Building Community and Confidence: The Tenee King Story

Hello, beautiful souls! Welcome back to "The Beauty in You," where we dive into stories that remind us of the radiance within each of us. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you "Building Community and Confidence: The Tenee King Story" an episode featuring the remarkable Tenee King. Tenee, a former model and the creative force behind TK Tips Lifestyle, joins us to share her transformative journey through fashion, entrepreneurship, and motherhood.

Her tale is one of self-discovery, from finding confidence on the catwalk to creating a brand that weaves together wellness, style, and the art of "Mommin." Tenee’s path shows us the power of support and connection—how a "village" can lift us into our best selves.

So, prepare to be inspired as we learn how Tenee built a life that’s as beautiful as the community she cherishes—with poignant reflections on motherhood, wellness, and the courage to redefine success.

Let's embrace the beauty in Tenee's story, and in doing so, maybe discover a little more about our own.

To work with Tenee King: 

Website: Mom Essentials | The Mommin Collection By Tk Tips (www. mommin.shop)

Facebook: TK Tips Lifestyle | Facebook (@tk.tipps)

Instagram: TK TIPS LIFESTYLE (@tk.tips) • Instagram photos and videos (@tk.tips)

To work with Chi Quita Mack: https://www.thechiquitamack.com/thehealingsocial

To Join Chi Quita Mack’s Free Self Love Masterclass:  https://www.thechiquitamack.com/webinar-page

To Purchase The Beauty in You Workbook:

 https://www.thechiquitamack.com/shop-tcm/p/the-beauty-in-you-a-guide-created-to-help-you-discover-the-best-version-of-you

Subscribe to ChiQuita Mack’s Personal  Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWBJj6RXvtR6G2xhEiGl-xw

Chi Quita Mack's Website: https://www.thechiquitamack.com 

Chi Quita Mack Shop/ Merchandise: https://www.thechiquitamack.com/shop-tcm 

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechiquitamack 

Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechiquitamack

Transcript

Jacqueline G. [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the Beauty and you podcast, a safe place created for all women to come relax, get inspired, and be constantly reminded that they have not lost the ability to be who they once were. Join us as we dive into the true meaning of rediscovery through inspiring guests and topics such as healing, self love, and creating a positive mindset. So sit back, relax and get comfortable as we dive to this week's episode. Here's your host, Chi Quita Mack.

Chi Quita Mack [00:00:30]:
Hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of the Beauty and you podcast. I am so excited for this, you guys. We are about to go on a journey for real. Our guest today is so special, so remarkable, and she definitely has a story that you want to hear and you can definitely relate to. Tenee King is a digital entrepreneur and founder of TK Tips Lifestyle. She is a creative strategist and wellness inspiration. A little bit about her brand. TK Tips Lifestyle is a brand that focuses on motherhood wellness, honoring the village through inspirational merchandise and sharing realistic recommendations and experiences for you to live well daily and celebrate it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:01:19]:
Hey, mama, how are you doing?

Tenee King [00:01:21]:
Hi, how are you? Good to see you. Nice to see you as well.

Chi Quita Mack [00:01:25]:
I am so happy that you are here with me. Thank you so much for agreeing to be a guest on the podcast.

Tenee King [00:01:30]:
Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Chi Quita Mack [00:01:32]:
So I am in love with your story. There's many different parts of your story. Your journey is just remarkable, but I want you to give me the starting point. Share a little bit of your rediscovery journey and what led you to where you are today.

Tenee King [00:01:49]:
So I reside in Cary, North Carolina with my husband and daughter. My daughter is six, but I am originally from Philadelphia, South Philadelphia to be exact. You have to put that in there. Claim it, South Philadelphia. So I guess my rediscovery story really would be once I became a mom, because I became a mother at the age of 37. And I feel like everything that I did prior all came together once I became a mom. So I have a background in fashion. I have a background in tourism and hospitality management, working in entertainment and film, being an entrepreneur and a consultant.

Tenee King [00:02:42]:
And literally all of those things came into play to me when I was thinking about this. Once I became a mom running your household, now I'm a stylist for my child. I'm a chauffeur. I'm doing the budget, just doing all of the logistics and various nuances of what I did in my careers, and now I'm implementing it into being a mother. Even cooking. I found a new love for making plant based meals for my family. And previously, I've always been intentional about what I eat and what I put in my body. But now that I have my daughter and my family, it is a priority.

Tenee King [00:03:30]:
So things that I would do in the past, like, I love fruit, and I am not plant based, but my daughter is plant based. My husband is vegetarian. I like to call myself flexitarian. There you go. So I'm not getting ready to make three meals. So normally, my breakfast and my dinner are plant based because those are the two meals that we normally have together as a family. So even thinking about that, it all came together. That's all that I can say.

Tenee King [00:04:02]:
Once I became a mom, things really began to click. I began to slow down and take a beat because my life, I was constantly moving fast, working in entertainment, working in fashion. It's always hurry up and wait. And even the hurry up and wait piece can equate to my daughter, because now that she's older, she has so many different extracurricular things that she's doing, and I constantly find myself hurry up and waiting. Oh, she has swim today, so I have to get the carpool by this time, so I can whisk her off, change her clothes to get in the swim. And then I'm waiting, waiting, and now I'm waiting, and it's a constant repeat of that, and it's like, oh, okay. So when I worked in fashion as a model, or I worked in fashion as owning my own brand, I was a co owner doing a fashion show. It's hurry up and wait.

Tenee King [00:04:57]:
Even one day, I was packing my daughter's diaper bag. And as a model, you have a model bag. And it is all the essentials that you need. If you have a photo shoot, if you have a fashion show, you have that model bag with the correct underwear, the correct pantyhose, a nude pair of shoes, a black pair of shoes, like, all of the essentials that you would need. If a designer says, hey, we don't have your size, we don't have this. Do you have it? So, you know, as a mother, the diaper bag, it's your third arm, having all of those essential things. So my rediscovery story, really, to me, happened once I became a mom. It just all clicked because I was just moving and living and accomplishing many great things.

Tenee King [00:05:47]:
And then, like, okay, what's next? What's next? What am I going to do next? And my daughter gave me the ability to take a pause, understand that you can just chill, you can be still, and it doesn't always have to be on the go, even though now as she's older, we're on the move a lot more because I'm just an on the go person, and now that's in her. So she's like, mommy, what are we doing today? Are we going to see art? Because being 37, I've done so many things prior to being a mom that I was intentional about not losing myself and having my daughter be a part of what I do. So if I like five star restaurants, then you're going to go. If I want to go to a festival, you're going to go. If I want to go to the museum, then you're going to go. So it's now her lifestyle, but it's something for me. Like I said, I just wanted to be intentional in doing and not losing myself, but also discovering so many other things, like discovering that being a mom is its own sorority in itself.

Chi Quita Mack [00:07:00]:
It is.

Tenee King [00:07:01]:
I didn't know that. And it's great to sometimes because I don't always want attention on me. I'm glad that I have my daughter because I can like, oh, I'm in this space. I can focus on her, right? I don't have to be the center of attention. Or if I'm not feeling like that, I want to be the most social or sharing, then I can just talk, mom talk. And I didn't even know that was a thing prior to being a mom. But just to really get back to that original question, that rediscovery piece, like, everything clicked once I became a mother. And I like to say partly to mostly, not even partly to mostly, I was so so about being a mom just because of my upbringing.

