Today we’d like to introduce you to Cherlon Bell.
Cherlon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Since I was a kid, I always knew that I would pursue a career within the medical field. I ended up deciding on becoming a registered nurse. I always thought that I would build on my initial degree with leaning towards advanced practice but wanted to take time to gain bedside experience as an RN and just give myself time to figure out the best route for me. I am thankful that I gave myself that time because I evolved in ways that I did not imagine. I learned that although I enjoy being a nurse, I wasn’t sure that I could see myself enjoying being a practitioner in the long run. Eventually, I got married and had my daughter. After having my daughter, I evolved but through the transition, I lost myself, I felt like I was consumed by being a mother (I’m sure most if not all mom’s can relate to that feeling). My mindset changed so much throughout that year. Before becoming a mom, I was set on encouraging my children that college was the best route for their success but after having her, things were so much different. I want to be an example for my daughter so that she knows that she has options if she wants to pursue college or any alternative route. It is important for her to see such options through me so that she knows that it is attainable for her. I know that I’m order to do all of this, I have to pour more into myself and my relationship with God. Fast forward to months later, the idea came to my mind of doing a treat table for my in-laws 30th anniversary (although I had no idea what I was doing lol). In the end, things went well and people inquired about making orders. Then three weeks later, I did more treats for my daughter’s 1st birthday and I saw growth in the appearance and process of everything and I really enjoyed doing it. Within three more weeks, I continued to pray and there was just so much confirmation revealed to me so I decided to commit and move forward with making things official.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being that I am self-taught, have a full-time job and have to juggle being a mom and wife (Time management has definitely been my greatest lesson thus far!), it hasn’t been smooth but it has been rewarding and I have grown rapidly. The most rewarding part is, I began to dream again. I experienced so many challenges and unfortunate circumstances throughout my life that I stopped dreaming prematurely. I mostly operated in logic, ensuring financial stability and independence; I didn’t think other alternatives were “secure” enough so I didn’t explore them. Being a nurse is secure but through this journey, I realized that I have so much more to offer. I think that I relied so much on ensuring my own security that I was not operating in faith nor my full potential. My advice to other women would be: Don’t ever allow negative experiences to stunt your capacity of operating in faith. Don’t think that it is impossible for you to be the first person to pursue that business opportunity and schedule time to explore opportunities that interest you. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to fail. Use every opportunity to learn from any mistakes and produce growth.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Sweet Exprechons story. Tell us more about the business.
I make custom treats. I mostly make a variety of chocolate-covered treats but I also bake cupcakes. As of now, I make chocolate-covered Rice Krispies, Oreos, cake pops, cakesicles, cake bites, pretzels, strawberries, and mini donuts. I wouldn’t say that I am “known” for it but that is the goal. I am proud of the designs that I do and how much I have grown since starting my business in July of this year. I consider my work as art and I feel as though my designs are what set me apart. I try to make everything unique and I thrive when my customers give me free rein to freestyle because it’s then that I really get to express myself! My business’s name is Sweet Exprechons. Sweet because everything is sweet (lol) and exprechons because this is how I am choosing to express myself, my creativity. I chose to spell it as expreCHONs to be unique and include my nickname which is Chon (pronounced Shawn).
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Most definitely. My experiences played a tremendous role in who I am today and were, without a doubt, major contributing factors in my going to college and choosing a secure career path. With that being said, I was definitely passionate about nursing and I still enjoy my role to this day; at the time, I felt as though college was my only option for success. As I have explained earlier, those same experiences also took away the “dreamer” in me but God used all of that for my good ultimately. I have been fortunate enough to have the awareness of how those things affected me and shaped me into who I am while understanding that I want more for my daughter and deserve more for myself as well. So now, I am being intentional about making sure that I keep that same energy!
Contact Info:
- Phone: (832)356-4004
- Email: sweet.exprechons@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sweet.exprechons
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWEET.EXPRECHONS/
Image Credit:
Cherlon Bell & Harbor Grace Photography
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