We had the good fortune of connecting with Tanieka Vance-Randall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tanieka, what role has risk played in your life or career?

I believe that risk taking is vital to growth to a certain extent. My family is from the New Orleans area and in 2013 I took a risk and quit a good paying nursing job and I got my husband to quit his good paying job and we moved our family to Houston. That was a huge risk that I was compelled to take. I started my hair care brand Tee’s Hair Secret later in 2014 and I discovered an amazing community of women business owners in this area, things like that weren’t happening back home.
Later in 2020 I decided to take another risk and I quit my nursing altogether to focus on growing my brand full time. That was the biggest EVER. I understand that magic doesn’t happen in our comfort zone. In order to fully achieve great things and impact the masses we have to be willing to get uncomfortable and go for it.
I was previously a self-professed shy person but deep down inside I’ve always known that my gift was talking to others and helping them get unstuck whether that was by sharing my own testimony of beating cancer or by providing resources or connections. Some things do come easy in life but most of the time those things come after you take a leap.

What should our readers know about your business?

At Tee’s Hair Secret we infuse the beauty of hair care with the science of healthcare to help ladies with kinky, curly or coily hair struggling with breakage, dryness or thinning reach realistic healthy hair goals. We do this through our line of hydrating healthy hair products, hair supplements and hair health education.
I originally started my brand as a side hustle in 2014. I remember telling myself that I could never make hair products and was going to white label instead. Months later after just playing around without motive I taught myself how to make products and people loved them. I am proud of how far I’ve come even though I doubted myself at first.
My biggest accomplishment is honestly making it this far without any grants and with just my husband and son as the in-house production and fulfillment team. We’ve made it this far because quitting is not an option. It has not been easy at all. I remember one month we didn’t get 1 sale, but I still refused to quit and I always figured out a way to move forward.
I’ve always had a passion for helping others, which led me to pursue a career in nursing. In 2011 two weeks away from finishing nursing school I faced my greatest test, cancer. Although my recovery was an uphill climb, the blessing I gained was a profound passion for growing healthy hair and helping others understand the impacts health has on our hair. Going through cancer and chemotherapy was really hard but honestly losing my hair was more painful. Thankfully my hair grew back and I developed a consistent routine to keep my hair healthy which aided in my hair growth. In 2014, after regrowing my hair I created Tee’s Hair Secret featuring my personal staple hair oil. Later in 2017 and again during the pandemic I suffered hair loss due to vitamin deficiencies and stress. I use my struggles to help others through their own. I’ve also started mentoring new beauty brand owners to help them avoid some of the issues I encountered and to scale their brand smarter.

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.
On Friday we would chill during the day and spend the evening at Phil and Derek’s. Saturday would be for Schlitterbahn or the beach and pier. Sunday brunch at Snooze AM and we would spend the rest of the day in Discovery Green. Monday-Wednesday would be spent in the Woodlands Resort enjoying the spa and pool. Thursday we would wrap by shopping in the Galleria.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I would love to shoutout Camille Percy of Camille Percy Branding. She is an outstanding photographer and branding strategist.

Website: TeesHairSecret.com

Instagram: instagram.com/taniekav

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanieka-vance-randall-92b82b83

Facebook: facebook.com/getteeshairsecret

Image Credits
professional image of me with products is Camille Percy Branding. Product pictures are She Bold Stock

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.