Season 2 Episode12: Tara O'Kelly of TOK Beauty

“The biggest piece of advice I received was to do something that I love, and you don't have to have it all figured out.”  - Tara 

What happens when a make-up artist with a knack for handling people says "screw it" and embarks upon something that can revolutionize the beauty industry as a whole? In this episode, we sit down with the founder of TOK Beauty, Tara O'Kelly, and talk about how she built her emergent beauty brand from scratch and the attitude shifts she underwent along the way.

As a start-up founder, Tara set out to fill a gap in the market that was driven by demand for a more authentic, transparent brand. Her journey was about utilizing her assets and voice like never before to achieve momentum. She built her brand from the ground up while learning the next steps.

Tara shares her remarkable backstory with TOK and explains how she dealt with the various obstacles that came her way. She also talks about the people who gave her the most support in the process. 

Of the many things, Tara's journey teaches us is this - that sometimes, all you need to do is start. The rest naturally follows.

About Tara O’ Kelly
Tara O’ Kelly is the Founder of the Canadian make-up brand TOK Beauty. She started the company as a way to provide women with clean, performance-driven products formulated with plant-based benefits that are simple to use.  

Links:
Website - https://www.tokbeauty.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tokbeauty

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tokbeauty/

Transcript

Indie Lee: 0:05

Hello everybody and welcome back to coming clean with indie Lee I'm your host Andy Lee and today I have Taro Kelly who is the CEO and founder of top beauty which is now by the way congratulations one of credo beauties newest brands and you're welcome that's a huge I mean we're gonna go into that for sure. I met her really through social media through Yeah, I think it was

Unknown: 0:41

thank you so much thank you for having me. Yeah, we we definitely met over clump house but I've been using nd Li products for oh my

Indie Lee: 0:49

gosh I guess I still get so surprised that people know the brand or like people like I know that's crazy because I mean I know we sell products but I'm always like oh my god you've heard of us so happy I am wearing your mascara. Oh kind of my head or my eyes look everybody so for those who are listening and not watching you have to head over to YouTube so you can see how great my

Unknown: 2:10

Yeah, for sure. Um, so give a little bit of a backstory. So I was in oil and gas, sales in oil and gas in Calgary, Alberta. And I had just lost my job. And I was like, Okay, I need to figure I need to do something that I love, I can't, you know, go and get another sales job. Like I need to find my wife basically. So I took a job at a salon as a receptionist because I loved the beauty

Indie Lee: 3:10

people who like literally did not know what I was doing. So I'm with you and I totally get that you have to learn it, I watched you too.

Unknown: 3:19

And so I wanted to provide these women with a line that you know would simplify their routine but also provide them some added benefits as well. Like our mascara has plant based products in it that actually promote healthy lash growth. So I wanted to provide that for them. And then on the other side my y was also for myself I was on my own health journey as well. So I was diagnosed with

Indie Lee: 4:03

I you know, I don't know that I even knew too much about your health journey. So that's incredible. I think a lot of people come into glean beauty from a role of transition, right? They come they're in a position of transformation. And whether it's they're having children or someone they know or perhaps themselves they're having a health issue and they start to realize, you know,

Unknown: 5:19

Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew like what I wanted to do. And I was like, well, I'll figure it out as I go. But basically, exactly what you're saying, like figure out about my dad was an entrepreneur. So I worked for him when I was in high school and university doing various jobs for him. So like, I was in the accounting department, the marketing department, the sales

Indie Lee: 6:05

listen, I know that, but I do think, for someone like yourself, and for me not coming from the beauty industry also, like, to some extent, ignorance is bliss, right? You didn't know. So you had no reason to think you couldn't? Yes. And when you don't have that, at least for me, you're like, I can figure this out. And then you start to hit obstacles. But you figure out how to get through

Unknown: 6:39

Yeah, totally. I've had so many ups and downs of just like, I personally don't like accounting, but it's like, you need to know

Indie Lee: 6:46

that number. And I'm gonna count it.

