Kickin’ it with Sidekick: Cheryl Sutherland

Celebrating awesome entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs just like you. Learn from others’ stories, successes, advice, and action.

It this Kickin’ it with Sidekick, we introduce another incredibly inspiring entrepreneur who joins us to share her words of wisdom and life lessons learned.

Meet Cheryl Sutherland – a transformational speaker and founder of PleaseNotes, a for-purpose company of affirmation-filled products. Wanting more than her 9 to 5 job and feeling restless and underwhelmed, Cheryl created a company that inspires women to step into their own power by building confidence, clarity and creativity. Prior to launching her company with great success, she spent more than 1,400 hours in learning and facilitating personal development, coaching and reigniting her inner creativity. Both Cheryl and her company, PleaseNotes, have been featured in InStyle, Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company, American Express OPEN Forum, Thrive Global, Brit + CO, Travel Noire, Good Morning LA, BlogTO and on podcasts such as The Creative Empire, I Love Success, No Philter with Phil Pallen, and more. Cheryl is the ultimate women’s empowerment expert, author and entrepreneur.

We are motivated by Cheryl, and we know you will be too! Keep reading to find out more about her.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned on your entrepreneurial journey so far?

That there are no right answers. People can make decisions and give advice based on the life that they've lived, but who you are, your life experience and the things that you bring to the table are going to color and change that ever so slightly. When I first started my business, I kept thinking that I didn't know enough and was often looking outside of myself for guidance.  In my head I thought, somebody must know better than me. Turns out, that honoring my inner voice is the way that I've become the most successful so far. 

What’s one thing you wish you knew before starting your business/current role?

Everything will take longer than you expect, and that doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.  In retrospect, I've always been more of a sprinter vs a long-distance runner, in relationships, dating, gym class, you name it.  I like to burn fast and hot and get things done (with a touch of burn out) instead of relaxing into a proper stride and getting to my goal without struggling so much. I'm learning to enjoy the journey, and not be so hard on myself if I don't hit a billion dollars in sales in 3 years. 

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like? 

I hit the snooze button a couple times (I'm only human ya'll) and then I meditate for 20 mins.  I'm loving this Calm-Ease Mediation by Thich Nhat Hanh at the moment.

Do you have a personal ethos that helps guide your decisions and choices? What is it and where did it come from?

Two big things: "Everyone is always doing the best they can" and "Everything is always working out for me". The first one helps me because I can be hard on myself which also means I could be hard on other people. By giving other people grace, I'm able to give myself grace and reduce the amount of friction in my life. The second one is a clear confirmation that no matter what, the universe is taking care of me, there are no real mistakes, and that it's safe for me to expect good things.

We are inspired by Cheryl’s life lessons, advice, daily habits, and personal ethos. Stay up to date with Cheryl by following her on LinkedIn.