Hi there! My name is Chelle Allen, and I am the Founder and CEO of Dedicated Cowboy, an online marketplace for all things western. We’ve been developing this platform for about two and a half years.
I truly believe that God has placed this idea, plan, and project before me to ensure its success. It’s a significant responsibility, especially when I sometimes have my own ideas about how God’s plan should unfold. He not only reigns but often reins me in— you’ll see!
Dedicated Cowboy is still in its infancy. Not knowing much about marketing on social media or developing a website, I invite you to join me on this journey. Visit our website at www.dedicatedcowboy.com, follow us on Facebook, and Instagram. You’ll see that despite our best intentions, we have a long way to go to become the go-to website representing all segments of the western world.
I want you to experience the ups and downs, ins and outs of building, promoting, and eventually achieving success with this business—Dedicated Cowboy. You’ll be a part of this from the ground up. I welcome your comments, encouragement, and critiques. Many might think, “OMG, give it up!”—as if that thought hasn’t crossed my mind—but I’m committed to doing the work I know I have been entrusted with and fulfilling God’s plan. I’m glad you’re here—let’s do this together!
So, let me start ‘kinda from the beginning’…
In April 2022, I found myself in a frantic search for something to wear to my father-in-law’s Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame induction. I scoured every website I was familiar with—eBay, Etsy, Poshmark—and even raided my sister-in-law’s closet. In the end, I had to settle for my vintage Double D making one more round. I was completely frustrated that there wasn’t a single website dedicated to all things western, where you could find everything from skirts to tops to boots without hopping from site to site. So, I whined about it, donned my broomstick skirt, and headed to the HOF induction.
Before this, I had been on a soul-searching endeavor to find my purpose on earth. I consistently recited this prayer:
“Dear Jesus, may my purpose become clear for my career, my spirit, and my life. I pray that a career is set in motion that glorifies You and allows me satisfaction and time.”
Then, one Sunday morning after mass, it hit me—what if I created a website that did exactly what I had been so frustrated about? A western-specific Poshmark, an all-western lifestyle site in one place. Had I found my purpose? Was this an answer to my prayer? In my mind, it was a resounding yes! The name would be ReRide, as it would focus on used clothes. It would operate like other e-commerce sites, taking a commission, and I was sure people would flock to it. I was so excited I could hardly wait to get started—all this during the 22-mile drive home from church.
I told my husband, and he said, “Hmmm, do you think it will work?” Of course, it will work! This is my purpose. Undeterred, I set up the LLC, bought the domain name, and found a guy on Craigslist who “knew everything” about building the site I envisioned. I continued working my day job as an insurance adjuster and dreamed of golfing with Guy, playing with Boone, and watching the bank account swell. This was going to be great!
Well, guess what? Turns out “Craigslist Guy” hadn’t attended “that seminar” about building this type of website. But that was okay. I searched again for an e-commerce multi-vendor website developer and found plenty, mostly in India, at a reasonable price. I found a very sweet girl who spoke fluent English. After a small setback, I was back on track. But when I made the final payment of $500, the site was just a generic e-commerce site—not at all what I had described. This wasn’t what I had pictured, but I was not discouraged, well, maybe a little. I knew in my heart this was what I was meant to do, and I was determined to keep going.
Throughout all of this, I maintained a continuous conversation with God. After all, He got me to this point. In my prayers, I sincerely asked for His guidance, wisdom, and strength. But I often went about things my own way. Sometimes I wished God would speak up! Lessons were abundant. How committed was I? Had I misinterpreted that still, soft voice? People who know me would agree I’m pretty much a bottom-line person—I don’t get caught up in minutiae and drama. If something doesn’t work in a reasonable amount of time, I bail. But this was different. I truly believed this was what I was meant to do, the purpose God had given me. So, with that in mind, I forged ahead.
The summer of ’22 brought Texas heat, baby births, and life. My day job kept me busy, and I still hadn’t found anyone who gave me a warm fuzzy feeling about the site. So, I spent time reevaluating, rebranding, and renaming. ReRide became Dedicated Cowboy with a classy logo and engaging tagline. I was making progress, but there was still no one working on the platform or the site.
Then, Hurricane Ian made landfall in September, and I trekked to Florida with another couple to work on mitigation/remediation claims. I spoke at length about my “calling,” and about a week before returning to Texas, I reassessed my life while in a Walgreens parking lot in Cape Coral, Florida. I called a company in Tampa, and the owner said all the right things. He sent a contract, I signed up, and they got to work. In my mind, this was the reason I had come to Florida!
Back in Texas, we celebrated my husband’s National Cowboy Hall of Fame induction and prepared for a trip to Las Vegas for the World Series of Team Roping. We left before Thanksgiving and stayed with friends in Arizona en route to Vegas. While staying in our friends’ camper in Wickenburg, I had a Zoom meeting with the Tampa guy and was blown away! The site was actually taking shape—the colors, presentation, and look were spot on. Now, you can probably guess I’m not a developer by any stretch of the imagination, but I had never heard of the platform he was using, and he didn’t seem interested in WordPress or Shopify. He was the professional, and he appreciated my ability to allow him to “do his job,” which I was happy to do-to a point…