Chi Quita Mack [00:07:51]:
Upbringing.

Tenee King [00:07:52]:
So I was raised by a single father, and I have four grandmothers, two great, two grand. And I moved with my dad at the age of five. And that was the best decision for me based on what was happening prior to that. So I was always a little questionable about if I wanted to be a mom. And then once I became mom, like I said, it just clicked. And I'm curating it in my way. I'm curating in a way that is comfortable for me, that's comfortable for my husband, and it's working.

Chi Quita Mack [00:08:32]:
That's all that matters, is that it's working for you.

Tenee King [00:08:37]:
Right? We adjust. We adjust and we move forward. It's no playbook, but tapping into those transferable skills of when I was growing up and having my grandmother. So I was blessed to have four women that were pillars in my life. So it's like, okay, from you, I get my style, and you, I understand hospitality, and you, I understand being graceful, understand being patient. In you, I get my hustle and grit. So all of that combined. And then you have your aunts, and my father is in there as well.

Tenee King [00:09:18]:
But those people. That's why I talk about honoring the village, because the village is the reason why I'm here today, because they saw enough in me to take me out of a situation that wasn't ideal and put me in a situation that was. And they rallied around me so that I could be my best self.

Chi Quita Mack [00:09:39]:
And I think that's remarkable. That is absolutely remarkable. One thing that I think is beautiful about your story is that for you, everything clicked when you became a mom. Most people's stories is opposite. Like, it fell apart when I became a mom.

Tenee King [00:09:56]:
Exactly.

Chi Quita Mack [00:09:57]:
But your story is that, no, it all came together. You were able to live your life, enjoy, learn a whole bunch of different lessons from all the experiences. And then when you became a mother, everything came together.

Tenee King [00:10:13]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:10:13]:
I do want to ask you, was there anything you ever feared about becoming a mom?

Tenee King [00:10:20]:
Well, I feared becoming a mom because I didn't have the best relationship with my mom. And the level of disappointment that in my earlier years that I had based off of our interactions and different things with my mom. My mother was 17 when she was pregnant when she got pregnant with me, 18 when she had me. And your paper out is your paper route. So I always look at it as she is a woman before she's my mom, and her choices were her choices, but they actually motivated me. They motivated me to want to just do my best and just excel and be of excellence. And then it also motivated me to kind of be like, well, the number one person that's supposed to really want you in their life kind of can take or leave you. Then it's like, okay, nothing's stopping me.

Tenee King [00:11:20]:
But on the mothering end, on that, children. And it was like, oh, no, am I going to be this way? Will I have the same reaction? And it's like, no. Well, you're your own person, so you can't get caught up in that. And again, my mom's paper route is her paper route. And the way I see her today, as a grandmother, I understand her level of love. And I also got to dig back into that grace piece and say, hey, again, she had to do what she needed to do. At least you were getting dropped off at your grandmother's even before I lived with my grandmother, so she knew the safe space for me to be in. But I really had that pause for a very long time.

Tenee King [00:12:09]:
You could get caught up in age, and you could get caught up in numbers and timing, and God will redirect all of that. And once I met my husband and we became serious, that was really the first time I thought about being a mother because he's so amazing and so great. I said, this man is deserving to be a father, and I want to gift him that if God sees fit. So really getting married and being in the relationship that I'm in, it helped me shift those thoughts and that fear, and it made me tap into, again, being self reliant. Like, look, you've done this, this and this. You can be a mom. You have too many amazing examples for you to fail. And if you fail at something, it's okay.

Tenee King [00:13:06]:
You get back up and you keep it going. But I will say I had reservation, and I had reservation for a long time. Like, 35 was my number, right?

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:18]:
Yeah.

Tenee King [00:13:18]:
Oh. If I don't have a kid by 35, then I'm not having it. And it's like, girl, sit down. Because what you did was get pregnant at 36. What you did is have your first child at 37. So stop it with the 35 thing. And I never really said it to one or two friends, but in my head, okay, this is what I'm going to do. Absolutely not.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:45]:
That's what you thought, though.

Tenee King [00:13:47]:
That's what I thought exactly.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:52]:
No, I think that we talk about our mothers. And I know for me, in my journey, it wasn't until I was an adult to understand my mom's, I guess, path and what she was doing. Because I was with my grandma a lot growing up, and I just remember my grandma and my aunt always, and I didn't see my mom, but when I got older, it was like, oh. Because she was actually working two jobs to try to take care of me so I can have everything that I need. But at that moment, it was like, well, she's never here, right? Why is she never here? So it's just crazy how things do shift and relationships do change. We are close now, but it was when I had my son that we actually got closer. And he's 15 now, so 15 years. But it's just crazy how things just shift.

Chi Quita Mack [00:14:47]:
And then you're like, oh, I'm living life now. Okay, I see.

Tenee King [00:14:51]:
Exactly.

Chi Quita Mack [00:14:52]:
I see the picture now. I understand now.

Tenee King [00:14:54]:
Yes, it's crazy. It really is.

Chi Quita Mack [00:14:59]:
But I'm thankful. I'm thankful for a lot that the hustle in me, I know, I get that. From her and the striving to be the best I can be. I know. I get that from her. I didn't see it before, but I see it now.

Tenee King [00:15:12]:
Yeah, I understand that because even now, for me, my mother has beautiful personality, and she's very reserved and laid back, but then she can also move and be, like, the star of the show. And that's kind of how I am. She's very helpful and very thoughtful. She flows very easy going. So I'm understanding now that I have her, really in my life because of my daughter. It's like, oh, okay, we jive. You know what I mean? We really jive. So the sense of humor wise and all of those things.

Tenee King [00:15:49]:
My mother was a dental hygienist, and I think about, like, you're saying, her working, and then unfortunately, she had issues with her health, so she had to stop working fairly early and has rheumatoid and different things and then other life choices that just made her go down a different road. But now I see the strides that she's made. Like I said, through my daughter, I can just see her. I can see her and my mother and her full self that she couldn't give me at 18 years old because she was still trying to figure out herself. She still wanted to do teenager things. And it's like, okay, I get it. She made the decision. The village.

Chi Quita Mack [00:16:43]:
The village.

Tenee King [00:16:44]:
Yes, right. The village made that collective decision for the best for me.

Chi Quita Mack [00:16:53]:
So what would you say to a mom that's struggling to find her village? What advice would you give her?

Tenee King [00:17:03]:
This is an interesting question, because I've always had a built in village, and this is a great question because I never even thought outside of that because it's my normalcy. But I would think about those people that always have just been there for me. And it doesn't have to be a family member. It could be someone you worked with, someone you go to church with. It could be a neighbor that mom. That's the only mother when you drop your kid off at school that says hello. Yeah. Because I've been there.

Tenee King [00:17:39]:
I've been there, like, saying hello. And someone actually came to me, like, thank you for saying, you say hi to me every morning, and no one else does. So being able to pinpoint the various people that you might have had exchanges with, and it might not have always been completely very bountiful, but a quick exchange, and it's like, it's something about this person that I like. So you kind of have to step out and be fearless and introduce yourself to begin to build the village, the foundation of people that can rally around you. And it doesn't have to take a whole lot of people, but just having that discernment to understand who would be the right person or the right people to rally around you. So again, if it's not family, it's not family. You don't have to get. You don't have to get caught up in that.

