We were lucky to catch up with Kyla Nicole recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kyla, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
What I think it takes to be successful is sacrifice, discipline and extreme faith that is borderline delusion (lol). These two things have taken me extremely far. Let me explain. I know that for the level of success I’m going after, I have to be disciplined. The first year I was in business, I felt like I disappeared for a long time, and missed out on so much because I was so focused. I missed so many trips, I didn’t go out to eat as often and I didn’t really do much of anything that I felt would have me too distracted. This was so hard for me because I was stuck between choosing to hit my goals and grow my business and have a social life. My first year of business, my social life was DRY. Now I have a healthy balance, thank goodness! As far as discipline goes, I had to put myself on a routine and set both business and personal goals. For me, one can not exist without the other. Once I hit each goal, I would reward myself. This is what kept me consistent! I’m not a morning person at all, but I went through a good 5 months where I woke up at 5am or 6am to start my day to work on my business.
That last thing, which is equally as important as having discipline is having the largest amount of faith in yourself that nothing anyone ever tries to project on you can sway you from your path. My dreams are so big, I’m going to go so, so far. I believe in myself so much and do not care if anyone else does. I’m an extremely resilient individual and I know that if I am ever derailed from something I’m working on, it’s because I am headed towards something greater and not due to the fact that any weapon formed against me prospered. I love the phrase “ be delusional” because the greatest and most successful people in this world were labeled as such. I do not think anything is out of reach for me, so I really encourage other aspiring or current entrepreneurs to develop this same mindset. Bet on yourself every time, and make it happen! No excuses.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Kyla Nicole & I’m a 27 year old full- time entrepreneur from Chicago, IL. I started my business “Plastiques” after the pandemic forced me to shift to a different path, which I now understand was for the better and I’m so grateful. I worked in sports for 4 years, more specifically baseball and although I loved it, I knew it wasn’t my passion. I decided to turn something that I already did for some of my former clients’ female family members into a full fledged business. I always used to assist them with planning their cosmetic procedures, so I knew I was fully capable of creating an entire business around it.
I own and operate Plastiques, a luxury beauty and medical tourism company that focuses on connecting clients both domestically and internationally to the best network of surgeons, doctors, dentists & aestheticians abroad and stateside. My consultancy currently has 3 different divisions that clients can choose from ( cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry/ general dentistry & aesthetics). The services we offer are consulting for an array of cosmetic procedures, 1:1 pre & post operative guidance, coordinating luxury surgery & dental trips in Colombia and the Dominican Republic and beauty & wellness tours. My business does so much and I’m looking to add more international destinations and services in the near future!
The biggest problem I think my business solves for clients is guiding them through their beauty & medical tourism journey safely, seamless & effectively. It can be so intimidating traveling abroad for a procedure, but I make sure that my clients are prepared and knowledgeable about what it is that they’ve chosen to do.
What I think sets me apart from others in this industry is the way I’ve branded myself and my business. I’ve managed to bring the luxury aspect to beauty and medical tourism. Whenever I plan something for clients or travel with clients, I want their service to be nothing less than luxurious and top tier. My current clients and prospective clients can tell that Plastiques is a high end brand. I also think that because I’m extremely relatable and transparent, people feel very comfortable to reach out and work with me.
The thing that I am most proud of is the loyal community I’ve built using my platform and quick growth of my business. I have 400+ clients both domestically and internationally. It is absolutely insane to me how a vision I had has come to life and managed to go global within its first year of business. I have clients in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Australia, the Caribbean, China and Japan. That is mind blowing to me how many people I’ve reached in such a short period of time.
The main things I want my supporters, clients and future clients to know about my brand is that I built this business with them in mind and it was built with pure passion to help them become the best version of themselves. I want them to know that they don’t have to feel alone and that they have someone who is working to build an empire that can cater to all their beauty and cosmetic needs. I will forever be humble and a student so that I can continue to raise the bar each year for my business.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My biggest story of resiliency is a little triggering, so trigger warning. I was a victim of domestic violence during my 20s. I had my nose broken and I was burned. Your 20s are so crucial for development and it’s the time where you’re supposed to be having fun, figuring yourself out & creating yourself. I was so ashamed that I was being physically, verbally & emotionally abused. One day I decided I had to put an end to this cycle. I was so tired of suffering in silence, my family and friends had no idea what I had been going through. I literally remember the day I decided that I was not going to let such an ugly part of my past define me, so I set out to really focus on creating this new version of myself. I had to heal the version of Kyla that was broken so that this new version of me could be the best one yet and SHINE. I used my painful past to be my fuel to never let anything that has happened to me stop me from creating a beautiful life for myself. For all the times that I was told I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do, I showed up and out as a promise to myself that I, in fact, COULD do it. Instead of letting that crush me, I grew from it. I am so resilient. It was during that time that I really feel like I developed such a strength that I’ve channeled on so many occasions. You are never defined but the negative things that have happened to you. You can always heal and reinvent yourself. Your pain doesn’t have to be your identity.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
How I built my audience on social media was by being extremely transparent and consistent. For a solid 6 months, I posted content every single day. The more relevant and relatable content I created, the more people engaged with me. People started tagging me and supporting me and my platform grew like wildfire. I also feel like I built my reputation within my market by being a young, Black woman who actually knew what she was talking about. I have a lot of clients that identify with me because I’m so relatable. It’s still so crazy to think about. I am so grateful for all of those that have supported me. It means the world.
My best advice I can give on building a social media presence is STAY CONSISTENT. Nobody will show up for you if you don’t show up for yourself. Try to find ways to make yourself stand out and always engage with those that engage with you. Keep posting, do not be embarrassed if you don’t get the engagement you want. Building your platform is not an overnight process!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: thekosmetic.kay
- Other: Tiktok: thekosmetic.kay