Meet Tatiana Smith | Custom Wig Maker, Licensed Cosmetologist, Entrepreneur

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

Hi Tatiana, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process on starting my own business came from many different obstacles. I’m currently working as a math teacher, licensed cosmetologist and a wig maker. I’ve been a licensed cosmetologist since 2012. I’ve been working for myself for over 6 years and I always wanted to grow in the beauty industry further than just selling premade units, so that’s when I decided to start making custom units. Towards the end of 2017, I was going through a lot of depression because my career wasn’t deemed “essential” so of course I didn’t have as much income coming in from me switching from job to job. So I started brainstorming and thinking of other ways to make income. I’d been selling premade units and bundles for 3 years prior and I fell in love with it. I’ve had so many family members, coworkers and classmates that gave me feedback on my work. I decided that i wanted to add custom units to my business, because I’ve had multiple customers that have gone through chemo and having alopecia and this really made me realize what losing your hair can do to yourself. We as women deal with so much already internally and sometimes all we have to rely on to brighten our day is that we look good. It’s more than just hair, it’s building a person’s confidence up and helping them to feel secure. Seeing the smiles on women’s face when they send me their selfies is my way of giving back to the community. So I decided to take it a step further in developing a business plan to launch my own online hair store. It wasn’t easy at all but I only had $600 in my saving account. I took $500 of that money and started my very own hair business. It took me over a period of time to get my business how i wanted it but by the grace of god, everything started to falling in place slowly.

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?
Beauty In Paradise Mynx LLC officially launched in November 2019. We launched with our beautiful customers in mind needing quality premade wigs, hair bundles and lashes. We then moved over to providing top tier custom made units to our beautiful customers. We specialize in designing each and every unit differently. Every unit is very unique and no unit will look the same. We are based in Atlanta, however, we do ship worldwide. I want the world to know that Beauty In Paradise Mynx is here to stay and we will continue to provide affordable flawless wigs for as long as God allows us to do so.

With that being said, I am proud of how much I’ve grown physically and mentally since I started my hair business. One of the biggest downfalls I had was being a procrastinator, eventually, I had to learn that it wasn’t going to help my business get where it needed to be, showing up on time, staying consistent with my craft, and making the extra sacrifice is what would help my business to get the growth and recognition it deserves.

What sets Beauty In Paradise Mynx LLC apart from other businesses is our top tier 24 hour customer service and I’m self-taught. We believe in treating all our customers right and we want them to have the best customer service ever. We also provide our customers with the most high respect that they deserve. We love going above and beyond to see all our customers happy. We have an open-door policy when it comes to helping our customers. We have set hours for when customer service is available, but when it comes to our customer, we don’t care if its 2am in the morning, if you have a question or concerns, we will answer it in a timely manner. We try our very best to give our customer the chance to trust us.

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 am definitely a foodie and a fashionista so I love BRUNCH. I get to dress up and enjoy delicious food and some great cocktails. A few of my favorite brunch spots are Toast on Lenox, Breakfast at Barneys, Cirque Bar, and Atlantis Lounge. I love Japanese and Jamaican food also. I recently went to Benihana. Their food and drinks are amazing. For nightlife I like Hookah Lounges rather than clubs. Or I would do a games night indoors with some finger foods like wings, pasta salad, dip, home made cocktails & maybe a few tequila shots.

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?
There are quite a few people that I want to give credit too. First, I would like to give an honor to God himself, who is ahead of my life. Back in 2008, I had a major setback and I thought that God had given up on me. I lost a couple of friends and family members along the way. I thought everything was over for me and that’s when I begin to pray hard for God to help me through the tragic and to get me back on track. God started to answered all my prayers. I also prayed to remain humble and stay focus. Without him, I don’t know where I would be today.

I just want to thank God for everything that he has done for me. Every time I doubted myself, he always gave me a sign to love and have confidence in myself. When everybody turned their back on me, God was the only one that stood by my side through it all. For all that he has done for me, I will always give him the up most praise.

I would like to give credit to my dearly special stepdad, James Facison. My stepdad passed away in March 2022 due to a motorcycle crash. Before he passed away, he was definitely one of my biggest supporters. When it came to me living my dream, accomplishing a goal or just coming up with a business plan, he was always the first one to give me a lot of encouraging words and advice on it. Our relationship was described as “peanut butter and jelly”. He stuck by my side through all my tough times. Anytime I needed help with anything, he would go all out the way just to satisfy me. I would always tell him that when I blow up and get rich, I’m going to take care of him. I truly miss him so much. I will always carry him in my heart. The love that we shared together will never be replaced. I know if he could be here today, he would tell me how proud he is of me. I just know that he is smiling down on me now and I’m going to continue to make him proud.

I would like to give credit to my mother, Paula Harper. Growing up wasn’t easy being that she was a single mother with four children. But God help her through it to take care of us daily. She played a major part in making me who I am today. Without her, I don’t know how I would have made it this far. The love she gave me through all the rough times was unbreakable. She always give me great advice and her favorite phrase to me is, “You only have one life to live so do what’s best for you.” She never turned her back on me and I love her for that.

Last but not least, I would like to give credit to my husband, Demetrius and my best friend Marquise. These two men played a major part in my business and personal life. Marquise has played a major part in my social life also. Demetrius and Marquise kept me in line when I wanted to give up on everything. They are really a girls best friend and I love them for all that we have went through together. I really can count on these two when I’m needing good advice and to just be there for me mentally.

Website: www.beautyinparadisemynx.com

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

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

Other: Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdg8dKg4/