By age 26, Kaila Cherie was a multi-million dollar earning entrepreneur and franchise owner. “I think it’s in my DNA,” the Southern California native said, reflecting on her journey.
Considering her early aptitude, she may be on to something. At 12 years old, Cherie was pulling in $3,500 weekly, sourcing wholesale supplies from LA’s fashion district and making handcrafted, ‘Basketball Wives’ style earrings to sell at school. Her foray into ownership has been on ever since. Still, despite her Midas touch, the entrepreneurial route for Cherie hasn’t been perfect. “At 21, I was in a Las Vegas bankruptcy,” she shared. Today, Cherie makes it her actual business to help others benefit from her experience.
The Dallas-based networking hub, The Blueprint University, supports entrepreneurs with everything, from drafting business plans and branding strategies to workshops and networking events. “We go on the journey with you, building your corporate credit and making sure you’re bulletproof as a business owner,” she said. Cherie recently expanded the enterprise in brick and mortar with the Dallas Startup Club. The co-working space offers a vibrant entrepreneurial community. “Now, you can come in and network, apply for government contracts, private grants, and loans. We will support you with whatever you need to get your business started,” she told ESSENCE. I spoke with the CEO about her early journey in business, lessons learned, and why sharing the blueprint with budding entrepreneurs remains core to her mission.
Kaila, you’ve done quite a bit in a relatively short period, from franchising with ADT to your current Dallas ventures. Can you take us to where this entrepreneurial journey began?
I was about 19 and had this concept of bringing businesses into a space and investing in them. It was just an idea. Then, I noticed this vacant building across the street from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where I was in school; so, I stopped by one night. I can vividly remember standing there in the dark taking it in—the lighting, the location, everything was perfect. It was close to the airport, it had 160 [parking] spaces, I immediately saw the potential. The building was old and needed renovations, but right away, it felt like home.
So, I contacted the owner and told her about the concept. She liked the idea but didn’t have the time or the energy to renovate. So, I just said, ‘Look, Let me lease-to-own this building,’ and she agreed. That’s when things really took off.
Hold on, Kaila. Can we pause and acknowledge—that kind of vision, to be that decisive and assertive at 19, a sophomore, at UNLV, no less—that’s different. You know that, right?
[laughs] It’s funny you say that. I get that all the time. Even my mom is like, ‘Where did you come from?’ Honestly, I don’t know. I think it’s in my DNA. In high school, I was an overachiever. I got my nursing license, I was in every AP class you can imagine, on every honor roll. It’s just the way I’m wired, I guess.
It’s remarkable. So, you get this building, then what?
Once I had the building, the customers just showed up. First, a tax preparation business came in, then a mobile car detail company, and from there, they just kept coming. And, as we got to know each other, I found out a lot of them were operating without licenses; the regulatory requirements in Las Vegas at that time were crazy, super strict for small businesses. So, I started helping them register and writing up their business plans, which took about three hours. Because I had good credit and had saved a little capital from my middle school and high school years, I was acting as a broker—a “fake” broker because I wasn’t certified—but I got them the funding they needed and was able to earn money from that. Then, I invested it back into their businesses. I knew my goal was to buy the building outright, so I used the rental income and the equity gained from those ventures. I did that for about two years.
It’s similar in concept to The Dallas Startup Club, right? In terms of offering physical space and wraparound support for entrepreneurs.
It was definitely a primitive version, but the model is way different. I’ve learned a lot since then.
What were some of those lessons?
There were so many. What became challenging in that first situation was—I was still learning how to run a business. So, I was helping others and still trying to figure it out for myself. I learned that as an angel investor, you’re supposed to scout to a certain extent. I didn’t do that. I was all heart, but I found out, a lot of times, their intentions weren’t as pure. And then, some individuals I partnered with, they just didn’t have that business mentality. That’s where the real disconnect happened.
Based on that experience, what advice do you give to the entrepreneurs you coach?
I always tell them, before you partner or invest in someone, you need to get to know them because you may be swimming in an ocean full of sharks. That’s really what it is. Sometimes it’s a dolphin—just a genuine person—but it could be a shark, and sometimes it’s a shark disguised as a dolphin! You don’t know. You have to vet and study the people you do business with. That’s the biggest lesson, especially for women. I always tell women, take care of yourself. Do what you need to do for you, and then you can help others.
Why have you centered social entrepreneurship?
I saw a need. Especially around 2015 and 2016, when I was getting started, there weren’t many of us building businesses. To this day, the service component is what I love most. When people come in with new business ideas, it’s thrilling for me. I’m way more excited than you about your business. I’m like, “Let’s go! When can we get started? We can build it tonight?”