Meet Kendall Cherry, the Founder of The Candid Collective, where she serves as a ghostwriter, brand storyteller, and sales mastermind for online businesses looking to stand out. Kendall has channeled her passion by empowering clients to monetize their creative talents, challenging the “starving artist” narrative. As a result, she founded The Candid Collective to capture B2B service providers’ authentic voices with compelling angles, creating content that resonates as their own. This approach helps clients outshine competitors and generate sustainable revenue, enabling them to achieve financial freedom, enjoy more time with their families, take dream vacations, and so much more. Looking ahead, Kendall is writing a book to further inspire entrepreneurs to own their achievements and sell in a way that’s authentic, aligned, and ethical.

Below, Kendall shares the most meaningful impacts her work has had thus far, The Candid Collective’s specialized approach, and her vision for the future.

 

What are some of the most meaningful impacts The Candid Collective has had so far? 

My work as a ghostwriter is all about telling authentic stories that help my clients close more deals, make more sales, and generate more consistent and sustainable revenue. This all sounds great on paper, but I love what this work looks like in real life. When I take a look at the bigger picture, my work creates the revenue results that enable my clients to take more time off to spend with their families, take a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, create more financial freedom, or start investing, and even create life-changing products, programs, and services that help more people on our planet. I literally get goosebumps if I think about the impact that my words and my work facilitate. 

I also tend to write for B2B service providers who are making a living by sharing their unique gifts and talents with the world; usually those more creative, thoughtful, sensitive, or nuanced gifts that you were told you could never monetize. Our society loves to shame service providers into believing that there’s a starving artist narrative for the services they provide. I’m here to prove you can do the work you were born to do and make great money while doing it. 

 

What makes The Candid Collective different from other companies in the industry?

So many of my clients have what I call Copywriter PTSD. They basically hire a copywriter to write their content for them, then feel disappointed when they open the document and their content sounds nothing like them. I unfortunately hear this every week during sales conversations. I think that the role most business owners are actually looking for is a ghostwriter, but they don’t know this role exists because, well, ”ghost” is in the name and this industry is hidden in plain sight. The majority of your favorite content creators on the internet have ghostwriters who help them create all of the written content you read. And no, they’re not using AI. You probably need a ghostwriter if you care about the quality of your writing, don’t have time to write your content yourself, but want your content to convert into paying customers. 

 

What’s one thing you wish you had known before starting The Candid Collective? 

That most of the business gurus on the internet with huge followings who are dishing out business advice are serial entrepreneurs who don’t share the nuance of their success. I’m a first-generation entrepreneur who didn’t go to business school. I wish more business owners would share the privilege or access to resources they had to get to where they are. It’s perfectly fine to share how you made $20 million in your business in some crazy fast timeline. But I have a problem when that messaging blurs too many lines. This directly leads to productivity shaming, especially if the approach wasn’t scaled down to someone who is less outsourced. I see this a lot, especially when founders and content brands claim to be solopreneurs, but they actually have a team of contractors hidden behind the scenes. This is why I make sure that the content I write for clients is always upfront and honest about any nuance when describing how results are related. 

 

 

We dare you to brag. What achievements are you most proud of?

 

I monetized my email newsletter to $500,000 in ghostwriting services in three years with less than 600 subscribers and without running ads or using boring lead magnets that die in your downloads folder. I also had the simplest, most obvious lead magnet to grow my list of all time: my services guide. And now, my email list has become the number one source of clients for me, even over referrals. I think a lot of business owners and creators focus too much on vanity metrics like how many social media followers you have or how many likes or comments a post gets. It’s great for serving up a quick hit of dopamine, but it doesn’t actually move the needle, fill your funnel with warm leads, or convert into clients. I’m really proud of myself for staying committed to my Friday email newsletter, Wallflower Fridays, because I love writing it and my favorite clients read this newsletter religiously. 

 

What’s next for you and The Candid Collective?

 

I’m working on a book that’s all about B2B sales skills for minority entrepreneurs and creative types who struggle with selling their products and services. I have clients who are serving more than $10 million businesses that tell me behind closed doors that they’re constantly up against imposter syndrome and have a hard time owning their achievements, which to me is Sales 101. We’ve all been at a dinner party around the guy who works in tech sales and won’t shut up about the latest wins he’s had. But I find that many minority entrepreneurs and founders—especially women—struggle to share their achievements in the same way. So, I’m writing the book on how to sell in a way that’s more authentic, aligned, and ethical without getting swept up in the old-school sales strategies of the past that are, to quote my services guide,”pretty-fly-for-a-white-guy.” It’s 2024. There’s a way to sell that feels good for you and your ideal customer, even if selling has made you feel uncomfortable in the past. 

 

Kendall is a member of Dreamers & Doers, an award-winning community that amplifies extraordinary women entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders by securing PR, forging authentic connections, and curating high-impact resources. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and get involved here.