Reha Chere Mallory Founder of Rhea Cherie - The Business of Self-Care

In her own spin of the classic Stevie Wonder song My Cherie Amour, Reha Chere Mallory has taken her passion for fashion to create a one-of-a-kind collection through her personal brand Rhea Cherie. It was during her time in California when she was living with her aunt, a talented fashion designer, that her interest peaked in wanting to learn more about the industry. From there, Reha knew she wanted to follow that path but didn’t quite know how while pursuing her initial career as a school counselor. With her dreams on hold, she went on to work in schools and attended law school in the evenings. Although Reha greatly enjoyed mentoring and guiding young people, her dreams of fashion design were never too far behind.

Reha legally formed Rhea Cherie in November 2018. She then spent over two years conducting market research, honing her style and finding fabrics that were soft to the touch. It was important for Reha to focus on designs that she would personally wear and felt were not only stylish but exuded pure confidence with every wear. In 2020, when COVID19 shocked everyone’s life, she decided to launch with the hopes of women taking time for themselves during this historic time. Rhea Cherie promotes self-care practices and encourages women to seek their happiness through activities that relax them and help feed their peace. Reha is committed to growing her brand and sharing her dreams in hopes of cultivating an inclusive community where fashion and self-care come together to empower women of all walks of life.

Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Rhea Cherie all about?

Rhea Cherie is a lifestyle brand focused on providing women soft and sustainable loungewear (made with bamboo fabric) while creating a community where women share tips, activities and best practices to enhance self-care.

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?

I began my career in education, working as a College Counselor in Middle and High Schools in Detroit, Michigan. I later transitioned to education policy work on the Federal level after graduating from Law School, but my dream of fashion and design never wavered. In 2018, I launched Rhea Cherie and made that dream a reality. I wanted to create a community of women who intentionally took time to practice self-care and I knew that my loungewear, given it’s extreme comfort and stylish designs, would be the perfect accompaniment to enhance self-care activities.

What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?

You know the quote, “if you build it, they will come?” Well, my biggest mistake was thinking that if I do the market research and simply put my loungewear ‘out there’, customers will miraculously show up. Well, that’s not exactly how it works with ecommerce brands because customers can’t simply walk past and decide to patrionize your business. I soon learned that I needed a strategy. Luckily, it didn’t take me long to come to that realization.

How do you separate yourself from your competitors?

I think authenticity is key to separating my business from my competitors. I recognize other companies sell loungewear and we share customers, but my business is authentic to my personal self-care interest that I’ve practiced for decades. The style of the loungewear and fabric selection are all based of what I personally like to wear and how I want to feel. This helps to keep my brand authentic to my customers- they know Rhea Cherie has been tested and approved for their comfort and they really identify with the brand.

What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?

I think constant growth as an entrepreneur is key to long-term business success. I find reading books daily, attending online trainings/webinars, or networking to be extremely helpful to keeping your business tools sharp.

First and foremost, I recommend reading Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. Aspiring entrepreneurs must be comfortable with the ever-changing atmosphere that is entrepreneurship.

The other book I recommend is The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. The principals are largely for personal self-understanding and peacefulness, but it really helped me to center myself when completing business tasks- partially in light of personal/family obligations.

I also recommend reading Delivering Happiness by Tony Hseish, the CEO of Zappos, because I think it’s important to study how other businesses built their brand.

What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?

I wish I knew that everyone is on their individual path to figuring ‘it’ out by to doing what works for their business. Large and small, new and established businesses make changes as they go, in fact you must in order to remain successful. There is no cookie-cutter approach to business so there’s no need-to-know everything up front. Some things you have to learn as you go and make adjustments as your business demands. Knowing this would have helped ease some start-up angst. Keep in mind that some things are binary, and you wouldn’t want to make the mistake of figuring those out on the fly like, business tax/accounting and legal matters. Those things shouldn’t be left to chance.

If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?

If I had only $1,000 to start a new business, I would first use the money to legally establish my business. It’s important in every industry that one have the requite filings in place before conducting business. Next, I would (or hire someone to) build my company’s website and social media presence. There’s no sense in starting a business if the world doesn’t know you exist. And if there is any money left, I would pay a marketing firm to develop a sound marketing strategy; however, part of this research should be done prior to forming the business to ascertain whether there is a market/customer base for your idea.

What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Research first then do it! But also understand that entrepreneurship is not for the faint of hearts. If you are having second thoughts early on, you may have a hard time keeping yourself motivated when the inevitable twist and turns, setbacks, and redirects of starting a new business come your way.

What is your favorite quote?

Maya Angelou once said, “The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach the hearts is wise.” As Rhea Cherie grows as a brand, we will continue to keep the hearts and self-care of our customers as our guiding principles to ensure an awesome customer experience.