Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracey Phipps.
Tracey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am originally from DC. Both my parents are from the Dominican Republic.I am 1 of 3 girls and also a twin. Growing up I always struggled with my identity. Being an afro latina gave me an opportunity to be around many cultures. Growing up, I spent much time in the church and hustling on the side to make money. I knew how to make a dollar out of 50 cents by the time I was 12 and having a mother who was a missionary and traveled as a humanitarian, I also knew I wanted to grow up and have my own business while helping people. I graduated from The Art Institute of Washington and majored in Fashion Business Management. Immediately out of college, I got my dream job working for a global retailer and moved to Japan for three months.
In Japan, I was exposed to a completely different culture and lifestyle. Upon my return, I then moved to NYC where my passion and desire to create music grew more intense. In NYC, I worked 12+ hour days for my retailer and hit the studio in the evening to work on music. I eventually released my first song “Empire” and got the chance to perform live in underground venues. My fashion career began to take off and while I found it difficult to balance my music and business, it was never impossible. In fashion, I got the chance to work on global projects, travel to different countries and eventually moved to Orlando to open the first South store for my company. Coming to Orlando is where my desire as a child to help the community was unlocked. I began to volunteer in organizations and fell in love with the strong community of women!
In life, I learned that the struggles of one culture could easily be the strength of another. So this is where the idea of bringing cultures together was born. I dreamed of putting people together in rooms that didn’t look the same but wanted to find a new and unique way to do it. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed all cultures enjoy, it’s Tea. So in 2017, I held my very first Time for TEA (T.alk, E.mpower, A.ffirm) event in Orlando. Three years later, we continued to hold our event annually.
In 2018 I felt like I needed to do more. So we introduced Time for TEA Teens into the youth community where we began to teach young girls table etiquette and career-building/social skills. Since then, we’ve trained well over 250+ girls in our community on dining and tea etiquette. All while still pursuing my music and working in Fashion.
Although my career and my community have been a strong focus over the last few years, my passion for music still remains just as strong. My music is currently available on Itunes, Spotify and other musical platforms. I am currently working on releasing an EP towards the end of the year. My music is what balances me and allows me to continue to chase after all my dreams.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road to grow has not always been a smooth one. For me as an individual, I have many talents and ideas. I am an Area Leader for a global fashion brand where I put my skills in business to work, while also being an aspiring singer and songwriter by night, where I spend time in my studio creating music. I also am a social entrepreneur through Time for TEA where I seek to engage diverse women and also give back to the generations after me.
In the beginning, I struggled even with juggling all the above. But I am now confident and clear on my purpose and it is to be a role model for women and young girls, to motivate and inspire others to go after their goals while also equipping them with social skills to network and be successful. I don’t believe in boxing myself in, or sticking to just one thing. If God gave me gifts, I intend to use them all.
Regarding Time for TEA: There were many times where I and others invested a lot of our own time and resources just to create the right experience. As the years went by and as we grew, my attention to the details became even more meticulous because I truly wanted to create an experience that could change a heart, heal a spirit or bring joy. I still challenge myself and my team to strive for a premier experience every time.
Another struggle was figuring out how to keep the fire burning and growing. This means developing a strong online presence, engaging women consistently while also sharing our story in a very clear and strong way. I’ve had to rethink how to approach our organization by thinking long term first and then working my way backward to achieve the mission.
Please tell us about Time for TEA.
TIME FOR TEA: Time for TEA™ stands for (T)alk, (E)mpower and (A)ffirm. We exist to produce confidence in women and girls in our community by curating special and unique moments that promote empowerment and growth.
Our Vision is to see a diversity in age and culture of women and girls gathering consistently and learning from each other across the nation.
We have our Time for TEA women’s refined afternoon tea sessions and as a separate entity, we have our teens non profit etiquette program which we are in the process of growing. We merge the two by having women from our afternoon tea events come and speak to the teens in our youth programs where we’ve partnered with schools and summer programs.
Our values are:
– Talk: Speak to be heard, Listen to understand
– Empower: Learn to Teach
– Affirm: Speak it and Do It
We are known for creating unique and fun refined afternoon tea events where we gather a diverse number of women who are either young professionals, influential, business owners, executives, creatives and CEOs.
We specialize in creating classic tea events with high attention to detail and strongly curated programs that support networking, open and honest conversations, empowerment and affirmations.
We are most proud of what we are doing in the community with our teen girls.
What makes us different from other companies is our focus on diversity and going above and beyond to establish relationships with the local community of women from many different organizations to truly create an environment and atmosphere that is safe and inspirational.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
With Time for TEA, I would have asked for help sooner. It wasn’t until my 3rd year that I was able to get my team built and fully involved.
With my music career, I would have focused on balancing both my music and my fashion career. For a while, I put music to the side because I felt it was impossible to pursue both, but I know now that is wrong and that I shouldn’t box myself in.
Pricing:
- Our afternoon Time for Tea™ events for women typically range from $35-$40
- With $50, you can sponsor a teen girl to go through Time for TEA Teens etiquette training
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.Time4TeaOrlando.com
- Email: Info.Time4Tea@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timeforteaorlando/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timeforteaorg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/traceyphippss
- Yelp: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7HYvcHRCUMvufE9XQodoBL
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/traceyphipps/
Image Credit:
Lyon Photos & Films, David Daudin (MYTO)
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