Tenee King [00:18:41]:
But really being able to key in, like I said on your exchanges, you don't know how often I look at your IG pages. I'm like, we would really be friends. I could be her friend. Because I don't just randomly follow people. I want to follow people that align with what I am doing. And it's genuine. You're too busy. You're not giving off fake.

Tenee King [00:19:14]:
You know what I mean? And it's even that I've met really cool people social media wise, now that we're living in this social media world, because sometimes people can be very personable online but not in person, that part. Right? So even if you build a village, that's your social media village that you feel comfortable with, you can do that, too. So understanding your personality and your level of comfort and just tapping into again to those people that you're like, okay, I think this could work, and this person could be a safe space for me, or these people can be a safe space for me. And you just see how it goes, and you ask God to align. You pray intentionally. Lord, I need a village. I can't do this by myself. And can you please connect me and redirect me to the people that are going to be for me, that it's a safe space and I can trust and build community with?

Chi Quita Mack [00:20:26]:
Absolutely. That community and building and hope. Leona, if you out there, girl.

Tenee King [00:20:33]:
Hi.

Chi Quita Mack [00:20:33]:
But listen, I would not have made it without her when I had my son in school, and I was 21 when I gave birth. So it was me and my husband, and we were going to school and working at the mall. I worked at Charlotte Ruse.

Tenee King [00:20:52]:
I love Charlotte Ruse.

Chi Quita Mack [00:20:54]:
It was it then, right? And he worked at finish line in Sears.

Tenee King [00:21:00]:
Okay.

Chi Quita Mack [00:21:01]:
And we were struggling. I mean, we were struggling. And I remember I had him. I had tried one day care, and I didn't have the most warm and fuzzy, but then I was like, oh, my God, I'm such a bad mom. I have to go to work. And I don't feel comfortable with this daycare. But he always clicked to her. He was always with her.

Tenee King [00:21:23]:
Okay.

Chi Quita Mack [00:21:24]:
And I remember one time we went to pick him up, and she's like, I'm not going to work here anymore. And I'm like, okay, so maybe my feelings not off, but I asked her straight up, like, can you watch my child? Because he was always with her. And she did.

Tenee King [00:21:40]:
Wow.

Chi Quita Mack [00:21:41]:
If she didn't have Trey, I would have not graduated college or been able to work to support him had she not said, absolutely. And, I mean, she pretty much like, it was me. I'm his mom, but he was with her. My parents were 10 hours away, and so I really built that community with her and then even her mom. So when Trey started kindergarten, just where he went to school was too far for her.

Tenee King [00:22:08]:
But then her mom was like, I'll pick him up, because she was on the corner from me. And so when I tell you, her.

Chi Quita Mack [00:22:14]:
Family is my family, without them, we would not even be. That was the foundation right there. So really having that community and just trusting and, yeah, I love her to death, though. Leona.

Tenee King [00:22:26]:
You said Leona.

Chi Quita Mack [00:22:28]:
Leona, yes.

Tenee King [00:22:29]:
Wow.

Chi Quita Mack [00:22:29]:
I had her mom's name Leona, too. So miss Leona and Leona.

Tenee King [00:22:32]:
Nice. My. One of my great grandmother. It's interesting. My great grandmother, sister, and mother. So my great great grandmother name was Leona, and one of my great grandmother's sister's name was Leona. So shout out to Leona. Leona's.

Tenee King [00:22:47]:
Y'all are it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:22:48]:
Y'all are it.

Tenee King [00:22:49]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:22:51]:
So I do want to, because I don't think you're going to get too deep into it until I bring it up, because you're real modest. But I need you to talk about this modeling career you had, because you're beautiful, sis. I need you to talk about it. So you're a model when you first started, like, your career. Talk me through your modeling career.

Tenee King [00:23:10]:
Sure. And thank you for the compliments. So I was introduced to modeling at 17, my best friend since the age of four. Her aunt owned a charm school, and she started doing a lot of fashion shows in the Philadelphia area. So my friend was like, hey, do you want to go to my aunt's studio with, you know? And I went, and I'm seeing all these beautiful, tall women and men, and they're walking and wearing cool clothes and like, oh, I like this. So I was 1516 at the time when I first started going and kind of just keeping the scene. And then when I turned around 17, they would ask me to be in shows, but I was so shy, Mac. I was shy.

Tenee King [00:24:04]:
I'm not even going to hold you. Very shy. They were like, well, my nickname is Tay Tay. Do you want to walk? Do you want to be in a show? I'm like, okay. So my first experience was a hair show. So did the hair show, and I had the bug. I was like, oh, okay. I like this.

Tenee King [00:24:25]:
I like being on stage. I like people clapping for me. This is cool. So pretty much from 17 to 19, I just kind of worked this shows for classic production. Stephanie Kane, classic production. And that moved me into thinking about it seriously, but I just really didn't know how to truly break into it. So one day I was walking. It's very cliche, but this is what happened.

Tenee King [00:24:53]:
I was walking down the street in downtown Philadelphia, and at the time, I had a huge afro. My hair is really curly, and when it's long, though, I wear it short often. Now I had a really big curly fro. Put you in the mind of, like, tracy Ellis Ross. So this is 1997, though, so it's not necessarily the look, but it was like, I like to wear my hair like this. I always wore ripped jeans, my white t shirt. I just had my own style on what I wanted to do and how I wanted to rock my clothes. And a photographer stopped me when I was walking down the street and was like, hey, I love your look.

Tenee King [00:25:35]:
I'm a photographer. I would love to shoot you. I go to New York often, and I even manage a couple of girls. Would you like to do a test shoe with me? So I didn't even know what a test shoe was, so I'm rattling off questions like, a test shoe? What is that? Okay, so it's like, you come to my studio, we take shots of you. You have different outfits on, and we just see how you photograph, and we take it from there. And that happened. Went home, told my dad that I was approached, and he's like, okay, well, is this something that you want to do? Had my friend go with me to the photo shoot to make sure it wasn't a funny business, and it was cool. That was another community that I was invited into, and it was a group of us who worked with this photographer, and he know, trained us up to be able to go to New York, and he had great relationships in New York.

Tenee King [00:26:34]:
And I went and ended up getting signed with a modeling agency. And now that wasn't, like, right off the gate, because my look was different. They didn't necessarily get it at first. It's like the afro, okay, I have freckles. You can't really see. I was just a little different. But somebody's going to, like, my different. And that, you know, with the agency, and then wind up actually having multiple agencies in New York and working as a Runway model there.

Tenee King [00:27:09]:
And then I also had an agency at home in Philadelphia. So I did work in Philadelphia. One of my neighbors worked at an art school that was near my house, and she was a designer and a teacher at the school at the time. And she asked me, she know, one day, would you want to model for me at Moore College of Art and Design? I didn't even know where that was or what it was. And come to find out, I would ride by the school every day, and I didn't know because my high school was right near there, but I didn't even put it together. So I ended up becoming a fit model for the Moore College of Art and Design, their fashion department. And a fit model, basically, is the senior class. They have to do a collection, and you have to have models fit the clothes to make sure that your collection is correct.

