From President of Her Fashion Club to Influencing Thousands: Catching Up With Chauncéa Carothers
ARTICLE BY SARA FREITAG | PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY CHAUNCÉA CAROTHERS
Chauncéa Carothers is a distinguished digital brand strategist who has had her entrepreneurial hand in a bit of everything. As a successful social media influencer, public speaker, mentor, Christian leader, and fashion and style guru, her voice is powerful and has reached many, not only directly through her own platforms but indirectly through the countless individuals she’s coached. We’ve had the opportunity to connect with Chauncéa and have been blessed by her influence within our collective—and we’re also very excited that she will soon be leading a cohort on brand strategy and brand growth. We recently had the opportunity to catch up with this wise woman of many talents, so tune in below to read a bit of her story.
Every point on your journey matters.
Chauncéa Carothers is a perfect example of these words. In so many ways, her childhood foreshadowed how her career would one day look—from dual purposing her mom’s office into her private playground as a kid, spending hours chatting with friends on AIM, and being president of her high school fashion club…to starting a business with her mom, coaching clients on social media brand strategy, and influencing tens of thousands with her chic sense of style and words of wisdom. Chauncéa’s life is a beautiful picture of how each season in our life directly or indirectly influences the next. And her journey also reveals to us that, no matter where we’re at or what we’re doing, God can use our experiences as fuel for our purpose.
This powerhouse of a human being has done a whole lot in her 30-something years—and much of it is due to her high drive and ambition, which can even be recognized through her choice of clothing in high school. At the time, she loved Laguna Beach and The Hills. She dressed in chic outfits for class—and some sort of blazer constantly graced her shoulders. Since Chauncéa was young, she knew the power of dressing for success and looking the part.
Because, when you look the part, you feel the part.
“I really do believe in the way we story tell and present ourselves, which is probably how I’ve gotten into branding,” Chauncéa shares. “I believe in having clear messaging, even with what you wear, or how your website looks, or how your social media looks—it’s very intentional.”
This intentionality carried over into other areas of her life, in that she found herself so focused on her goals, as well as fulfilling the prophetic destiny that had been spoken over her, that she was not easily swayed or sidetracked by the common distractions of youth. Growing up, Chauncéa’s friends often called her the grandma of the group, and while she has of course been sidetracked at one point or another (as we all have), she never veered too far off the course—largely because of an incredible number of people who had spoken into her life, her mother included.
Simultaneously, we can see the natural leader inevitably emerging through her high school years—in that Chauncéa was not only the president of her fashion club, but she was the president of several other clubs as well. In college, the influential style guru studied fashion and English, earning a degree in each. Before she even graduated, she started a brand strategy business with her mom and spent a number of years collaborating and working together with her.
Talk about driven!
While those years were not always easy, Chauncéa learned a lot from her mom, and she gleaned incredible experience. The influencer then launched her own business under her own name—which is what she continues to run today, but she and her mom still refer clients to one another’s businesses to this day. From office playground to partnership. It’s beautiful to see how things come full circle.
Not only does Chauncéa’s life reflect her posture as a natural leader and driven human being since even the days of her childhood, but it also reflects the interests that she’s held since then. Having always dressed well, it’s no wonder that fashion carried on into her career as a social media influencer. Dually, the memories she has of messaging her friends on AIM after school segued into her establishing Myspace and Facebook accounts, as well as Instagram and everything in between. All the while, Chauncéa knew there was potential for great power and influence on these platforms. This was part of the reason they intrigued her.
She now not only reaches tens of thousands through her own platforms, but she coaches others in doing so as well. Chauncéa has truly impacted and influenced countless individuals, starting with her days as president of her high school fashion club.
Your Story Matters
God really does use every single season of our lives. No twist, turn, nook, cranny, or crevice, is wasted.
We can see this through the different choices Chauncéa has made with her life and the way they’ve directly related to her current career. She encourages us with these words: “I hope you know that your story matters, and your voice matters—no matter how big or small your audience is.” Additionally, to anyone who may have prophetic words that have been spoken over their lives, she encourages us to stand firm and to trust in the Lord’s timing. Sometimes you have to wait awhile, as she’s had to wait a decade for some of her words to come to fruition. But take heart and don’t be discouraged. Even if you can’t see it now, God really is using every single season to write the masterful story of your life.