We recently connected with Molly Cherry and have shared our conversation below.

Molly, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I was a new boudoir photographer (but not new to photography) in 2021 and decided to join a TFP (trade for photos) shoot group in my town so I could get some much needed content and practice for my portfolio. I showed up on a very hot day so clothing was minimal and I had been asked to model. From there I became an accidental model and really enjoyed every aspect of it. I then became locally known as a modelographer. Within this group we would take all our photos from the photoshoot and submit them to a popular magazine so they could be published. Fast forward about 9 months and there was some fall out between the magazine and the photography group. Everyone was quite devastated and I got to thinking…”it can’t be that hard to make a magazine.” Having started my business in graphic design I had an aha-moment and stated to the group, “hey I’ll just make my own Babes Magazine, and it’ll be with us REAL babes.” Someone in the group said that was a great idea and a great name. I asked which name? And they said, “REAL Babes,” and who would have known that the domain and all the socials were still serendipitously available?!

REAL Babes magazine was born in December 2022. It has become locally known as a body positive boudoir style magazine that features local babes of every shape, shade, size, orientation, and age. We just published our 27th issue, each featuring a different theme whether outdoors or in our roseville studio. Our featured models are all levels of experience and our continuous feedback is that REAL Babes offers a safe experience and a boost to confidence regardless of level.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I spent 15 years operating a small graphic design studio out of my home. I worked with many clients from diverse industries and would often need to provide photos for projects we were working on. I was self taught in learning to operate a professional DSLR so that I could provide my clients an affordable solution for project needs. I hung my hat up on the graphic design business 3 years ago due to the economic climate and continuing competition in the market place such as Canva, oversees workers, Fiverr, and AI. I decided to pursue photography full time since I enjoyed that aspect of visual arts.

At first I did most of the photography for REAL Babes and still enjoy shooting models during each of our themed shoots. I have since created a network of local female photographers that all donate their time and creativity to the magazine and provide stellar imagery for our issues.

During our first year we had only male photographers and though they were carefully vetted and trusted by me, they still made models feel slightly uncomfortable given the nature of extra exposure in boudoir style modeling. We have since phased in an all female crew entirely except for shoots that were not planned by REAL Babes. It makes for some very comfortable and safe photoshoot sessions.

How’d you meet your business partner?

About a year into our launch we were approached by NSTY Army a SoCal based clothing/lifestyle brand as they were interested in our platform and inquired about a collaboration. Their vision completely aligned with ours and their network and reach would offer the REAL Babes brand to extend worldwide rather than just locally. After a few talks it was decided that we would create custom skinned issues for NSTY Army called REAL NSTY Babes. It was an instant hit with both of our brands. We have since created well over 30 issues and have sold issues in over 10 countries and many states in the US.

This past March 2024 our two brands came together in a spectacular Las Vegas group photoshoot. We had models as far as UK travel to this event where we shot 12 models for this issue. We were lucky to run into a security guard on Fremont street that was an aspiring photographer and not stop our photoshoot despite our many booty shorts and crop tops. The issue was a success and sold over 30 copies.

Aside from our collaborative partner, REAL Babes is owned and operated solely by Molly Ann Cherry, a professional photographer, an alternative model, and an MBA graduate.

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

Creating a brand story, sticking to a niche, and having consistent messaging are all paramount to build a solid rapport with your social network, client base, and business partners/sponsors. Finding a problem and offering solutions is the easiest way to keep your network engaged and supportive of your mission.

Over time we’ve built trust in the community and have found local businesses to donate the use of their venue/space or products free of charge in exchange for social media mentions and advertising space in the magazine. Boudoir isn’t the most accepted type of business so it has definitely been a challenge to find willing businesses and advertisers to work with us. No door is left un-knocked and no-thanks do not bother us. Having had the first YES propels us forward with future brands trusting us. As of right now working with brands is a collaborative endeavor with future plans of charging brands for take-over themed issues representing their products or venues as a sort of advertising rich issue.

For now in it’s infancy REAL Babes is working tirelessly to form alliances, a local network, and trust within the community and will monetize beyond print sales in the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.realbabesmagazine.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/realbabesmagazine
• Twitter: instagram.com/realbabesmags
• Other: https://TikTok.com/realbabesmagazine