Unknown: 6:49

Yeah, and I just like, for me numbers is like, I don't I don't want to deal with it. I love like the sales, the marketing side, but like, I didn't know, Shopify, I didn't know QuickBooks, like I didn't know any of that stuff. And I just Yeah, like you're saying, had to figure it out, dive in and, and do it because I knew what I wanted to do.

Indie Lee: 7:07

Now, did you have somebody who was helping you? Or you're like, Nope, I'm just, I'm a solopreneur. Were you? Are you a solopreneur? At this point,

Unknown: 7:13

I'm a solopreneur. I actually just hired but there are two contract employees that helped me out with like sales and marketing. And then my dad actually helps me out with some of the finance and that side.

Indie Lee: 7:26

Amazing. So he's definitely a huge mentor is a huge

Unknown: 7:29

mentor for me. And then my boyfriend is a software developer. So he's helped me here and there with, like, the website side of things. So getting help from wherever I can, but also learning and doing most of it myself. Yeah,

Indie Lee: 7:41

that's how I did it. I was very fortunate early on, to have some people came into the business who said, Listen, I want to make this I want to be a business partner, etc. Because it is it can be really overwhelming. I mean, I didn't know anything about sales, I knew nothing about marketing. I'm a CPA. I'm like a finance person, I can look at numbers, but I wouldn't know that side of

Unknown: 8:18

Yeah, I did that early on, too, because I didn't know the beauty industry at all. And so I was actually calling what would be considered, I guess, competitors. I was calling them and being like, will you help me like I'm very new. But if you have any advice for me, like I would love that, and I remember Melanie from Elite cosmetics was very sweet and offered, like advice on different

Indie Lee: 8:56

Yeah, anytime x because I think that we all rise with the tide. And our biggest competition is ourselves, like how can we continue to evolve and become better? In terms of product development better as brand educators? You know, how can I become a better leader? How can I be a better face of the company? How can I create, you know, and if I focus so much on competition, I'm

Unknown: 10:50

Yeah, no, I'm exactly the same. We've connected I know, yeah, we've connected with this. So yeah.

Indie Lee: 10:56

Okay. So I want to know, so I know you have a vision board, and what business achievements were on it that you've accomplished already, and then what's still out there because we're gonna put it out to the universe right now.

Unknown: 11:09

Okay. Um, so at the beginning of 2022, I further like, usually I'll write a

Indie Lee: 11:15

2021. We're not 22 yet. Sorry. It'd be good day. Because I don't know what day it is. So we're okay either.

Unknown: 11:25

I just looked at my calendar. Oh, it's Wednesday. I'm sorry, at the beginning of 2021 was the first time that I actually like started cutting out pictures of things that I wanted and putting it on a bristol board. So I went like back to like high school elementary school days, and actually did like cut and paste and put it on there.

Indie Lee: 11:45

Me too. I'm all about that, like that actual physical cutting things out. 100%.

Unknown: 11:50

Yeah. So I put four major retailers on there. So there's Jillian Harris. So she has a jewelry box, which is big here in Canada. And I got into that. So I just launched that actually in June of 2021. And then another one was credo. And credo was really big for me,

Indie Lee: 12:10

I never really paid for anybody. Let me tell you, that's a huge, huge coup. And before you go on for anybody who doesn't know credo, if you're new to the clean beauty credo is one of the, I would say preamp Premier, clean beauty retails, it's actually the largest clean retailer, I think globally. And they have a really strict, clean standard that they adhere to, and really ensure that

Unknown: 13:00

Thank you. Yeah, no, that was definitely so exciting. So those two things both launched in June, which was huge. And then the other two that I have on there for lane. I love Tara fully. Nursing. Yeah. met her actually, when I was at QVC. We were on the big fine together. So she's awesome. I would love to be her store. And then I also put Ulta I mean, that's a big, like thing to

Indie Lee: 13:31

I mean, I think I had 25 retailers on there. And when people would pass by my vision board, they would like roll their eyes, because it was in like my it was down in my basement. Yeah, right, which is where my office is. In fact, you're filming in my basement right now. I have an office down here. And I had this I got a piece of Oh tag like you know those big poster boards. And I

Unknown: 14:58

I'm gonna go for it.

