Stop Shrinking: Luxury Branding for Women 50+

0:15 Hello, everybody, and welcome to Women of Color Live. This is a live version of my top 20, 100 best women's empowerment podcasts, Women of Color, an Intimate Conversation. We're here every Thursday live. However you're watching, continue to watch that way. And if you miss it, there's always the recap. I want to shout out the Leon Thomas group who is producing WOC Live. I'm so grateful for you. And on the ones and twos today is Orn. So Orn, shout out to you. So today we are talking about stop shrinking Raise Your Standards with Cheryl Pullens. Cheryl is a luxury personal brand strategist and advisor for women 50 plus who are still building.

1:07 And guess what? Cheryl is also part of the Dream Lifestyle Collective, which is a collective community sanctuary that I'm building for Black women 50 and up. So Cheryl, I'm so thankful that you are part of that. Now, let's go ahead and turn it over and welcome Cheryl. Cheryl, welcome to WLC Live. Thank you so much, Nene. It is definitely an honor, a pleasure, a joy to be here on Women of Color Live broadcast. And I was so excited to receive your invitation to be your, I guess, kickoff guest. And it's a thrill to be here.

1:51 Yeah, absolutely. You are my very first guest, because today is the very first live, so that's exciting. And the way that we know each other, and I definitely want to lift that up, is we know each other through Hope Magazine. You are the editor of Hope Magazine, and I happen to contribute. And so when we spoke about a month or two ago, I told you I was going to follow up on something. Do you remember what that something is? Ooh. Spot quiz. Ooh. Yes, you know how it goes. Now look around me, because that's the hint. Oh, oh. Look around. Oh, oh. Oh. All right. Yes.

2:34 Honey, honey, honey. Are you in your art journey? Oh my gosh, you know, it's really, really funny. I'm just looking at new artwork last week. I literally started looking at new artwork last week. So I'm on the journey. I'm on the journey. I am. Wonderful, wonderful. And so for those of you who are watching or listening, Cheryl and I have talked about her love of art. We both share that. And I think she had took a pause from collecting and I said, well, I'm gonna remind you to get back into it. So that's exactly what we're talking about. We're both collectors. Again, like I said, we love art specifically for me and I think for Cheryl as well, but black art. So that's what it's about for me.

3:22 Yeah, absolutely. Actually, my art was stolen when my house was broken into some year ago when I lived in Philadelphia, and they took art off my wall. And yeah, that caused some tragic residual and I've gotten back into it. Deneen definitely inspired me to do that. And just last week, I had just started looking at new artwork. Yay! I'm so happy! Yay! The art world is smiling! So listen, again, for those of you who are watching, drop WOC so we know you're out there. If you happen to be part of the Dream Lifestyle Collective, drop Dreamer. And if you are a family member, drop that as well. So Cheryl, let's get into it. Who were you before the title? And what was the decision that shifted your trajectory?

4:23 Well, so over the years, I've had all kinds of titles. And probably even memos, right? So it's this ongoing title changing journey. However, the title that I'm currently embodying, embracing is my title, if you will, a personal brand strategist advisor for women 50 plus. women in 50 and over. And this shift really came about because of my own job. So I started my business when I was 47. That's when I was fresh out of corporate. We were relocating from my husband's job to Florida. And I decided I was going to try and start my own business.

5:12 What I didn't realize was I really had no idea about everything that goes into it to operate, to sustain, to make a business profitable. So over the past day, many women in my community and the ones with me, They're now 50 and over. They were in their late 30s, early 40s, and now they've hit 50. And I just started paying attention to that. So my shift a direct response. It's a direct response to their shift. And me creating a platform that speaks directly to them in the season of life. And what we're doing is we're just looking at it through a different lens. Once you hit a certain age, obviously things look a little different.

6:15 Yeah, absolutely. And so we share that similarity and that personal as well. So taking even a few steps back for me before I retired from corporate, I was thinking about what does life look like afterwards? And my focus was on, and have been all of that particular year, is living a dream life. And that dream life for me was travel, right? Number one, travel and attending events. and art, right? So to travel to any art event, I'm in total heaven. But then as time went on, I started thinking about, OK, where are the women my age? Like when I'm going out to different events, I was associated, still am associated with different groups. And it was a younger group, more millennial. And I said, where are my women 50 and up? And then with so many Black women being displaced, over 350,000 Black women losing their jobs, I'm like, you know what? We need a safe space. We need something for us ourselves. And that's why I created the Dream Lifestyle Collective.

