We are excited to have Tameka Jones on our podcast! Saint Paul native Tameka Jones, Founder and CEO of Lip Esteem, a plant-based lipstick store in the heart of Rondo.
Tameka is also a featured small business owner in Season 6 of the Emmy-nominated television series The Small Business Revolution.
Tameka graduated from St. Paul Central High School in 1993, has her certification in Aesthetics (St. Paul College ’02), an Associates Degree (St. Paul College ’12), and her Bachelor’s Degree in Youth Development and Business Management (Metro State University ’14.)
After honing her skills for twenty years as a makeup artist, Saint Paul native Tameka took control of her destiny, launching Lip Esteem in July 2020, right in the midst of Covid and civil unrest in the Twin Cities.
Starting out as a vendor at a local farmer’s market along Lake Street, Tameka was amazed at the interest and support of the community, steadily growing her customer base. Since March 2020, Tameka also participated in and completed three startup cohorts – Neighborhood Development Center, Lunar Startup, and Fearless Commerce.
Tameka is the recipient of the City of Saint Paul’s “New Kid on the Block” Business Award (Jan.’22), National Association of Woman Business Owners- “New Emerging Woman Business Owner of the Year Award (June ’22), The Spirit of Rondo Award (June ’22) and the Black Business Enterprise- “Startup of the Year Award” (Oct.’22)
Resources:
Website
Transcript
John Simon Sr. 00:06
Welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon, SR
Dina Simon 00:14
and I'm Dina Simon.
John Simon Sr. 00:16
Our guest today is Tamika Jones. Tamika is the founder of lip esteem, they make lipstick lip glass and lip liners. Tamika, welcome to our podcast.
Tameka Jones 00:27
Thank you, Simon family, it is so good to be here.
Dina Simon 00:31
Yay. We're so excited to have you.
John Simon Sr. 00:33
So Tamika, why don't you take a few minutes to tell the listening audience a little bit about yourself, maybe, and a little bit about your family and maybe what you do in your spare time. Yes, you haven't
Tameka Jones 00:45
yet sure spare time, right? So I'm Tamika Jones. I own and started lip esteem in 2020 I'm a Saint Paul, born and raised young lady, and so my heart is always in St Paul, Minnesota. My bachelor's is in youth development with a minor in Business Management, entrepreneurship has always been something that I have been involved in because my parents are both entrepreneurs. They're pastors, and they also started one of the first diversity consulting firms in the Twin Cities. So I've always been like helping them create pamphlets and finding information about diversity and going with them to Fortune 500 sitting in on conversations and learning about what people really think about people of color. So for me, lip esteem isn't just a plant based lipstick company. We're also a social enterprise which is focused on ensuring that all people love one another in any way that they can, and that we get along, and that if we have hard conversations, it's okay. Let's just talk about it. Yeah, let's
Dina Simon 01:59
have the conversations. So Tamika, I didn't know that about your parents. What's the name of their consulting company?
Tameka Jones 02:04
So then they're no longer doing it anymore. They both gone in separate directions, like, literally, he works in public health. He has his own nonprofit called human and then my mom is still in ministry and writing books and things like
Dina Simon 02:18
that. Nice, nice. Oh, that's awesome. That's great. I didn't know that, so I don't know if you remember how we met. I told John how we met, but Kathy paper and I went to a women over 50 event at the hewing hotel, and it was cold outside. I don't remember what time of year, but like, probably around the holidays, but it was, it was a like fashion show for women over 50, and you had a booth there, yep. And we bought lipstick, but then we also connected the dots, because of your relationship with deluxe and being on the Hulu show, yeah. And so Amanda Brinkman is a good friend of mine, and Devin block, who was on her team, okay, yep, yep. So Devin worked with us on our nonprofit for many, many years, so she's a great friend. So John had met her throughout the years when he's been here for events up in Minnesota. Oh, awesome. Small world. It's a small world, especially in st, small, right? St, small, yeah.
John Simon Sr. 03:17
I love your tagline when you say you try to make people feel good, one tube at a time.
Tameka Jones 03:22
One tube at a time. I mean, lipstick does that. You know, I started during covid. Yes, I'm the crazy lady that started lipstick company when everyone was wearing a mask. But at the time, we needed things to make us feel pretty. At that time, there was so much drama and trauma going on in the world in general. I just was sitting here because I was furloughed as a makeup artist, so I had a lot of time to sit and think, and then watching, uh, all the media about people fighting and arguing about this and that. I was like, What can I do to bring beauty back to the community? And I was like, You know what? I think it's time to start my beauty brand. So that's what I did, one or two at a time.
John Simon Sr. 04:06
Well, talk about a forward thinker, especially during the covid times, because we really didn't know how long it was going to last. I mean, it ended up lasting almost three years. That very difficult opening of business at that time,
Tameka Jones 04:19
actually, I started out making masks with my sewing machine. Oh, I need to be very busy and, like, crafty and stuff like that. So I was making hundreds and hundreds of masks. And so then it was like, someone challenged me, like, hey, you know, I've never seen he said a $20 an hour billionaire before, and he was talking about me, and I was like, I was hurt. I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm only making $18 an hour. I felt very challenged by that. And so I was like, You know what? I got to figure out a way to create generational wealth and just a better living for myself, my family, and then eventually my. Community after I get us together, absolutely,
Dina Simon 05:02
is that person still around? Like? Is that somebody that just said that once, that, or somebody in your community that you know, oh, somebody in my community that I know, okay, because you're gonna prove him right.
Tameka Jones 05:13
He's one of my best clients. Is he I love it as he should be good. That's right. He better be. He
Dina Simon 05:20
better be so knowing that you, like you said, so it sounds about time that I start my beauty brand. Had you had this idea prior? Oh,
Tameka Jones 05:29
yes, I graduated from Saint Paul College in 2002 in esthetics and skincare, and so I wanted to start it then. But at that time, I was still think my daughter was probably five or six, and I was a single mom, so it's really it takes so much to become an entrepreneur, start your brand. I didn't have that kind of mental capacity, nor did I have the money to start my brand. So it was always a dream, but I just kind of put it in the back, you know, absolutely
John Simon Sr. 06:01
as I was going through the information about lip esteem, I love the names on some of your your products, like lady slipper, blissful dreams, sweet tea, Candy Land there. Where do your names come from? Where they just just, you say, you know, that's what this one's going to be.