Indie Lee: 15:00

Well, yeah, I mean, listen, it didn't really cost me anything to cut them out. Yeah, put them on there. Yeah. But if I didn't, I felt it was costing me because I wasn't dreaming big enough. Yeah. And I think that's why vision boards and planning can be such a valuable tool. Yeah, I mean, yes, there's the mystical side and all that. But I think there's another very energetic side, it's

Unknown: 15:35

Yeah. Does that make sense to figure out a path to get there? Yeah. Like, I have, like a lower best of beauty. And I'm like, how am I going to get that award? Like for one of my products, you know, I just, yeah, I'd love to be in the Allure magazine would love to be, you know, talking to those, like, buyers or whatever, you know, like talking to

Indie Lee: 15:53

the editors? Yeah, I mean, listen, for me, too. That's still on my elusive list. Like, I'm, like, come on. I just want that seal. Yeah, just because for the beauty industry, it really isn't getting one of those big, you know, turning points for a brand that of what you've accomplished. Yeah. Yeah, I know, maybe I need to put another it's so funny. I'm putting a new board together. But

Unknown: 16:51

Yeah, so half of my board is like retailers in business. And then the other half is personal. So like, I would love to get a house with like more property, and possibly like a greenhouse and stuff the same like with what you have. And then just continuing to work on my health, like make sure that you know, I haven't had a seizure in two and a half years. So making sure that you know,

Indie Lee: 17:31

Yeah, well, then he gets the hint. And he knows it's up

Unknown: 17:34

there. Yes, exactly.

Indie Lee: 17:36

I love it. I love it. Okay, so for budding entrepreneurs, right, who are looking for advice? What is the most valuable piece of advice that you received? And why did you think that was so? so valuable for you?

Unknown: 17:49

Yeah, I think the biggest piece of advice I received was to do something that I love, and you don't have to have it all figured out. So

Indie Lee: 17:59

tell me about that.

Unknown: 18:00

Yeah, my dad, actually, when I lost my job, and my like, so like, Oh, I have to get another job, like another sales job. And he's like, why don't you just start doing something you love. Even if it pays you like $10 an hour, he's like, at least you'll be learning a new industry in something that you actually like doing. So I thought that was like really great advice. You know, I always

Indie Lee: 18:27

impressive that your dad was so like, thoughtful about that and saying, Okay, you know what, don't stop putting pressure on yourself when you want to do? Yeah, so I thought that was parents. I hope you're listening.

Unknown: 18:40

Yeah, I thought that was amazing advice. And then I also heard like, you don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to know like what Shopify is and how to use QuickBooks. And like all that stuff you can learn as you go. And also, when you launch a product, it doesn't have to be perfect either. You know, you can always like change it, get feedback from people. So yeah, I think

Indie Lee: 19:20

I agree. Yeah, I think that's the case in so many things is sometimes 95% is more than 100. Because you just have to launch. Yeah, just have to start. Yeah. And if you continue to wait, you're never you're never gonna get to that point. You know what I mean? Like if you can't fail unless you actually start

Unknown: 19:39

exactly there. Yes.

Indie Lee: 19:41

I always or you can look at it as if you haven't started you've already failed. Like you know, there's so many things away. And by the way, I actually hate that word like failure. What does that really means it just means that the task that you wanted to do, you didn't hit exactly the way what you might have learned from it could be the most valuable piece of education that you've ever

Unknown: 20:26

Yeah. And I've gotten a lot out of me, too. Yeah.