7:16 So when I asked you to be my first guest, I didn't even realize that, you know, your business was focused on women 50 plus. So that just goes to show how, you know, the universe God conspires to make things happen for us. So, again, I'm so thankful that you're here. So what did you have to unlearn to operate at the level you're operating at, right? And how has that changed how you define success? So this was, to me, this was a really loaded but highly valuable question that I had to to really think about and go, okay, what did I have to learn? And to be honest, Dineen, the biggest thing that I had to unlearn was who I was. I had unlearned a lot of things about myself. You know, I unlearned how I saw myself, what I thought about myself, how I thought people saw me. I had to unravel all of those bits and pieces about me that were, one, they were blocking me from really moving forward, but two, they were really, really were like just skewing how I saw myself out amongst others in different places. And it's not from a comparison standpoint, but

8:46 it was really from the perspective of am I truly showing up authentic to who I am? Or am I showing up as a representation of all the different expectations and thoughts and ideas that have been placed on me by others? No. And you know what? And I feel that, right? Because here's the deal. It's not even just about your age. It was also about your transition from corporate to being an entrepreneur, right? That there. And then add the age in, right? Because for me, honestly, I'll say this. Today's 50 is not 50 when we were younger. I'm going to say that because we're young. We're just getting started at 50. So for those who haven't made it yet, look, life does get much better when you turn 50 and look forward to that. So that's what you were having to deal with. And I fully understand that. So this podcast, this live is about empowering women of color, especially black women. It's empowering us. Um, and it's to teach us something. So before we go to break, I want to ask this question. And this question is, you know, the answer to this. I want us to, like, really teach and motivate those who are watching or listening later. So pulling from your specific journey again, we've talked about how you work with women over 50 who are still building. What shifts when a woman refuses to shrink her experience? and instead

10:17 structures her visibility to match her authority. So the biggest shift that I believe comes about in particular as it relates to message and what I share, and that shift is that you don't have to reinvent yourself. That your success doesn't require reinvention. But it does require you to reclaim. Reclaim the truth of who you are. So you've got decades of experience and leadership and wisdom. You've already learned, right? And it doesn't mean that when you get to this phase, you abandon it. So you don't have to reinvent yourself. really have to do is reclaim the truth, reclaim the part of you that are true to who you are, and then layer that with your experiences, with your knowledge, with your expertise, with your wisdom, right?

11:21 Because wisdom seems to be, you know, thrown out the window nowadays. But wisdom, wisdom is valuable in this season. Instead of asking yourself, okay, well, how do I start over? The art of starting over. Well, instead of asking that, ask, how can I translate what I already know, what I already have learned and experienced? How do I translate into this season of my life in a way that's going to support, serve, and sustain me? Absolutely. That's what I believe. Yeah, because it's a continuum. And that's how I look at it. It's like this is the next part of your journey. Like I look at my entire life as it's been a journey. And where are we today? You know, it's like a big book.

12:09 What chapter are we on? Right. Like we didn't start the book over. We didn't start the journey over. It's just a continuum. This is where we are today. And even so, I've been retired since June of 2022. And, you know, when I retired, I said I was going to do this thing. And then that thing kind of became another thing. Right. And then today it's kind of like going back to that first thing. But it's a continuum and it's OK. We can continue to be different. We can continue to add layers to ourselves. So we're going to take a break and we'll be right back.

12:56 I'm Leon Thomas with the Leon Thomas Group podcast, virtual events, webinars, streaming shows, and so much more. We want to be your partner in all things virtual. All right, welcome back to Women of Color Live. Today we're talking about what it actually takes to build at a higher level. And like what Cheryl said, reclaim the truth of who you are. We're speaking with Cheryl Pullins. Cheryl, let's get back into it. So for the woman watching who feels the pull towards more, what permission would you give her so that she knows she's meant for more?

13:47 Oh, permission. I think the permission is kind of a riff off of what we just talked about. One, you don't have to reinvent yourself. Give yourself permission to explore. Give yourself permission to recalibrate. Give yourself permission to move beyond people's expectations and thoughts about who you should be in this season of your life. When you get 50, you get a little bit more bold. Right? You get a little bit more listen. Right?

14:31 Because somewhere along the way, hey, people told you, you have to be a certain way. And I'm sure you know this. I'm 20 years in the corporate space. I always say corporate raised me because I started when I was very young. So I was taught, you only do this. Only wear this. You only say this. You only act like this. You only do this. You don't do that. And so much of that ingrained in me You know, so even going back to things that are unlearned, unlearned to be a corporate employee, unlearned that so that I could, I could really be more who I was. So I think giving yourself, giving yourself the permission to explore, to recalibrate and reclaim and to, and to lean in to the things that you love even more, you know, things lean into, You know, you're loud then loud and into that because you're going to you're going to find.

