This Houston beauty bar is using community to uplift fellow Black-woman owned businesses - Houston Chronicle
When Tamanisha Casey-Mayberry met Tiffeny Wilson in 2017, the pair found they had two big things in common: frustration with their old, corporate jobs — and a penchant for entrepreneurship.
Some five years later, the women have put the latter into practice, creating a full-service beauty bar that includes companies they own, as well as four other glamor-related businesses run by other Black women.
Etc HTX Manor, 2424 Southmore Blvd. in Third Ward, houses entrepreneurs specializing in massage therapy, pedicures and manicures, lashes, skin care, hair braiding and catering.
Each business operates individually under one roof, and on weekends they hold joint events with food, some bubbly and a full day of pampering for clients.
"We wanted to make sure our business was focused on Black women, because we, as Black women, didn't see anybody like us doing the services we are doing, or focusing on what our needs were," said Casey-Mayberry, a skin care professional who owns Yesac Beauty Bar. "We are right in the heart of the city, and we are in a Black-owned community area, so we can service our people and anybody else."
The Social Brunch Weekend, the Ladies Day Out Brunch and Spa Day are events The Manor hosts every month with in-house catering, mimosas and good times.
The venue also can be booked for events, and services can be reserved for group outings.
"We wanted to get into the beauty industry because even through the pandemic, people were still paying for beauty services like hair, nails and skin care," Casey-Mayberry said.
Stepping out on faith
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The co-founders of the beauty bar both previously worked corporate jobs.
Casey-Mayberry, 46, left her position in the accounting department at an oil and gas company in 2019 and decided to step out on her own. She left the company because, as the only woman of color in the meeting room, she felt unheard, overworked and underpaid.
"There was no respect. I was in an industry where there weren't too many people who looked like me," she said. "I was stressed out and thought there has to be another way. ... It was a lot of responsibility on me, without the pay."
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She met Wilson, a licensed foot care specialist and owner of Happii Feet Pedicures, in 2017.
Wilson had also previously left her corporate job and was already an entrepreneur with her own production company.
They became business partners and opened a clothing boutique in north Houston, but once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything changed when their clientele came to a swift halt.
"When the pandemic happened, we started looking for a way to stay alive, and we realized that the answer to it was the beauty industry," Wilson said.
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Casey-Mayberry and Wilson searched for a space where they could provide services and host events under the same roof, and found a house in Third Ward used as a storage space. Although it would require a lot of work to renovate, they knew it was the perfect fit.
"When we pulled into this parking lot, it was like 'We knew,'" Wilson said.
"We wanted a 'home' feel where people can come here and experience the services in a relaxed environment," Casey-Mayberry said. "We always wanted something different, and that's what we got."
They said their families came out and helped them completely gut the house.
"The walls were brown and there was brown carpet everywhere," Wilson said. "What we're standing on today is not what was here."
Finding more business owners
Once they secured the space, their next move was to find business owners who were open to collaborating.
"We knew that once we got this up and running … we got to get some ladies to come on board to experience it and we can help mentor them into building up their businesses," Mayberry said. "The whole idea was collaborating with other Black women business owners."
One of the business owners is Wilson's daughter, Jasmyne Wilson, 21, a hair braider whose company is called Viva La Boujie.
In April, Tytiana Arnold, 28, a massage therapist and owner of FinessiNBodieS heard that the women were renting rooms for businesses and she was looking for a space.
"I had visited a couple of months before and Tiffeny mentioned they had some rooms available for rent," Arnold said. "I wondered if those rooms were still available so I called her; and I've been here ever since."
Serving their community
Casey-Mayberry and Wilson said the biggest reason they enjoy running The Manor is the people they serve.
"We help a lot of our clients in a big way because they don't know what they can do to help themselves, and no one ever told them," Casey-Mayberry said. "In a regular salon you go and get your service and that's it. We like being one-on-one with our clients."
They also said that because of gentrification, they have been introduced to a more diverse clientele. They have been able to serve patrons of different backgrounds and show that although they are Black businesses, they do not exclusively limit their clientele.
As the business continues to grow, the bond of all of the business owners has created a sisterhood.
"It was tough, but I started the journey with a group of my friends, who are now my sisters," Casey-Mayberry said. "We love what we do and the services that we provide can help people in such a big way."
shaniece.brown@chron.com
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