Meet Renea Woods-Baylor

We recently connected with Renea Woods-Baylor and have shared our conversation below.

Renea, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

As a young mother, I had a lot of responsibility. My choices were very limited because of my responsibilities as a parent.

I had no choice but to work hard and never to give up because I had children counting on me for food, shelter, clothing, and just necessary essentials.

That type of responsibility at such a young age spills into your work life as well.

Knowing that I had to take care of my children 95% of the time on my own was such a huge responsibility that I had no choice but to be resilient and if I lost a job or if I have certain challenges, I had to forge forward in order to make sure that my family was taken care of.

Even as a mature adult now in my 60s I remain to be resilient because now I have grandchildren who count on their grandmother to be there for them as a support system to the family.

I must be the reason in their life never to give up one themselves, their family or anything that’s very important in their lives.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I was a corporate tax accountant for 35 years and after my husband passed away from kidney cancer seven years ago, it totally changed my life going through cancer, as well as changed my career as well.

After he passed, I sold my business and retired.
My husband was a trained executive chef for some of the largest restaurants in Baltimore and Akron, Ohio… being AN Executive Chef gave me the opportunity to live my dream vicariously through him to do tea parties at our home once a year the day before Mother’s Day!

This was the highlight of the year for me and it was so exciting to share such a beautiful time with family and friends .

It grew so big that it became very successful and before he passed away, he asked me what was I going to do and I told him I would continue to do and live out our dream.

I started the Tearoom in 2019 and through all those struggles continue to grow the business , which has grown nationwide and has had more than six different countries visit my Tea Room thus far.

I absolutely love what I do. I love sharing special moments with family and friends and visitors from all around the country.

We are a luxury tearoom located in Northeast Ohio, we’re in the process of relocating to the city of Barberton, Ohio.

We’re excited to be a part of the Barberton community. We’re looking forward to having a lot of exciting specials and events with different and unique menu items that I’m sure our guest will love.

We would love to invite your viewers and readers to our grand opening, which were in the works of planning and all types of special events coming up in 2025

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Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I studied the English tea for over 10 years from reading books to watching videos and I’ve never been to England, but also sharing with other people in experiences as I travel.

I believe that as a person develops a business it’s important that you accumulate as much knowledge as you possibly can about the industry that you’re planning to be a part of education, workshops, etc. get to know as much about the industry as you possibly can.

The more educated you are in that industry. The possibility of being more successful is Greater!

I’m a teacher at heart, so I love providing different and unique experiences. I love decorating and nurturing people. It’s just part of who I am so this was a natural transition for me to go from accounting to owning an operating an English tearoom.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

Let me start by saying it takes a village!

From my parents, to the support of family and friends is my FOUNDATION to having the essential skills and knowledge of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Being a third generation business owner in my family, which has given me the groundwork to be a confident entrepreneur/Business owner

I love networking and being a part of organizations in the community volunteering in the community has been a huge focus for me as well.

Being a part of the Chambers and different organizations that connect people together is a huge way of getting more knowledge in your industry, connecting with other successful individuals and business owners

I made sure in my early years and I still continue to do so to be in the mist of great networking opportunities!

I believe it’s extremely important as a business owner/entrepreneur to make sure that you’re part of the community & that you participate in opportunities to do so, and that you support other individuals in their journey as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Ohiotealady.com
• Instagram: Ohiotealady
• Facebook: Ohiotealady
• Linkedin: Ohiotealady
• Twitter: Ohiotealady
• Youtube: The Tea Lady

Image Credits

My photo: Germaine Griffin (Self)

Other photos by The Tea Lady