Tameka Jones 06:18
So a lot of times it's my favorite things. Minnesota is one of my favorite things. So I a lady slipper is our state flower cafe latte, which is my favorite dessert business on grand. Thank all. I've got Victoria, which is my cross street, but it was also the woman who gave me my first job and mentored me, also in entrepreneurship. So it's about all the things I love. Some some names come really easy. Sometimes I need to take a drive up north and just watch the the lead fall and get motivated by that. And then sometimes my dad just calls me and says, Hey, I got a new name for one of your new lipsticks. And I'm like, Oh Lord, so yeah,
John Simon Sr. 07:03
I love it. Well, it's great that they all have a special meaning behind them, you know it, and hopefully you share that with some people at times too, whoever you know, whenever they're buying the product, yeah, yeah.
Tameka Jones 07:14
Sweet Tea was my rap name when I was younger. I love it, okay? And I wanted to eat. I was always sweet tea for Tamika, so and I love sweet tea. So
Dina Simon 07:23
there you go. It has a double meaning, yeah.
John Simon Sr. 07:27
So when I worked Tamika, before I retired, one of my customers was a large cosmetic company located in Paris. So you can imagine who that is, L'Oreal. And one of the people that I worked with there, talked to me about was how important packaging was for a product like fragrances and lip gloss and stuff like that. There do you find it the same way?
Tameka Jones 07:53
So packaging is very important. I remember my first probably year, I didn't have packaging. I had my bottles, but I didn't have anything to put them in, and that was always something that bothered me, because I've been in the makeup industry 20 plus years, I know how important packaging is, and so once I finally got it, it was just such a process, but I knew it needed to look very crisp and clean and plastic, and so now it's all about, okay, well, what's the new packaging like? What? What can I do to get people interested and to want to buy it? Because they will buy it, just for the packaging, right? Well,
John Simon Sr. 08:33
and that's the first thing they see, even before they see what's inside the packaging is, you know what it looks like that's
Tameka Jones 08:41
right, but you know what? It's so interesting. I always, sometimes when people come to the store, I ask them, Do you want the packaging? A lot of people are very environmental friendly, so they don't want that. But then also, I don't want anybody to throw my lipstick package away. I want them to keep it. I want them to try put on the lipstick and put it back in the packaging. Sure. Yeah, I paid for that, you know, right? So, yeah, so
Dina Simon 09:05
you did exactly you do pay.
John Simon Sr. 09:08
So when you first got started, how difficult is it to get financing?
Tameka Jones 09:14
I was furloughed as a makeup artist, so I was at home. So we were getting furlough pay. Then we start getting covid pay. So covid Pay was $600 a week in Minnesota over the unemployment or the furlough pay. And so what I did was I bootstrapped. I just took my savings, my accumulation, and then I just put it into the brand. And that's how I kept doing, I kept flipping it over, bootstrapping, selling the lipsticks, putting it back in the brand, and that's what I did for two and a half years, and we're there three now. So honestly, it's very hard for a lot of black businesses to get capital because we don't necessarily have the generational wealth. That a lot of other businesses have. So when walking in banks, we don't have necessarily all that it takes to be able for banks to just say, here's some money, you know. And there's other times where people can just walk in and here you go. So, so because of that, there's been a kind of a fear to even look for something further. But eventually, a group of business owners sought me out to invest in me, and so I finally got a portion of investment in capital that helped me to scale Awesome.
Dina Simon 10:36
That's so great. Tell us a little bit, because I don't know and I should know more, but with the deluxe and the Small Business Revolution and the Hulu show, how did you get connected with all of that?
Tameka Jones 10:48
Okay, so when covid had been I wasn't just making masks, but I was also starting to really go head first into entrepreneurship. But one thing I knew, even though my minor was in business management. Even though I knew my parents were entrepreneurs, I knew that there was things about entrepreneurs entrepreneurship that I just didn't it right? There's so many things that a person would need to know. I took one cohort through neighborhood development, and then I signed up for another cohort. And the reason why I did that, I have a friend who has a little girl's body care line, and so for me, I'm watching her start her brand, make all these moves, and I was like, I'm just gonna follow what she does, because I don't know what I'm doing. And so if she was taking a cohort, I took a cohort. If she was taking a class, I took a class. So I signed up for a cohort, and the executive director, then I talked, she loved my story, and then she called me a week later, still wasn't in the cohort because it was hard to get in. And she called me a week later, she said, Hey, there's a television series that's coming to Minnesota. Do you think you'd be interested in applying? And I'm like, sure. Now, mind you, I'm only six months into starting my business, and so they interviewed me. Our interview went over about 15 minutes longer than it was supposed to. They said, Oh my gosh, we love you. We've got to have you as a part of our story. So here we go. Now they're in my house, taking my table, my coffee table out to the hallway, because it's not big enough for 20 something people to be equipment and everything that stuff. So it was just, it was, it was fun for the community to see. My neighbor was a little bit irritated, but she'll be all right.
Dina Simon 12:36
Oh, yay. So fun.
John Simon Sr. 12:38
Great story.
Dina Simon 12:40
Yeah, and you had something to do with Dateline recently. Tell us what happened there. So
Tameka Jones 12:46
this past Friday, Dateline aired an episode called 65 seconds. It was a story that happened right here in St Paul. It was a murder that happened, and it was a who who did it. And so they came to St Paul to just film. And the anchor was like, I need a makeup artist who understands my skin and can do my hair. And they Googled makeup artists in St Paul, and guess who? The number one name it was, it was me.
John Simon Sr. 13:21
I love it. Fantastic. Yeah. So
Tameka Jones 13:24
for for about three months, during the time when my business was shut down because of Metro Transit, I was able to do that
Dina Simon 13:33
nice. That's so great. That is so awesome. And then you featured the anchor, she wore your lipstick, didn't she?
Tameka Jones 13:39
Oh, she wore my lipstick, everything everyone on the show has on my lipstick. Love it. That's awesome. So Tamika, one of my father in law's favorite places and things to do, is the Minnesota State Fair. And I shared with him that you you were there this year. We were it was our first year. It was the most amazing thing. And I really miss being there, like the atmosphere the other vendors around, being able to go and get all your favorite treats whenever you wanted to, and just discover more parts of the fair. Was amazing. Nice. I
John Simon Sr. 14:17
was at church on Saturday night, and I was walking out and lady had a little blazer on, and it had Minnesota. You could tell she was from Minnesota with it. And I said, No, I was just up there at the State Fair. She said, Oh, so will we? And she says, you know, the part I like about it is you could just about get anything in the world on a stick. So you can get a pork chop on a stick, you can get a hot dog out. You can get everything on a stick, but she likes the same thing that I liked about it. Everything's not fried too, like we have here in the at the Texas State Fair.
Tameka Jones 14:49
Yeah. And guess what else you can get on a stick now at the State Fair, what's that?
Unknown Speaker 14:53
Lipstick? Lipstick, lipstick on a stick. Yeah. There you are.
