Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Takeisha Tippins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Takeisha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
That’s a great question….one that I receive often, and I am always happy to answer it. The Name Cherie Coco was chosen because I wanted black women to know this company was founded by and for them. My intentions are to give black women (specifically African American women) a way to connect with their ancestors through handmade authentic African Necklaces, Waist beads and Artwork. Many African Americans can only trace their roots to America or the Caribbean, but our roots run so much deeper and too often we are unsure on how to connect with a culture we were never exposed to….that’s where Cherie Coco comes in. I want this company to bridge that gap between who we are and where we come from. The name Cherie Coco embodies all of what my company stands for….the odds are if you’ve listened to French or afrobeat music, you’ve heard a song that contained the words Cherie Coco. There isn’t a direct translation from French, but the word “Cherie” is a term of endearment and is commonly used the same way an English speaker would say “Bae, babe, or honey” and Coco speaks to our beautiful melanin rich skin. So an extremely rough translation could be “Coco love, Brown love, Coco bae”. I’ve always felt so connected with the name Cherie Coco, but there is one moment that will forever stay with me…. a mother brought her daughter to my table at an event and pointed to my banner, the young girl jumped with joy and said that’s my name. Her mother went on to tell me her grandfather calls her “My Cherie Coco”, I looked at the young girl and told her I built this company for her and all the beautiful young ladies out there in the world. I will forever cherish that moment.
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 was a very creative child and that’s carried over into my adult years. I find I am happiest when I am creating, it’s beyond satisfying when you’re able to take your thoughts and put it into a tangible form that can be viewed by the world. I took my first trip to Africa in 2016, I spent 94 days in Togo. The country overwhelmed me with its beauty, but the part that captured my heart was all the stunning textiles, woodwork, and jewelry….it was that ah ha moment when you find “your people”. I remember watching an elderly man carve a chunk of wood into a statue of a family and next to him was a woman beading the most intricate beaded jewelry. The streets were lined with various types of artists creating unique items. Naturally I began to collect various works of art from different artists, these items were too beautiful not to bring back home with me. I began incorporating those unique pieces into my everyday life and would constantly receive compliments and even requests for items I was wearing or had hanging in my home. I hadn’t thought about creating Cherie Coco until just before the pandemic. I realized everyone around me saw the beauty in the items I brought back but there was lack of accessibility. I had the luxury of traveling to African countries to ensure I had authentic waist beads, necklaces, brass cuffs, fabric and that’s when I decided that I would solve that problem. The solution was creating a company where we focus on carrying authentic African luxuries and make them readily available to the community. During my search to bring all the beauties of Africa to Georgia, I would find that many African Americans had mixed feeling about actually wearing the waist beads, bracelets, and even earrings……. the sad reality was they had never had the chance to connect with any part of Africa and were slightly uncomfortable with the idea, one could say it was a culture shock for them. I want my company to be that safe space for people to reconnect.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
I have several ways of keeping in touch with customers, email, text club, and social media. I find that having multiple forms of communications allow you to reach everyone on their preferred outlet of communication. For example, some individuals prefer texting and others prefer emailing. Either way I have something for everyone. I always treat my customers like family, I never rush them or try to take advantage. I foster brand loyalty by creating connections with all of my customers and providing a level of quality that can only be found at Cherie Coco.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
I know many small businesses prefer to use platforms like Amazon or Etsy because of the potential traffic those sites have but for me, I decided not to. I chose to sell on my own site (www.MyCherieCoco.com), because it was important for my company to be structured like a major company. Using a third-party platform does not eliminate the need for your own site, it just puts off what you need now for another day. At some point you will need to eventually move away from the third-party site to ensure the growth of your company. Platforms like Etsy take such a large percentage of your profit that it makes more sense to maintain your own site to keep the maximum profit and you will eventually need to redirect your customers away from the platform to your website.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Mycheriecoco.com
- Instagram: @Mycheriecoco
- Email: [email protected]