We recently connected with Courtney Hicks and have shared our conversation below.

Courtney , appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

For me going through the actual idea to launch phase was a real life dream. For the first time I actually felt like I was living my dream out loud.

I had a list of ideas that I wanted to do and decided to write each and every one of them down and figure out which idea I would I actually like to tackle and make it come true. I looked at where I was at in life, what would make the most sense, how would I do it and what would be easiest for me to do at home with a baby.

Once I decided on what idea I liked the most, I then started coming up with names. I started researching names to make sure there wasn’t already someone out there with the same name.

I started coming up with my brand colors. I also started working on my mission statement and a very small business plan because I still didn’t know much of what I was doing. I was just trying to take action and figured I’d clean it all up later.
All of this was so much fun until I realized I didn’t know how to make website and that I didn’t have the energy to want to learn and figure it out.

So I then started looking for someone who could design a website. Once I found my web designer I shared with them my idea, my mission, ect.

During the time of the web development I had been reaching out to vendors until I found a good one that I liked. Ordered some sample products and used those to take my brand photos. Which I really need to upgrade because they are the same photos from 2 years ago.

During this time I had also just found out that I was pregnant again after just having a baby a year prior.

So my energy wasn’t always there but I was determined and commited to my goals. I started making my business Social media and started slowly building my page. I think when I officially told friends and family that I was starting my business is when I felt like it was real.

I started working on an official launch date and shocked everyone because I was doing everything behind the scenes and the only thing I told everyone was that I quit my job and that I had something in the works.

All of the setup from researching, to finding vendors, my idea, business names, ect took about 3-4 months. I was so eager to start that I literally just started with what I had and launched my business with one product. One product that I was passionate about enough that inspired others through my story.

My business has slowly grown since starting 2 years ago and I have learned to embrace the journey of where I’m at now and not be in a rush. I have learned so much since starting and I still have a ways to go but I’ve become so addicted to progress and it has kept me grounded!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My name is Courtney Hicks and I’m orginally from Southern California but reside in Texas with my family. I am a wife, a mom and a business owner. I have my own Womens Watch Line.

Before starting my business, I knew I wanted to create something that not only was inspiring and motivating but that also kept women empowered and confident in themselves to use or wear whatever I created to help start their new journey.

For me, I was a new mom and I wanted to be able to spend time with my kids so I was in the middle of trying to shift and develop my mindset. When you focus on your mindset you truly have the power to create the life you want. So as I focused on my mindset and my time that I started investing into my future it was then that I decieded I wanted to put the word “Mindset” on the face of a watch.

Visually seeing the word mindset not only keeps you in check, keeps you grounded and motivated to keep pushing but it also serves as a daily reminder to remind you that when you’re in the right space and in the right mindset you can create whatever life you want.

My watch line is not just a watch line. My watch brand inspires women, pushes women, empowers women to confidently pursue their dreams and makes them look good while doing so.

With my watch brand you look cute, execute and stay motivated all in one! All watches keep you focuse on your time, your mind and your grind.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Honestly I built my audience by posting inspirational and motivational quotes that inspired me to start my business. Others who needed motivation took to my page and my personality and from there my page started growing organically. I don’t have a huge following but I have a real following. People engage with people so if you’re just starting out, be yourself and engage with others. If you don’t have time to engage then don’t expect others to engage with you. Be authentic and show up for yourself. The rest will fall in place.

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

I think what is helping build my reputation in my market is that there aren’t many Black WOMAN owned watch brands. When people sit back and think about it, it’s not something you see often so we are hoping to continue to get our brand out there so we can one day be a well known Black owned, women owned, womens watch brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.mindsetcollection.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/mindset.collection
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/mindsetcollectionwatches

Image Credits
Kyra Williams