Today we’d like to introduce you to Beyonka Smalls.
Hi Beyonka, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I started in the entertainment industry when I was really young. When I was born my sister already had been on a TV show called As The World Turns. So, when my parents had me, I was already modeling and acting at 3 months old. Most people don’t know that I’m an actress and model just because my social media has recently taken off. But before the TikTok following I was modeling for Reebok, Florence By Mills, Ulta Beauty, Pantene, and a ton more. Modeling was great and all but acting is really what I feel in love with. It was where I could be my goofy outgoing self. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be an entertainer, singer, actress, comedian whatever let me get on stage and captivate an audience. But when I was very young my love of acting came crashing down. On September 11, 2001, me and my sister had booked a magazine cover shooting at the twin towers at 8 am. The night before my dad got a call for the first time in our careers that they had a last-minute call time change and we would go in at 12pm. As my dad got us ready the next morning to go to our shoot, we got a call to turn on the tv because the twin towers were hit. It’s crazy to think if we didn’t get that call, we would’ve been in that building that morning. My parents panicked and moved to upstate NY and pulled us out of acting and modeling because they didn’t want us going down to the city. So, from 7-14, I begged my parents to let me go back into the industry, and finally, they gave in and I went back found a new agent and started working. Within two years I got a call from Disney saying they wanted to fly me to they’re Burbank office to be on a show. It was down to me and 2 other girls. I got to work with Disney comedic coaches and knew then this was my destiny. The show never got picked up but I continued to chase my dreams. Despite the doubters and the bullies at school, I pushed through and since have done some amazing things. I booked a role on the show Instinct on CBS, Booked an Ulta Beauty campaign, and got to shoot with Millie Bobby Brown, I hosted for Nickelodeon at the MTV VMA red carpet, and was the youngest cast member on the ABC Discovers Showcase, then COVID hit and everything stalled in the industry. This is when I discovered TikTok, I remember the young girls on my cheer team telling me to join and I kept saying it was for kids. But when we officially went into lockdown I started to play around with the app and within two videos had a video of me and my nephew do over 300K and had gained almost 30K which at the time I thought was huge but I went back to work and school and TikTok took a back seat. Then one day I just decided, “I’m gonna just experiment and post every day 3 times a day for a week, and see what happens”. I planned to do one comedy video, one fashion or beauty video, and one trendy video. On the 6th day, I made a video that my boyfriend video bombed and picked me up from dancing. I posted it as a joke and fell asleep, when I woke up the video already had over 10 million views, I went from 33k to 100K overnight. My email was bombarded with brand deal and my agency was getting calls, it felt like something out of a movie. That video reached 25Million views by the end of the week and I got my big start on TikTok. Since then, it’s been about 2 years and I now do social media full time, go to school, own my own cosmetics line Beyonkas Beauty, and am so happy to announce that I am releasing my first ever single Better Off very soon! With the audience I have built on social media I knew I wanted to continue my love for music. Singing since I could remember, putting on performances in my living room, writing songs since 7 and I can’t believe I’m about to drop my own music with my amazing team! We are currently working on a ton of new projects and I just can’t wait to show them to my fans so that they can get to know me better than just the funny girl on TikTok. Writing my own music and sharing my story has been a blessing and I’m so thankful to all of my supporters and followers for giving me this opportunity to continue to chase my dream. With this platform I hope to inspire others to never give up, chase your dreams, because nothing is impossible if you work hard and stay focused! I always say we only have one life and there’s no re-dos so why spend your life doing anything else than what you absolutely love! We all have the same ending to our story but we can make all pages in between a movie!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has never been a smooth road even from the beginning. There are a lot of people who are going to doubt you or tell you to get a real job when you pursue a career in this industry. I’ve had bullies and online trolls and honestly, sometimes my own head can get in the way. Sometimes when you experience these low-view spells and you just feel like nothings working you start to question yourself. Social media is a lot mentally and just the constant need to always be “on” and come up with new creative concepts every day can be draining and discouraging. It easy to blow up on social media but it’s way harder to stay relevant.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’d like to say I do a bit of everything. Social media wise I really focus on comedy skits and funny outlandish videos. But I also really love beauty and fashion and try and showcase that as well! I’m most definitely known for comedy but I hope that changes a bit when I release my music. Truly music is such a passion of mine and I hope my fans can see how much work and love I’ve put into it.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I like to think of myself as a calculated risk-taker. I’m always ready to push the envelope but it’s never just spontaneous. I think taking a risk with a purpose in mind can be really powerful. To be successful You have to take risks, go into uncharted territory, and do things most wouldn’t. That’s what makes you stand out. I think in my skits and just in my life I’ve always did what others weren’t doing and created my own lane because originality is so important in building your brand and creating your fan base. I think risks are fun and thrilling and again at the end of the day, we’re all going to die so start something, burn it all down to the ground and start again until you love the life you live.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beyonkasbeauty.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/beyonkasmalls?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCwte_GHFsDjT4mUY0CXE-yQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@beyonka_smalls?lang=en
