We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kendall Cherry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kendall below.

Hi Kendall, thanks for joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

Most people see my success as a copywriter and how I hit six figures in revenue within our first year of business and think that it’s always been this way, like I was on overnight success story. But before I got here, I had been an entrepreneur for a couple of years, and my first few business concepts failed…hard. If I could give myself one piece of advice, it would be to remember that it’s not always the first idea that gets you to find that massive success. When you run a business, the slower (better but harder answer to accept) is that you learn the business skills that will help you grow. It’s not something you learn from a textbook and it’s not from buying the right course, it’s truly just how much time you’ve spent in the game.

I knew it was time to scale up and build a team after we doubled our revenue in the span of a quarter and I started getting new inquiries weekly and I couldn’t keep up. I knew that I could either be the lead copywriter, or step into more of a CEO role which is what I’ve always felt more skilled in, and so once I had the numbers and the revenue to back that up, that’s when I decided to scale up.

Kendall, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Kendall Cherry and I’m the founder and creative director of The Candid Collective and I’m on a mission to create a world that’s more candid and kind. My team and I write copy and content for ALL kinds of businesses. We’ve written for multi-seven figure software companies, strippers and sex-positive CEOs, media empires with 100k+ email lists, and many other virtual service providers, all while sounding EXACTLY like who we’re writing for.

As far was what sets us apart, I’d say it’s are marketing principles and practices that lean into showing up authentically online in a way that favors introverts and people who may not necessarily the loudest person in the room.

I also think that I am known online for my “hot takes” and mic drop moments, where I’m not afraid to call out marketing or sales practices that kind of have a lackluster integrity. I teach a lot about email marketing in my content online and how you don’t have to have a huge email list to make sales or have a successful business. I’m not huge into social media—I do it because as an online business owner, you kind of have to—but it’s definitely not my preferred way to market my business.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think being as geniune as I can in any marketing touchpoint where someone interacts with my content. Whether it’s on my email list, Instagram stories, a TikTok video, or even a podcast interview. I’m pretty much a “what you see is what you get” kind of girl, and the same is true when it comes to talking shop or even the kinds of words we write. Most of our clients come to me to write for them because they *also* want to be a little spicy in their content and share exactly what’s on their mind, even if it’s not necessarily the most popular answer. I sometimes like to joke that my clients are like introverted rebels—not the loudest in the room, but if you stop and listen, they’ve got something to say.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think the biggest lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that sometimes…things really do take time. I would not call myself a patient person about pretty much everything. I’m always looking to pivot and create profit in the business, but I think growing and scaling with intention—in a way that doesn’t leave burnt out or bitter—has made me have to take a step back at times. Before I was an entrepreneur, I had a fast-paced corporate job and was a “yes girl.” Anything that needed to be done, I always said yes, AND I got it done faster than everybody else (which…now I know means you just get more work put onto your plate). I’ve had to unlearn a lot of that behavior and be more open to creating a lot of space into my time and day and schedule so that I can prioritize what matters to me and my own health and wellness, before the business. I’m playing the long game here, and I know that if I don’t put in those points into my day to take care of myself, I’m really just hurting myself in the long run.

Contact Info:

• Website: candidcollective.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidcollectiveco/
• Facebook: n/a
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendall-cherry-7b9ab52a/
• Other: Podcast: Rebels Get Revenue