubs. I do sell generic scrub sets in unisex for those people who do not really care too much about what they wear to work, but most of my focus is thinking of new fashion scrub looks. My fashion pieces are not just based on my style; They are based on what’s hot at the moment and the latest fashion trend mixed with different eras and genres of style.
I am still very new to this whole “business owner” life, as new as October 3, 2021, but the biggest challenge I have noticed and am currently trying to overcome is balancing entrepreneurship with my government job. I would put all of my time into my business if I could, but because I am a night shift registered nurse, I really have to balance them both. The lesson I’ve learned so far is to stop putting things off. Running a business alone is hard enough, so for us entrepreneurs that still have other jobs to attend to we cannot waste any time nor procrastinate.

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.
I would first take my best friend to eat at Red Pepper Taqueria in Brookhaven; they have the best Mexican food and a great scenery for photos! I would then go to Slush bar off of Edgewood for the best drinks. For fun, we would hang out downtown by riding the ferris wheel and simply enjoying Atlanta’s scenery. The Painted Pin would be a place for fun while drinking. Escobar Lounge is one of the most lit ways to end a weekend.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give thanks to my mom and grandmother. They both help out with my business tremendously, and I do not where I would be without them. My mom helps me maintain my social media accounts, track inventory, and ship out orders. My mom also does a great job at keeping my business-related anxiety in check. My grandmother does an awesome, actually the best, job at spreading the word around about my business. Rather it’s bringing up my business to anyone she speaks to or passing out my business cards, my grandmother is going to make sure she lets me and everyone else know how proud of me she is. My grandmother also helps me increase my business profit by buying whatever items are selling slowly or not at all. It does not matter the outfit nor size, my grandmother will purchase any item from me just to support me, and I cannot thank her enough for that. I also want to give a shoutout and recognition to my sister, my best friend Destinee, and Miss. Beth. All three of them never fall short in showing their support for not only my business but also for me as a young, black business owner. My sister is the one in the family that got into business and selling items back in 2017. She helped me out a lot with building my own website instead of paying someone to and finding vendors. My sister started a hair bundle business while she was in high school. Her business is under construction for rebranding right now as she is focusing on college. She is going to start back working on her business when she gets settled with college life, and I will be there to help her with every step along the way.
Destinee is like my unpaid brand ambassador. She models my clothes for me and then posts them on her social media pages so that more viewers can see my items and eventually order. Destinee is a stretch therapist, so she also supports me by buying scrub bottoms from my business. Miss Beth is a close family friend, and she supports me by always promoting my business on social media platforms. I’m sure she does in-person promotion of my business as well. Miss. Beth never misses a beat when it comes to reposting and sharing anything that I upload about my business on social media. She even goes as far as making her own content to post for my business. I love and am extremely thankful for all my supporters.

Website: www.shopsbyshari.com

Instagram: @shopsbyshari

Twitter: @shopsbyshari

Facebook: @shopsbyshari