Tameka Jones 15:00
Yeah, my daughter came up with lipstick on the stick, and we didn't find out we were going to be in the state state fair until six weeks before, so I guess in July, and we just went full out and we got our network together to help us get this together. And she was like, What about lipstick on a stick? I said, Oh my gosh, that's perfect. We sold out of that so fast. So next year we got to have way more lipsticks on a stick.
Dina Simon 15:25
And so that process too, getting signed up for the fair you were in the Coliseum. Which floor were you on? Oh, second floor. Okay, and we do have the same spot next year. Like, how does all that work?
Tameka Jones 15:36
You know what? I don't know if we would have the same spot. Okay, I know we'll be there nice, but wherever we are this year, at least, we'll be on the maps, and then the blue coupon book will be fantastic. We came in, so late next year will be even better. Yeah. And
Dina Simon 15:53
now you know what to expect, and all of that that's so exciting, super exciting.
John Simon Sr. 15:58
So Tamika, a lot of the people that we've had on the podcast are much like you. They're entrepreneurs, and I always make the comment that how inspired I am by entrepreneurs, because anyone that is willing to sign the front of the paycheck, I always sign. My whole working career, I signed the back of the paycheck, and when your name's on the front of the paycheck, it makes a world of difference to you and to the people that you have working with you and for you.
Tameka Jones 16:25
Yeah, I really look forward to continuing to grow the business so my name can be on the front of that check for so many more people in the community. So it is amazing. It's a great feeling.
Dina Simon 16:39
Yeah, and your daughter is very engaged in the business. Tell us a little bit about that. And then any other family and friends that are working with you. Yeah. So
Tameka Jones 16:48
my daughter, Kijana, is my director of operations, and so she's really good at it. She's really good at programming. She's good at just the things that I am not good at. So be the creative person I like to be, the first person in customer faces. That's not necessarily where her strength is. So she does behind the scenes. And then I have an inventory specialist, but also, like kind of the second brains of lip esteem. Her name is Zakiya. Zakiya was my manager at when I worked at a makeup line. Now she worked for me, John, and I definitely remind her of that also, that's amazing. And then from like the fair and for special events, if you see us out and about, you may see some cousins or some of my daughter's best friends that are like, you know, during the summer, they're teachers, so they're usually off for the summer. Yeah,
Dina Simon 17:48
and you have a storefront now too. So tell us about that. Yeah. So
Tameka Jones 17:52
our storefront, so we started out in our house, and then people wanted to come by and pick up their lipsticks from my home. I didn't want that, so we got so both during the Small Business Revolution the show, we got a small little boutique in Saint Paul and then we grew out of that, like within five or six months. So we ended up finding an amazing storefront in historic Rondo, where I was born and raised, and so that's where we are now, and it's just beautiful to be in a place where people know me like this, seniors can come and sit down on my window seat and just look down the street and talk their talk and tell me what I need to do with my life. And I love it. Oh,
Dina Simon 18:38
I love that. So what's next for you.
Tameka Jones 18:40
I mean, so we are trying to, probably need another lip esteem somewhere in the Twin Cities. Also, we're trying to get funding for a metro, a mobile unit, because we're plant based. And so when we go out in different environmental temperatures, yeah, it can affect the brand and affect the product. And so having a mobile unit would be so much easier for us, so that's what we're trying to get investor or somebody for that, and then just continuing to grow our team. I feel like one of the things that we struggle with is that e com and getting more online sales. So we got to figure out, what is it that people are looking for, or where do we go get those people lip esteem is always looking for new lip I mean, if you have lips, you need lip esteem. Absolutely right. Yes, agreed. That's why Dina, you may see me in a lot of places, because I'm like, Oh, time to find some new lips. Yeah,
Dina Simon 19:43
absolutely. And the product is amazing. I mean, I've talked a little bit about this, not that you would remember, because you see lots of lips, but I when I put lipstick on, it goes away very fast, and your lipstick stays on, but it's not drying. So I actually love the product. And so econ. Um, from your own like your own fulfillment. Do you see yourself selling through any type of big box store or anything one day? Or do you want to keep it more to yourself? People
Tameka Jones 20:09
ask me about that all the time, and they suggest I should be in target at Walmart and all these big box stores. But that's not necessarily my dream much, but to be more of a local brand, even if I'm in different states, it would still be on a more local level. I'm also really trying to get into the co ops, Mississippi market, sewer wherever, because it's plant based, and it's so good, I just haven't quite figured that out. We're also trying to get, I mean, I would love to be in hospitals in the gift section, and anywhere where, I mean anywhere. I'm just trying to open it up to boutiques, salons, co ops stores, but I don't necessarily want to do big box yet, because it takes so much capital to be into those places. And then they take so much they do the small business owner. But I mean, hey, that's just not my thing right now. But who knows God is my CEO, right? And so if he says that that's how we're supposed to move, then that's why we're gonna move. It doesn't matter what people tell me they think I should do, if it's not confirmation from him, then it doesn't even matter. And I believe it, because I've seen it for three and a half years. I've seen how he's worked, and so I'm just really excited to just be open. And that's the thing. You know, people say, What are you doing in three years? In five years? I don't know. I'm waking up tomorrow and I'm gonna say, God, what are we doing today? You're gonna tell me, and then that's what we're gonna
Dina Simon 21:43
do. Yep, you're one one foot forward based on where that path leads you. I love it,
John Simon Sr. 21:48
and I'm sure a lot of your customers look at it as you know, plant based, gluten free and cruelty free formulas. And in today's environment, people really like having those slogans behind it,
Tameka Jones 22:01
they do. And it's it is a whole nother feel this lipstick. I've been a makeup artist 22 years, so the lipstick feels so good. It's comfortable. You really don't even know that you have it on. You're just talking. And you don't have to be insecure on if it's gone in some places and missing over here, missing over there. When it leaves it, it goes off gradually and not in pieces. And so you always want to be able to have lip product that's close to your mouth be as clean as possible. I mean, you eat and that's going to go in. So I wanted to make sure that lip esteem was a clean product, because I know the hazards that happen when products are filled with a lot of fillers and additives. It's not good, no.
Dina Simon 22:47
And as you just said, and I have to tell you, in all my years of life, I had never thought of what you just said, that being that it is a product I'm putting on my lips and eating and drinking like this, so digestible, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tameka Jones 23:01
I'm not gonna talk about it, but read on lipsticks that are not plant based and what's in them, there's some things,
Dina Simon 23:09
yep, yep, hey. So, as a makeup artist, for all the all those years, do you have, like, a fun favorite story of doing somebody's makeup, or a fun story, yeah, like, just something that comes to mind,
Tameka Jones 23:23
being a makeup artist is like being a hairstylist. It's like being a barber. Like you get to meet so many people, and they've got so many things going on. And what I really just love, I love the women that don't wear makeup because they come in and they're just freaked out thinking they're gonna look just so heavily made up, and then my makeup style is just to enhance right? So it's just beautiful watching women that may even have come with some heaviness on them to be able to see themselves in a different light. That is so beautiful, like, that's my favorite thing. You know, you can do makeup on people that are famous or celebrities and things like that, but they might not have any character. They may not have any personality. I love the everyday woman because those are the true stars of someone's life.
