We were lucky to catch up with Ellen Pierce recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ellen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear a story from back when you were an intern or apprentice. What’s a memorable story you can share with us?

I am currently an apprentice for a designer. I’ve been under Alishia Lee for a little over a year and it has been a learning experience for sure. It’s not too often in these days that you find someone who is wiling to take you up under their wing and show you how to fly. I came with an interest to learn more about fashion and the industry around it and Alishia really opened new doors for me. Not only was I exposed to the world of fashion but also to the business side of things. I have grown in my professionalism tremendously. Being exposed to the ins and outs, good and bad and everything in between. I am grateful to have a mentor who I can trust and look up to. Learning confidence has been a huge part of my journey as an apprentice. I jumped in the fashion world full force once Alishia ensured me that if I was serious she was too and that she had my best intentions at heart. It was a huge change. I left my job and decided to have faith and trust that this was my path at the moment. I have since learned to see my potential as worthy of making room for me. I have gained confidence that I am capable of accomplishing anything. I enjoy being an apprentice. I have recently been challenged to show what I’ve learned in an upcoming design battle against another very talented designer. Alishia has created opportunities for me to learn, grow and express. I am thankful for the people that enact change in my life. I have, since starting with Alishia, started my own business Ellevated Ent. I provide services in the areas I’ve learned from my experiences as an apprentice and creative. I have grown in my modeling career and tapped into my potential as a designer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Ellen Pierce, I’m 28 and a Cincinnati native. I have a background in psych, social work and education. I graduated from the University of Cincinnati, Go Bearcats! I started working when I was 15 and have touched a plethora of experiences in my work life. During Covid, I opened a self-care and wellness business with my wife, Lavanda.. BearBelle Lifestyle And Beauty was born and we took on the role as business owners. I fell in love with business and the freedom it provided. The idea of the business was birthed from our work in the mental health field. Being able to pause and practice self-care allows us to be better serve others. Besides caring for other people, I model as well. My bestie Paris Jeter provided me with opportunities that elevated my modeling career into what it is today, in fact it was Paris that invited me to audition for Me By Lee’s A Slay For All Season Fashion Show. That show is how I met Alishia, it was her flagship show and it put the city on another echelon. I’ve always had a thing for fashion since I was a kid. I grew up improvised so name brands and on trend clothing was not a thing in my house. I found myself styling my hand-me-downs and up-cycling my thrift finds. I remember making my dolls clothes that I wished I had for myself. after linking with Alishia and following her lead I was able to really dive into my love of fashion. I left my job and became a fully emersed fashion/ design apprentice. while learning the industry I was given the tools I needed to open my own business centered around my entrepreneurial endeavors. Ellevated Ent. L.L.C was established this year. I now curate events, manage and create content, model professionally and design fashion. My goal is to mobilize my network, connect my city and bring a deeper purpose to the events I curate and work. The current issue of access to safe creative spaces and events in my city for creatives is one that I have made it my business to address and change. Within the short time that I have been doing apprenticeship and curation I’ve seen the difference that purposeful and positive work together with other like minded creatives has made. I am proud of my work so far and excited to see where my continued growth takes me. I want my follows, clients and fans to know that motto is “Togetherness is the key to progress” . I aim to bring creatives together in safe spaces where they can express themselves and share their works and talents with the world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is a trait I believe all entrepreneurs possess at some level. I left my job in 2022 to fully transition into being an entrepreneur. I knew that with leaving my job that my lifestyle would change, I didn’t know that my relationships would change the way that they did. Change is inevitable but sometimes it can cause disruptions in the flow of everyday life. I knew change within myself was happening, but I didn’t know to what extent. Taking on the role of entrepreneur meant my time that I normally give to other areas n my life would change. I had decreased the time I spent with my spouse, my fiends and initially myself. My friendships shifted in a way I didn’t expect or prepare for due to the sudden change. I had to dedicate majority of my time to learning and that meant decreasing my time in all other areas. Those around me saw it before I did and their need for quality time with me was evident. It took a toll on my mental. I started to feel that I decided to pivot my life inward to my own goals and success. I felt selfish at times and the doubt regarding my new life started to set in. I had to do some self work to re=assure myself that the choices I made for me were just that, for me. I had been so used to making choices based on how others would feel and act. I had to give myself permission to choose me. Learning that some change leads to elevation and that elevation allows us to see a larger surface area of our lives around us. I lost relationships. It was hard. Loosing people you thought would be around for the climb is never easy. I had to take the pain and translate the lessons out and leave the doubt behind. I had to learn how to pivot with the lessons learned from lost relationships. I am still learning how to bounce back from unexpected changes in my life, but every time I practice resilience, I get better.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My side hustle was helping people. I take pride in my ability to gain joy from helping others. I wasn’t in the business of categorizing my skills or charging for my services, I just helped, I noticed that my level of joy was greater when I was helping others that when I was clocking in to uphold someone else’s policies. I was afforded the opportunity to sit under a great business woman who I admire for her ability to help others on such a large scale. It was from her that I learned that being able to help people without expecting anything in return is a gift and one that should be used to not only help people but to sustain myself as well. I turned my love for helping people into my full time job. I now have a business where I can price my services and still feel good about helping others. I had already built a large network from serving others, the hard part was and still is at times, monetizing my services. I have learned that people will pay for quality products, good customer service and relationship. Being able to uphold the morals I practiced when providing services for free has made the transition from corporate to entrepreneurship one that has been beneficial and proven worthy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Love_Elle_Belle
• Facebook: Elle Belle
• Linkedin: Ellen Pierce
• Other: The company/designer I apprentice for is MeByLee.com

Image Credits
MeByLee.com, Jairon Robinson Shalon Rodgers Deanna Parker Sydney Murdock Okanlewon Gray Lawrence White