Voyage Houston Interview

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vera Taku.

Vera, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started back in High school when my mom was the owner of her own grocery store and my sister and I would have to go work there after school just so she can rush home to get ready for overnight work. When that business slowed down, she then opened up a restaurant which we still had to work at, back then I thought it was child labor and hated it not knowing she was instilling in me some business skills I will soon grow to benefit from. My mother has always been a businesswoman and never let one failure stop her from another one. Fast forward to my college years, I was a part of several organizations and worked for the student center, planning and organizing events, so much that parents would want to hire me for their private events and pay me for it. I then started helping family and friends planning and decorating their weddings and showers, never thought of it as a business until my sister and mom said “Vera you’re really good at this, and you love it, so why don’t you start making some money from it”. Four years later we are here, booking all kinds of events, and growing bigger than I expected with the knowledge I gained unknowingly from my mother on how to build a business from the ground up. I took a passion and turned it into a business.

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?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, I come from a family of health care professionals and I too have a nursing degree, so to put all that aside and pursue a business in “party planning “ as they call it was “not a serious business “ they said, was one of my first obstacles. Then to be a young black woman in business made it harder for me to gain trust from many. Got so many NOs from banks to get a loan, But with all my challenges, I only took them as an extra push, I remember the day I went to register my company name in court, was the day I got my first NO from a family member who didn’t believe in me or that my business was real and that I couldn’t handle the magnitude of His event. I told Him thank you because you’ve only set the fire underneath me. So, you see, challenges will come, but it’s how you handle them that
matters.

V’etta Creations – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The name V’etta Creations came from my first name Vera and middle name Etta, and because I have so many talents, I didn’t want to limit myself to just one so I added Creations. We do plan, designing, rentals, custom graphic designs, interior designs, and some custom apparel. We specialize in Wedding and event planning and decor and that’s what we are known for right now. I’m most proud of our inventory the fact that I started this all with just $500 dollars, and no loans, makes me proud, we are now in two warehouses and still running out of space. What sets me apart from others, is that I take on every client and their event as my personal event, a little secret I have that helps me win my clients over is that I give them what they didn’t know they needed and they love it.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory was the time I spent with my sisters, playing and being creative.

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