Tenee King [00:28:10]:
So I would come in, and they would fit me. You start off with a muslin garment, and the next thing you know, you see this beautiful garment being done. And then they asked me to become a fashion illustration model where I stood on a platform, and that was hard. I stood on the platform and in certain poses so they could draw me, so they could understand how friction works with body and how my folds are in my shirt right now, how you draw that, and how clothes lay. So everything from coats to swimwear to formal wear to leisure, they would draw me in those particular clothes. And that relationship with the fashion department at Moore College lasted for me for ten years, and it sustained me in between modeling gigs in New York. So what I learned in the modeling game was the various avenues that you could take for being a model. So though I was first introduced to Runway because I was tall, I'm 59, but that only happens a few times a year, fall and spring.

Tenee King [00:29:26]:
So in between that, it's like, okay, well, what are you going to do? And I started really befriending photographers, makeup artists, stylists, hairstylists, because those are the people that are there. They still have to work like they're not just doing fashion shows. So I'm like, okay, well, what are you working on? Well, actually, I work in a showroom. There is a thing called showroom models. So basically, what I was doing for more college, it kind of elevated. And I worked for showroom seven, and I would come and wear clothes. A stylist or a buyer would come in, but they want to see the clothes on a model. They want to see a model walk.

Tenee King [00:30:10]:
So that was one of my know I worked as, what do you call it? Like a trade show.

Chi Quita Mack [00:30:18]:
Yep.

Tenee King [00:30:19]:
Again, elevated from a showroom you would go to in New York. I think it's called like the Jarvis center or something like that, but their biggest convention center. And some people will probably know it like the magic show in Las Vegas. So all different brands showcasing their upcoming collection and buyers from Nordstrom and whatever other big companies, small companies in between. Some people that just own boutiques are coming to buy the newer clothes or the newer collections for their stores. And I did that. And then I moved into when I really started being more so in Philadelphia with my home agency, QVC. I worked as a QVC model for a bit.

Tenee King [00:31:09]:
And that could be anything from being a hand know, modeling fingernail polish to doing something with your hair. So I really learned the various nuances of modeling just by really connecting and building community and cultivating relationships with the key players. I had model friends, but a model, they're not going to get you a job.

Chi Quita Mack [00:31:37]:
Competition.

Tenee King [00:31:38]:
Yeah. So it's like, I'll tell you about this. They might tell you about a ghostie, really, if you have a drastic different look for them. So it's like, my look is my look. Your look is your look. So, okay, I'll tell you tonight, because we're not in the same lane as far as our features or whatever, but that was my modeling career. So really I was a professional model from 19 to 30. So about 35, I want to say I stopped 25.

Tenee King [00:32:10]:
I had a stint of a break because I lost my paternal grandmother. And I really was just in a space with the modeling industry. I was tiring of it. It's a lot, like I said, the hurry up and wait, the travel, and I travel really cool places. And even I didn't even get to doing all of the photo shoots and magazines and all of those things. And it wasn't as fulfilling anymore. So I just took a pause for a little bit and then started working in a store with a stylist friend that I knew and then moved back into modeling again. But it was really on my terms.

Tenee King [00:32:54]:
So I would really like, okay, I'll do QVC, or I'll work for this designer, or I'll still do this. But I was very selective on who I was working with. And I also wanted to do a bit more moving into my at that time, like I said, I was 25, so it was like, okay, what else am I going to do? And that, what else kind of moved me into entrepreneurship. But even though I wasn't even thinking as a model, I was an entrepreneur because I'm my own business. Even though you have an agent, you still have to put your best foot forward in maintaining your look and maintaining your skin and showing up and knowing what to do to book the job and then maintaining your own finances and insurance. All of these things that nobody tells you. You have to figure it out. There's no union for models.

Tenee King [00:33:53]:
So you're learning by hearing and by seeing somebody like, oh, she's the one that, okay, maybe I should try it then. And also based on my upbringing of just understanding what was instilled in me, the things that you should have. And it's like, okay, well, I have to have life insurance, I need to have health insurance, okay, but I had to understand how to pay out of pocket. But again, having those relationships and working with the photographers and stylists, they had to do the same thing, right? So it was like, okay, well, who do you use? And just not being afraid to talk about that. But modeling was amazing. It afforded me to see many different places. It afforded me to be in spaces that I never knew existed, let alone me being able to be a part of it. It was a major confidence boost because being tall and thin, you get picked on and this and that.

Tenee King [00:34:50]:
I never really fell into the trap. But you do kind of look around like, okay, I do not look like everybody else. And, okay, well, I do have women in my family that are tall. So I'm looking at my grandmother, I'm looking at my aunt, but it really just afforded me a beautiful escape. But it also afforded me business acumen and being able to move and be a chameleon with a lot of times with modeling, you don't even speak, so you're just listening and hearing everything. So it made me be very intuitive and queued in like, oh, okay, just taking it all in and just filing it based off of my interactions with people, but always remaining pleasant. And when there were times for me to speak up, it's like, okay, you're going to hear what I have to say and you're going to want to converse with me. And that is the way I build those relationships.

Tenee King [00:35:57]:
Like, oh, she's timely, she's professional, she's hospitable, but also not a pushover because I'm not just going to do anything and they will try you. So it also helped me build that resilience, and it helped me build and understand exception and rejection. Right, so, okay, you don't like my look. Okay, you know how many no's I've received? But it's so many yeses that I had received. So it's like, okay, you don't get it, all right? It's fine. Because maybe one or two times I was disappointed, like, oh, I didn't book this job. I remember I wanted the baby fat show so bad. Baby Kamora Lee.

Tenee King [00:36:47]:
And I went to the go see and my portfolio, I just didn't have enough big names in it at the time. But Miss J from I don't know if you watch top Model. Yes, but Miss J, he pulled me aside and he was like, don't stop. You have a great look. This is just how this goes. It's politics, sweetheart, but keep going. You have a great look, and you're going to do well. And I always say that, no, I wasn't tyra Banks.

Tenee King [00:37:20]:
No, I wasn't Kamora Lee Simmons, but I was Tene Nelson at the time, and I forged my own lane. And like I said, I had the opportunity to work in so many different lanes of modeling that everybody, they don't get the opportunity to or they don't even know about. So it sustained me, and it sustained me enough to help me become a co owner of a fashion business. So I was a co owner of a brand with a stylist friend that I had met from Philadelphia. And she was the only person, other person that I knew that was traveling to New York. So when I met her, I was like, oh, my gosh, you do the same thing. But just on this, you know, her and I started working together and doing photo shoots and different things, and just the opportunity came up because she was designing really cool hoodies and matching. Like, upcycling is what you call it now, but upcycling, like converse sneakers to match the hoodies.

Tenee King [00:38:21]:
And she was like, well, I want you to model for me. And I was like, well, that's cool, but I want to do more because I started getting into my mind of, I'm more than just a model and I want to do more. And I left this out. But from 17 to about 20, I did go to college, but so, like, half in and half out. So modeling really saved me from getting a degree in something that I really didn't even understand that I wanted to get a degree in. My grandmother had started getting sick more at the time, and then I saw how modeling could be lucrative, and that could be a burden taken off of my family if I could sustain myself and then also be able to help my home, my family as well. But just after working and modeling for so long, I just wanted to be seen more than tene the model. But when I think about it today, tene the model is who I am.

