10 Questions with Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long

Cheri Leavy & Whitney Long founded The Southern C in 2011. It was quickly dubbed "The Social Network of the South" by Southern Living magazine. Last month, Katie Kime attended and spoke at a conference of theirs in romantic Round Top, Texas. She summed up all of our astonishment when she said "I am amazed at what they have built together, unequivocally, in the service of other women."

In your own words, can you describe what is The Southern C?

Whitney: With The Southern Coterie, also known as The Southern C, we’ve created a resource for passionate and creative female entrepreneurs in the South and beyond!  Think of us as a community of women with expert voices on so many of the topics that you need answered as an entrepreneur.  And, familiar faces, we’re a thriving group of fellow entrepreneurs that you #connectcollaboratecreate with on a regular basis to move your business farther faster!  

We’ve realized with TSC that there is a real magic that comes from bringing people together regularly and that is exactly what we do!   We have a thriving membership community and empowering in-person events like our annual #TSCSUMMIT or our seasonal Workshops and Retreats like our most recent TSC Retreat in Round Top.

Our events connect attendees with other seasoned entrepreneurs, mentors, and a really roster of impressive experts tackling topics relevant to our community. Always in an inspiring locale, our networking events give attendees the opportunity to collaborate effortlessly with other women in business.  Our programming is intentionally tailored to create camaraderie, community and we like to say “merrimaking” meaning the education and presentations are always balanced with fun - brand discovery, signature TSC social gatherings and time to recharge. 

Over the last decade, we have seen TSC evolve into this diverse group of brilliant, kind, talented and supportive women in business.  Our community includes founders of emerging brands from fashion to food, wellness to beauty, small business entrepreneurs like interior designers, artists, marketing professionals and seasoned female entrepreneurs taking on new ventures and looking to mentor the next generation of makers and doers.   So many organizations are limited to one particular industry or level of revenue but we’ve seen how helpful it can be to have a wide spectrum represented.

I would say a hallmark of our members and attendees is that they are open minded and action oriented.  Everytime we meet in person or virtually there is so much takeaway - we’re brainstorming creative ideas, finding solutions, sharing results and above all creating rewarding relationships and an encouraging support system.

How did you two first meet? What inspired you to make The Southern C?

Cheri: Whitney and I have known each other since college when she spent summers as a nanny in my hometown of St. Simons Island, Georgia.  She dated and married a high school friend of mine and my husband’s and here we are three decades later! 

In 2011, we became business partners when we started the blog, The Southern Coterie.  We wanted to highlight all of the people and places that make the South so special. Our blog was leading to so many interesting conversations that in 2013, we realized we wanted to connect more face to face with people.  We moved into hosting events designed to create community and foster connection for other female entrepreneurs like ourselves.  We’re both connectors at heart - kindred spirits who both love to facilitate problem solving and growth for other women in business by matchmaking with a peer mentor or a new friend to form a collaboration.  So what started as a blog became this very rewarding online and in-person community.  It’s so much more than we ever imagined.

How has The Southern C changed over the years? 

Whitney: The Southern C has changed and evolved as with any business, but the core of who we are, and our mission, has stayed pretty much the same which is quite amazing! We knew who we were early on and it has served us, and our community, well. And knowing who you are is important as it’s easy to get sidetracked and chase the next “shiny idea.” We understand our community so well because we are just like the ladies sitting behind the screens on our weekly zoom calls or in the seats at events - fellow entrepreneurs making it happen! 

In 2019, it was a natural next step for us to add a membership component to TSC - we wanted to keep the energy of #connectcollaboratecreate going 24/7/365.  Then Covid happened and the membership zoom calls really became the space that we all needed for camaraderie and support.  We’ve only seen that support system grow stronger as more members join and each bring their own unique perspective to the group.

We often laugh about the journey to get here and how we are like the “grandmothers” in this space.  It’s been a wild ride since we launched our first events in 2013 - there were not a lot of events that catered to creative female entrepreneurs.  It's been amazing to watch it evolve into something so unique and know that these events are making a real impact.  We get to see it all unfold in real time with our #ispytsc hashtag.  Phenomenal women living the #connectcollaboratecreate mantra.

What are each of your roles in the business? Have they changed over the years?