15:37 No, I love that. So you don't wait for permission. You become it. Right. And what you said, unlearning, especially, you know, for the women who are 50 and up, there are some things we have to learn. Like we were there was a certain way we had to be in corporate, right? And, you know, hair was a big thing, right? Like, how do I wear my hair to this thing? Like, should I, you know, straighten it? You know, are braids okay? Like all the things that we have to think about when we show up, right? And so unlearning that and learning that it is okay to be you and really anyone who has a problem with it is their problem, not yours, you know, lean into your authenticity. Just know what it is that you want. And then with anything, whatever it is that you want, lean into it and know that there could be consequences. And if you're OK with that, be you, do you. Absolutely.

16:31 So let's talk about what you do. I want to learn more about this luxury brand strategy that you have going on. You know, I've spent a lot of time, I've been doing this for over a decade, and I've spent a lot of those 10 years getting people to unlearn what they know about branding. Because I've done branding like a service from the standpoint of, we all focus on the visuals. We only focus on the logo and the colors and the website and all of those facing things. But a lot of people don't understand the depth Um, and then the strategy of what you create in order to build your, your business brand or an original brand. And I like to focus on personal brand because, cause with personal brand, you get, get more leverage.

17:21 You can leverage your personal brand into anything that you are attached to. Be it business, be it a, a, a jointure, be it a podcast, be it a, you know, you know, being an author, any of those things. So. I like to focus on the personal brand and still it's a very strategic standpoint. We start with your identity. We start with you knowing who you are. That way you're not just dress up something that's going to kind of implode on itself in a few years because I've seen it happen. But you're going to really look and say, who am I? What have I been called to do? How do I want to show up in the world?

18:09 What are the authentic pieces of me that I want to share with the world? What message do I want to have? What mission do I want to live from? What movement do I want to start? And from there, you start to build and shape your personal brand in a way that now you decide, I want to start my own business. Now you have something you can leverage and you can use that can start the business because people, people, anyway, they don't buy, don't buy, don't really buy products and services. They buy into the person that is the face of, if you will. And I always talk about There are two brands I talk about. One is a business brand. One is a personal brand.

18:53 The business brand I always talk about is Apple. Why? Because Apple used the face of Steve Jobs to create the culture it created. We don't buy their stuff for their products. Yeah, we, you know, brag a little bit. We buy because of the culture of Apple. That's why we buy. The other brand that I like is a personal brand. They're a couple, actually. One is Oprah. One is Martha Stewart. Because these women built media empires based on their names, based on them showing up. And my work sits at the intersection of that.

19:37 Me helping women that have the knowledge, the skill, the experience, the desire, the passion, the dream. to build something that's going to be sustainable, that's going to create impact, that's going to generate the income they want, and that's going to leave a legacy. Yes. And I love all of that. And so, you know, you mentioning the photo, the picture, how that resonates. And so we are streaming live on LinkedIn, YouTube, and One thing about LinkedIn that people say is that when you're posting, if you're seeing people's posts and they include a picture of themselves, and you're probably wondering, why are you including a picture of yourself? And what they've said and what I believe is kind of what you just said. People get to know you.

20:27 They're buying from you. They're wanting to connect with you. So adding your photo is a way to connect with your audience, with the people who are reading your posts, again, whether it's on a LinkedIn and also on other platforms. Your thoughts on that? Oh, absolutely. 100%. We process the image a lot quicker. Yeah, so if we're seeing ones, you know, if they're posting something of value and they're adding their image, their photo to it, I'm processing that photo a lot sooner than I'm even processing what they're saying. So the more I'm seeing that image more, even if I don't the first 10 posts, I might start reading that after a while because I keep seeing this person over and over and over again. So it's going to cause lean in. You're absolutely correct with that, Denise. I know people who like to shy away from it. I know people who criticize it. I heard someone say to someone one time, your face is on everything. And I told them, put your face on everything.

21:32 Absolutely, right? Everywhere, all over, all over. Everywhere. We'll see you and remember you. Absolutely. I love that. Absolutely. I like what you said as far as the identity, right? So for us to get, who are we? And so I look at that as defining your why, your what, and then backing into it, which is pretty much what you kind of shared. Finding that thing, identifying your identity and then backing into it. Like what leads you to that? What relates and interlinks with that? And then that movement. I really love how you said movement because that's what the dream lifestyle is. It's a movement. We're just getting started. Again, it's it's a place for black women 50 and up for us to come together and for us to share and lift one another up and we have years and years of experience to share with one another and then to be able to share that with other people as well. That's what it's about and I'm so excited again that you are part of that and Again, it's new.

22:33 It's new. It's a new thing. It is very new. We welcome you in, so make sure you check it out. Again, it's the Dream Lifestyle Collective. So Cheryl, we've been talking about what you're doing, what you've been up to, and ways that women can lean into being themselves, right? We're talking to any woman who's watching or listening. We're especially talking to women who are 50 and up. And so, again, if you are watching, drop WOC so we know you're out there. If you are part of the Dream Lifestyle Collective, drop Dreamer. And if you are a family member, drop them because, again, we want to know that you're out there, and we appreciate you, and we thank you. So, Cheryl, we've been talking. What else we want the people to know on this very first live?