Dina Simon 24:19
Absolutely. And as you said, like enhancing, and you are an artist, so you're actually enhancing something that they might not even see in themselves, and you're bringing that out, which is the artist piece.
Tameka Jones 24:30
It's my favorite, and then it's also my who else I like is mothers who don't wear any makeup, bringing their daughters, who are now these YouTube makeup gurus, then they're like, Please help me. I have no idea what I'm doing. And so then we do lessons. You know, that's the other thing, is that it's not just about applying the makeup. Some people want to learn how to do it, so we offer that at lipistine too, and you can learn with your own bag of A. Makeup, or you can learn with mine. So it's just a way to bring beauty to the community. And I love it
Dina Simon 25:06
nice. Do you do classes at all, like you just said, do you do like a group class? Okay, I think we should talk about that. That would be super fun. Yeah.
Tameka Jones 25:14
So we do, we do classes so you can learn how to do makeup, or I can just apply it if you have a special occasion you want to go to, or people also bring girlfriends to lip esteem to have, like a girl's day out. It could be a bridal party, a birthday or something like that. And then also, I looked for corporations that might want me to come just for a lunch hour, and I can come and we can play in lipsticks over the lunch hour. And so that's very helpful. The reason why people like lip esteem also is because they get that one on one attention, and they know that they're going to get a lipstick that looks good on them from somebody who has over 20 years experience in the field coming to them. So it's customized. Yeah,
Dina Simon 25:58
absolutely. And you've given me things that I wouldn't have picked out for myself, and then when they're applied, I loved them. So I love that, yes. So there's definitely an art to that. Love that. So one of the things too, and John, you might know this from the feedback that you got from your client, but I know that. You know so Tamika, when you started out during covid and all of that, I believe there's two things that are always sellers Even in bad times, from an economy standpoint and stuff, and I believe lipstick and alcohol are the two things that always are sellers even during down times. Because, again, what you said, even when we were wearing masks like lipstick, was still selling, because people, women that are accustomed to wearing it, still wanted to at least have that one piece that they were putting on, and then you think of all that we were doing via zoom, right? So putting lipstick on was an easy thing to do. Yeah,
Tameka Jones 26:49
so lipstick is one of those items where you feel good but it doesn't cost a lot, so people don't really mind buying lipstick. It's easier to buy lipstick than a vacation and then also during war times, when the men would go off to war, when they came back, women made sure that they wore their famous red lipstick because it was empowering, and it also it made the men feel very good. And so that's something, even in a recession, that's right, lipstick still is successful. So, I mean, I was thinking, why did I start a lipstick company when everybody was wearing a mask? I thought I could have started with eyeshadow or mascara. What the heck is wrong with me? But it was the perfect thing, because, because of those zoom calls, and they were teachers, executives and things like that, in my first community, and where I sold lipstick was in South Minneapolis, because a friend of mine said, Hey, why don't you sell your lipsticks at a farmer's market? I said, Girl, a lipstick at a farmer's market, that doesn't make any sense. And then she said, but it's plant based. It's golden, free. It's all the things that people that go to farmers markets love and because I was where I was, was right on, like many, haha, on 32nd which was destroyed during the civil unrest. Yep, those people no longer had grocery stores to go to, so they had to go to the farmers market. So it all made sense for me to be there.
Dina Simon 28:20
It sure did. And that was one of those God things that you just talked about, too. Yes,
Tameka Jones 28:24
it was amazing. Yeah, yeah. Well,
John Simon Sr. 28:28
Tamika, there's a very large makeup company here in the Dallas area. They better watch out because Tamika Jones, is that bear?
Tameka Jones 28:36
They better watch out because I'm coming. Yep, yep. Are they at the Dallas State Fair?
John Simon Sr. 28:42
They're the Texas State Fair. I've never seen State Fair.
Tameka Jones 28:47
Never seen them. Very interesting.
Dina Simon 28:50
So I sold Mary Kay when I was in my young 20s, and and I was able to go to one of the big, like gala type events that she had for salespeople. And just what an amazing group of women, supporting women, and just such a fun story with with the success that she had, and she was a single mom. I mean, she she had to go out there and make it so it's a super fun entrepreneurial story as well.
Tameka Jones 29:14
Yeah, and that's another way, another business way to think about selling, yeah, is is through independent consultants. So so many different ways to do it, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out that what's best for my particular brand. Absolutely. You were recently at Darren Lynch's event, so you're doing some speaking. So talk to us about how our community of listeners can support you. So I heard that you're looking for a mobile unit, which I love. Yes, my Chevy Impala has gotten beaten up from throwing that tent and tables and product in there. And so I'm looking for a mobile unit. Yep, for sure. And then also, we're always looking for ways to get. Capital for the business so that we can grow in other ways. We're always looking for someone to help with marketing and then purchase lip esteem. Yeah, amazing product. We're at lip esteem.com if you're not in the Twin Cities, or if you just like to have things in the mail, we'd love to send you something. Or we're in Selby and Victoria 876, Selby, we're on lip underscore esteem on Instagram, and lip esteem LLC on Facebook. So
John Simon Sr. 30:28
how about Tamika Jones on Shark Tank?
Tameka Jones 30:31
Ah, that's another interesting thing people talk about. So who knows what's gonna come I mean, to be continued on that one.
Dina Simon 30:42
I love it very well. You know, I love all your stuff on LinkedIn and your social media. It's just so exciting to see you just doing what you're doing and the success. And I know every day you wake up and as you said, you're looking for what's that path, but it's a hard job being an entrepreneur, you're an inspiration to many, so just know that, and you're an inspiration to me, and I just love what you're doing in the community, and we were just excited for you to be on our Simon Says inspired podcast. So thank you for being willing to do so.
Tameka Jones 31:14
You're welcome and John, don't forget, we do have men's soul smooth lip balm. It's amazing. I'm just saying we don't leave anybody out, and we don't judge anybody for whatever they want to get
John Simon Sr. 31:27
well, you know, I'm planning on being up in the Twin Cities probably within the next month, so I will make sure that Dina knows where I can try it.
Dina Simon 31:37
I love it. We'll come see you, and I'd like to come and do some stocking up for Christmas.