Tenee King [00:39:27]:
Because like I said, it is so many parallels that modeling has helped me with throughout my journey. And just being able to understand forecasting and understand sales and understand marketing and understand how to talk with people and be that chameleon and be seen and not be heard, but still file the pertinent information. And then, like I said, even with the brand that I co owned from the age of 27 to all, almost 30, the money that I earned from modeling helped that. It helped fund that business because I was working so much. It was like save, save. And then also it taught me how to budget because as a model, people talk about net 30 and net 60. Now you get paid every 30 days or every 60 days if you have a particular contract, very similar to modeling, very similar as a freelancer, you'll get a contract or you get a job and you complete it, but you don't get paid until 30 to 60 days later. So for me, I had to understand how to budget and really save my money, forecast what's coming up in the pipeline, what I'll be able to do based on how the modeling industry paid and all of those things kind of transferred into the business that I was co owning.

Tenee King [00:41:00]:
Modeling, like what they say it owes me in the streets, owe me nothing. It's just a gift that keeps giving. And as much as I try to shy away from it and not always talk about it, and I think I shared this with you in our previous conversation. I had to come to grips with, no, it's a part of who you are. Yes, and don't be afraid to speak about it and share your story on it. But you can get caught up in your own, I don't know what you think should be. And it's like, no, like I say, paper route. This is what your journey and your paper route was.

Tenee King [00:41:44]:
And modeling was a part of that, and you've done more than so many people won't. And you need to embrace that because my childhood friends, they all did the traditional route. They went to college, graduated in four years and had their careers, and then went on to get master's degrees and doctorates, phds, whatever. And it's like, oh, but no, you're not just a model girl, you're more, yeah, I really got caught up in that and had to sit back and think that through like, no, that's not the case. And it has really blessed me. Modeling has blessed me so much, and I'm thankful for it now. When I think about every part of my life, being an entrepreneur, working in hospitality, even my lifestyle brand, now I'm the face of it. So it's not leaving me.

Tenee King [00:42:50]:
It's staying with me. So it's on me to embrace it, and it's on me now to implement it in my story in a cool way. I could be modest. Like I said, I don't want it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:43:09]:
Because I knew if I didn't bring it up, you would not have brought it up. You would have skipped over that whole part. And for me, it's like, no, that part. Like, when we talked previously, a lot of your lessons came from your years as a model. You learned so much, I feel, like, about yourself during that time, and you also learned so much about life. So you kind of can't tell your story unless you talk about the modeling part, because it is a part of you and who you are. And I just really think that as you continue on your journey, that you do share more of those experiences and just those lessons alone, because even that brings more to your brand, which we're going to get into in a little bit. It brings so much more to that because those lessons, you can't get those anywhere else.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:00]:
And your experience, I would love to have half of those experiences that you had as a model, but I did go to a traditional route, and I was in school, but I had my own struggles, right? I had my son young, and I was going through that whole process. And I think I told you before, it's crazy how we are on our own journeys, and then you want something else, and then that person wants what.

Tenee King [00:44:23]:
You have, and you're like, wait. Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:27]:
It's just like, what is your definition of success? And it can go on and on and on.

Tenee King [00:44:32]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:32]:
But I do think that you're modeling. Like I said, you're gorgeous and your career is still beautiful. And those lessons, you can't just shy away from them. They're very important. And so thank you for sharing that on my platform.

Tenee King [00:44:53]:
Thank you. I know that, like I said, if.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:54]:
I wouldn't have brought up. You wasn't going to say that.

Tenee King [00:44:56]:
No. Thank you for the nudge. Oh, my goodness.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:02]:
I do want to take it back a little bit. And I want to talk about college.

Tenee King [00:45:05]:
Okay. I want to talk about college because.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:08]:
I know, like I said, I went a little more traditional route.

Tenee King [00:45:12]:
You didn't.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:12]:
You still had a great career, but that was still something that was hanging back there for you. Talk to me, to me about what importance it was for you to complete college.

Tenee King [00:45:23]:
So I have this thing where I am a person that I don't want to be of incompletion, so I want to complete it. And I have a love for concept to fruition or concept to launch. Right. Listen, I didn't even know that. Thinking about the whole college situation again, talking about those connecting dots, I didn't know that's what it was until I moved into another career that we'll talk about. But that was just always looming over my head. So I parted ways with the business that I had and my business partner, we left on a high note, but it was just recession and some other things that happened. It just made the most sense for us to shut the business down.

Tenee King [00:46:15]:
And I was in a transition crossroad, as most would say, understanding, trying to understand what my next was going to be. Wasn't really modeling anymore because I had been working in my business for about three, four years. I was modeling for my business, but I didn't have an agent, and I was 31 years old, and I was kind of like, okay, I still have some clients, but I don't just want to model. And I was just with my business, what do I want to do? I became a matri d of a really cool restaurant in downtown Philadelphia. It was like top notch, 37 stories high, coveted place for people to want to come dine. And a friend of mine, she asked me to go to open call for house staff for that restaurant. And I ended up getting hired as a hostess and then becoming the matrix D of that particular restaurant. And within that caliber restaurant, you meet so many different people.

Tenee King [00:47:26]:
And one person that I met was the dean of the school of Tourism and Hospitality Management for Temple University. And I would converse with him a lot, know in person or on the phone because I'm booking his favorite table and just making sure everything is okay for him when he comes for his reservation. And one day he was kind of like, who are you? What are you doing? And what else do you have going on? And I have been having some loose conversations with friends, thinking through, like, what's my next going to be? And I think I want to go back to school, but what do I go back to school for? Originally, when I was in school, I was a communications major, and I didn't want to do that. So when I talked to the dean of, I didn't even know that the tourism and hospitality school existed because that school wasn't a part of Temple University when I was, you know, working in a restaurant. I'm working in hospitality, so it's okay. Like, this makes sense. But again, I wasn't keen in on those terms like tourism and hospitality. Oh, okay.

Tenee King [00:48:44]:
What's that? So, long story short, he connected me with the right people at Temple University. They honored the credits that I had in the past, a program that I was in in the past that I kind of got Grandfathered in and then also gave me life credits for being an entrepreneur. And I started off with one class in the summer of 2011, and I was still working as a matrid, so I was part time. And then I moved to two classes, and then I ended up meeting my husband around that first. I was going into my third semester, and he was kind of like, you might want to consider going full time to school because you could just get it done faster. Okay, I'll think about that. But I'm also thinking about money. I live with my dad.

Tenee King [00:49:44]:
I just minimize my spending. Like, minimize my overhead so that I could go back to school and have that sacrifice of really taking my going back to college. Like, this is my job now. So I quit the job at the restaurant, and we made great tips there. So I was able to really bank my checks and help myself through school with my tips and still took out a few loans just to have that safety net, to not have to depend on anyone. And that really just propelled my second chance at college. Now here I am, going back to college eleven years later than when I originally was there, and I'm in class with students that are ten years younger than me. I ended up having to do internships, and those internships really helped me build relationship and really kind of earn my stripes because I didn't have a lot of hospitality experience or tourism experience.

Tenee King [00:50:51]:
But it's crazy how things work out because I am a lover of tourism. I love museums. Catch me at any concert festival fair. So again, I didn't know that I would end up working in this industry in that way. Well, seeking a degree in tourism and hospitality. So my internships really opened my eyes to working in events and specifically large scale events. So temple University School of Tourism hospitality management, it really changed the latter trajectory. Like my 30s, right? It changed that trajectory for me going back to school and taking it serious.

