Exploring Life & Business with Tomboii Quinn of Cy-Stylez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tomboii Quinn.

Hi Tomboii, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been into fashion my grandma got me into it, she use to make all me and my sister Halloween costumes when we were young so I started sewing at the age of 12 making my own clothes but stopped once she moved to Mississippi, and you know “If you don’t use it you lose it”. I got introduced to entrepreneurship at that same age, my mom had me and my sister volunteer over summer break at a this graphic design company called “PhatEx”. They wrapped cars, made flyers for different artists and other companies for advertisement. Imagine being 12 and seeing your favorite rapper or singer coming to a place where you “worked”. I instantly fell in love, especially with the free game Janell (the owner) gave me and my sister. I understood a little then but I really understand it now. Also, my mother use to take us to the Black Expo up Crenshaw and different out door marketplaces where people sold their merchandise. Being in that environment instilled something in me that really put fuel to my fiery passion of wanting to work for myself seeing all these people from my neighborhood and that looked like me work for themselves that really put an imprint on a little black girl from Inglewood.

So when I got older, I wanted to find my own niche, so I’m scrolling on Instagram and I come across this page Olori Swank, she is/was a stylist for celebrities. She had a video showing how she opened her own boutique and BOOM there it was an idea. So I started following her and she was giving free games about entrepreneurship and how to get started. So I googled how to get a seller’s permit, came up with the name “Shade Queen Closet” because I was selling shades/glasses and other accessories at first just to be different and have money coming in but business wasn’t what I thought it was gone be. I would go on the trains and busses with my daughter selling to people and passing out business cards. When I did get a car, I would drive to malls and pass out cards it was discouraging but I kept going. Even in the midst of life, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs trials and triumphs when it comes to this business its not as easy as I thought. Then I became homeless sleeping in my car, bouncing from house to house of friends and family, that really tore me down because I had to close up shop. I got back on my feet and still wanted to pursue my goals as a business owner. That’s when I upgraded to clothes did a rebrand called it “Cy-Stylez” (named after my oldest daughter Cy-Eira) and that’s where it was at.

When I got my tax money, I just went and spent it on buying different kinds of merchandise and started promoting online. Of course, it started slow being a new business but things picked up after a while then I got into doing individual lashes that really brought in revenue. I started doing pop-up shops every weekend it reminded me of when I was young going to the Black Expos with my mom (I Thank Her for that BTW) also (Shout out to MJ Support The Homie and VIBES OF LA for helping me build my brand) even when I moved from Cali to AZ I was still doing the back and forth going to pop up shops in LA and Las Vegas, that was really taking a toll on me but my dedication was real. When I saw that I was getting the attention I needed and wanted I just pushed forward, but you know good things don’t last then COVID hit, it low-key put me out of business AGAIN because people weren’t buying anymore scared of contracting the VIRUS.

Once business slowed up, I had to shut down cause I was spending more money on merchandise then people was buying. Then I had another traumatic event happen to where I had to move outta state and that was a bummer because I had just spent thousands of dollars on new merchandise that I had to give away for free. But I know God don’t make no mistakes so I just kept my chin up and chest out. Now I’m back at square one where im starting over in a whole new state just rebuilding clientele and my brand. Im mainly based online business is still slow since I just started back after being closed for two years. But this time I want to be legit when it came to doing lashes so now I’m in esthetics school so I can be a licensed esthetician to do lashes with some add-ons like Facials and Waxing.

Alright, 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?
No, it was not a smooth road. There have been several hiccups that occurred. One of my biggest struggles was having space to put all my merchandise once I started buying, it’s like stuff was everywhere. Not having my own space, I was confined to a small room living at my mom their house, that I was sharing with my toddler daughter. Being a single mom isn’t easy. It was hard trying to have me and my daughter’s personal stuff in one room at the same time making space for the items I was bringing in. Another struggle was funding I’m working dead-end jobs barely being able to pay bills nobody is giving out loans and if they were, I didn’t know about them, barely being able to put food on the table because government assistance wasn’t really helping. There was days when I didn’t know where I would get the money to eat but id make a last-minute sell and that would get us through. When things happened like that, I knew God was on my side. Like I mentioned before I became homeless was sleeping in my car so that really was a challenge for me.