Tameka Jones 31:42
This holiday, it's the perfect time to stock up. Honestly, everybody, there's nothing at lip esteem that you couldn't give anyone, so the
John Simon Sr. 31:50
stocking stuffers would be a great opportunity. Yeah,
Tameka Jones 31:54
that's right, yes, thank you for having me. You two.
Dina Simon 31:58
I'd like to thank Tamika Jones for joining us on the podcast. She's just an amazing entrepreneur. I'm so excited to see her business continue to soar. Super fun to watch. So get engaged. Check her out on the show notes. We'll make sure you know how to find her. But lip esteem is her company. Thank you, Tamika, so much for joining us and being willing to be on the podcast as always. I thank my father in law, John for CO hosting with me and until we talk again. You.
Welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon, SR
Dina Simon 00:14
and I'm Dina Simon.
John Simon Sr. 00:16
Our guest today is Tamika Jones. Tamika is the founder of lip esteem, they make lipstick lip glass and lip liners. Tamika, welcome to our podcast.
Tameka Jones 00:27
Thank you, Simon family, it is so good to be here.
Dina Simon 00:31
Yay. We're so excited to have you.
John Simon Sr. 00:33
So Tamika, why don't you take a few minutes to tell the listening audience a little bit about yourself, maybe, and a little bit about your family and maybe what you do in your spare time. Yes, you haven't
Tameka Jones 00:45
yet sure spare time, right? So I'm Tamika Jones. I own and started lip esteem in 2020 I'm a Saint Paul, born and raised young lady, and so my heart is always in St Paul, Minnesota. My bachelor's is in youth development with a minor in Business Management, entrepreneurship has always been something that I have been involved in because my parents are both entrepreneurs. They're pastors, and they also started one of the first diversity consulting firms in the Twin Cities. So I've always been like helping them create pamphlets and finding information about diversity and going with them to Fortune 500 sitting in on conversations and learning about what people really think about people of color. So for me, lip esteem isn't just a plant based lipstick company. We're also a social enterprise which is focused on ensuring that all people love one another in any way that they can, and that we get along, and that if we have hard conversations, it's okay. Let's just talk about it. Yeah, let's
Dina Simon 01:59
have the conversations. So Tamika, I didn't know that about your parents. What's the name of their consulting company?
Tameka Jones 02:04
So then they're no longer doing it anymore. They both gone in separate directions, like, literally, he works in public health. He has his own nonprofit called human and then my mom is still in ministry and writing books and things like
Dina Simon 02:18
that. Nice, nice. Oh, that's awesome. That's great. I didn't know that, so I don't know if you remember how we met. I told John how we met, but Kathy paper and I went to a women over 50 event at the hewing hotel, and it was cold outside. I don't remember what time of year, but like, probably around the holidays, but it was, it was a like fashion show for women over 50, and you had a booth there, yep. And we bought lipstick, but then we also connected the dots, because of your relationship with deluxe and being on the Hulu show, yeah. And so Amanda Brinkman is a good friend of mine, and Devin block, who was on her team, okay, yep, yep. So Devin worked with us on our nonprofit for many, many years, so she's a great friend. So John had met her throughout the years when he's been here for events up in Minnesota. Oh, awesome. Small world. It's a small world, especially in st, small, right? St, small, yeah.
John Simon Sr. 03:17
I love your tagline when you say you try to make people feel good, one tube at a time.
Tameka Jones 03:22
One tube at a time. I mean, lipstick does that. You know, I started during covid. Yes, I'm the crazy lady that started lipstick company when everyone was wearing a mask. But at the time, we needed things to make us feel pretty. At that time, there was so much drama and trauma going on in the world in general. I just was sitting here because I was furloughed as a makeup artist, so I had a lot of time to sit and think, and then watching, uh, all the media about people fighting and arguing about this and that. I was like, What can I do to bring beauty back to the community? And I was like, You know what? I think it's time to start my beauty brand. So that's what I did, one or two at a time.
John Simon Sr. 04:06
Well, talk about a forward thinker, especially during the covid times, because we really didn't know how long it was going to last. I mean, it ended up lasting almost three years. That very difficult opening of business at that time,
Tameka Jones 04:19
actually, I started out making masks with my sewing machine. Oh, I need to be very busy and, like, crafty and stuff like that. So I was making hundreds and hundreds of masks. And so then it was like, someone challenged me, like, hey, you know, I've never seen he said a $20 an hour billionaire before, and he was talking about me, and I was like, I was hurt. I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm only making $18 an hour. I felt very challenged by that. And so I was like, You know what? I got to figure out a way to create generational wealth and just a better living for myself, my family, and then eventually my. Community after I get us together, absolutely,
Dina Simon 05:02
is that person still around? Like? Is that somebody that just said that once, that, or somebody in your community that you know, oh, somebody in my community that I know, okay, because you're gonna prove him right.
Tameka Jones 05:13
He's one of my best clients. Is he I love it as he should be good. That's right. He better be. He
Dina Simon 05:20
better be so knowing that you, like you said, so it sounds about time that I start my beauty brand. Had you had this idea prior? Oh,
Tameka Jones 05:29
yes, I graduated from Saint Paul College in 2002 in esthetics and skincare, and so I wanted to start it then. But at that time, I was still think my daughter was probably five or six, and I was a single mom, so it's really it takes so much to become an entrepreneur, start your brand. I didn't have that kind of mental capacity, nor did I have the money to start my brand. So it was always a dream, but I just kind of put it in the back, you know, absolutely
John Simon Sr. 06:01
as I was going through the information about lip esteem, I love the names on some of your your products, like lady slipper, blissful dreams, sweet tea, Candy Land there. Where do your names come from? Where they just just, you say, you know, that's what this one's going to be.
Tameka Jones 06:18
So a lot of times it's my favorite things. Minnesota is one of my favorite things. So I a lady slipper is our state flower cafe latte, which is my favorite dessert business on grand. Thank all. I've got Victoria, which is my cross street, but it was also the woman who gave me my first job and mentored me, also in entrepreneurship. So it's about all the things I love. Some some names come really easy. Sometimes I need to take a drive up north and just watch the the lead fall and get motivated by that. And then sometimes my dad just calls me and says, Hey, I got a new name for one of your new lipsticks. And I'm like, Oh Lord, so yeah,
John Simon Sr. 07:03
I love it. Well, it's great that they all have a special meaning behind them, you know it, and hopefully you share that with some people at times too, whoever you know, whenever they're buying the product, yeah, yeah.
Tameka Jones 07:14
Sweet Tea was my rap name when I was younger. I love it, okay? And I wanted to eat. I was always sweet tea for Tamika, so and I love sweet tea. So
Dina Simon 07:23
there you go. It has a double meaning, yeah.