Tenee King [00:51:44]:
So I ended up getting my bachelor's degree in 2014 and did really well in school. Did internships. I had to do two mandatory internships, but I ended up doing four because we had to have a certain amount of hours of volunteering. And again, I just wanted to build relationship and just get more experience under my belt in the industry. So going back to school, it was super cool. And it was something that I did for myself. It was nobody else. Oh, I think you should.

Tenee King [00:52:22]:
You look this way, you might want to do this. Or it was something that I made a decision to do on my own because like I said, I'm not a person of incompletion. So that loomed over me and I did it, and I did it in my way. And that was my first experience with pace, not race. And I say that line a lot now, but that was really my first experience, like, pace yourself, you're going to start off with one and then you're going to move up to two classes, and next thing you know, I have four. And the next thing you know, I was like, I have five classes and was able to get my degree. And it just took off for me. And it just introduced me to a whole different lane as far as career, but doing things that I enjoy.

Tenee King [00:53:13]:
I love fashion, so it wasn't hard for me to be a model because I love fashion, I love magazines, I love clothes and looking and dressing a certain way. And then here I am getting this tourism degree. I started out thinking that I was going to be designing for the hospitality industry. And then I had a friend who introduced, who told me, who had an internship, and she said, I think he would really like my director for my internship, and I think she would like you. And we work on this really cool event. It's called global fusion Festival, and we do it in Penn's Landing, which is the waterfront in Philadelphia. It's like a marquee event space throughout the summer. And that was my first internship.

Tenee King [00:54:00]:
I had an internship with the Philadelphia Conventions and Visitors Bureau, and I did that for about a year, but I was specifically with their multicultural congress division, and it just opened me up to understanding large scale events. And that also, I didn't even know that was a thing like a large scale event versus a smaller event. But our event had 20,000 plus people that walked through the footprint when we did our global fusion festival. And I think I might have told you that a year prior to me getting this internship and working on global fusion, I was at that particular event. Yes. And I was sitting there like, this is super cool, I wish I could work on this. And then the next year I was working on it, and I produced all of the festival week events that was leading up to the main event. And then on that day, I had a specific job and it was just like, wow, really be careful with the things that you put out there.

Tenee King [00:55:11]:
Exactly that manifestation, because you just may get it. And, yeah, my college career that took me there and so many other cool experiences working in large scale events in Philadelphia, still as an intern, I ended up getting my first contract as associate producer of Wawa Welcome America festival, which is a huge festival during the 4 July time in Philadelphia. And I was able to get a contract while still being an intern. I hadn't even graduated yet. And then that turned into, after I graduated, I became a consultant for the city of Philadelphia and did the Philadelphia Marathon. And any large event that happened in Philadelphia, I was a part of. So my tourism and hospitality degree just opened up a whole new avenue for career, for connection, for experience and knowledge for me that I didn't even know that it would happen. But just listening to the universe and listening to look, the people that see something in you, like the dean that saw something in me and not being afraid to just go for it, just do it and pivot.

Tenee King [00:56:34]:
That's the word that people use a lot now, but it was a pivot, and I didn't even know I was pivoting. And another strong blessing because I met so many great people and discovered things about myself and things about me career wise that I may not have known if I didn't take that chance and say, hey, I'm going back to school.

Chi Quita Mack [00:56:58]:
And that's what I like. You are really big on relationships, and you can see that throughout each part of your journey. Like, you're really big on building those relationships and taking those chances and being confident. I don't really know where it's going to take me, but I'm going to do this for me. And I just think that that's just beautiful. That's lessons that, some of them I had to learn on my own. I wrote down, you said someone's going to like my different, and I'm like, I like that. Put that on a t shirt.

Chi Quita Mack [00:57:33]:
Yes, because that's true. Someone's going to like your different, but that's confident. That takes some work to get to.

Tenee King [00:57:41]:
That level where it's like, all right, cool.

Chi Quita Mack [00:57:42]:
It didn't work out for me. Someone's going to like my different next. And you just have.

Tenee King [00:57:46]:
Thank you.

Chi Quita Mack [00:57:49]:
I love every part of your story, but I love community, relationship, and confidence. Those are the three things each part of your journey. I'm like, relationship?

Tenee King [00:57:58]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:57:59]:
Confidence I can pick out.

Tenee King [00:58:02]:
Thank you. I'm going to have to write that down. Community relationship confidence. Yeah.

Chi Quita Mack [00:58:08]:
It's led you to each part. So I just think that, yeah, your story is great.

Tenee King [00:58:14]:
You need to thank you.

Chi Quita Mack [00:58:16]:
Pat yourself on the back, boo. Because you need to really embrace.

Tenee King [00:58:20]:
I appreciate that.

Chi Quita Mack [00:58:22]:
It brings me to the most important, right. Not the most important, but hey, where we are now. Okay, so your lifestyle brand, now I need you to one talk to me about your brand.

Tenee King [00:58:34]:
Sure. So during the pandemic, we're all home and trying to figure out, look, what are we doing? What's the next, what's about to happen? And I have always been the go to person for my family and friends. Like, where should we go? Look, that tourism piece again. It just always has been a part of me. Where should we eat? Where should we hang out? I'm that person that knows these little ridiculous facts. Like, I can tell you where Wells Fargo bank is. Every Wells Fargo bank is in downtown Philadelphia. Like, why do I know? Do you know? So it's like I've always, I'm just in the know.

Tenee King [00:59:22]:
I'm tapped in. A lot of people, like, you should do like a blog, or you need to do something where you share these cool things that you do. Because even outside of me being working in tourism and hospitality, that's what I do. That's what I live. Like I said, catch me at a pop up. You're going to see me at a museum. You're going to see me like, oh, I went to that restaurant, or I want to try this restaurant. So people around me really was kind of pushing me to do something around that.

Tenee King [00:59:57]:
So I said, okay, well, I guess I'll start an Instagram page. And I called it TK tips. My name is, you know, and I had a friend that always would say, kind of like, there you go with another. Okay, like, I didn't know this and kind of noting it. So TK tips was born. And I started off with just giving info at the time with pandemic stuff, and it was specifically around freelancers, like someone like myself or a consultant contractor. This was when Pua was really big and people were trying to understand what they were going to do because we work in a field, so everything is shut, you know, understanding how, you know, be able to have money. And I learned the nuances of that and would put those tips up.

Tenee King [01:00:55]:
And I had a friend who was working in social media, and she kind of gave me a crash course on aesthetic on the page and setting up a post and different things like that. And I'm like, okay, let me introduce me to canva.

Chi Quita Mack [01:01:13]:
I love canva.

Tenee King [01:01:14]:
Yes. And then I redid my page and kind know at that time it was webinar central. So it was this one woman that was like an Instagram aesthetic person, and I did her free webinar, and she's like, what is your sole essence of your page? And kind of like, how do you use your Instagram page? And yada, yada, yada. And so I redid my page and I just started implementing things that I enjoy, and that's wellness, that's style, that's motherhood. And then also just like, funny moments that's within those areas specifically, like being a mom and being a wife, I sometimes do little catchy, silly things that I feel like, well, if I'm experiencing this, somebody else might be doing the same. So the page just started building a small community there and started getting asked to be an ambassador for other brands or pay partnerships. And those were going really good. And then I kind of had a pause in thinking about, I've done so many different collaborations even before Instagram, like working as a model, being a co owner of the business that I co owned previously and really being successful and being able to make people money.

