Today we’d like to introduce you to Le’Cheay Armstrong.
Hi Le’Cheay, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
The thought of my business was in the midst of the pandemic. There was a lot of uncertainty with a new virus going around and having to quarantine. At the time, I was receiving unemployment benefits and additional aid from my university. I knew that the money I was receiving wouldn’t last forever so I decided to use this additional income to start a business. I was and still am into make-up and I wanted to focus on something that I also had a passion for. This was also around the time where I saw discourse about whether black women like myself deserved to be in luxury spaces, whether it was high-end stores, restaurants, country clubs, etc. It was right at that moment, I wanted to create a cosmetics brand where women who look like myself can have quality and luxe products at an attainable price. CX Collections was born. I spent the rest of 2020 sampling products, designing, etc. Luckily, my sorority sister, Johnnetta Bolden, at the time had her business and introduced me to vending at events. She even let me share her table with her where I had a small set-up of my product offering which at the time, was faux lashes, lash glue, and a set of lash tools that came with a couple of applicators, tweezers, and scissors. That was my soft launch in November of 2020. I officially launched my website in January of 2021. I’ve gotten support but realized that I needed to meet my community where they were at and started to vend at pop-up shops in the Washington, DC Metro Area. I added lip glosses and lip liners to my lineup of products which was a huge hit. CX Collections and just my overall entrepreneurship journey had its ups and downs, but despite that, I’m proud to still be in business five years later.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe that the entrepreneurial journey is never smooth. In 2023, things started to slow down. My aunt passed and suddenly, I was taking care of personal affairs and because of this, my business took a back seat. In 2024, I had another death in my family which, through a chain of events, led to me and my family having to leave my childhood home. At that point, I was in survival mode and unfortunately, CX Collections remained on the back burner with orders and events far in between.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work as a Marketing Assistant at my alma mater, the University of the District of Columbia. I graduated in May 2022. I assist with marketing campaigns, website maintenance, social media, and more. I specialize in content production and strategy for social media. I’m proud of myself for continuing my education in Emerging Media at Loyola University Maryland. What sets me apart is my ideas. I have people close to me who want to pursue content creation and pick my brain on ideas and strategy, especially because I’m chronically online and I like to observe other creators’ and brands’ content to see what’s working and what isn’t.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as having a community behind your brand. Yes, success could be consistent orders, being booked and busy, making a profit, or selling out, but I think those are outcomes of success, not success itself. To achieve any of that, you need a community that genuinely supports and believes in your brand. That’s the foundation everything else is built on.
Pricing:
- Lip Gloss – $4.99
- Lashes – $4.99
- Lip Liners – $2.99
- Lash Tools (Applicators, Tweezers, Scissors) – $0.99
- Mirrors – $4.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cxcollections.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopcxcollections
