Today we’d like to introduce you to Tam K.
Hi Tam, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Tamarin Kimble, most people know me as TamK.
This journey started for me when I decided to loc my hair back in 2004. I was going into my first year of college at the University of Central Florida. About a year after starting my locs, the girl who started my locs moved away. However, before she left she showed me how to maintain my own hair.
Retwisting my own locs, slowly turned into me retwisting other people’s locs on campus. Before I knew it, I was passing out flyers around campus and building my own clientele. At the time, I didn’t see the vision of how far this could take me, I was focused, determined to graduate, and get a good job in corporate America. Little did I know, my destiny had already been determined the moment I decided to loc my hair.
I graduated in 2008 when the economy was upside down and companies were doing more firing than hiring. I bounced around for about 4 years trying to find my groove. One thing that stayed with me was my gift of starting and maintaining locs. I had always maintained a steady clientele no matter what city I was in. In 2009, I moved back to Orlando. I had moved back to Jacksonville to stay with my family while I figured it out after graduation.
I wanted to come back to Orlando because I was determined to make a way for myself and do what most college grads were doing at that time; trying to get “good jobs” in their field. In the meantime, I was still building my clientele and even started to brand myself as iTwistOrlando. Still, entrepreneurship was only something I dreamed about, I needed to be validated in corporate first-so I thought.
It wasn’t until 2012, when I wasn’t accepted into a highly sought-after MBA program, that I let go of this idea that I needed corporate America to decide what I was worth. My plan was to get into over 50k worth of additional student loan debt to get this MBA, get a high-paying job, work in corporate for a few years, and then start my business-it sounds so crazy to me now. A part of me was so happy that I didn’t get accepted. I immediately went into action and really turned things up with iTwistOrlando! I went hard because I knew I could never look back. From that point, I knew whatever my life was going to be, I was going to have to create it even if I didn’t know how.
I began to dominate my industry at that time, especially locally. I had a clientele of professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and corporate professionals. People would say, if you’re not getting twisted by iTwistOrlando, then you’re not getting twisted at all… Lol! I loved working for myself. Although there was no blueprint, I kept going.
As I got better with my craft, I also became wiser in business. I started to realize, although I loved working for myself, I was still trading my time for money. I started to get burned out and question what I was doing or where I would be in a few years. I had to dig deeper and understand how to merge my gift and my passion.
I always tell people my gift is the ability to do hair, but my true passion is entrepreneurship. I had to find a way to increase my passion as well as work smarter. That’s when I created K. Essentials Hair Care, a product line for locs and loose natural hair to help heal, hydrate, and grow your hair without build-up.
K. Essentials is my way of fueling my passion and creativity, but also providing quality hair care for my clients and those all around the world who can’t sit in my chair, but still need quality products to maintain their locs. Over the years K. Essentials has continued to grow and has helped so many people throughout their loc journey. Getting this loc care product in as many hands as possible, while simultaneously creating income beyond the chair is a focus for me right now.
Last year, I launched iTwist Master Class, one-on-one and group classes to help people learn how to retwist like a boss! I’m excited to move into this part of my journey, it feels good to have an outlet to share this knowledge, while also cultivating my passion. I’ve also been using social media as a way to connect with other loc’d individuals on IG live through a series I created called: Locs + Vibes.
This series is a live series once a month on my IG page (@thelocpreneur) where I go live with loc influencers/creatives or loc’d professionals and talk about their loc journey and where it has led them. My loc journey has taken me places I could never imagine and the same for so many others.
My ultimate goal is starting to come together. I am currently putting together a workspace where I service my clients, work on creative projects, and also provide workspace and event space for other beauty professionals, freelancers, and digital creators to do the same. This space is located at 2246 Winter Woods Blvd (ste 2246) Winter Park, Fl 32792. The space will be open for bookings April 2022.
I am happy to be creating my own lane in the loc industry; really defining what it means to be a locpreneur.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not, it has been tough! I’ve had times where I felt like I just couldn’t break through a certain level, whether income or creatively. At the time when I started in this industry, there was no model to model. No one to really say, ‘I want to be like them’. I didn’t even realize what I had or how my industry would eventually blow up at that time.
Locs were still so taboo and in a sense not respected in the mainstream. I was a full-time entrepreneur just trying to figure it out in every sense. I was also really young at the time, I became a full-time entrepreneur at 25 years old. I was so inexperienced in every way. I had to learn how to deal with clients, conflicts, marketing, administration, finances, while also juggling the ups and downs of personal and relational issues as a young woman.
It took a lot of time for my vision to become clear and it seems like it took even longer for me to believe I could have it. At the time, I didn’t realize the space I had to really create my own lane. I would put a lot of blocks and barriers on myself because I did not know what could be done. I have spent time in fear, self-doubt, and have lost my direction on this journey.
I had to learn every single thing, some things I have invested money into learning, most things were self-taught. Even with creating K. Essentials Hair Care I’ve had difficulties, from supply chain issues to having to go through a complete rebrand. I have paid the cost in every way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a loctician, but I consider myself to be a locpreneur. I help people start and maintain their loc journey, while also pursuing my own passions in entrepreneurship. One of those passions is K. Essentials Hair Care, a product line I created for locs and loose naturals to help heal, hydrate, and grow your hair without buildup.
I specialize in starting locs, loc repair, and a loc maintenance technique called interlocking. I am most proud of my longevity and my ability to pivot throughout the years. Starting as a full-time entrepreneur at 25 before social media made it cool and to still be here at 36 with the many ups and downs life has thrown, pushes me to keep going; daily.
It sounds so simple, but what has really set me apart is that I have done it my way. I have really stayed true to my authentic self. I stay open to evolving with the times, but I still put my own spin on it. I have created my own style of retwisting locs, my own way of marketing my brands, my own hair care products, and my own way of interacting and engaging with clients.
When my clients come to sit in my chair, it’s deeper than just servicing them, I really hold space for them.
What does success mean to you?
Ohh, this is a good one! Mainly because I was recently faced with the challenge of questioning my own success and if I even believed I was successful. After going deep-I came out with success is about continually redefining it for yourself based on the season, your energy, and your intention at any given time. It starts with getting clear on your vision and making those daily deposits. As long as you are constantly moving forward, taking action towards your vision, and seeing things all the way through, that’s success!
Contact Info:
- Email: itwistorlando@gmail.com
- Website: kehaircare.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelocpreneur/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/TheLocpreneur