Tenee King [01:02:38]:
And it was just like, well, why are you not doing this for yourself?

Chi Quita Mack [01:02:43]:
That part?

Tenee King [01:02:45]:
And then I will say, I could put, I don't know, like this hairband. I'll wear this hairband and I'll put a post up or I'll put something in my. Where'd you get that hairband? Okay, I got it from here. And the next thing you know, they're getting the hairband, and then they're showing me that they got the hairband. So it's like, oh, so you have an immediate return with people. If they see something that's on you, they get it right away. It's like that impulse buy when you're at the front of the counter and they have the gum and the hand sanitizer or gift, whatever, and it's like, oh, let me just get this. So I understood my level of impact and level of influence and conversion and talked to my same friend.

Tenee King [01:03:37]:
It was like, I think I might want to do something that's my own. And I'm thinking about a necklace, and she's like, okay. And I was like, I'm saying mom and a mom and a mom. And I'm being a mother. I always kind of use that term when I became a mom. Like, oh, girl. Al, what you doing? I'm momming. I'm momming.

Tenee King [01:04:02]:
In these streets, I'm kind of just using that word. So the word mom in had been around, or mom and mommy, and people pronounce it in different ways, but it's been around forever. So I had to find a way to make myself unique with using the word. And I decided to create a definition. And my definition for mom and is a person who nurtures sacrifices and grinds for those they love while looking fly. And that's it. That is an honor of Dolly, that's an honor of Alma will be. That's an honor of Blanche, that's an honor of Miriam, my four grandmother.

Tenee King [01:04:52]:
That's an honor of Anthony, my father, because that's what I saw them do. I saw them nurture, I saw them sacrifice and all within it. They looked great, and they were doing it effortlessly. I didn't see a beat miss. I didn't see a lot of struggle. It was just effortless. And now I know at the time, like, oh, okay, this was happening, but they weren't making it this way. And it was like, I have to honor that.

Tenee King [01:05:27]:
I have to honor that. And so my definition has really taken a life of its own. It's in the urban dictionary, and so many people, when they see it, they really can relate to it. And it evokes a feeling that I didn't know that was going to happen. I couldn't do the definition on a necklace, so I started off with just momming on a necklace, and I started off with ten gold necklaces. And this is the first time I really did something. And it wasn't, like, as buttoned up. So my friend told me how to get various vendors to design it and all of that good stuff.

Tenee King [01:06:12]:
And again, budget permitting, it was like, well, I'm not getting ready to do this. Let me start off here. So I shot my own campaign. I can show you this picture.

Chi Quita Mack [01:06:25]:
Wow.

Tenee King [01:06:27]:
Right? This is my picture that I self shot it, self timer on an iPhone, did my own makeup, and I just dropped it. I dropped it in my story and on my page, like, in the middle of the night, people were like, what is going okay? And I sold out within, like, 2 hours of me dropping it. And I was like, oh, okay. So people like it. And it just has grown to me now. I have a rose gold necklace and I have a silver necklace, and I have gold hoops, and the silver hoops will be dropping soon. And that moved me into like, okay, well, I have to get the definition on something. So I did my first t shirts and I did hoodies and then I did sweatshirts, crew necks.

Tenee King [01:07:26]:
I have my mug here that has the mom and definition on it. And it has really been great because this is just how I live, mom, and is the way that I live. It's what I do daily and what I've witnessed every single day of my life with my grandmother and my father. And I'm working a bit backwards, I think I told you, with the business because I just kind of popped out. So like, oh, okay. Now I have to kind of backtrack and implement all of those things that I learned in business previously to this lifestyle. And I literally started off with the mom and collection by TK tips, and TK tips, lifestyle evolved, and it was like, oh, okay. Because I want to share wellness because that's something that is very important to me.

Tenee King [01:08:20]:
And I still want to maintain partnerships with other brands that align with what I'm doing. But then my merch will accent. That will be a complement to all of these things. And that's where it is. I can say I think I have representation in about 40 states in the US. Someone that I've sent the mom and necklace to, my apparel and more of the products are my drop ship business. And I learned a whole new business with doing this understanding drop ship and understanding on demand printing. But the necklaces, all of the jury, I house.

Tenee King [01:09:01]:
So I have my little section in my storage up on the third floor right now. That's my storage space. I put a post up a couple of weeks ago, a week or two ago during Black Friday, and it was like, you see me packing in my living room, but one day you're going to see me in my warehouses and just not being afraid to show that and not being afraid to just start and bank on myself, because so many times I have collaborated and helped other people. Sometimes you get credit, and sometimes you don't get credit, but when you bank on yourself and just don't take no for an answer, and it's not going to always be easy and listen, I pause and I start and I stop, but then it'll be somebody like you who reaches out and like, hey, I want to talk to you. I want you to be on my podcast. Like, okay. And I'm at the point now in my business where I need to build the team around me because I can't just do things on my own. And I think I've gotten myself to a point.

Tenee King [01:10:23]:
Okay, you've gotten to this point. Now you have to elevate, because the things that I do between a one or three I need people that can do it at a ten. So I'm implementing that now. So right now I am setting myself up for 2024 and having meetings and having conversation with people that I feel would be a great part of the TK tips team. And there might be some different changes in it to really streamline and understand really niche down on my lane and where I am most best useful and impactful. Because I'm also in a space where I want to be impactful, I want to be actionable, and I want to have tangible experiences. And as much as I can help other people sometimes and figure out and strategize with other creatives, sometimes I can get stuck with myself. And I'm now implementing a team.

Tenee King [01:11:27]:
I think I shared with you that I've really been in education mode and I've done a few. I'm in one business accelerator. I recently finished a Mastercard accelerator. One thing that really kind of shifted my focus was being invited to the Be Good foundation luncheon, which is Beyonce's foundation luncheon. And it was invite only, selected businesses, it was only 100. I was one of 100 businesses that was invited to this luncheon and grants were associated with it for like ten to twelve other businesses. And I didn't get a grant, but my friend that I went with did, which was amazing. But they offer so many amazing resources that I have tapped into that Mastercard program.

Tenee King [01:12:25]:
They gave you us like a cyber security program. There's so many different tools that they have given us and then also community because I was looking around like, oh, some people were on the same level, some people a little above, some people just starting. And it's beautiful. It's really helped me understand that, again, just bank on yourself because other people are seeing you. But also that be good lunching made me realize that I wasn't all the way ready. I wasn't all the way ready because now I know how I'll allocate funds. Now I know that I need a team. During the pandemic, I actually went back to school and I got an MBA in digital entrepreneurship.

Tenee King [01:13:23]:
And even though I have an MBA, this digital, this social media industry, it moves so fast in a different world. So being able to be a part of these accelerators and learning things in real time as it's happening that my MBA program didn't even teach me is just aiding in my excellence, and it's aiding in me being able to say, hey, you might not be as focused on sales right now, but you're setting yourself up to understand how SEO works. You're setting yourself up to understand how to market properly and putting people in place that really believe in you and your brand and may see other things in you that you didn't even know that you should implement. It's a great journey. It's a fulfilling journey. But I'm constantly trying to fine tune because like I said, I am in a space of wanting to be impactful. I am in a space of wanting to give value and reciprocate that. If we're not having a conversation and we're both reciprocating value, then what are we talking about? So I want my brand to reflect that and in the midst of it, honoring my upbringing and honoring my other moms.