John Simon Sr. 07:27
So when I worked Tamika, before I retired, one of my customers was a large cosmetic company located in Paris. So you can imagine who that is, L'Oreal. And one of the people that I worked with there, talked to me about was how important packaging was for a product like fragrances and lip gloss and stuff like that. There do you find it the same way?
Tameka Jones 07:53
So packaging is very important. I remember my first probably year, I didn't have packaging. I had my bottles, but I didn't have anything to put them in, and that was always something that bothered me, because I've been in the makeup industry 20 plus years, I know how important packaging is, and so once I finally got it, it was just such a process, but I knew it needed to look very crisp and clean and plastic, and so now it's all about, okay, well, what's the new packaging like? What? What can I do to get people interested and to want to buy it? Because they will buy it, just for the packaging, right? Well,
John Simon Sr. 08:33
and that's the first thing they see, even before they see what's inside the packaging is, you know what it looks like that's
Tameka Jones 08:41
right, but you know what? It's so interesting. I always, sometimes when people come to the store, I ask them, Do you want the packaging? A lot of people are very environmental friendly, so they don't want that. But then also, I don't want anybody to throw my lipstick package away. I want them to keep it. I want them to try put on the lipstick and put it back in the packaging. Sure. Yeah, I paid for that, you know, right? So, yeah, so
Dina Simon 09:05
you did exactly you do pay.
John Simon Sr. 09:08
So when you first got started, how difficult is it to get financing?
Tameka Jones 09:14
I was furloughed as a makeup artist, so I was at home. So we were getting furlough pay. Then we start getting covid pay. So covid Pay was $600 a week in Minnesota over the unemployment or the furlough pay. And so what I did was I bootstrapped. I just took my savings, my accumulation, and then I just put it into the brand. And that's how I kept doing, I kept flipping it over, bootstrapping, selling the lipsticks, putting it back in the brand, and that's what I did for two and a half years, and we're there three now. So honestly, it's very hard for a lot of black businesses to get capital because we don't necessarily have the generational wealth. That a lot of other businesses have. So when walking in banks, we don't have necessarily all that it takes to be able for banks to just say, here's some money, you know. And there's other times where people can just walk in and here you go. So, so because of that, there's been a kind of a fear to even look for something further. But eventually, a group of business owners sought me out to invest in me, and so I finally got a portion of investment in capital that helped me to scale Awesome.
Dina Simon 10:36
That's so great. Tell us a little bit, because I don't know and I should know more, but with the deluxe and the Small Business Revolution and the Hulu show, how did you get connected with all of that?
Tameka Jones 10:48
Okay, so when covid had been I wasn't just making masks, but I was also starting to really go head first into entrepreneurship. But one thing I knew, even though my minor was in business management. Even though I knew my parents were entrepreneurs, I knew that there was things about entrepreneurs entrepreneurship that I just didn't it right? There's so many things that a person would need to know. I took one cohort through neighborhood development, and then I signed up for another cohort. And the reason why I did that, I have a friend who has a little girl's body care line, and so for me, I'm watching her start her brand, make all these moves, and I was like, I'm just gonna follow what she does, because I don't know what I'm doing. And so if she was taking a cohort, I took a cohort. If she was taking a class, I took a class. So I signed up for a cohort, and the executive director, then I talked, she loved my story, and then she called me a week later, still wasn't in the cohort because it was hard to get in. And she called me a week later, she said, Hey, there's a television series that's coming to Minnesota. Do you think you'd be interested in applying? And I'm like, sure. Now, mind you, I'm only six months into starting my business, and so they interviewed me. Our interview went over about 15 minutes longer than it was supposed to. They said, Oh my gosh, we love you. We've got to have you as a part of our story. So here we go. Now they're in my house, taking my table, my coffee table out to the hallway, because it's not big enough for 20 something people to be equipment and everything that stuff. So it was just, it was, it was fun for the community to see. My neighbor was a little bit irritated, but she'll be all right.
Dina Simon 12:36
Oh, yay. So fun.
John Simon Sr. 12:38
Great story.
Dina Simon 12:40
Yeah, and you had something to do with Dateline recently. Tell us what happened there. So
Tameka Jones 12:46
this past Friday, Dateline aired an episode called 65 seconds. It was a story that happened right here in St Paul. It was a murder that happened, and it was a who who did it. And so they came to St Paul to just film. And the anchor was like, I need a makeup artist who understands my skin and can do my hair. And they Googled makeup artists in St Paul, and guess who? The number one name it was, it was me.
John Simon Sr. 13:21
I love it. Fantastic. Yeah. So
Tameka Jones 13:24
for for about three months, during the time when my business was shut down because of Metro Transit, I was able to do that
Dina Simon 13:33
nice. That's so great. That is so awesome. And then you featured the anchor, she wore your lipstick, didn't she?
Tameka Jones 13:39
Oh, she wore my lipstick, everything everyone on the show has on my lipstick. Love it. That's awesome. So Tamika, one of my father in law's favorite places and things to do, is the Minnesota State Fair. And I shared with him that you you were there this year. We were it was our first year. It was the most amazing thing. And I really miss being there, like the atmosphere the other vendors around, being able to go and get all your favorite treats whenever you wanted to, and just discover more parts of the fair. Was amazing. Nice. I
John Simon Sr. 14:17
was at church on Saturday night, and I was walking out and lady had a little blazer on, and it had Minnesota. You could tell she was from Minnesota with it. And I said, No, I was just up there at the State Fair. She said, Oh, so will we? And she says, you know, the part I like about it is you could just about get anything in the world on a stick. So you can get a pork chop on a stick, you can get a hot dog out. You can get everything on a stick, but she likes the same thing that I liked about it. Everything's not fried too, like we have here in the at the Texas State Fair.
Tameka Jones 14:49
Yeah. And guess what else you can get on a stick now at the State Fair, what's that?
Unknown Speaker 14:53
Lipstick? Lipstick, lipstick on a stick. Yeah. There you are.
Tameka Jones 15:00
Yeah, my daughter came up with lipstick on the stick, and we didn't find out we were going to be in the state state fair until six weeks before, so I guess in July, and we just went full out and we got our network together to help us get this together. And she was like, What about lipstick on a stick? I said, Oh my gosh, that's perfect. We sold out of that so fast. So next year we got to have way more lipsticks on a stick.
Dina Simon 15:25
And so that process too, getting signed up for the fair you were in the Coliseum. Which floor were you on? Oh, second floor. Okay, and we do have the same spot next year. Like, how does all that work?
Tameka Jones 15:36
You know what? I don't know if we would have the same spot. Okay, I know we'll be there nice, but wherever we are this year, at least, we'll be on the maps, and then the blue coupon book will be fantastic. We came in, so late next year will be even better. Yeah. And
Dina Simon 15:53
now you know what to expect, and all of that that's so exciting, super exciting.
