Meet Lorna Cheatham | Entrepreneur, Mental Heath Advocate,

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

Hi Lorna, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
The thought behind this business came from my desire to bring back jobs to the City of Detroit for disadvantaged and abused women of color, as well as returning citizens.

I did not have a budget per say when I first began. But as I got more involved with the process of sourcing products I found that I had to go into my savings which caused me to also make lifestyle changes, such as cancelling gym memberships and budgeting household expenses.

I think that if you are not willing to take risks the end result will not be good, we as business owners must be willing to take risks in order to be successful.

I’m originally from Nashville, Tennessee, growing up in a family of 12 siblings where sometimes we didn’t always have enough to eat or proper clothing to wear has had a profound impact on me, because I realized early on that I didn’t want to struggle the way my mother did. Since completing my education, I have successfully operated residential treatment facilities for the mentally handicapped.

When I started this new business, I had owned two existing businesses that required a lot of my time…and work just took over my life.  However, since I’ve learned to make ,myself a priority, first and foremost,  I understand the importance of self car and meditation. Additionally, I look at my work schedule daily and I prioritize work task to complete during the course of the day.

The most important factor behind the success of your brand is understanding and identifying your target audience.

Having integrity matters most to me because it makes way for honesty and trustworthiness, as well as being respectful towards one another.

What should our readers know about your business?
Clera’s Creative Gifts designs gift wrapping paper and gift bags that represent People of Color. I recognized that African Americans are not equally represented on store shelves, so I began focusing my efforts on designing gift wrapping paper and gift bags that show African American in a positive light to celebrate those life events and special moments. Clera’s Creative Gifts is a certified woman owned business by the WBENC, that’s based in the City of Detroit. I struggled to find the appropriate name for this company, so I decided to name it after my mother, which is my way of keeping her memory alive. I’m most proud of all of our product designs because they represent us. Getting to where I am today was not easy, but with perseverance and my faith in God made it possible.

I want the world to know that Clera’s Creative Gifts has gift bags and gift wrapping paper to celebrate Birthdays, Christmas, Weddings, Baby Showers and Kwanzaa.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Detroit has some beautiful places that you can visit such as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, numerous Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants, Hart Plaza, The Motown Museum, The Detroit River Walk as well as the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre if you love going to concerts, as well as a walk thru Detroit’s Greektown. There are more that enough dining and bars hangouts that will keep you occupied during your time in Detroit. Let’s not forget the Greektown and Motor City Casino & Hotel.

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 would like to dedicate a shout out to my Pastor and Mentor Mr. Art Cartwright of Global Empowerment Ministries for providing training on how to become a supplier, and how to source products from overseas, as well as how to get those products on retail store shelves. It was under Mr. Cartwright’s training that I formed the vision that I could do this and be successful at it.

Website: https://clerasconnect.myshopify.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clerascreativegifts

Facebook: https://facebook.com/Clerascreativegifts

Image Credits
Photographer: Hassan Ahmadu