We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alicia Coulter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alicia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My personal lifestyle brand, Alicia Nicole (alicianicole.org) was birthed from my belief that every professional woman should have a personal lifestyle brand. Once I developed my personal brand, I was not sure what direction I was going, I just knew that I wanted a brand that allowed me the opportunity to do something outside of my traditional executive environment. When I created my brand, coaching was growing, however, I knew that I did not want to do that. I knew that I wanted to create safe spaces for Black women, I just did not know what that would look like. Was it a blog, podcast, speaking engagements, or all three? I honestly did not know what I wanted to do until I knew what I wanted to do, does that make sense? I do not want to make it seems like I miraculously had everything together; it took me some time to figure it out, but when I figured it out, I did not look back.

I knew that there were unspoken benefits of providing luxurious and safe spaces for Black women, I just had no idea where my personal lifestyle brand would take me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Alicia Coulter, MPH, MSW and I am the CEO of Harmony Development Associates (HDeVa) (www.hdeva.com) and AHN Foundation (www.advantagehealthnow.com). Both of these organizations highlight my professional and academic experiences and expertise. HDevA allows me the opportunity to provide strategic planning along with professional and organizational development services to organizations. AHN Foundation allows me to provide health equity programming to the Black community. As much as I love my executive role at both of these organizations, my lifestyle brand provides me an outlet that I really cannot explain. Most recently, I developed two trademarked groups under the Alicia Nicole Brand called, “Safe Spaces for Black Women™.” One group is a group of Black women that work for an organization in Seattle, WA. We meet weekly for five weeks with a beautiful lunch to culminate the space. During these meetings we strategize and share experiences among other things. I do not want to go in to detail regarding how we navigate this space, just know that these women have confirmed they look forward to the space. These women leave the safe space feeling validated, encouraged, and desiring professional elevation. My other group is a group of Black women in the Los Angeles area and we meet monthly over a fabulous brunch, have guided conversations, and have virtual chats during the time we do not meet. Relationships are built and each woman feels safe. OH, I forgot to tell you, we have a trip planned for 2024. It’s not a retreat, but a legit vacation away from all the drama!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My workplace experiences within corporate America fuel me to continue to elevate as a professional woman. I neglected to mention that I have a book, “Safe Spaces for Black Women” dropping October 15, 2023. Let me tell you, this book is my swan song and shares my why, you know, why I keep going even after my professional experiences. Writing this book after experiencing workplace abuse for over a decade, being forced out of countless jobs, being fired, being made to feel as though I was not good enough, and anything between has been my space of freedom. I wish I could just share a story, but my overall story is too multifaceted to just share a story. What I can tell you is, my resilience comes from my need to succeed and not let my experiences in corporate America define who I am as a professional.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My reputation was built by exceeding expectations. I make it a habit of completing the tasks at hand and then going above and beyond. Some people want to give the customer what they did not ask for before they finish what the customer asked for. I opt to finish the task and then excel. I can promise you, no client wants you to give them something that they did not ask for. Your client wants the task completed and will then appreciate the extras.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alicianicole.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equitywithalicia/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciacoulter/

Image Credits
Mogul Behaviour JML-AKL