John Simon Sr. 15:58
So Tamika, a lot of the people that we've had on the podcast are much like you. They're entrepreneurs, and I always make the comment that how inspired I am by entrepreneurs, because anyone that is willing to sign the front of the paycheck, I always sign. My whole working career, I signed the back of the paycheck, and when your name's on the front of the paycheck, it makes a world of difference to you and to the people that you have working with you and for you.
Tameka Jones 16:25
Yeah, I really look forward to continuing to grow the business so my name can be on the front of that check for so many more people in the community. So it is amazing. It's a great feeling.
Dina Simon 16:39
Yeah, and your daughter is very engaged in the business. Tell us a little bit about that. And then any other family and friends that are working with you. Yeah. So
Tameka Jones 16:48
my daughter, Kijana, is my director of operations, and so she's really good at it. She's really good at programming. She's good at just the things that I am not good at. So be the creative person I like to be, the first person in customer faces. That's not necessarily where her strength is. So she does behind the scenes. And then I have an inventory specialist, but also, like kind of the second brains of lip esteem. Her name is Zakiya. Zakiya was my manager at when I worked at a makeup line. Now she worked for me, John, and I definitely remind her of that also, that's amazing. And then from like the fair and for special events, if you see us out and about, you may see some cousins or some of my daughter's best friends that are like, you know, during the summer, they're teachers, so they're usually off for the summer. Yeah,
Dina Simon 17:48
and you have a storefront now too. So tell us about that. Yeah. So
Tameka Jones 17:52
our storefront, so we started out in our house, and then people wanted to come by and pick up their lipsticks from my home. I didn't want that, so we got so both during the Small Business Revolution the show, we got a small little boutique in Saint Paul and then we grew out of that, like within five or six months. So we ended up finding an amazing storefront in historic Rondo, where I was born and raised, and so that's where we are now, and it's just beautiful to be in a place where people know me like this, seniors can come and sit down on my window seat and just look down the street and talk their talk and tell me what I need to do with my life. And I love it. Oh,
Dina Simon 18:38
I love that. So what's next for you.
Tameka Jones 18:40
I mean, so we are trying to, probably need another lip esteem somewhere in the Twin Cities. Also, we're trying to get funding for a metro, a mobile unit, because we're plant based. And so when we go out in different environmental temperatures, yeah, it can affect the brand and affect the product. And so having a mobile unit would be so much easier for us, so that's what we're trying to get investor or somebody for that, and then just continuing to grow our team. I feel like one of the things that we struggle with is that e com and getting more online sales. So we got to figure out, what is it that people are looking for, or where do we go get those people lip esteem is always looking for new lip I mean, if you have lips, you need lip esteem. Absolutely right. Yes, agreed. That's why Dina, you may see me in a lot of places, because I'm like, Oh, time to find some new lips. Yeah,
Dina Simon 19:43
absolutely. And the product is amazing. I mean, I've talked a little bit about this, not that you would remember, because you see lots of lips, but I when I put lipstick on, it goes away very fast, and your lipstick stays on, but it's not drying. So I actually love the product. And so econ. Um, from your own like your own fulfillment. Do you see yourself selling through any type of big box store or anything one day? Or do you want to keep it more to yourself? People
Tameka Jones 20:09
ask me about that all the time, and they suggest I should be in target at Walmart and all these big box stores. But that's not necessarily my dream much, but to be more of a local brand, even if I'm in different states, it would still be on a more local level. I'm also really trying to get into the co ops, Mississippi market, sewer wherever, because it's plant based, and it's so good, I just haven't quite figured that out. We're also trying to get, I mean, I would love to be in hospitals in the gift section, and anywhere where, I mean anywhere. I'm just trying to open it up to boutiques, salons, co ops stores, but I don't necessarily want to do big box yet, because it takes so much capital to be into those places. And then they take so much they do the small business owner. But I mean, hey, that's just not my thing right now. But who knows God is my CEO, right? And so if he says that that's how we're supposed to move, then that's why we're gonna move. It doesn't matter what people tell me they think I should do, if it's not confirmation from him, then it doesn't even matter. And I believe it, because I've seen it for three and a half years. I've seen how he's worked, and so I'm just really excited to just be open. And that's the thing. You know, people say, What are you doing in three years? In five years? I don't know. I'm waking up tomorrow and I'm gonna say, God, what are we doing today? You're gonna tell me, and then that's what we're gonna
Dina Simon 21:43
do. Yep, you're one one foot forward based on where that path leads you. I love it,
John Simon Sr. 21:48
and I'm sure a lot of your customers look at it as you know, plant based, gluten free and cruelty free formulas. And in today's environment, people really like having those slogans behind it,
Tameka Jones 22:01
they do. And it's it is a whole nother feel this lipstick. I've been a makeup artist 22 years, so the lipstick feels so good. It's comfortable. You really don't even know that you have it on. You're just talking. And you don't have to be insecure on if it's gone in some places and missing over here, missing over there. When it leaves it, it goes off gradually and not in pieces. And so you always want to be able to have lip product that's close to your mouth be as clean as possible. I mean, you eat and that's going to go in. So I wanted to make sure that lip esteem was a clean product, because I know the hazards that happen when products are filled with a lot of fillers and additives. It's not good, no.
Dina Simon 22:47
And as you just said, and I have to tell you, in all my years of life, I had never thought of what you just said, that being that it is a product I'm putting on my lips and eating and drinking like this, so digestible, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tameka Jones 23:01
I'm not gonna talk about it, but read on lipsticks that are not plant based and what's in them, there's some things,
Dina Simon 23:09
yep, yep, hey. So, as a makeup artist, for all the all those years, do you have, like, a fun favorite story of doing somebody's makeup, or a fun story, yeah, like, just something that comes to mind,
Tameka Jones 23:23
being a makeup artist is like being a hairstylist. It's like being a barber. Like you get to meet so many people, and they've got so many things going on. And what I really just love, I love the women that don't wear makeup because they come in and they're just freaked out thinking they're gonna look just so heavily made up, and then my makeup style is just to enhance right? So it's just beautiful watching women that may even have come with some heaviness on them to be able to see themselves in a different light. That is so beautiful, like, that's my favorite thing. You know, you can do makeup on people that are famous or celebrities and things like that, but they might not have any character. They may not have any personality. I love the everyday woman because those are the true stars of someone's life.
Dina Simon 24:19
Absolutely. And as you said, like enhancing, and you are an artist, so you're actually enhancing something that they might not even see in themselves, and you're bringing that out, which is the artist piece.
