Season 3 - Episode 2:
Planning for Growth- Nicole Gibbons
Episode Summary
Nicole Gibbons is on a mission to take life from drab to fab. The founder of Clare paint company, former host of Home Made Simple on OWN, and all-around interior design expert talks to us about how she prepared to make it as a Black female entrepreneur in 2020.
Episode Notes
Nicole Gibbons wants to change how we make our homes beautiful. “My aspiration was to be the next Martha Stewart,” she says, and she’s on her way. The former PR rep has leveraged years of networking, blogging, media experience, and PR savvy to launch Clare, a direct-to-consumer business selling interior paint.
In this week’s episode, Gibbons gives us behind-the-scenes access to how she landed an on-air hosting gig soon after leaving her day job (hint: it involves a lot of networking!), and how she used that opportunity to get VC funding and launch Clare as a brand. We also talk about the unexpected visibility of being a Black entrepreneur in 2020, how the pandemic enabled online shopping for unexpected products, and why networking and creating relationships really is that important. Clare is now taking aim on an industry dominated by legacy brands with nine-digit valuations, and Gibbons feels prepared. “A lot of time was put in before it was actually successful,” and she’s now ready to go global.
Join the conversation on Facebook in our #imakealiving group, where you can chat about challenges, find resources for success, and stay connected with other entrepreneurs!
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