Cherished Investments

Cherished Investments We provide small business owners with the resources and knowledge they need to be successful.

Ready to launch a new business or bring more clients to an existing business? Our agency provides business coaching, social media consulting, web design, brand design, and social media marketing. Join the Cherished Community for free gifts, master courses, and exclusive offers.

09/28/2026

There is a difference between building a business and checking off everything people told you a business is supposed to have.

Dr. Amber Gunner learned this through experience.

She initially built her business around coaching moms one-on-one. She assumed that model would eventually get her to six figures. Instead, it produced the least amount of money she had made in the business.

Then she shifted into B2B work and began offering workshops, drawing on her background in education, professional development, and training. The difference was significant. Her first and second corporate clients came quickly.

But even that success did not create a perfectly predictable path.

She later spent an entire year expecting the momentum to continue, only to find herself with very few clients. Instead of treating that period as proof that she had failed, she recognized that it gave her something else: mental space and capacity to work on the business.

That is the part of entrepreneurship we do not talk about enough.

You learn. You test. You collect data. You adjust. You discover what fits your skills, your market, and the life you actually want.

The question is not, “Am I following the right formula?”

Try asking, “What is this season teaching me about the business I am actually meant to build?”

Watch the full episode of Entrepreneurship Now for more of Dr. Gunner’s story.

09/23/2026

A long-term marketing commitment can look like a smart investment until you realize you have no idea what it is actually producing.

Lowe shared that committing to six- or twelve-month marketing contracts, including things like billboards and directory advertising, was one of the least successful approaches for her business. The problem was not simply spending money on marketing. It was the difficulty of tracking the return and knowing whether the investment was producing profit.

Her approach shifted to testing marketing project by project.

Run the ad for a defined period.
Set the goal before you start.
Identify the numbers that matter.
Review the results.
Then decide what to do next.

That is a much more useful way to think about marketing than simply asking, “How much should I spend?”

Before you invest, decide what success needs to look like.

Is it leads? Consultations? Sales? Email signups? Something else?

If you cannot define what you are trying to accomplish, it becomes much harder to evaluate whether the marketing worked.

Watch the full Entrepreneurship Now episode for more practical conversation around marketing, networking, and evaluating your business decisions.

09/21/2026

If you think public relations means writing a press release, you're missing a big part of the picture.

Bridgett Waugh explained that one of the most valuable things a PR professional brings to the table is relationships.

After more than two decades in the industry, she has intentionally built relationships with journalists, producers, media organizations, and other professionals. Those relationships can make a difference when it's time to pitch a client and find the right opportunity for their story.

But PR also involves research, storytelling, branding, media pitching, social media, professional imagery, and crisis management.

The goal isn't simply to get your name mentioned.

It's to get your business, expertise, product, or story in front of an audience in a way that gives people a reason to pay attention.

And that's an important distinction for entrepreneurs who are considering investing in PR.

Before you hire someone, understand what you're actually hiring them to do.

Before you pitch yourself, understand what makes your story relevant to the audience you're trying to reach.

Watch the full Entrepreneurship Now conversation with Bridgett Waugh for a behind-the-scenes look at what PR actually involves.

The objection you hear might not be the real question.When a potential client says:“I need to think about it.”“I can’t a...
09/17/2026

The objection you hear might not be the real question.

When a potential client says:

“I need to think about it.”

“I can’t afford it.”

“I’m too busy.”

“I’ve tried something like this before.”

It’s tempting to immediately overcome the objection.

But pause.

There may be a different decision question underneath the words.

Maybe they need clarity about the outcome.

Maybe they don't understand the value yet.

Maybe they need to know what the process actually requires.

Maybe they need proof that speaks to their specific concern.

That changes how you approach the conversation.

Instead of arguing with the sentence you heard, listen for what information is missing.

Then answer that question honestly.

And sometimes, the answer will be that your offer isn't the right fit.

That’s okay, too.

For service-based businesses, these conversations are valuable beyond the sale.

Start documenting the questions people ask before they buy.

Those questions can become:

→ Social media posts
→ FAQs
→ Sales-page sections
→ Email follow-ups
→ Better sales conversations

Your customers are already telling you what they need clarified.

Are you keeping a record of it?

Comment with the objection you hear most often from potential clients.

It may reveal the question your marketing needs to answer next.

09/17/2026

What happens when you stop measuring your worth against someone else's definition of beauty?

Tasha Williams has built her coaching work around helping women see their natural hair differently, but the conversation goes much deeper than hair.

She teaches that “good hair” is healthy hair. She encourages women to recognize that their individual texture, curl pattern, features, and identity are part of what makes them uniquely themselves.

That matters in entrepreneurship too.

We can spend years looking at what someone else is doing and quietly deciding that our own way isn't good enough. Their business model looks better. Their audience is bigger. Their offer is more polished. Their journey seems easier.

