Meet Teresa Elliott | Respiratory Therapist and Color Street Stylist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Teresa Elliott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Teresa, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I am a Color Street stylist by day, and a registered respiratory therapist by night. I have worked nights as an RT for the last eight years, and I love my job! The mental and emotional impact of COVID over the last two years, however, took a toll on me. I realized I needed something fun and positive to keep me busy during my time off between shifts. My faith, talking to a counselor, the focus of working my “side hustle”, and promoting the business by being creative on social media have all helped to keep me balanced in this unprecedented time in health care.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I worked in retail management for 20 years before going back to school. I realized I was capped from progressing past a store manager without a degree in the company I worked for, so I decided to cut back to a part time sales associate and go back to school full time. Although I was married at the time, it was still a struggle financially. While I was in school, our daughter came along, and she was a little over a year old when I was accepted into respiratory school. Those two years were extremely difficult, but so worth it! I graduated and passed my boards at the age of 41. You are never too old to do hard things!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were here for a week, I would take her to the rodeo in the Stockyards, as well as Billy Bob’s. We would definitely have to eat at Joe T Garcia’s, Cooper’s BBQ, H3, and Heim’s. We would have to go to the Water Gardens downtown, and see the fountains in Sundance Square. I would also have to show her where the famous Hell’s Half Acre was and see the beautiful architecture of downtown Fort Worth!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My fellow respiratory therapists across the nation deserve major applause for being the unsung heroes during a respiratory pandemic. However, the RTs I work with in my facility get all the love and kudos from me. They are the ones that truly relate to the long hours, short staffing, overtime, under pay, and more lows than highs throughout the last two and a half years. They have also supported me through my Color Street business as clients! They are more than coworkers to me.

Website: www.colorstreet.com/teresaelliott

Instagram: Treesie73

Facebook: Teresa Hinson Elliott

Image Credits
Lindsay Naylor Photography