Meet Tia Nicole | CEO of Tia Nicole Media

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

Hi Tia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting my business was me helping others while helping myself simultaneously. My company was created during the middle of a Global Pandemic in 2020. I was laid off from work. So I created a video on YouTube of 10 things you could do with your time during the pandemic. The next video was an introduction video where I introduced myself and what interest me about life. From that point I thought it would be a great idea to interview small business owners so that they could gain exposure to new clients and customers. With many companies going out of business temporarily and permanently, I figure this would be a great opportunity to attempt to reverse that. After conducing numerous interviews, I finally decided to launch a full media production company that provides product photography and promotional videos for small businesses. Every company has a story to tell. Which attracts their target audience. My company tells that story in a visual concept through photography and videography. I created something that I could never be fired from while helping business owners within my community. I did not plan on running a business nor did I ever think that I would ever be a business owner. We as humans have our life planned out, but God always shows us that he has bigger and better plans for us.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others is that I have multiple talents. Some are in front of the camera and some are behind the camera. I have been on a journey to find what I’m truly passionate about since my early 20s. I never saw myself going to college because I hated school, because it was always so boring. In 2007 I spent a few months at Henry Ford Community College taking prerequisite classes majoring in Culinary Arts. I hate cooking, but my dad told that it was a good field that makes great money so I went for it. Culinary didn’t really peak my interest so I dropped out worked numerous jobs. Then in 2010 I decided to give college another shot. I went to school for Paralegal Technology and graduated in 2014 with an Associates Degree. I worked at law firms, district courts and circuit courts for 2 years. Something in me did not feel fulfilled, so I went back to my journey of searching for what I’m truly passionate about. As a kid I always wanted to be an actor, but thought that I could never achieve that because I always felt like opportunities like that are only for lucky people. In 2018 I went back to school for a third time at Specs Howard School of Media Arts in the Broadcast Media Arts Program. We learned how to speak in front of the camera, write, produce, film and edit video content for tv and radio. This was a year program and I graduated in November 2019 right before the pandemic. I interned from October 2018 through September 2019 for tv, radio and podcast show. I worked as a part time Promotional Model and was an Instacart Shopper while I applied for numerous positions in tv and radio. I finally got hired at a radio station in March 2020, but never got a chance to get passed the orientation and placed on the schedule because everything got shut down. I was actually on the road on a freelance opportunity when everything officially shut down. We had to turn around and come back home. Luckily I got paid for the time spent on the road. 2019 was a tough year and here comes 2020 with another hit of me not having full time work in the media industry. Once I saw that there were not many opportunities at the time, that’s when I started my own media production company. Me being put out of work was actually a blessing because if I was never laid off I probably would not have started my business. It also gave me plenty of time to work on my company and launch it. I ended up gaining a full time position as a Video Production Specialist for a company in September 2021. Running my business while working a full time job is not easy. One day soon i will be able to quick my day job work for myself entirely. I overcame the challenges by never giving up, asking for help and keeping a positive mindset. The lessons I learned is to get a mentor early on instead of thinking that I could figure everything out on my own from a business stand point. The business I created allows me to be a commercial actor in front of the camera for companies that need someone to be the face for their brand. As well as be the creator behind the camera in capturing relevant footage that tells their unique story. I love what I do and i’m optimistic about what’s to come in the near future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to downtown Detroit to hang out for a day. We have some great museums like the Charles H. Wright Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts and Motown Museum. We would hop on the QLine Tram that would take us around downtown to eat at Texas Brazil, Townhouse Restaurant or Sweetwater Tavern. Then we would take a stroll to the Detroit River front and enjoy the beautiful view. We would also visit Campus Martuis Park where they have an area to sit down to relax and have a drink. There is a helicopter tour called Myflights that I would take them to. This tour shows you a birds eye view of downtown Detroit as well as the Ambassador bridge that leads to Canada. All of our professional sports teams play downtown. So if there is a basketball game, football game or baseball game going on that week, that’s something they wouldn’t want to miss. The Handlebar Detroit which is mobile bar with seats and bike pedals attached and everyone has to work together to get the bar moving while a tour guide will stir the direction and have control over the entire bar. We’ll be sure to drink responsibly. Lol We also have great outlets and malls like Great Lakes Crossing, Somerset and 12 oaks mall to do a little shopping.

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?
I would love to give a shoutout to National Entrepreneur Association as well as Black Christian Influencers. Both organizations offer business mentorship, support and valuable knowledge for companies to stay in business for the long haul. I appreciate the time and effort they spend one on one to support in helping me to become better for success. I also want to thank all of my friends, family, associates and complete strangers for their positive reinforcement and overall support in my business journey.

Website: www.tianicolemedia.com

Instagram: Tianicoletv and Tianicolemedia

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tianicoletv/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tia.Nicole.TV

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOZtlWFSxxv4FjfoceeaLgw or type in Tia Nicole Media TV

Other: My talent website www.thetianetwork.com for all of my on camera talent.

Image Credits
Rt Studios