Meet Tabitha Wiggins of CocoaBrownCurlsXo in Southeast Side

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tabitha Wiggins.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Tabitha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, for those of you who may not know me my name is Tabitha Wiggins but I go by Tabs. I’m also known as CocoaBrownCurlsXo. I am a wife, a mommy, and a natural hair blogger/content creator who currently resides on the Southeast side of Atlanta GA with my husband of nine years (together for 14), and our three amazing kids Ayden 13, as well as our six years old twins Ayson and Ayva. Most days you can find me working as a Systems Analyst in Corporate Healthcare. You can also find me spending long hours building my business and brand where I connect with new naturals and parents with natural hair kids that need assistance with transitioning and finding their way on their natural hair journey. I love all things curls, love, and life. I started my natural hair journey in the spring of 2011 and through my journey I’ve been able to get to know myself in ways that I didn’t even know were possible. I work hard to inspire and educate other curly girls and guys about the beauty of their hair and how to take care of it.

Building my platform has been an absolutely amazing journey. Not only do I strive to educate and mentor, but I’ve also had the opportunity to be a brand ambassador for various companies. My latest passion has been cohosting on two very successful podcasts. One podcast is for the hit HBO show Insecure called ‘I’m so Insecure Podcast’, and airs weekly during the show’s season. Our newest baby, the ‘Let’s Be Clear Podcast’ is where my cohosts and I talk everything from curls, love, life, tech, politics, media/pop culture, and promote positive motivation to our listeners. Cohosting two podcasts keeps me pretty busy, but I absolutely love providing my audience with this type of content.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would be fooling myself and my team if I dare say this road has always been smooth. I wear more hats on a daily basis than should be legally allowed! The biggest struggle to date and this is something I speak often to my audience about, is finding enough balance to allow myself the grace that I need to push forward. Being a wife and mother tackling the challenges of Corporate Healthcare is enough, but then I add in being a Content Creator, Brand Ambassador, Influencer, Podcaster, and published Content Contributor to that list! It’s important to me that I am always honest about what I can and most importantly cannot achieve in the 24 hours that I’m given everyday. I think that honestly and authenticity that I display is my biggest asset to help me through the challenging days.

It’s also important for me to focus not just on the challenges, but also to share the how-to’s! I rely heavily on my team and support system in order to create the balance that I need. As much as some people don’t like to rely on others, me included, I realized long ago that with all that I am responsible for I couldn’t do it all without a team standing in the gaps for me. Whether it’s to remind me of my deadlines, or to toss ideas around, or to even remind me to take a moment for myself and my family, my team helps me keep my brand going. I don’t know where I would be if I tried to do any of this alone.

Please tell us about CocoaBrownCurlsXo.
CocoabrowncurlsXo is overall an online community that aims to support and uplift women, men, and children in their natural hair journey! Whether through blog posts, social media posts, youtube videos, natural hair events, or podcasts episodes I am known to push my audience to embrace their natural selves and their natural hair journey. You often hear me chanting this journey is about more than curls, and I enjoy digging deep into curls, love, and life during my podcast episodes.

When I’m not podcasting or helping to host events, I love to assist other naturals with navigating their journey. I can be reached on-line for consulting services that range anywhere from product selection, techniques for styling, and finding salons and stylists in their area. I’ve received really great feedback from past clients and get messages daily for assistance.

Some would say I have a true passion and a gift for gab! I love to express my views during either Podcasting, posting to my own online blog, or submitting my writings for various publications. I’m proud to say I’m also a content contributor for Txture Mag as well!

As a company, I am most proud of the impact that I’ve been able to create even as what some would consider a ‘MicroInfluencer’. I’m proud that I’ve maintained a genuine connection with everyone that I come in contact with, and I continue to share my story even on the bad days. I don’t ever want to come off as if I have it all together. That’s not how I can personally connect with people, and I want people to always be able to connect with me. What sets me apart from others is I don’t feel as though I’m in competition with anyone. I truly want everyone to win, at their own race, and most certainly at their own pace. I don’t put content out in an attempt to “stay relevant”. In order to maintain the genuine positive vibe that I’ve always had, I connect with my audience in a way that is natural and never feels forced or fake. They can see a piece of themselves or their lives in my content and that relatability is what keeps CocoabrowncurlsXo going!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I may sound superfluous at this point, but it must be said, my ability to be genuine and relatable has been the most important characteristic to my success. The Natural Hair world, the beauty world in general, is supersaturated. It’s as if every single week there’s a new blogger or influencer being introduced to the world. As a supporter, this can be extremely overwhelming and hard to determine where to even begin. 100 Influencers can all promote the same exact product, but the no pressure mentality and atmosphere that they receive from me is very important to me. Being able to provide tips and tricks that a fellow working mother can benefit from or a wife who has 30 minutes to get ready for a much-needed date night! When our listeners hear me speak on my podcast, they know I’m speaking from a very real and personal space. I express real life situations and give my honest and open feedback because I want them to know they aren’t alone in their thinking. I want everyone to know that I genuinely care and I’m a regular wife, mom, sister, friend, businesswoman just like them.