Indie Lee: 20:30

I get a lot of noes to get that. Yes. And, you know, something that I've always said from being, like, sick, and the experience that I had is I never upset when I have a bad day, like, okay, so of course, I don't enjoy it. Yeah. But you don't know what a good day is. If you don't have a bad day. That's true, right? Yeah, you need to have that contrast. So the yeses aren't going to

Unknown: 21:03

yeah,

Indie Lee: 21:04

I agree. And so I look at it as like, Okay. Okay, you know what, that day is just a bad day. What did I get from it? Yeah. And I'm always so grateful. And I know that you can understand this as having some significant health issues. I'm grateful I'm having the good days. I'm grateful I'm alive.

Unknown: 21:22

You have to wake up and be grateful for like, what you have, you know, the fact that you can like, sometimes I even think down to like, wow, I have like two legs and two arms. I can go for a walk, I can exercise. Like, there's so many things that I think people take for granted, including myself sometimes, you know, but then when you really stop and take in, like, take a look at that and

Indie Lee: 21:50

no, no, exactly. Yeah. And I feel like so many of us learn that lesson this past year. Like, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it's our resiliency. And what's really important, yeah. And the difference between what do you really need? versus what is it that you want? And there's nothing wrong with wanting but is it a need? Is that fundamental to your existence? And I can tell you

Unknown: 22:28

necessities in life. Yes, it Yeah. But I realized

Indie Lee: 22:31

there's so much excess that I had in my life and now starting to really pare down and say, what's, what is bringing me joy? Yeah, is it really that necessary? Or is it just kind of placating some other feeling that I'm not paying attention to? Okay, so my last question, because this podcast is all about passion and purpose. And being fully present is how do you get present? How

Unknown: 22:55

Yeah, so I guess for me, I'd love to go on road trips. So I will literally get in the car and drive for like three hours, three, four hours and just I do my best thinking in the car. I just like go to another destination and kind of recharge whether like that's a family cottage or just you know, going like to the mountains or something like I will drive and then kind of recharge that

Indie Lee: 23:46

so I really had great support and

Unknown: 23:49

yeah, I really had to like stop and like be like, wow, you just got into credo like celebrate that you know, like, Yeah, not be like okay, what's next on the on the vision board?

Indie Lee: 23:59

It's like, Listen, I am like that I like that's one of the things that I struggle with too is that being an entrepreneur you have these extreme highs and lows? Yeah. And you don't tend to focus on those highs and those wins and celebrate them and enjoy them. You're always after that next one? Yeah, like Okay, great. I'm done. Now what? Yeah, and that took so much effort. Why are we

Unknown: 24:28

actually Suzanna who you know as well. She was the one after I got into credo because she's helping me with like some in store support and stuff. And she was the one who said like, Okay, you got in, like you have to celebrate, go get some champagne, go get some wine, whatever. And she's like, take it in because this is such an amazing moment. So yeah,

Indie Lee: 24:46

it is. So that's great advice. That's great advice. Okay, so how do people find you and how do people find the brand?

Unknown: 24:54

Yeah, so our website is talk beauty.com so t okay. ub.com And then our Instagram handles the same copy

Indie Lee: 25:03

fantastic and anything new on the horizon that we should be looking out for.

Unknown: 25:07

Yeah, I'm working on new products right? Yeah.

Indie Lee: 25:12

All right, so we should stay tuned and watch your social channels. Yes, please. Amazing Tara thank you so much for being on the podcast and sharing your journey and I always appreciate having this new friendship that is budding and that's what I love about social media is I really do meet incredible people who then develop into friendship so I cannot wait till borders are open and I

Unknown: 25:35

yes i would love that Yeah, you've been so amazing so thank you so much.

Indie Lee: 25:40

My pleasure and more to come on that I promise you All right everybody please take a look at Tara on Instagram and check out her website check out her fantastic products and if you're near credo go into credo check her out buy some products. Always. I'm always recommending buying products. I love it. All right, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this episode of coming clean with indie lay.