Today we’d like to introduce you to Terria (Terri) Hanes.
Hi Terria (Terri), it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I was born in Decatur, Illinois, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida in 2001. I moved here with mom and me. I’m the only child of my mother. I was raised by her and my aunt, my mom’s twin sister. My aunt was like my other mother. In 2014 my aunt passed away, and I died inside, honestly. Any depression and anxiety I dealt with tripled. I was not the same anymore. It was like my life had come crashing down.
After miscarriages and being told I’ll never carry or conceive another child, I gave birth to my oldest son Ryan in December 2015. He was like a breath of fresh air after losing my aunt. He was a piece missing, and I thank God for him. He saved me and pushed me to change a lot of my ways. In April 2018, I enrolled in cosmetology school to further my love for doing hair. In June 2018, while in school and after dealing with some situations that it seemed like life was trying at the time to break me, It took another heavy loss. I lost an old love who was killed on the beach. It was like I wouldn’t heal or grieve to save my life. I became even more numb; I took a break from cosmetology school in October 2018, and in February 2019, I resumed school and found I was pregnant with my second son Tristan and gave birth to him in October 2019.
I learned in 2015, after having my son, that I was dealing with postpartum, but I’m so used to not being able to express how. I felt without feeling like I was wrong. So, I dealt with it on my own. I started researching here and there about and learned ways to fight myself out of that dark place. I started to fight as I had never fought before. When I was pregnant with my second son, I researched—trying to understand mental health and postpartum the best way I could. But as much educating as I tried to do, I fell into a worse episode of postpartum and lasted a good year and a half with my last child. In November 2019, I started getting into researching a business to start, and beauty came to mind. I was battling with my appearance badly. From my body to my looks, I was not happy or satisfied with what I saw in the mirror.
February 2020, BBs Beauty Bar was born. I used BBs to be my confidence booster. If I could use things to help me feel good, why can’t I help other women feel good, no matter what they are going through? So, I started with lashes and rebranding to incorporate many more things to make my business just how I wanted it.
August 2021, I started my second business Sweet Bar By T. The amazing thing about this business is I always loved food rather than baking, cooking, or eating. I took a major step when I shared my love for baking with the world. That was the most mind easing peaceful and free feeling I’ve ever experienced.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Building my business has not been easy. From having to get potential customers to trust in you and believe your product will be just what they want. It’s always an up and down with business. Some days it’s good business. Some days it makes you question whether it is worth it. I’ve had moments where I wanted to give up plenty of times. Trust me; it’s easier to work for somebody else. Clock in and clock out, and that’s it. But once you build your business, it’s a day in and day out, ensuring you’re getting everything taken care of. It’s always something new you will learn about business and even about your business. What works and what doesn’t work for your business? But that’s when you trust yourself that you can do it and will achieve everything you say. My biggest challenges have been keeping my customers engaged with the content. I’m an introvert, so it’s hard for me to stay on the scene. I often want to be in reset mode and running a business away in hiding from the world. I learned business is like having another child. You have to put love into, and I mean real love, for what you do. People can tell when you love what you do and when it’s no love and passion behind it.
We’ve been impressed with BBs Beauty Bar / Sweet Bar By T, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
BBs Beauty Bar is the alter ego side of me. BBs is the beauty and cosmetics business lashes, lip gloss, and hair products from handmade hair oils to wigs. BBs is the business that gives you insight on things dealing with beauty and hair. Make sure we give you the best and make you feel the greatest you ever felt. BB plans to add more items like eyeshadows and eventually foundations to make it a one-stop shop.
Sweet Bar By T is the therapeutic relief of my everyday life. Sweet Bar provides cakes, cookies, brownies, and treat items. We provide our products for birthday parties, businesses, conferences, schools, and more. We offer specials and packages that fit any occasion. We have done numerous vendor pop-up shops. We plan to expand and do bake therapy for couples, families, and groups.
Both businesses merged to make Sweet Haven. A foundation in the making to help bring awareness to mental health for men and women and postpartum depression for men and women. A lot of people don’t know men go through postpartum as well. I want to be the voice and help women going through postpartum by providing postpartum boxes and more things to make the mental healing journey from birth to postpartum depression as smooth as possible.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
When it came to risk-taking, I was not one year ago before having kids. It wasn’t until I honestly started my business. I was taking a risk by spending my own hard earned money from my 9-5 to buy products. I risked making many desserts and treats, hoping to sell out at vendor events. Creating websites that I purchase but didn’t push. Spending money on marketing, hoping it brings customers to help break even. I’ve suffered many losses and lost myself trying to figure out what to do next. I’ve also had my share of wins, which made me feel like the good outweighed the bad. Business is a risk every day some days, you have no sales, and some days you can’t keep up because of customers coming quicker than you expected. It’s all a hit and miss but worth it in the end.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.SweetBarByT.Com
- Instagram: SweetBar.ByT and BBs.BeautyBar
- Facebook: SweetBar.ByT ans BB’s Beauty Bar
Dj
August 5, 2022 at 5:30 am
Congratulations keep Pushing for greatness!!!