Today we’d like to introduce you to Takisha Simmons.
Hi Takisha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I have a degree in Early Childhood Education. Prior to me moving to Georgia I was a Certified Family Childcare Provider out of my home in Ohio. My home was setup in a childcare like setting. I cared for children infant-12 years old. I did that for 8 plus years. I also was employed with our local school district where I was President of the PTA for an Elementary School and a Parent Liaison. Moving to Georgia in 2013 I entered the classroom for Georgia Pre-K. I worked with Pre-K until May 2019. April of 2019, I started working with Cobb County School District at an Elementary School where I work closely with kindergarten students and in April 2019, I launched my current business Ice Cream Dreams & Accessories.
My husband and I met in our hometown of Youngstown Ohio where we both worked for the local school district. We have been married for eleven years. I have three daughter ages 25, 23, and 22. My son is 11, and I have two grandchildren ages 5 and 2.
My 3 daughters and my students are what motivated me to start Ice Cream Dreams & Accessories. I’ve always been a “Girl Mom”. When my daughters were ages 3, 2, & 9 months. They lost their dad to gun violence. At the age of 20, I was raising my three daughters by myself. I always would say, “we grew up with each other”. All 3 of them were “girly girls”. They always wanted their nails painted, lip gloss on their lips, their hair was always in bows/beads, & they played dress-up with either my clothes & shoes or dress-up with items I’d buy them from the department store. Now they are grown & they are still pretty much “girly girls”. I have a granddaughter & she’s just like how her mom was as a child.
I’ve been around kids & in the classroom for over 15 years. For the past 9 years, I’ve been in Pre-K and Kindergarten. While in the Pre-K classroom I had so many of my girl students throughout the years that would come to school & say “Ms. Kisha I want my nails polished, can you do my hair, or can you give me some of your lip gloss”? I even had students that would ask their mom to take them to the nail salon to get their nails sparkly like mine. They really touched my heart, so one day I was sitting on my bed, school was out for the summer, & God spoked to me & said “the time is now”. I knew what that meant because I wanted to start this business two years prior, but I talked myself out of it because of the fear of the unknown. The name of my business never changed. Ice Cream Dreams & Accessories was the name I always knew it would be.
I have families that keep in touch with me from my first year in Georgia Pre-K. They text, call, email, and DM me updates on the kids. In my promo video all the girls that were a part of it were former students of mine. I love that they love me the way they do and that their parents believed in my brand and what it stood for.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road, of course not! Some struggles I had was trying to find the right vendors that fit my brand, staying up late to communicate with my vendors, losing money because a lot of things in the beginning become trial & error, not getting inventory on time, implementing my social media presence, and launching a new brand in a pandemic. Now I feel like I have a strong grip on these issues and I’m able to give other business owners advice on these issues to help them along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m currently focusing on new and creative ways to expand my brand, staying consistent in brand awareness, and staying committed to the empowerment of young girls. There is a lot of social media pressure on the youth and an image of what girls should strive to be and look like that I wanted to create a brand where our young girls can be young girly girls for as long as they wish, and to encourage them that they can look and feel fabulous while doing so without the pressures of social media.
Keeping GOD first, interacting with customers via social media, word of mouth, good customer service, attending popup shops, networking with other business minded individuals, and providing quality products is how I got to where I am today. There is always room to grow and improve in business. I also like to get great advice/information from other business owners that could benefit me in expanding and upscaling my business.
One of my many goals for 2022 is for Ice Cream Dreams & Accessories to create a hair bow vending machine throughout the Atlanta area and then ultimately across many states.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Always go after your dreams and goals, surround yourself with like-minded people, don’t be afraid to ask questions, don’t ever think you have to be the smartest person in the room because that would mean there’s nothing more for you to learn, and align yourself with people that you can add value to and that you can get value from (collaboration over competition).
Contact Info:
- Email: icecreamdreamsaccessories@yahoo.com
- Website: www.icecreamdreamsaccessories.com
- Instagram: Ice Cream Dreams & Accessories
- Facebook: Ice Cream Dreams & Accessories
- Twitter: @AccessoriesIce
Image Credits
Taylor Robinson
Tavonte Scurry
