Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheyenne Chanel
Hi Cheyenne, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
There are a million ways to make money in Houston. I am just a simple girl on a mission to collect the money waiting on me to come find it. All that is needed to obtain it is – a little creativity to construct an idea, the ambition to develop a plan, and the discipline to implement the action. One day I hope to have mastered sustaining it.
In my daily life I am a Global Health Program Manager for a prestigious university, but my entrepreneurial pursuits are driven by my passions. I moved, for the second time, from my home state of New Mexico to Houston in 2020. Economically, everyone was starting businesses, pursuing investments, seeking creative outlets, and prioritizing their overall wellbeing. Influenced by the city, I began exploring the idea of turning my daily joys into a stream of income, and ultimately a collective lifestyle brand.
Immediately my social media account began growing rapidly – along with the number of influencer focused collaboration opportunities. I was able to generate a consistent stream of monetary income thru modeling, music video bookings, influencer event offers, high profile YouTube appearances, and sponsored brand gifts by consistently posting and simply being myself. My alter ego, Cheyenne Chanel, emerged to establish the Instagram account @CheyenneAndOtherThings – serving as the epicenter of my entrepreneurial future as I shared my daily life and personality with the public for marketing purposes.
Through social media I was able to construct my own artistic world, meet a variety of people, and learn about other entrepreneurial pursuits. I continued to build deeper relationships with open minded individuals, embrace unique experiences, and became greater in touch with all sides of my personality and true happiness. The explorative pursuit to expand and transform my routine into monetary income, based on seeking the highest level of personal daily joy, didn’t stop.
The overarching lifestyle brand, Cheyenne & Other Things, was established to foster my future businesses based around the philosophy of The Happiness Scale. Raised in New Mexico, I grew up with a great spiritual awareness of living daily life interconnected with the natural flow of the environment and the necessary adaption to the demand or supply of my surrounding to maintain a means of survival.
Houston has one of the highest rates of pet ownership, along with a groomer or specialized pet store always nearby. I start my days by walking to buy a coffee and enjoying fresh early morning air with my dogs. As much as I love caring for and spending time with my Yorkies, it just made sense to allow them to breed naturally. As a niche within the dog breeding realm, my focus is to provide a standard of care and high quality of daily life to my personal pets, to foster the development of high-quality pups. Named after the dog breed’s big personality, Cheyenne & Fido’s Yorkie Fight Club, is the Yorkshire Terrier breeding kennel created under my canine focused business portfolio.
Being a caretaker for the feisty and bold, yet irresistibly cute dog breed – raised my own awareness of the personal joy I gained from exercising a softer, more nurturing side of my femininity. I learned how much I enjoyed providing a safe, welcoming, and stable environment to foster happiness in others – including my fuzzy companions. The next kennel to be launching out of Cheyenne & Fido is the Black Billionaire’s Club, specializing in pedigree quality-of-life breeding of Giant Schnauzers. Ironically, the breed was recently awarded the 2025 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show’s Best in Show title.
An acquaintance of mine was retiring from the NFL, and I had the great opportunity to learn about the benefits of becoming an Airbnb Host based on his firsthand experience. The business platform provides the core structure necessary to create passive income along with the long-term potential to build generational wealth. I decided to take my biggest entrepreneurial risk by launching the Rolls Royce inspired Airbnb listing, Starlet.
With a positive investment return, the listing remains a consistent and reliable source of income as the three-year anniversary approaches in Summer 2025. The Airbnb listing has become a family business and in a short time achieved Super Host status. I hope to scale the short-term vacation rental business, Nights In Cheyenne, to a total of six locations with each listing designed to have a unique interior aesthetic in a permanent condo.
After marketing products for other local and national brands, I am now dedicating the same skills and resources to rebrand my current e-commerce store and launch the boutique, Cheyenne Chanel, as both an online marketplace and physical pop-up. Reflecting my personal and professional style – the clothing retail, sustainable resale, and custom designer brand will cater to women who appreciate luxury taste, lasting quality, and the emboldening experience of Dopamine Dressing. Created through soft touches of cherry blossoms, sheer lace, and pink pearls – the pop-up’s environment will be aimed at creating a dreamy ambience with high attention to detail. Look for Cheyenne Chanel at a local Houston pop-up marketplace by Summer 2025.
