With the rise of more and more black women breaking away from traditional 9-5s to become their own bosses, the CEO is getting a revamp as the SHEeo. CEOs are forging their own paths, blazing their own trails, and turning their passion into a profit. Curious to know how she does it? In the Meet The SHEeo series, we talk to melanated mavens leveling up and glowing up, all while redefining what it means to be a boss.
D'Cher Whitaker has always been known for her unique statement pieces that are both inspiring and empowering, so when the opportunity arose, she launched Love Peridot—a collection of accessories and gifts curated with the ambitious woman in mind. Inspired by her grandmother's distinctive style, Love Peridot pairs unique designs with accessories that caters to the working woman. After three years of selling her goods online, the Chicago native expanded her business to include her first brick and mortar store in 2019.
In this week's feature, meet D'Cher Whitaker of Love Peridot.
The Stats
Title: CEO of Love Peridot
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Year Founded: 2016
# of Employee(s): 1
30-Second Pitch: Love Peridot is a collection of accessories and gifts curated with the ambitious woman in mind. We add every product with the intent to motivate, inspire and propel our customer's hustle.
The Details
What inspired you to start your brand?
My love for accessories was inspired by my grandmother. I am always asked where I got this piece and that piece and desired to open a shop with similar, distinctive statement accessories.
What was your a-ha moment that brought your idea into reality?
The a-ha moment was when "life is short" hit my home, literally. The loss of my mother-in-law and aunt within the same year really pushed me to make my daydream a reality.
Who is your ideal customer?
My ideal customer is a career woman, side hustler and entrepreneur. She wears many hats and sometimes needs a push to get her back on track. She loves to stand out but knows when to act up. She's a goal-getter. She's a BOSS.
What makes your business different?
We are different in that we are a gift shop that puts women first. Our customer is the ambitious woman and our mission is to empower, motivate and inspire her. A customer once said, "You have the most unique things. It's more than that though. I feel empowered." That's what makes us different!
What obstacles did you have to overcome while launching and growing your brand? How were you able to overcome them?
There were quite a few obstacles while launching and growing Love Peridot; the loss of loved ones, completing my MBA degree, working full-time and more. Of course, my circle is always there with an ear, a shoulder or help with whatever but more than anything, my faith helps me overcome it all. I believe what's for me is for me and I know where my help and strength come from.
What was the defining moment in your entrepreneurial journey?
The decision to enter our own brick and mortar was the defining moment in my journey. I was feeling really "meh" and struggling with online sales not knowing if I would even continue in 2019. At the very end of 2018, God said, "Faint not!" And an opportunity to have a physical space in one of the most popping areas of my city opened up for me. Since opening, I've been able to collaborate and build amazing community around us.
Where do you see your company in 5-10 years?
In 5-10 years, Love Peridot will be your black Anthropologie or Bando with a few more locations in your favorite cities. I want to be a gift and accessory hub for the ambitious woman where she can get ALL THE THINGS for herself and girlfriends; especially the motivation that she needs to keep going and make it happen.
Where have you seen the biggest return on investment?
Our biggest return on investment at this point is from our physical location. We do get conversions from Instagram as well.
Do you have a mentor? If so, who?
I do not have an actual mentor. However, so many women inspire me to be my best daily. Charis Jones (Sassy Jones), Melissa Butler (The Lip Bar), and Morgan DeBaun (Blavity) have all shown me that I can make my dream happen MY WAY. Sarah Jakes Roberts shows me that I can believe in God and still evolve.
Biggest lesson you’ve learned in business?
The biggest lesson I've learned thus far is to always believe in myself and bet on myself. I'm learning that I am not an impostor! I'm making ish happen and it is 100% okay to tell the world all about it. I went from being shy about my accomplishments to owning and celebrating them. A bonus lesson is there is no need to compare; my way is perfect.
Anything else you would like for people to know, or take away from
Girl, do you!
NEVER settle. You deserve God's best.
It's okay to feel fear for the moment but don't let it take over your story.
Everything will fall into place as it should.
Keep going.
For more Love Peridot, follow them on social media @shoploveperidot.
Exclusive: Dreka Gates Talks Farm Life, Self-Mastery, And Her Wellness Brand
Dreka Gates is making a name in wellness through authenticity and innovativeness. Although we were introduced to her as a music manager for her husband, Kevin Gates, she has now carved out her own lane outside of music as a wellness entrepreneur. But according to Dreka, this is nothing new.
In an xoNecole exclusive, the mom of two opened up about many things, including starting her wellness journey at 13 years old. However, a near-death experience during a procedure at 20 made her start taking her health more seriously.
“There's so many different levels, and now, I'm in a space of just integrating all of this good stuff that I've learned just about just being human, you know?” Dreka tells us. “So it's also fun because it's like a journey of self-discovery and self-mastery. That's what I call it. So it's never-ending.”