Tenee King [01:14:50]:
And momming is not about just being a mother. It's about that village. It is about because I have aunts that don't have children and they've been momming. And listen, I was momming before I was momming. Yes, always. I was momming for my sick grandfather, my sick grandmother. I was momming for my other friend's children. I was momming for my nephew.

Tenee King [01:15:16]:
I was momming for my younger cousins and sacrificing and doing what I need to do to make sure that they have what they need. So sometimes people get, they see that mom piece in the momming and they get caught up in that. So I've actually broken the various collections up. So now I have the mommy collection, which houses bomb mom, which I'm wearing today, and motivated mother. So everything under that is like the mom stuff. And then I have the village. So under the village you're going to see fave aunt. I'm doing something for uncles because the guys are like, okay, when are you going to do something for us? When am I going to get a popping? I want a popping necklace.

Tenee King [01:15:57]:
I'm like, okay. And then I'm doing something with my wellness. So my live well daily line, you see the shirt back there? Live well daily. And that is all about what I say, live well daily. Celebrated with grace and style. Because that is a major part of me. A major part of me. I'm going to tell you to take your vitamins every day.

Tenee King [01:16:19]:
I'm going to show you that I'm walking and taking a daily walk or I'm taking my Pilates and I'm just being intentional around my wellness because I've seen so much sickness in my life and I've had my own issues. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and I was like, oh, absolutely not. I'm not accepting this. So changing my lifestyle and my eating lifestyle has really helped that how my family lifestyle, our choice of having my daughter to be plant based, my husband vegetarian, and just being mindful of what we're putting in our bodies. So all of that is my expression of me. That is TK tips lifestyle. That is what it is. So the merch supports that.

Tenee King [01:17:08]:
But building partnership and relationship and collaboration, like what we're doing right now, this aligns with what you do. You're mom and every single day I see you with your kids, I see you with your husband, I see you with your sweatshirt on and I see you in your formal gown looking fly in both. Thank you. Right? Like, even your post today was mom, and I'm doing this, this and this. And then I got my podcast with that TK tips. That's momming. So it's a lifestyle and we're living it. And I just want to continue to elevate and just lift my fellow parents up, my fellow mom fave aunts and just the village and just see where it goes and grows.

Tenee King [01:17:56]:
And again, listen to the universe and let it guide me on what's the best and what's next.

Chi Quita Mack [01:18:06]:
You're doing it. And where you say you want to be impactful, you already are being such an impact. I just want you to understand you're learning the back end of it. We all start and then we got to go back and learn the back end. But as far as your impact and what you're doing for the community and what mom and means, you're doing that.

Tenee King [01:18:26]:
And thank you.

Chi Quita Mack [01:18:27]:
Everything that you said your brand means, you're already showing that. So now you're just learning the formality.

Tenee King [01:18:33]:
Part of it, right? I need it to be a well oiled machine.

Chi Quita Mack [01:18:40]:
We got to learn that stuff so we know what we're doing, right?

Tenee King [01:18:42]:
We got to learn how to run.

Chi Quita Mack [01:18:43]:
Ads so we know what we're doing.

Tenee King [01:18:44]:
We can't just give it to somebody.

Chi Quita Mack [01:18:45]:
We're learning that part. But you are definitely demonstrating everything that your brand means. It's showing. So I want to commend you on that because I see it. And I'm definitely going to order my necklace when we get off of here because I need one personified mom. But I'm just blown away. I love watching your instagram. I want you to show more.

Tenee King [01:19:18]:
Look at me pulling you. But that's that 2024 intention. So thank you.

Chi Quita Mack [01:19:25]:
You shared so much today, but there's so much more to just show.

Tenee King [01:19:30]:
More.

Chi Quita Mack [01:19:30]:
Just don't be afraid. You've never been afraid before. Your whole story from beginning to end that we talked about, you've never been afraid before. So don't become that now.

Tenee King [01:19:41]:
Thank you. I received it.

Chi Quita Mack [01:19:42]:
Don't. When I watch it, I'm like, she has more to say. She has more to say. I'm going to have to be in.

Tenee King [01:19:47]:
A podcast because I just feel like.

Chi Quita Mack [01:19:51]:
You just have such a remarkable story that's there and I feel like you just need to share more. You're already inspiring people and I know there's so many more people that you're definitely going to inspire, especially after they listen to this. You all get your mom and necklaces, go to the brand, go to the Instagram. I mean, you're not going to be disappointed. And I just can't wait to keep watching you grow and build those relationships and continue to grow your community.

Tenee King [01:20:16]:
Thank you. I truly appreciate it. And I appreciate you being a part of it from the beginning. Like very early on, very early on. And you have a great following. People unfollow, follow whatever, and you engage and you respond to stories and dm, it's full throttle. So I really appreciate that. And that motivates me to keep going, to truly keep going, because someone like you get it and that's what I am doing it for.

Tenee King [01:20:56]:
I'm doing it like, okay, I'm in the right lane because I really appreciate that and I am going to take your advice. This is just perfect timing on how I want to set up my 2024 in being fearless. The word ready has been on me. It's been on me. So I'm getting ready. So what they say, so you can stay ready. So this has really been a highlight to ending my year. But starting the new year, I keep on saying, like, I'm going to be 44.

Tenee King [01:21:35]:
So, like, this is my Obama year. Listen, I have to come in and come in hot and stay hot and have my tribe that's rooting for me. And I appreciate you seeing me. I appreciate you wanting to learn more of my story. Thank you for this platform and being able to express.

Chi Quita Mack [01:22:00]:
Thank you. Can you tell the listeners where they can find you your ig, all that?

Tenee King [01:22:05]:
Sure. So you can find me on ig at TK tips. You can get all of your momin and village live well daily and all that good stuff. Merch at Momin M-O-M-I-N shop. Momin shop. You can find me on Facebook at tktips lifestyle, and you can find me on TikTok. I'm just starting to get into TikTok but you can find me there at tktips lifestyle. So yeah, yay.

Chi Quita Mack [01:22:36]:
And everything that she just said will all be linked in the show notes, so you could just click and get your but I again, I want to thank you so much for just being a part of the beauty and you podcast. I really enjoyed this moment. I'm just so excited for you.

Tenee King [01:22:55]:
Thank you. Thank you so much. And I'm excited for you when you put up the podcast. Yes. I just love it because I love your content. I'm in it. I'm in it. All of your tips and everything that you share, like I said, that is just so genuine and natural that I can relate to.

Tenee King [01:23:16]:
So thank you again for this platform and the opportunity. This was awesome.

Chi Quita Mack [01:23:21]:
Thank you. All right, you guys, thank you so much for listening. Until next time, thank you for joining.

Jacqueline G. [01:23:29]:
Us on this week's episode of the Beauty and you podcast. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe. Visit us@thechiquitamack.com or join us on Instagram at thechiquitamack for your daily motivation and inspiration. Tell a friend to tell a friend. Until next time!