After receiving such amazing feedback on our first post in this series featuring Katie Malone, we simply couldn’t wait to share our interview with Cheryl Higgins. You all know her as our Vice President of Sales & Stylist Services, but did you know she’s a mom of two who loves cheese, went on a safari in Africa, and is a huge fan of silent disco and coffee ice cream? Neither did we! Check out the video interview below, or read through the transcript to get the whole scoop.

Juniper: Hi cabi fans. We’re back with a special treat today, cabi Q&A with Cheryl, our Vice President of Sales and Stylist Services. So, Cheryl, tell us what exactly that means.
Cheryl: As VP of Sales and Stylist Services, I really support the Stylists. I want to help them be successful from a sales perspective and also, I’m in charge of the CAM department. So, we want to make sure that the Stylists are supported in their questions and really, they feel loved and served by us.

Juniper:  For our non-Stylists out there. What’s a CAM?
Cheryl: That’s a cabi Account Manager. Essentially, CAMs are hired to serve and support all the Stylists in the field with their questions about returns or exchanges.

Juniper:  You may have heard of them. No, the CAMS are awesome. We have so many amazing women and men here in our office.  
Cheryl: Actually, you were once a CAM, Juniper.

Juniper: I was, way back in the day. So, Cheryl, how long have you been at cabi?
Cheryl: I’ve been at cabi almost 15 years. I started as a Stylist back in the beginning of 2005. Then I transitioned into this role in 2009 or so.

Juniper: Cheryl works here in the office and she’s still a Stylist. So, she has her hands full, but she loves it all. So, we’re going to just barge in here and ask you a few questions today. We’ll start with a few easy ones. What’s your favorite piece from the cabi Fall Collection?
Cheryl: I love so many things. I love this, but this is a New Arrival. I’m going to grab it. It’s the Blooming Blouse, and the reason I love this is everybody that wears it looks so good in it. So, it’s my favorite this season.

Juniper: What is your favorite beauty product?
Cheryl: MAC, I love my MAC Extended Play Mascara because I try to attempt to make my eyes look bigger.

Juniper: It just enhances those sparkly eyes. What’s one item you cannot live without?
Cheryl: Cheese. Any kind of cheese.

Juniper: Speaking of cheese, let’s go dairy. What is your favorite ice cream?
Cheryl: Favorite ice cream is coffee. I love coffee ice cream, but I love Salt & Straw. That’s a brand of ice cream and you have to go stand in a really long line, but it’s worth it.

Juniper: I’ll have to try that. Maybe this is a silly question, but coffee or tea?
Cheryl: Oh, coffee.

Juniper: Every day?
Cheryl: Every day.

Juniper: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Cheryl: Some of you may remember Bewitched, where she wiggled her nose. But, I actually wish I could wiggle my nose and travel, so I could see my daughter in San Francisco and I could see my son in Washington D.C.

Juniper: Speaking of your children, tell us a little bit about them.
Cheryl: I have a son who is 28 and his name is Connor and he lives in Alexandria, Virginia. My daughter is Taylor, and she lives in San Francisco with her husband. She’s a newlywed.

Juniper: I can imagine you love karaoke. What is your go-to song?
Cheryl: First of all, I discovered something called silent disco. So, it’s not just karaoke I like. I like silent disco, and during the silent disco escapade that I had with other cabi fun people, we did the Van Halen song, Jump. That has become my favorite song for that.

Juniper: What movie or what movie makes you laugh or cry every time you watch it?
Cheryl: The movie that makes me laugh or cry every single time, and I’ve seen it so many times, is It’s Complicated with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. I just love it.

Juniper: What do you do to relieve stress?
Cheryl: What’s stress? No, you know what, I live in Manhattan Beach and I love to power walk with my husband on The Strand. That, just after a long day, it’s perfect.

Juniper: Do you just love living by the beach?
Cheryl: I love living by the beach. It’s the biggest thing I missed when we lived in D.C. For over 20 years, I just didn’t get to the beach as conveniently, if you will.

Juniper: If you could have dinner with one person or spend the day with one person, in the past or present, who would it be?
Cheryl: I think it would be with my brother who died 14 years ago. I would love to be with him again.

Juniper: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
Cheryl: Well, I’m always going to say I’d travel to Italy, but actually, my husband and I would love to go to Vietnam. That would be on our list.

Juniper: Do you have any special skills?
Cheryl: Well, I don’t know that I have any special skills. But, I would say that I can get a heck of a lot done in 24 hours. So, that, to me, is a special skill.

Juniper: What’s a book that you would recommend for all women entrepreneurs?
Cheryl: One book that really has spoken to me and I think it really speaks to women entrepreneurs is the book called Grit by Angela Duckworth. It’s about passion and perseverance and when they all come together and that as entrepreneurs, it really spoke to me.

Juniper: What’s the best advice that you’ve ever been given?
Cheryl: Well, somebody once told me, “Cheryl, you can sleep when you die.” Now that I’ve gotten a little older and I’m not sleeping very well, it’s actually turning out not to be the best advice, but it just means I get to do a lot in one day, because I can sleep when I die.

Juniper: How would your friends describe you?
Cheryl: I think the friends that really know me would say that I’m hard on the outside but soft on the inside.

Juniper: Any words of wisdom?
Cheryl: Be more present every day.

Juniper: Are there any quotes that inspire you?
Cheryl: There’s an African Proverb in my office at home that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, go together.”

Juniper: What’s a cherished memory that you have?
Cheryl: I’m going to do two cherished memories. My first is watching my husband when my son graduated from college, because my son over the years has had some challenges with learning. And, I loved watching my husband’s face, and then secondly was watching my husband walk my daughter down the aisle, just a few months ago. Those are great memories.

Juniper: That’s so sweet. What’s been your favorite family vacation over the years?
Cheryl: A family vacation that’s been my favorite is, actually, when I was a younger gal, when I was in my teens and we went in a Winnebago. We went all over the United States. That’s a cherished memory for me.

Juniper: What would you say has been the greatest experience of your life, so far?
Cheryl: So many but, I’m going to highlight one that just took my breath away, and that’s when my husband and I went on a safari in South Africa. It’s unbelievable to see the animals in their natural habitat.

Juniper: What’s something that most people don’t know about you?
Cheryl: Probably that I come from a family of six. I have three brothers and I have two sisters.

Juniper: Okay, what was your first job?
Cheryl: My first job, surprise, surprise, was in sales. I was a sales rep at Quaker Oats, so I sold cereal, granola bars, dog food, the whole gamut.

Juniper: From cereal and dog food to beautiful fashion. Did you ever think that you’d be in fashion?
Cheryl: I did not, but I love it.

Juniper: What have you loved the most about working at cabi over the years?
Cheryl: Oh my gosh, a lot of things, but, I think the people. I just love the people I work with, and I came from an all-male environment in corporate America that was hardcore, and cabi is just softer, yet we mean business. But, it’s the people.

Juniper: If this wasn’t your job, what would you be doing?
Cheryl: I think I might like to be, like, a really high-end travel agent, somebody that plans travel for people that have lots of money and the sky is the limit.

Juniper: Perfect. Well, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today. It’s so fun to let everyone get to know you.
Cheryl: It was great, thank you. 

If you could sit down with Cheryl, what would you ask her? We’re looking for more questions, and who better to source them from the very ladies we’ll be sharing these interviews with—you! Leave your ideas in the comments below.