TikTok lifted this family out of public housing. See how their lives changed

The looming ban threatens to disrupt the millions of businesses TikTok says use its platform. This includes small businesses like McLean’s that use the short-form video platform to market their shops, sell products and build customer bases. TikTok, which has denied it poses a national security threat, is suing to stop the potential ban, arguing it is “obviously unconstitutional.”

For McLean, who runs a hair business in Nashville and a TikTok channel both named “Slay By Stay,” the ban means rethinking the way she reaches current and potential clients.

“I am very disappointed about it,” she said. “But I’m trying to move my fan base over to Instagram or Facebook, so I don’t lose everything if it does happen.”

Born in the eastern borough of Brooklyn and raised by a single mother, McLean struggled financially for most of her life. She spent three years in a Queens homeless shelter in her early 20s, working various jobs. She’s always been ambitious — she worked as a security guard for a bank and an art gallery, and self-published a book about trust and relationships. And when covid hit, McLean, a single mom, started giving manicures and pedicures out of her living room while the gallery was closed.

Her friend suggested she put her hair skills to use, too, and she transitioned to braiding hair. Meanwhile, she started streaming her styles on TikTok to fill time.

McLean’s business grew so much that she was able to put on a fashion show in the spring of 2022 with 20 hair models and more than 100 fans in the courtyard of her apartment building.

Her TikTok account has become not only a platform attracting new clients, but an intimate diary of her personal life. When she’s not streaming her braid work, McLean raps, dances and shares her daily musings, including her frustrations and financial struggles. Viewers ask about braid styles, her life, and her daughters Isabella and Taliyah, now 10 and 5, who often appear on her streams.

TikTok is particularly popular for small businesses because its unique algorithm entices new viewers based on their interests, said Matthew Quint, a brand expert at Columbia Business School. “On other platforms you need to know people [to follow],” he said. “TikTok is about discovering content from people you don’t know.”

Before TikTok, McLean tried to garner a following on Facebook and YouTube but found little live interaction. So she tried TikTok in late 2019. She saw engagement surge.

Showcasing her life online around the clock impacted her mental health, McLean admitted. Initially, she spent her free moments glued to her phone while her daughters tried to get her attention.

She started looking for a change to help restore her work-life balance and give her a better schedule.

McLean soon had a large-enough virtual following and clients to begin saving more money. As her business grew, she also started to feel that her living situation was holding her back, especially when clients grumbled about commuting to her apartment.

So with a little bit of faith, she said, McLean and her daughters packed up and moved to Nashville in August 2022, a city with a better cost of living (and weather). Using TikTok and word-of-mouth, new clients easily found her, and within two months her business grew from two to 40.

Now McLean said she can save a few thousand dollars a month, and no longer relies on food stamps or controlled rent. She and her daughters moved to a bigger apartment, and McLean works shorter hours in a salon space.

Last year, McLean’s small business made more than $70,000.

“As long as they see my face,” she said. “I’ll have work.” Now she is saving for a down payment on a house.

“I’m not gonna go back anymore,” she said. “I want to move up.”

Editing by Monique Woo and Karly Domb Sadof.