Meet Cherrelle Overby: Owner of NYCOWLL Fashion Boutique

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cherrelle Overby and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cherrelle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was surrounded by building a legacy for my future family. Since the very beginning of our marriage, my husband and I made a vow to break generational curses and create something that we could pass on to our future generations. Being African-American, our culture typically isn’t known for having generational wealth or if it started in a previous generation, that generation did not teach the subsequent generation how to continue these practices so that we do not return back to a state of struggle. Our boutique: NYCOWLL (pronounced Nicole) will actually be the name of our someday future daughter. We put together a unique way to spell it by combining a few letters from both of our names. We want to teach our children how to build a legacy, continue to teach their future children and help others by giving.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Since I was a little girl, I have always had a drive to become successful. I was always determined to become a professional that others would look up to. Spending my childhood in South Central Los Angeles, this may not have been something most would say that I was destined to be. But something inside me knew that I deserved more. Of course, like anyone else, success did not come easy. I made fairly good grades in high school and was able to attend a University and obtain my bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Upon graduating, the 2008/2009 recession hit and there were no jobs that were hiring. I could not get a job that would support me living on my own even with my degree. My only option was to go back to school. So I decided go back to school to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a nurse. Due to the job market at the time, many others also had the same idea. Getting into nursing school was a struggle as all of the schools were very competitive and had a waitlist of a year or more. Eventually, a friend referred me to a school that did not have a waitlist and I was able to get in after about a year of applying to several different schools. I am now a full time Registered Nurse. My job is very rewarding and it definitely feels good that many appreciate what I do. But my overload of student loan debt is also another reason that drove me to become a business owner. My love for fashion and passion to give back is my why for NYCOWLL. The message behind my brand is to show women that we are strong, resilient and enough. We can get through any challenge as long as we are persistent and never give up on executing the goal. Women tend to carry a lot of stress, deal with a lot of criticism and tend to be competitive of each other. I want women to shop my brand and leave with encouragement, bliss, and fabulousness.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I don’t go out much so I don’t know all of the latest hot spots but, If my friend was visiting the area, I would definitely take them for a bike ride along the beaches: Venice, Huntington, etc. with some stops along the way to enjoy the sand and scenery on Day 1. Day 2 would a include a visit to the Broad museum, then a ride on the glass slide at OUE Skyspace LA and Howlin’ Ray’s for lunch. On Day 3, I would take them to LACMA and to the Griffith observatory, then Portos to grab some food. Day 4: We would hop on a double decker Hollywood tour bus followed by a hike to the Hollywood sign. Day 5: includes a stroll through Rodeo Drive and lunch at Pink’s Hot Dogs. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a shout out to my husband Will. He is the reason why we jumped in and started our boutique. His entrepreneurial instincts gave us the push we needed to create NYCOWLL. Once he gave me that spark, I was all in. Will knew that I had a love for fashion so it was actually his idea to start the boutique. He has been very supportive in running the business with me, working long hours, putting together our website, helping with customer service and the overall operation of our business. I couldn’t have done it without him. With having experience in running his own business: WNOPhotography, he has definitely been an asset in contributing to NYCOWLL. After all, it is our “baby”.

Website: https://nycowll.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nycowll/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nycowll
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NYCOWLL
Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nycowll

Image Credits
WNO Photography