Today we’d like to introduce you to Hakim Taliaferro.
Hi Hakim, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This work called out to me before I was even born. My late father was a well known artist in the St. Petersburg, Florida. I can remember the first time I went to his house when I was around 9 or 10 years old and seeing his art canvas set up, paint brushes and airbrush set up right by the kitchen. He always was working on something. Seeing his artwork planted a seed for me to start creating years later. The blank canvas was his medium of artistic expression, the empty bottle became mine. He filled the canvas, and here I am, filling bottles.
Starting out from a pure desire to create my own plugins, I decided that I would use fragrance as a tool to build relationships, encourage people to see themselves as luxury and use every client engagement as an opportunity to be bold and fearless.
Our design process is just that: bold and fearless.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has been a “voyage,” ha! Starting this company back in 2011, I can remember applying for various positions within some of the world’s most reputable fragrance companies so I could learn more about the business and art of perfumery, but nothing promising came from those efforts. It was discouraging, and there were some mental roadblocks I was fighting through as well due to personal experiences I’d had. I met a few people who worked in the fragrance industry, but I was unable to find employment as I had desired.
Another big obstacle for me was funding, as I was trying to find a single investor or company that would provide all the funds necessary to help us grow our company and offline presence.
Being declined for grants and funding to grow the business forced me to work with what I had, continue promoting the business organically, build relationships, and really just trust God that one day, things would shift for our company. And they did! That “shift” came in June 2020, when we went viral online after being featured in a post highlighting Black-owned fragrance brands, which led to significant sales and publicity for our brand.
Along the way, there have been ups and downs, but then I knew that I had something special.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been involved in the telecommunications industry for over 20 years, and most of my professional career has afforded me the opportunity to really hone my technical, relational, and communication skills. I’ve worked in sales and marketing for most of my career, and I enjoy connecting with people. I love being able to solve their problems and see the results of my own persistence and dedication to serving others.
My specialty has really been technology—using the systems and tools available to get things done. Where many may see an obstacle or blockage, I see an opportunity to learn, surprise people, and grow. Average work gets average results. You have to keep growing and taking feedback on your products and services in order to truly make lasting change in your industry. Rigidity will destroy your opportunity to expand, and I believe it’s best to remain malleable to change while keeping your internal structure sound. Don’t let outside changes shape your internal structure; respond to outside changes from the strength of your internal structure.
What I’m most proud of is creating opportunities for more Black-owned fragrance brands to gain exposure and share their stories through the various interviews, events, and connections I’ve made along the way. I believe the most distinct thing about me is that I don’t see competition; I see collaboration. I know that some of the biggest companies appear to compete but ultimately acquire their competition, essentially competing against themselves through the various brands they own. They fight to absorb their competitors rather than continually fighting against them.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can support us most by sharing our products with their friends and family and helping us grow through funding opportunities. One of our goals is to open a groundbreaking, experience-centric flagship store in Northern New Jersey.
By spreading the word about our company and providing us with both positive and constructive feedback, people can help equip us to respond to changing times and continue creating joy through our client experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thetaliaferro.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetaliaferro
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetaliaferro
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/thetaliaferro
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetaliaferro1