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If you follow Dreka, then you’re familiar with her holistic lifestyle, as she’s no stranger to promoting wellness, self-care, and holistic living. She even lives part-time on a Mississippi farm, not far from her grandmother and great-grandmother’s farm, where she spent some summers as a child.
While her grandmother and great-grandmother have passed on, Dreka reflects on that time in her life and how having a farm as an adult is her getting back to her roots. “So the farm was purchased back in 2017, and it was like, ah, that'll just be a place where we go when we're not touring or whatever,” she said.
“But COVID hit, and I was there, and I was on the land, and I just started remembering back to going to my grandmother's during the summertime and freaking picking peas and going and eating mulberries off the freaking tree in the bushes.
“And she literally had cotton plants. I know some people feel weird about picking cotton and stuff. She had cotton plants and I would go and pick cotton out of her garden. And she had chickens, and I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots.”
"I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots."
You can catch glimpses of Dreka’s farm life on Instagram, which shows her picking fruit and vegetables and loving on her animals like her camel Eessa. Her passion for growing and cultivating led her to try and grow all of her ingredients for her wellness brand, Dreka Wellness. However, she quickly realized that she might be biting off more than she could chew. But that didn’t stop her from fulfilling her vision.
Watch below as Dreka talks more about her business, her wellness tips, breaking toxic cycles, becoming a doula, and more.
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Tia Mowry Details The Status Of Her Relationship With Twin Sister Tamera
When we think of iconic sister duos, twin stars Tia and Tamera are often the first that come to mind. However, it seems their once inseparable bond may have drifted apart over the years.
During a sneak peek of her all-new docuseries on We TV, Tia Mowry: My Next Act, the Sister, Sister actress spoke openly about her new life following her divorce from ex-husband Cory Hardrict.
"I came into this world with a twin, and right after that, I went into a 22-year relationship," Tia shared, referring to her 14-year-long marriage with Hardrict. In the clip, she also added how challenging it’s been to cope with online chatter concerning her public separation. "People are wanting to know what happened and why it happened so much that they are trying to create narratives and stories in their own head and then putting it out there," she says.
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Tia reveals that after signing her divorce papers, she had to immediately return to work, making it difficult for her to fully process the situation without support. "I wasn't really able to fully process what really was going on," she shared. "I knew what was going on, I knew what I was doing, but I didn't have time to just stop and really process what had just happened."
"Being alone has been the most challenging part of my divorce,” Tia added. “It's times like this when I feel and wish that my sister and I were still close and I could pick up the phone and call her, but that's just not where we are right now."
However, signs of a riff in their relationship have been present for some time.
In May, Tamera spoke withET's Denny Directo at the 49th annual Gracie Awards and shared that she didn’t plan on playing Cupid for her sister Tia, following her divorce.
“See, this is the thing, Tia is living her life right now and Tia is doing Tia,” she told the reporter. “I feel like she doesn’t want any of our input right now, and I can only respect that.”
"I think she is doing her,” Tamera added.
When Tia's reality show was first announced in April, Tamera told ET that the news came as a surprise to her, as she only found out after it was made public.
"I didn't know until I found out with the rest of the world," she said. When asked if she would appear on Tia’s new series, Tamera responded candidly, "She didn't ask me. She didn't, so I take that as no."
In the past, Tia and Tamera have alluded to communication breakdowns, most apparently in their reality TV show, Tia & Tamera. On the show, the two discussed preferring to resolve issues through email rather than phone calls to avoid potential disagreements. In one episode, Tamera candidly admitted, "We really don’t have any" communication skills.
“I think we get defensive; it escalates to something more than what the argument was really about,” Tamera told her sister at the time. “We end up yelling at each other.”
“That’s not a good way of communicating. My way isn’t a good way of communicating and your way isn’t a good way of communicating,” Tia added. “And we need to find better ways of communicating.”
Now Tia embarking on a new journey with her show, Tia Mowry: My Next Act, premiering on Friday, October 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on We TV. The eight-episode reality series follows Tia as she “navigates her newly single status, a new phase of motherhood, as well as building businesses and juggling her ever-evolving career,” while reclaiming the narrative around her life and relationship post-divorce.
"I mean, I'm all about being authentic,” Tia told PEOPLE about the show in July. "[The show will] basically dive in and show the world who I am as a person. And I really wanted to do this to share my story.
She continued. "I feel like a lot of people were creating narratives without knowing a story and understanding me and understanding my feelings. And this is my opportunity to use that platform to share my truth."
Having always been part of a duo — first as a twin sister and later as a wife — Tia is now ready to embrace her independence. And we’re here for the journey.
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Featured image by Arnold Turner/Getty Images for ESSENCE