Cheri: Our roles have stayed the course much like our mission. We are both creative thinkers for ideation and innovation and we are both supportive advocates and connectors for our members and event alumni. We are active with communications and marketing. I tend to lean into the day to day operations and logistics and Whitney excels at scouting and looking for new talent and strategies to bring into the business. It works well because she often pulls me out of the weeds to work on our business, not just in it.

What are each of your superpowers…in business or otherwise?

Whitney: I think we share many of the same superpowers! We truly are on the same page 95% of the time - it’s a tad crazy how in sync we are! We are both intuitive and observant and hard workers. We are results driven. And, we both have servant hearts, an incredible love for what we do, and an insatiable curiosity. And lucky for us, all these traits feed perfectly into being the founders of The Southern C!

What have been some of your favorite Southern C moments/moments so far?

Whitney: ​​Goodness, that is a hard question! I think some of my favorite memories are often things outside of the actual events such as road trips (or flights) to our events, brainstorming sessions with Cheri and our team, late night laughs in hotel rooms after we have wrapped up a long day at TSC events (perhaps that is because we are delirious at that point haha!) and the camaraderie we have among our team which is the best team in the biz! While it’s work, it is also fun and we know how blessed we are to say that.

 As far as favorite TSC moments at our events, there are too many to count! But what immediately comes to mind happened at the 2024 TSC Summit earlier this year… 

After the passing of Phyllis Hoffman DiPiano, an incredible lady, entrepreneur and business leader, we created a TSC Summit Scholarship in her honor. The winner, selected from an application process, was Kristen Chester, founder of Casa Danu. Brian Hart Hoffman (son of Phyllis) joined us onstage to share about his  mom and mentor and her entrepreneurial journey.  Believe me, there were not many dry eyes in the room! We are excited to offer this scholarship again for TSC Summit 2025 so keep your eyes open for the announcement on this opportunity!  

I will add that while each TSC Summit, Retreat, and Workshop has its special elements and fun memories, most of all it’s our attendees that make each event truly unique! It feels like each TSC Summit gets better and better (we say that every year!) so maybe my current favorite moment is when you see the magic that results from all of the hard work (and leaps of faith)… our most recent TSC Summit Retreat was just a couple weeks ago in Round Top, Texas and I am still on a high.

Oh wait, how could I not mention the TSC Summit Silent Disco when everyone lets loose on the dance floor?? IYKYK!

What is a skill that you are currently working on? 

Cheri: I am working on my leadership skills for our team. Right now that consists of creating and/or documenting all of our processes and deadlines so our work flow becomes easier. I am an emotional leader who wears her heart on her sleeve and I would benefit from slowing down and being more proactive than reactive.  Strong processes help this! 

I am doing The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron right now. One of the themes surfacing for me is that success isn’t a destination but a journey and one that is different for all. It reminds me that we are meeting our members and alums where they are on that journey and finding ways to support them at the different stages. 

I have found myself thinking a lot about balance and duality - lightness and darkness, yin and yang, good and bad, the sun and moon - and how it takes both sides. I am striving to look at challenges as opportunities. I had a good laugh with a friend who said her son wrote in his college essay about how his mom looks at life’s challenges and hard times as gifts that illuminate the good times. She said sometimes I wish the gifts would stop coming! Mind over matter is hard but it truly is all in your attitude.

What is your favorite aspect of southern culture?

Cheri: The warm and welcoming sense of community is my favorite aspect of the South! You don’t have to be from the South to join The Southern Coterie or attend events but you do have to have a kind spirit and deep desire to help others along the way which are traits of southern hospitality to me.

What are you inspired by right now? 

Whitney: Surrounded by this community, I don’t have to look too far for inspiration. I am inspired by what these ladies are doing day in and day out - many of who are wearing all the hats and doing it gracefully and graciously. They continually inspire me with their determination, innovation, and execution.

What can we look forward to from The Southern C in the next year? 

Cheri: Our small but mighty team will keep striving to #empowerandeducate our community by bringing in leading voices and expertise weekly on membership zooms and at our live events.  Tickets are on sale now for our annual 3-day #TSCSUMMIT 2025 (January 28-30) at the Sea Island Resort in coastal Georgia (limited to 325 attendees) and our 2-day #TSCRETREAT is coming to The Colony in Palm Beach (limited to 75 attendees) in Fall of 2025. We will continue to keep our eyes and ears and hearts and minds focused on #connectcollaboratecreate to further this community’s magic!

Photo Credit: Kelli Boyd & Jenni Roberts