Also having little to no support when I first started out I guess no one believed in owning a business because in my family I don’t know anyone that does I think that’s why I go so hard so I can have that to show my kids that it’s possible, plus it’s not like I was getting advice from anyone. Even my peers that I seen on social media that started before me I would ask question and get ignored. People really GATE KEEP. I dont know if I was seen as a threat but to me I was just tryna make it happen. We all come from the same place so I would think that people would be willing to help but I was wrong. I’m just grateful that I was able to make it through all that plus more. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to build a business so I can be able to give back to my community since I didn’t have the resources. I would like to bring it where people like me are overlooked, A community center helping build and promote entrepreneurship.

As you know, we’re big fans of Cy-Stylez. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Cy-Stylez is an online women’s boutique for now, I would love to open a warehouse and storefront giving jobs to the people. I sell women’s clothes, shoes, purses and other accessories at an affordable price. That is one of my objectives to have great quality clothes at a reasonable price. What made me stand out when I first started was that I was dropping orders off to clients within hours of them purchasing. They loved that for the simple fact if they needed something last minute, I was on my way to them. I’m most proud about how my brand still thrived and still had clients even after I had shut down also how I am slowly expanding I didn’t think I would get past LA but I’ve had orders in several different states and out of the country. I would like the readers to know that even though my brand is just now starting back up, I will always provide the best customer service as a one-woman band show.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I didn’t have any mentors but as I mentioned Olori Swank did inspire me to start up. It’s so many people that played a big part when it came to supporting I would hate to not mention them, but my biggest supporter is my sister Ravelynn she always had my back when it came down to me needing space to put my items she let me use her garage when having to do drop offs she kept my daughter while I made runs, also she never asked for a discount always paid full price and posted everything that I ever sold, and did some photoshoots for me. Another special person is Jomar he’s always been a behind the scene type of supporter he would call himself “a silent investor” because when I needed money to buy merchandise he always gave it to me or offered with no questions asked and never questioned me or asked for his money back, he’s believed in me since day one, he even use to sit in my car with me as I dished out ideas of branding.

Another supporter is Brittney we met on Instagram she was one of the first people to buy from we made a connection and stayed touch me she always help with promotion she even helped me at my pop-up shops when it came to passing out cards setting up and taking down equipment, and me and her have future business plans. Lelia as well was a stranger turned friend me and her met on Twitter she always supported me by coming to my events or just posting new arrivals for me also being a model as well as doing photoshoots for me for she is a photographer as well. Morgan and Tee some more stranger turned friends. I met Morgan on Twitter and Tee is her best friend. When I lived in AZ, they let me stay with them when I lost my apt apartment in the middle of COVID. Morgan always rooted me on when I was having negative thoughts she has the best spirit I ever met, she is a Promoter/rapper she help promote my brand by modeling and posting. I am forever grateful for those two.

MJ the owner of Support the Homie for allowing me to attend my very first pop-up shop. Emanuel (who is also best friends with Morgan) and Ed the owners of Vibes of LA for having pop-up shops every month that I attended. Those shops helped me meet new people to expand my brand and collaborate with other business owners. All my cousins that did photoshoots for me because I couldn’t afford to pay them. Ayesha Nubian I’ve known her since 9th grade she is a social media influencer and one of the very first brand ambassadors. We call each other Gale and Oprah because we wanna conquer the industry and still hold a solid bond like they did. I really hope I am not forgetting anybody but those people stood out when it came to support. I appreciate EVERY single person that has purchased from me, told me they are proud of me, sent out encouraging words, posted my products, and just told me I was doing a good job.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cystylez.shop
• Instagram: @Cy_Stylez
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CyStylez
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cy_stylezz

Image Credits
Model name is Marchae’ Winston