23:25 Let's see, what else do we want people to know? I think what would be a good time to share with people, now is really a good time to assess where you are and decide if you're on the path. You know, it's a, it's a, it's a good time to just take, take a assessment. You know, we've come into the third month of a, of a new year and you know, people get a little antsy and not, not only that, there's so much going on around us that some people are getting sucked into that, that vortex, you know, you know, and do what you need to do to keep from being sucked into someone's world. and start to look around, assess your own world and decide if you're on the right path, if you're on the right track. Do you need to be in a community?

24:24 And that's a question that is an easy yes to me. A community like what you have, Denine, is where we get to come and we get to gather and we get to be. where we don't have to perform, where we don't have to be something other than what we want to be. And I think now is just a good time to assess where you are, assess yourself. You know, what circles are you in? Are these circles really for your soul or are they sucking the life out of you? You know, and why does this matter to your personal brand? Because who you surround yourself with is important. What you focus on matters because all of it shows up and you show up. Those are just a couple things that I would really want people to really lean in and to know and to do. Now's a good time to assess where you are. Now's a good time to assess your circles and where you're showing up. And now's a great time to get to community.

25:31 And I agree wholeheartedly, and that's part of my journey as well, right, is locking into that sisterhood. And it's not even just about one, but it's about multiple, right? Get your board of directors, get your squad, right? People who can lift you know, invest in you, pour in you, lift you up and vice versa. It's not just about receiving. It's also about the giving. So I love all of that. And definitely the assessing, like, are you in rooms that you need to be in? You know, and it's time to like peel some back. And I'm doing that and I've done that. Right. I've thought about it. It's like, you know, sometimes we stay in rooms for whatever reasons.

26:11 And then when you just stop, if you're constantly pushing or forcing to be in that room, stay in that room or whatever, that's probably not the room for you. So give that energy to something else, because the longer that you're like trying to force yourself into it, the longer you continue and raise your hand and people are not calling on you. or they call on you and it's still nothing, like the more you were doing that is keeping us from something else. So yes, now is that time to assess. So before we wrap, I do have one more question. So next week, I, along with thousands of other black women, especially are going to Las Vegas for Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit.

26:52 Oh yeah, yeah. What'd you say? Top of mind as to how we show up at that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. First of all, that's a very powerful event to attend a wonderful gathering for Black. And I think that's a great time for you to decide that you're going to show up exactly as who you are. Yes. In truth and in authenticity. I think that's a great time. And I think the timing of it is amazing because I think people are going to be showing up a little different. I think they're showing up really looking for community and sisterhood. I think that they're going to be showing up really looking for a place to be exactly or as a Black woman. Because we know a lot of the places, you know, we're being, you know, kind of pushed out and a lot of other spaces. And I just, I just going to have a very different vibe this year as it relates to black women showing up in a space where they feel so seen. Absolutely. By virtue of the fact that they're a black woman.

28:01 Absolutely. It's perfect timing, right? Right now, it is absolutely perfect timing. It is a community. It's that sisterhood. You know, we can come together and then, you know, just what can we do together, right? And how I mentioned about, you know, your board of directors, your squad, your sisterhood. that is definitely the space for that. And this is perfect timing too. So if you're ready to not just hear it, but live it, that's what we build inside the Dream Lifestyle Collective. strategy, sisterhood, and structure for your next chapter. And so we just mentioned the Women of Power Summit, which is next week, March 11th through the 15th in Las Vegas. I do have a discount code. So for, you know, make sure you check the notes because that discount code is there. And also next week, I will be in Las Vegas and the live, we're doing a live from Las Vegas. So that will be exciting and different Next week's guest is Kaylin Forhey. Kaylin is also a part of the Dream Lifestyle Collective, and she's an OG Women of Color and Intimate Conversation alum. So she was actually, from the very beginning, she was one of my very first guests back in 2020. And I mention that because we are going on six years in April, and that's exciting as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. So we are at the close, and

29:33 so I want to thank everyone for watching WLC Live, which is the live version of Women of Color in Intimate Conversation, which is, as I said at the beginning, is a top 20, 100 best women's empowerment podcast. And that's huge, right? To be on the list and then to be top 20, that is huge. We're here live every Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern. You can always catch the replay and or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And I want to thank again Cheryl Pullens for being my very first guest. You're welcome. You're welcome. My pleasure, Janine. Thank you. Thank you so much.

30:16 You're welcome. And shout out again to the Leon Thomas Group for production. And again, Warren on a ones and twos. And if this resonated with you, share it with a woman who's building, a woman who deserves to be seen. And again, see you next time on WOC Live.