But comparison can make you overlook what is already distinct about your own experience.

Tasha's story is a reminder that your experiences, gifts, challenges, and perspective can become part of what makes your work meaningful.

You don't have to copy someone else's path to build something valuable.

You have to understand what is uniquely yours and learn how to serve people through it.

What part of your story or experience have you been treating as ordinary that might actually be part of your value?

Share your perspective in the comments.

09/15/2026

You may be sitting on a business idea because you are looking everywhere except at yourself.

One of the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Elaine Beattie was how naturally her coaching business grew from the experiences she had already lived.

She spent 21 years in hospitality, became a general manager, worked in human resources, taught at the university and community college level, and eventually experienced executive coaching herself.

That last part mattered.

After experiencing firsthand how coaching helped her navigate strategy, stress, support, and leadership, she began asking a different question: “Could I do this too?”

Twenty years later, she is still coaching.

This is why I tell entrepreneurs to stop trying so hard to recreate somebody else's business model.

Your lived experience has value.

If you have spent years becoming exceptionally good at something, solving problems in a specific industry, or navigating challenges other people are still struggling with, there may be an opportunity to turn that knowledge into a specialized service, consulting offer, or coaching practice.

You do not have to become a generic business coach.

Find the problem you understand deeply. Then build around the people you can genuinely help.

Watch the full Entrepreneurship Now conversation with Elaine and think about what your own experience has already taught you.

09/11/2026

Entrepreneurship does not always mean starting with an idea and figuring out everything else as you go.

That is one of the biggest misconceptions about becoming a business owner.

Stephanie chose a different route. As a franchise business owner, she stepped into a model where systems, training, programs, marketing resources, and operational processes were already established. Her job was not to reinvent the wheel. It was to learn the system, bring her personality into it, and execute.

And that distinction is important.

A business model should support the life you actually want to build. Stephanie talked about looking at income, lifestyle, wealth, and equity goals before deciding what kind of opportunity made sense. For her, being able to work virtually and take her work with her was a major part of that decision.

That is a much better question than simply asking, “What business should I start?”

Ask yourself instead, “What kind of life do I want my business to support?”

If you’ve been considering entrepreneurship but the thought of building everything from zero feels overwhelming, Stephanie’s perspective on franchising and business models is worth hearing.

Watch the full Entrepreneurship Now conversation and expand your idea of what entrepreneurship can look like.

09/09/2026

Not every business you build is supposed to be your forever business.

Entrepreneurs don't talk about this enough.

We spend so much time hearing about building, scaling, growing, and pushing through that we rarely talk about what happens when the business no longer fits the person who built it.

Arturo Lopez had an exit plan for his franchise business.

But the bigger realization came when the original reason for building that business changed.

And instead of forcing himself to keep going simply because he had already invested years into it, he recognized something important:

When you no longer align with the business you're building, selling can create an opportunity—not just an ending.

That's a powerful distinction.

Your business can be successful and still no longer be right for you.

Your goals can change.

Your family can change.

Your priorities can change.

Your definition of success can change.

That doesn't mean you failed.

It means you're paying attention.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Now, Arturo and I talk about the reality of building businesses, creating systems, preparing for an exit, and knowing when it's time to transition into your next season.

Because sometimes the smartest move isn't figuring out how to keep the business forever.

It's figuring out what comes next.

This month reminded me of something that's easy to forget.Building a business isn't about trying to get everyone's atten...
07/31/2026

This month reminded me of something that's easy to forget.

Building a business isn't about trying to get everyone's attention. It's about becoming clear enough that the right people recognize themselves in your message.

When you're clear on who you help, the problem you solve, and the way you help people move forward, creating content becomes a lot less overwhelming.

You stop posting just to stay visible.

You start sharing with purpose.

That's where real connection begins. Not because you're saying more, but because you're saying what the right people actually need to hear.

Clarity builds trust. And trust is what creates relationships that last.

07/30/2026

The hardest people to convince they're stuck are often the ones everyone else admires.

You've earned the degree. Built the career. Started the business. From the outside, it looks like you've arrived. Yet there's a quiet question you can't ignore. Is this really what God was preparing me for?

Dr. Franchelle Caesar shared that many high-achieving women spend years climbing ladders they were taught to pursue, only to discover that God wasn't calling them to a profession. He was calling them to transformation. That's a different assignment entirely. It often requires letting go of the identity that made everyone else proud so you can embrace the one that brings genuine peace.

The challenge isn't a lack of discipline or ambition. It's realizing that success and calling are not always the same thing. If you've been feeling restless despite doing everything "right," don't dismiss it. Sometimes that discomfort is an invitation to stop asking what's next for your career and start asking what's next for your purpose.

If this conversation resonates, watch the full episode and ask yourself one question. Are you pursuing the life you built, or the life you were called to build?

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