I’m thirty-three and manifestation now…
Before I reach fifty, I will have my own plaza or warehouse where all my businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors are housed together. The collective space will include a coffee house, nail shop, clothing boutique, cosmetic medical spa, specialty pet supply, and a personal security athletics training center for women.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh my. This looks different in every one of my professional and entrepreneurial endeavors. The first challenge was reaching a stature within my professional career to generate a level of income needed to support myself comfortably, and then have the ability to invest into my creative projects or entrepreneurial passions.
In the AirBnb Hosting realm, having a truly negative guest interaction is rare – but it does happen. I have opened the front door to find all the TVs and the couch stolen. I have cleaned vomit out of clogged toilets and a bloody hand print off the wall after a bachelorette party booked a weekend trip in Downtown Houston. I have been in the middle of a wife catching her husband in an infidelity scandal after he accidently checked out of Starlet late. But overall, majority of our Airbnb guests and experiences have been great!
There are negative stereotypes associated with dog breeding, which is understandable. I just keep in mind and emphasize to myself – the personal joy I received from natural breeding and providing high quality care for my dogs – is centered in my furry companion’s health and wellness first. I am very cautious in accepting adoptions of a puppy throughout the entire rehoming process, with focus on identifying an adequate forever home.
Through learned experience, I prioritize cyber security and privacy on social media. My home network was once hacked, and several months passed before I was even aware of the situation. It caused me to really change when I posted on social media and how much personal information I shared openly on platforms. Be selective and trust your instincts when working with partners and accepting collaborations.
The last challenge is the biggest for me. Reinvesting profits into expanding or creating new income generating businesses is required. King’s Disease is a real experience faced when plans are going perfect. It takes disciple to save for a rainy day or to invest strategically with trusted partners. Work hard, play hard… but don’t forget to save hard too!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think I covered majority of this question above. But I will add – the personal resilience and professional work ethic my mother and grandmother instilled in me from an early age sets me apart. My grandmother raised me with the skill set to be a wife and homemaker. But she still emphasized the importance to have a stable education and career to take care of myself, plus a family, when necessary.
My dad passed away when I was very young, leaving my mom to four kids alone. She raised us with a hustler’s mentality accompanied by high expectations and positive encouragement. Some people are good at school and some people are good at life, I aim to be respected and intelligent in both aspects as a female millennial.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
First, my husband. He truly is my perfect match. The ying to my yang and the tortoise to my hare. Together we are the poster child for “opposites attract”. He compliments my creative and hyper-active energy with a stoic, calm demeanor. He reminds me to keep my feet on the grown when my mind begins daydreaming too high into the clouds
My husband is my hero and the person I can rely on during the days when my world feels like it is crashing. He is often mistaken in public as a 50 Cent look alike, and I jokingly refer to him as my personal bodyguard. To me he is the ideal man for not only keeping me physically safe, but emotionally safe with an amazing sense of humor and caring nature.
Second, my family. They are my biggest supporters and have the deepest belief in my capabilities. I am insanely lucky my mother-in-law is a great team player and is always open to helping with daily needs – like cleaning the Airbnb listing or walking the dogs.
Lastly, I must give credit to other free thinkers, entrepreneurs, and creatives within Houston. Houston has a great energy, fueled by individual passion and expression that is infectious. Others on the creative scene directly influenced my growth, or else I was watching and learning from them as they flourished on social media.
Many Houston entrepreneurs are driven to do what they love – because it is what they ACTUALLY enjoy doing – regardless of income. When you love what you do, you are more likely to remain consistent, grow in talent, and reach success. And to each their own definition.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://CheyenneAndOtherThings.com
- Instagram: @CheyenneAndOtherThings
- Other: https://Airbnb.com/h/Starlet
Image Credits
None. These are my images.
