Nic Hyl is the founder and creative director of New York’s newest emerging and award-winning swimwear and lifestyle brand, Nic Hyl. She is a lover of travel, fitness, and fashion and she has worked in the fashion industry for brands such as Normal Kamali and Ralph Lauren.
Nic has taken her industry experience, Jamaican roots, and Florida upbringing to create a brand inspired by her love of quality, fashion, and a vacation-inspired lifestyle.
“It’s the beauty of fashion that I see on a daily basis on New York City streets coupled with my Florida roots and Jamaican culture, that has inspired me to create a swimwear and lifestyle brand to help fashionable women translate their personal style to the beach, pool or wherever their lives take them. My goal is to celebrate a wider definition of beauty for everybody, everywhere; one uniquely beautiful garment at a time.” – Nic Hyl
Currently, Nic is working on wholesale and new ready-to-wear styles to continue to bring her visions to life and building her program Nic Hyl Fashion University to help other brands and organizations master product development and production.
For more details, visit Nic’s website here.
Here we sit down with Nic to learn more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Nic: I decided from a young age that I didn’t want to work for anybody. I must have been seven or eight years old when I started my first small business. I made beaded bracelets and necklaces and sold them to my friends and family. I even made business cards out of loose leaf paper and I think that was the beginning of my journey.
I’ve refined my business model over time and defined what my purpose and values are. I became a designer and I decided to work with brands and other designers to learn how to run a fashion brand. Now, I have my own fashion brand and I’ve combined my art and business acumen to create unique designs.
Q. What are your long-term goals in business? Paint a vision for the future
Nic: I want to build an empire. I want to keep moving and continuously set and achieve new goals. I’d like my brand to encompass clothing, home goods, accessories, and skincare.
Recently, I created a program to teach other people some of the things I’ve learned in the fashion industry working at Ralph Lauren in global manufacturing, product development, and production.
That experience helped me learn specific skills that are not taught in design school, so I want to share that knowledge. As designers, we learn how to create visuals, but we don’t learn a lot about the logistical and operational side of things, so I want to help fill that gap.
I’m also working on becoming a professional speaker and I’d like to write a book someday. There are so many things I want to do in the fashion industry and so much I want for myself, so I see myself accomplishing a lot of different things in the future.
Q. What motivates you?
Nic: I think my curiosity motivates me very much. I’m an inquisitive person and I’m always questioning things. I’m always looking for answers and I like to dive deep into the things that interest me, so that keeps me motivated. I think you have to be curious and seek answers about things because it allows you to learn, grow, and open your eyes to see the world in a different light.
Q. What business-related book has inspired you the most, or, what is your favourite book?
Nic: That’s an interesting question. I wouldn’t call myself an avid reader and I don’t enjoy it very much. My mom loved reading and she taught me to do it at a very young age. However, she forced me to read, so I naturally began to hate it.
However, an old book comes to mind. I believe it’s called The Success Factors and I don’t remember who wrote it, but it was written in the late 70s or early 80s. The author interviewed a variety of successful people across different disciplines, such as athletes, actors, etc. He was trying to find a common thread among these people who had made it and found success. It appealed to my curious mind and I found the book to be really interesting
Q. What strategies do you use to optimize your performance or mindset?
Nic: Asking questions and doing the work for myself is one of the things that help me optimize my performance. I know that it’s common for business owners to outsource and delegate a lot of their work.
However, I think in the beginning it’s important to understand what the work is like before you delegate. If you don’t know anything about it, how can you expect your team to do it right? I think being able to teach yourself and ask yourself questions is a great way to optimize your performance and mindset.
Q. If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
Nic: You know, I think about this a lot because I do want to write a book one day. However, I don’t know what I would name it. If I had to answer, I would say I would call it “To Be Continued.” I would like to write a book about my career and a book about my life story. It has been a crazy ride and I’d like to share what I’ve learned. Maybe I could also write a book that combines my professional and personal experiences; that’s a possibility.
Q. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?
Nic: Investing in myself is one of the most worthwhile investments I’ve made, part of that meant taking a shot on myself and leaving my corporate job, where my immediate supervisor was very racist towards me.
Q. Where do you see the future in your niche/industry 3-5 years from now?
Nic: There are so many things I want to do in the future, so there are many answers to this question. When it comes to fashion, I would like to have a large market share in the fashion industry. I think we will continue seeing brands pop up everywhere and the swimsuit sector will continue booming.
When it comes to professional speaking, I think a lot of people will continue to realize they have a story that’s worth telling to inspire and motivate others, so the industry will continue to grow.
As far as course creators go, I think that things will level off or die down a bit. There are so many course creators out there in the digital education space, I think it’s becoming saturated so it might die down. But who knows, maybe I’m wrong.
Q. What is your ‘one-sentence’ piece of advice you’d like to give to someone who wants to become an entrepreneur, coach, or business owner?
Nic: I would say you have to develop your stamina. Building a business is a long game. When you hear other people’s stories, including my own, it’s easy to think that these things happen overnight. However, it doesn’t! As the adage says, it takes 10 years to make an overnight success.
So, you need the stamina to keep going. Don’t expect things to happen overnight. It can take a lot of time to achieve the level of success you want and that’s okay. Your journey is your own, you just need to hone the strength and energy to continue climbing so you can achieve your goals.
To keep up to date with Nic and her journey, connect with her on LinkedIn, and Instagram.