Meet Author & Networking Coach, Cherie Small, MBA
For me failure is not an option, failure to me is, not stepping out on faith, and doing what’s in your heart. — Cherie Small, MBA
Cherie is the Chief Visionary Officer of Sistah’s Networking, LLC. She holds a Master’s Degree in Global Business Leadership, with a concentration in Accounting, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Forensic Accounting. Cherie also has a Bookkeeping Business, CLS Bookkeeping & Accounting LLC, and is a Distributor for Bye Bye Belly. She is also an Author of “Smiling Behind My Tears”. Cherie has two adult sons’ and three grandchildren. Cherie currently resides in Triangle, VA.
Now if we can, I’d like to go way back for a little while. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in many places. I was an army brat so I traveled the world. I was born in Key west Florida, but lived in Texas, Washington State, Grafenwohr Germany and raised in Providence, RI. It was difficult moving around so much. You were not able to build friendships for very long. Once my dad got out of the military and we stayed in Providence most of my childhood, It was great to be stable. It’s where I was able to build friendships, raise my children and build a life.
What inspired your entrepreneurial journey or event?
Going through so many trials and tribulations throughout my life, I knew I had a story. A few of my closest friends always said, you’ve been through a lot. Someone needs to hear your story. I reached out to Chandra many years ago on how to write a book. She gave me some awesome feedback on how to start, however life got the best of me and it was put on the back burner. A few weeks ago a childhood friend of mine shared with me how she wrote a book in 5 days, and gave me the information and suggested i give it a try.
Tell me about what problem your business solves?
My business helps to bring like-minded entrepreneurs or woman with an entrepreneurial spirit together to, Motivate, Mentor, Empower, Encourage & Support one another in our business as we grow.
What do you define as failure?
For me failure is not an option, failure to me is, not stepping out on faith, and doing what’s in your heart.
What have you felt you have failed at? What might you have done to prevent those failures?
Friendships. Cutting people out of my life without a second thought. I don’t feel I necessarily failed at them, however I feel that with everything I endured in my life, by being closed off and having a tough demeanor, it was how i dealt with people i felt didn’t have my best interest at heart. I believe being open and honest and expressing my truth would’ve prevented a lot of loss friendships.
What kind of impact do you want your service to leave on your client?
If my book could help just one person, i’ve done my job. I wrote this book to say, we ALL go through things in life; Sometimes we don’t know how to deal with what we are going through at that time. Keeping things bottled up, and not talking with someone, isn’t always the best way to handle your adversities. I chose not to share most of what i went through because of shame, embarrassment, and not wanting to be judged. It took over 30 years to tell my story and as I look back, I’ve come to realize that I have a supportive family circle that would’ve taken the burden off of my back, had I just shared it. I created my networking business because I never had anyone to mentor me as far as business. I started these businesses on my own by trial and error. It was hard and i feel they could be thriving right now, had I had a proper business coach. So with my networking group, i’m hoping we as woman can lean on one another, share stories, information and if we’re going through adversities, lean on each other to get through it.
What is your why? Why you did you start your journey?
My why is to be able to mentor others. Having a mentor early on in my career was a blessing. I truly believe it shaped me into the woman i am today. I have a strong work ethic and if i can mentor or guide someone to reach their full potential i would. It’s an awesome feeling when someone is willing to share what they’ve learn and help you reach your goals. I believe in paying it forward.
What hurdles did you personally face and how did you overcome them?
A lot of hurdles over the years, from losing jobs, friendships and almost losing my house. I had to humble myself, take a huge pay cut, in order to pay my bills. I fought like crazy to repair my life, my credit and i’m so happy and grateful i’ve overcome these obstacles with GOD on my side.
Do you feel your product met the needs of the market at the time of conception? Does it still?
Yes I do. My testimony can help anyone male or female going through adversities. It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is that you know that as long as GOD is with you, he’ll bring you through it stronger and better.
When did you realize entrepreneurship was right for you?
After losing many jobs because I’m very opinionated. No disrespect but when I feel strong about something i tend to stand by it, however that’s not ok in the workplace. So I’ve always wanted to work for myself.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship?
The freedom to do what I want, how I want, and build a legacy for my family.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs and small business owners who may not be achieving their goals?
Never give up. It’s not easy building a business on your own, but it’s such a great feeling when you just get started. It’s yours and no one can take that from you. It’ll take a lot of hard work, resources but continue doing what you need to do to get closer to your goals.
What would you say is your most driving motivation to keep doing what you to do?
My sons’ and grandkids is definitely my motivation. I want to build a legacy for them. I don’t want them to struggle at all. I want them to be able to live a good life, and never want for anything. I want them to look at my accomplishments and know that whatever they want in life they can have it with dedication and determination.
What are you most excited or passionate about? (In both business and life or both)
I’m excited about writing another book. It feels so good to say, I’m an author; I did that; I shared my story and someone is going to be blessed by my story
What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your business? What are the goals that you hold personally?
I would love to grow my networking business nationally one day. Seeing woman from all over come together and help and support one another would be amazing. We as woman don’t support each other like we should.
Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life? Tell me about them.
Yes, My friend, mentor and previous Supervisor David Belhumeur. He took me under his wing and molded me into who I am today. I really didn’t want to go to college but he taught me everything I know about Accounting. He was tough on me; He was patient and he saw early on the desire I had to learn and was willing to teach me. He always said to me “ Failure is NOT an option” and that stay with me. Everything I do I always do to the best of my abilities. You can have anything your heart desires with persistence.
Did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you’re doing today? Tell me about them.
Yes. Losing my fiance’ unexpectedly back in 2007. I went through years of heartache and depression. Going through this has made me appreciate life; I knew he would not want me to stay in that space forever. He knew I had dreams and goals and would not want me to continue putting my life on hold. My kids is why I get up every morning; I needed to do this for them. Also after 30 years of friendship me and my BFF aren’t as close as we use to be. We’ve talked about our issues but I don’t know if it’ll ever be the same. That has and still is tough for me. I feel like I loss my sister; That was one of the reasons why I created Sistah’s Networking. I wanted a Sisterhood. I want to build new friendships with women that share the same common goals.
What’s next for you in your business? What can readers look forward to from you?
I’m looking into becoming a Certified Life Coach. I'm the type of person that will listen and can be objective in any circumstance. I’ll always be real and keep it 100. I love helping people and sharing what I’ve endured.
Is there anything else you would like to share with me?
Just working on being a better ME. 2020 taught me to value LIFE, because it can be gone at any time. So do whatever makes you happy. I'm working on being healthy. Since 2019, i’ve lost over 28 pounds and still losing. Super proud of taking my health seriously.
