Meet Tatiana Small | Atlanta Braider

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

Hi Tatiana, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
Patience . In order to have a business you have to have patience and time . When you learn that the business that you’re running is your passion , it makes it somewhat easier because then you look at everything from a different perspective and you start making certain sacrifices for your business . Once i started to do that , it made me look at things from a different perspective . You start to see yourself putting your business first , giving your passion all the time & effort . My business has taught me so much between patience , different business financing , and that not everything happens in the snap of a finger , it takes time & lots of effort .

What should our readers know about your business?
My business first started when i was living in philly . when i was in highschool i started doing hair for the low- low for people at the school , i started going to they house to do they hair or they would come to mine to get they hair done . During that time , me and my best friend was still juggling with making ends meet so my business started out as a hustle . At the time , i was with my mom of course , she was a single parent with 4 girls and I’ve always wanted to provide and make my own money so she would have less to worry about and on top of that i am the oldest so i have more responsibilities . Once i started to do hair often , i realized that this is my passion , i enjoy doing it and i enjoy making my OWN money . In 2016, after i graduated my mom decided to move to Georgia for a new beginning , and thats when things started to get tuff because i had to rebuild my clientele . It was hard because i didnt know anybody in georgia , so i had to figure out how will i get the word out that i know how to braid . Like how will people know ? So in the meantime i got a job and started to do hair on the side and during this process i had to build my clientele, promote my work by using instagram as a source and by reaching out to other known influencers in atlanta to promote my work . Around this time , ive had to really teach myself about marketing , patience , consistency , loyalty to my business and dedication . It wasnt easy at all , but you have to keep going , so if your thinking about starting a business , do it now so that you know like okay , at least i tried instead of thinking about it and not trying.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Anytime my bestfriend would come out here i would first take her to some restaurant’s to get some good food . One of the restaurants is called mojave which is a latin-america restaraunt and of the best dishes there is the shrimp & grits . Then i would take her to daves cheesesteaks , which is a cheesteak place in atlanta and the owner himself is from philly , so the food there is really good. During the night , i would take her to a fun club called opium or maybe the club called traffik, its always a vibe there . Laslty, i would take her to the fairs wheel called skyview , its very relaxing and you can see the whole atlanta from the view .

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I first want to give a shout out to my family for the upmost support , they always push me to do my best , between the startup of my business and towards me moving from different shops and different suites . In the beginning , i started to do hair at my house and then i started to build more of my clientele and once it started to grow i decided to get a suite and even though it did not work out , they was right there through it all . Therefore, i started my new journey at this shop called “The glam trap” which is located in atlanta, ga and is ran by the owner jazz . While being at the shop, she have supported me tremendously . Through marketing & promoting , pushing us to do our best , going out of her way to make ends meet at the shop and to help build our clientele. And lastly , my bestfriend . my sister my everything . when i was living in philly she was there from the very beginning pushing me to know my worth , going with me to my clients house . like its so much that we as a whole have been through and she has been there through it all .

Website: braidsbytati.as.me

Instagram: @Braidsbytattii ; @_____tatiannaa

Image Credits
Photographer: @fern6ndez via instagram