In many ways, 27-year-old DaKira Taylor, who also goes by Redd, had already made it. After earning a degree in computer science, she built a six-figure career in tech consulting. But something was missing. She felt spiritually called to leave her family in Texas and start over as an entrepreneur in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which she would soon discover was the birthplace of Black Wall Street.
Three years later, DaKira owns a profitable skincare empire across several Shopify sites. Through two of her businesses, byREDD Beauty and byREDD Wholesale, she supplies both direct-to-consumer products and private label products through popular offers such as turmeric rose body bars and lavender coconut facial toners. What started in her Tulsa apartment has since expanded into an 800-square-foot warehouse, where she ships products to customers around the world, many of whom follow her on social media. With her waist-length red braids and ombré nails, she films videos teaching basic skincare techniques and explaining what each ingredient does.
DaKira shares what she has learned along the way and her hopes for a bright future in Tulsa.
Two bottles of skincare oil waiting to be labeled in DaKira’s warehouse.
On carrying on a family legacy
“When I started with wigs, hair had always been in my blood. My father, before he passed, was a big hairstylist – his name was known all over Dallas. And my mother, even though she wasn’t a professional stylist, had her esthetician license for years. So hair played a very big role in my life. I started doing my own hair in high school. In college, other people asked me to do theirs. I had a little side business in college, but I didn’t see it that way at the time. So beauty has always been, literally, part of my DNA.”
On expanding from wigs into skincare
“I started in the summer of 2018. My first business was actually called Wigs by Redd. I sold custom wig units and colors all over the world. Once I moved to Tulsa in December 2019, I decided to add beauty and cosmetic products like false lashes and lip gloss. That’s when it became byRedd Beauty, at the start of the pandemic. Then I started formulating my own skincare. And now that’s what byRedd Beauty is all about.
In 2021, I decided to go into wholesale as well. People kept asking me, “Do you sell these products wholesale?” So I decided to sell the same products I was already selling, just in larger quantities.
DaKira labels some of her best-selling face creams
Why positioning matters for a cosmetics brand
“When I tried to start my first business, I had no idea what I was doing. I invested in a business coach. He was someone I knew personally, but he had owned several businesses and helped people start businesses, a bit like I do now. He helped me understand brand positioning and things like that. Four years later, I thought, “Wow, I’ve been learning this for almost half a decade now.”
Today, I try to teach women – and some men too – to understand the foundations of a long-term business and get it past the startup phase. You have to understand your brand. Yes, it’s nice to have a pretty logo and colors. But what does it actually mean? How is your brand perceived by strangers on the internet who have never seen you before? How are you going to stand out from big names like Target and Walmart?
Make sure you have the basics down before you go for cute packaging and things like that. That can always change. It’s how you stand out in the industry that will make your brand last.”
The challenges of entrepreneurship
“Entrepreneurship looks very glamorous, but it isn’t. Even if someone makes a million dollars a day, there’s still a lot of work going on in the background to make sure they can keep that kind of business going.
Day to day, it’s a real roller coaster for me, especially since I quit my job. It’s real life. It’s just a different kind of life. People don’t understand that you really have to be made for this kind of world. Not everyone is meant to own a business. Not everyone is meant to be a chef, a rapper or a teacher. You are really called to this kind of life. Having a business and trying to make a lot of money sounds great, but if you’re not ready to go through more bad days than good ones at the start, you won’t make it. But when the good days come, they’re really good.”
Freshly cut turmeric rose soap bars sit in DaKira’s Tulsa warehouse.
Working smarter with private labeling
“Even though I’m still mostly a one-woman show, my experience at school and at work really taught me the value of processes and automation. For wholesale private label cosmetics, I made sure to set up a whole system so shipments go out automatically. That’s going to help me, and it will be very useful when it comes to training someone.
I believe in working smarter, not harder. Some people just want to be the face of something, and that’s fine. Not everyone will have the drive to do all the work. So let me do the heavy lifting for you, teach you all the basics, or make the products and label them for you. And all you have to do is apply what I’ve just taught you. You don’t have to worry about trying to formulate anything, seeing whether it works, or trying to design something.
When you think about it, Kylie Jenner and Rihanna aren’t in their kitchen or warehouse making products. They use private label. So why not start with the same mindset as those big names? There are smarter ways to do things. I’m just trying to help people in the best way I can. And if it saves them time, I’m all for it.”
On the energy and impact of working near Black Wall Street
“Tulsa is much smaller than people think. But that’s also something very empowering. If you know one person, you know everyone in that circle. I’ve met a lot of people in different fields, mostly artists and people like that. The love they have for their city and for Black Wall Street is just different.
When I’m in the area – because Black Wall Street is downtown – there’s a shift in energy as you get closer to downtown or North Tulsa. I know a tattoo artist whose business is on Black Wall Street. I can feel how much her art means to her, especially because her shop is on Black Wall Street.
I’ve talked to people whose grandparents lived through that time. I can see through the people from here how much it matters. And if they’re able to keep the legacy alive 101 years later for people who weren’t there, then I feel like they’re passing it on to me.
I’m happy to be here. Even though it’s not like it used to be, of course, people are still trying to keep that vision of Black Wall Street alive. I’m happy to be here to witness it. And, hopefully, to be part of it too. Because I’m not here for no reason.
I’m trying to join more women entrepreneur groups and enter competitions. I’m really trying to get more involved and more connected. Since all my businesses are online, I could live anywhere. It’s not like I need to be here physically, but I’d be limiting myself if I didn’t try to build a local network.
DaKira mixes a batch of skincare ingredients for a private label buyer.
Putting her own mental health first when it gets to be too much
“I’m tired. I’m tired every day. Self-care doesn’t look the same for me at all. I watch a lot of TV. I love TV. I’m probably one of the youngest people who still has cable. Sitting on my couch really relaxes me. In my apartment, I have one room set aside for work. Anything outside that door is not for work.
Sometimes I go out and spend time with my sisters, because I have family here now. We can go to the park or a restaurant without talking about work. I’ve been working on that for a year. I rest. Because if I keep working nonstop, I’ll burn out. I know what extreme burnout feels like. I try to give myself time to recover, whatever that looks like.”
Planning for the next decade
“The work I’m doing now will set me up for when I’m 30 or 35. I don’t really try to put time limits on my goals, but by 30, I’d really like to buy land here in Tulsa, or on the outskirts of Tulsa, where I could build my own house and a workspace.
By 35, it would be great to be overseeing everything happening with byRedd Beauty and byRedd Wholesale and to have a passive, ongoing course for the University of Redd by then. I’m just trying to do the work now so I can stop working as the years go by.