Tameka Jones 24:30
It's my favorite, and then it's also my who else I like is mothers who don't wear any makeup, bringing their daughters, who are now these YouTube makeup gurus, then they're like, Please help me. I have no idea what I'm doing. And so then we do lessons. You know, that's the other thing, is that it's not just about applying the makeup. Some people want to learn how to do it, so we offer that at lipistine too, and you can learn with your own bag of A. Makeup, or you can learn with mine. So it's just a way to bring beauty to the community. And I love it
Dina Simon 25:06
nice. Do you do classes at all, like you just said, do you do like a group class? Okay, I think we should talk about that. That would be super fun. Yeah.
Tameka Jones 25:14
So we do, we do classes so you can learn how to do makeup, or I can just apply it if you have a special occasion you want to go to, or people also bring girlfriends to lip esteem to have, like a girl's day out. It could be a bridal party, a birthday or something like that. And then also, I looked for corporations that might want me to come just for a lunch hour, and I can come and we can play in lipsticks over the lunch hour. And so that's very helpful. The reason why people like lip esteem also is because they get that one on one attention, and they know that they're going to get a lipstick that looks good on them from somebody who has over 20 years experience in the field coming to them. So it's customized. Yeah,
Dina Simon 25:58
absolutely. And you've given me things that I wouldn't have picked out for myself, and then when they're applied, I loved them. So I love that, yes. So there's definitely an art to that. Love that. So one of the things too, and John, you might know this from the feedback that you got from your client, but I know that. You know so Tamika, when you started out during covid and all of that, I believe there's two things that are always sellers Even in bad times, from an economy standpoint and stuff, and I believe lipstick and alcohol are the two things that always are sellers even during down times. Because, again, what you said, even when we were wearing masks like lipstick, was still selling, because people, women that are accustomed to wearing it, still wanted to at least have that one piece that they were putting on, and then you think of all that we were doing via zoom, right? So putting lipstick on was an easy thing to do. Yeah,
Tameka Jones 26:49
so lipstick is one of those items where you feel good but it doesn't cost a lot, so people don't really mind buying lipstick. It's easier to buy lipstick than a vacation and then also during war times, when the men would go off to war, when they came back, women made sure that they wore their famous red lipstick because it was empowering, and it also it made the men feel very good. And so that's something, even in a recession, that's right, lipstick still is successful. So, I mean, I was thinking, why did I start a lipstick company when everybody was wearing a mask? I thought I could have started with eyeshadow or mascara. What the heck is wrong with me? But it was the perfect thing, because, because of those zoom calls, and they were teachers, executives and things like that, in my first community, and where I sold lipstick was in South Minneapolis, because a friend of mine said, Hey, why don't you sell your lipsticks at a farmer's market? I said, Girl, a lipstick at a farmer's market, that doesn't make any sense. And then she said, but it's plant based. It's golden, free. It's all the things that people that go to farmers markets love and because I was where I was, was right on, like many, haha, on 32nd which was destroyed during the civil unrest. Yep, those people no longer had grocery stores to go to, so they had to go to the farmers market. So it all made sense for me to be there.
Dina Simon 28:20
It sure did. And that was one of those God things that you just talked about, too. Yes,
Tameka Jones 28:24
it was amazing. Yeah, yeah. Well,
John Simon Sr. 28:28
Tamika, there's a very large makeup company here in the Dallas area. They better watch out because Tamika Jones, is that bear?
Tameka Jones 28:36
They better watch out because I'm coming. Yep, yep. Are they at the Dallas State Fair?
John Simon Sr. 28:42
They're the Texas State Fair. I've never seen State Fair.
Tameka Jones 28:47
Never seen them. Very interesting.
Dina Simon 28:50
So I sold Mary Kay when I was in my young 20s, and and I was able to go to one of the big, like gala type events that she had for salespeople. And just what an amazing group of women, supporting women, and just such a fun story with with the success that she had, and she was a single mom. I mean, she she had to go out there and make it so it's a super fun entrepreneurial story as well.
Tameka Jones 29:14
Yeah, and that's another way, another business way to think about selling, yeah, is is through independent consultants. So so many different ways to do it, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out that what's best for my particular brand. Absolutely. You were recently at Darren Lynch's event, so you're doing some speaking. So talk to us about how our community of listeners can support you. So I heard that you're looking for a mobile unit, which I love. Yes, my Chevy Impala has gotten beaten up from throwing that tent and tables and product in there. And so I'm looking for a mobile unit. Yep, for sure. And then also, we're always looking for ways to get. Capital for the business so that we can grow in other ways. We're always looking for someone to help with marketing and then purchase lip esteem. Yeah, amazing product. We're at lip esteem.com if you're not in the Twin Cities, or if you just like to have things in the mail, we'd love to send you something. Or we're in Selby and Victoria 876, Selby, we're on lip underscore esteem on Instagram, and lip esteem LLC on Facebook. So
John Simon Sr. 30:28
how about Tamika Jones on Shark Tank?
Tameka Jones 30:31
Ah, that's another interesting thing people talk about. So who knows what's gonna come I mean, to be continued on that one.
Dina Simon 30:42
I love it very well. You know, I love all your stuff on LinkedIn and your social media. It's just so exciting to see you just doing what you're doing and the success. And I know every day you wake up and as you said, you're looking for what's that path, but it's a hard job being an entrepreneur, you're an inspiration to many, so just know that, and you're an inspiration to me, and I just love what you're doing in the community, and we were just excited for you to be on our Simon Says inspired podcast. So thank you for being willing to do so.
Tameka Jones 31:14
You're welcome and John, don't forget, we do have men's soul smooth lip balm. It's amazing. I'm just saying we don't leave anybody out, and we don't judge anybody for whatever they want to get
John Simon Sr. 31:27
well, you know, I'm planning on being up in the Twin Cities probably within the next month, so I will make sure that Dina knows where I can try it.
Dina Simon 31:37
I love it. We'll come see you, and I'd like to come and do some stocking up for Christmas.
Tameka Jones 31:42
This holiday, it's the perfect time to stock up. Honestly, everybody, there's nothing at lip esteem that you couldn't give anyone, so the
John Simon Sr. 31:50
stocking stuffers would be a great opportunity. Yeah,
Tameka Jones 31:54
that's right, yes, thank you for having me. You two.
Dina Simon 31:58
I'd like to thank Tamika Jones for joining us on the podcast. She's just an amazing entrepreneur. I'm so excited to see her business continue to soar. Super fun to watch. So get engaged. Check her out on the show notes. We'll make sure you know how to find her. But lip esteem is her company. Thank you, Tamika, so much for joining us and being willing to be on the podcast as always. I thank my father in law, John for CO hosting with me and until we talk again. You.