In this new series, Melissa is talking with entrepreneurs around the world. Today’s guest is Nicole Gibbons. They discuss her journey towards incredible success in her field of interior design and the growth of her business Clare Paints from her blog. She took some risks early on when she started her blog in 2008 and the evolution from a blog to a physical product is a perfect example of turning your side hustle into your career.
Beyoncé mentioned Clare Paint in her directory of black-owned businesses!
“When Queen Bey acknowledges you, know you are indeed a reflection of that sovereignty. ”
Nicole, the CEO of Clare Paint, talks about here first job in this theeverygirl.com article:
“My first job was as a PR Assistant at a well-known fashion retailer where I rose through the ranks from assistant to Global Director over the course of 9.5 years. I landed that job through hustle and hard work. I finished Northwestern a quarter early and came out to NYC during that last quarter and worked two simultaneous internships — one working three days a week as PR intern at Interscope Records and the other two days a week in the PR department at Kiehl’s. While I was interning I was constantly networking and looking for a full-time role in PR, and I landed my PR assistant role after an introduction from someone at one of my internships.”
Millennial small businesses now outnumber Boomer small businesses, and much of these young entrepreneurs’ potential remains untapped. According to a study released, Millennials–Americans born between 1977 and 1995–are the most entrepreneurial generation yet. Half of Millennials plan to start a business in the next three years and more than half said that with the right resources they would quit their job to start a business in the next six months.
When you are starting your road to being an entrepreneur, there is no blueprint. So it requires the ability to trust your instincts. Just starting is the hardest part for some people because it is a leap into the unknown.
