Q&A With Lerielle Cole Pierre

INSIDE THE MIND OF A MODERN ENTREPRENEUR

At 22, Lerielle Cole Pierre took her first leap into entrepreneurship. Years later, a life-changing moment pushed her to do it again. This time leaving corporate life behind to build something of her own.

Read along as we talk business, branding, failure, purpose and why every woman needs to learn to stand in her own light.

 

 

 

Many people know you today as the founder of F.A.B. Marketing & Branding Agency, but your journey didn’t begin there. Could you tell us a little about your career before entrepreneurship and what first sparked your interest in building something of your own?

My career in entrepreneurship started at the tender age of 22, straight out of university. Traditional office roles never fit my personality nor desires. I always had a love for business, fashion, and bringing women together, so with my mom’s encouragement, I bet on myself and started an accessories boutique – Final Accents Boutiq (F.A.B.) in Nassau Bahamas. What I loved about this journey is it allowed me to be deeply creative, innovative and strategic – crafting events and creative experiences with the brand. It wasn’t just a retail store, it was a space women gathered to shop, smile, offload, and connect. From the layout of the boutiq to our themed shopping parties, curated events, creative brand shoots and unique marketing campaigns, I knew I was onto something special from the very beginning.

 

You made the transition from corporate life to running your own business, a journey that so many of our readers dream about. Was there a defining moment when you knew it was time to bet on yourself?

The defining moment for me – getting Covid-19 in April 2021. At the time, I was a new mom (my son just turned 1 year) and I was booming in my corporate career. Then out of nowhere – I got covid. Being in isolation away from my child was incredibly difficult, especially emotionally. But I think what made it more difficult, was that I was still expected to show up at work. The morning I got the news I tested positive, I was literally about to go live on a tv-interview for the company. Instead of extending grace and granting me time off (post-interview), my manager still “encouraged” me to work as usual. While some grace was extended, I think that moment told me everything I needed to know about how my manager felt about me and my well-being. In quarantine, I was literally left alone with God and my thoughts, and I distinctly remember the day I was by the window looking up at the sky, God told me – very clearly – it was time. “Lerielle, you’ve spent the last 10 years building everyone else’s brand – it’s time to build your own”. It was in that moment I answered the call, and the rest is history!

 

Entrepreneurship is often celebrated on social media, but not many people talk about the difficult parts. What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome, and what did it teach you?

There are SO many challenges that come with this entrepreneurial journey – the faith, the failures, the fight – that I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned – I am NOT the outcome of my business. I’ll explain…

I truly believe entrepreneurship is a spiritual journey and a calling to serve. It challenges your mindset, resilience, problem solving, and your ability to serve others. When the journey is that personal, it often challenges your feelings of self-worth. Can I do this? Am I good enough? Is this going to work? When will I see success? Does anyone even care? When you battle these questions daily, it’s really hard not to tie your own worth, and value to the outcome. But what I’ve learned is – the results of your hard work is simply informationto guide your next step. Win, lose or draw, the outcome is not a reflection of who you are as a person.

So, I’ve had to learn the art of detaching my own worth from the outcome of my business. I now use my results (both success AND failure) as a tool to make me better – more resilient, more creative, more strategic, and more effective at what I do. I give my best, and release control of the outcome. The journey will NEVER go as planned, but perhaps, that’s where the beauty lies – releasing control of the outcome. When you give your best, someone’s life WILL be changed because of you. Keep going.

 

Branding has become something of a buzzword, but to you, what does having a strong brand actually mean? And what do you think people get wrong about it?

You are your brand and your brand is your superpower.

A strong brand to me means 2 core things – 1) you are who you say you are and 2) you make impact because of it!

If I follow you online, and then meet you in person, it should be the same experience. If I invest in your product or service, it should deliver what you say it does. And if I’m not “in the room” or “in your ear” to influence your decision, I should still influence you!

I’ll give you a quick, simple example – recently, we had an impromptu meet up inside The Biz Tea CommuniTea. We gathered at this cute little cake shop in Trinidad for Sunday brunch. Every single woman who walked into the cake shop was dressed to the nines – hair, makeup, HEELS! Now for context, many of these women are often in scrubs, sneakers, flats, etc – yet, each one of them showed up & showed out. And do you know what they said to me? “It’s LCP we meeting – yuh know we have to show up & dress up!”

THAT is the power of a strong brand – setting a standard, and using your platform to make impact.

 

Through both F.A.B. Marketing and The Biz Tea CommuniTea, you’ve built spaces where entrepreneurs can learn, connect and grow. Why is community so important to you, particularly in the Caribbean?

It’s simple – we can’t do this alone.

My favourite quote is – “Be the change you want to see in this world”, so I’m just out here trying to use my brands, businesses, and gifts to help others.

 

For readers who are still in corporate jobs while quietly building a business on evenings and weekends, what’s one piece of advice you’d give them before they make the leap?

Put the plan in place, and action it! I gave myself six months before making the leap into full-time entrepreneurship. So that meant – six months of daily practices, six months of mindset shifts, six months of posting online, six months of connecting with people, six months of putting my business systems in place, six months of conditioning my mindset AND daily habits for the move. Six months of working FULL TIME in my own business.

By the time I made the actual jump – my mind, energy and audience already knew I was doing this. So it was a seamless transition.

 

Looking back at the younger Lerielle who was just starting out, what advice would you give her that you couldn’t have understood back then?

There are so many things I’d tell her!

1) STAND IN YOUR LIGHT! For most of my life, I have always wanted to change things about myself – my hair, my voice, my body, the way I think, the way I love – to “fit in”. But in fact, the things that made me stand out were the EXACT things that drew people to me.

So, my first piece of advice: Stand in your light queen. Perfect what makes you, YOU and your people will undoubtedly find you.

Which brings me to point #2…

2) Everyone can’t go with you on the journey. I’ve always had a lot of friends around me, but as yougrow in this journey, lots of the people that started with you won’t make it to the end. Releasing deep friendships and relationships is extremely difficult, but success is a single journey, not a group project. God will send you everything and everyone you need, when you need it.

3) You CAN do hard things, and you will! Success is the road less travelled, but just put one foot in front the other and Just. Keep. Going.

4) Purpose over popularity. This journey isn’t a race for likes, followers, or virality. Your gifts are directly tied to your purpose walk, so reach one, teach one, change one. Quality over quantity.

 

Finally, if you could leave Caribbean women with one message about believing in themselves and betting on their dreams, what would it be?

YOU are the secret sauce! Stand in your light mama & shine bright – because whether you think you can or can’t – you are absolutely right!

 

What’s next for you? Is there anything you’re particularly excited about that’s on the horizon?

There’s ALWAYS something on the horizon for LCP. Stay tuned!

 

Quick Fires!

• Coffee or tea? COFFEE!
• A book every entrepreneur should read? The Bible.
• A brand you admire? LCP – I am living, breathing proof of what’s possible when you truly believe in yourself and build from the ground up.
• One lesson you wish you’d learned sooner? The quicker you fail, is the quicker you’ll succeed. Be in a rush to fail, and be slow to succeed.
• What’s one thing people are often surprised to learn about you? Just one?! Ok, fine – I’ve got 8 tattoos

 

 

 

Connect with LCP

www.lerielle.com

letsconnect@lerielle.com

IG: @lerielle.colepierre

IG: @thebiztea.communitea