Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to  Lady Ni’cole. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lady Ni’cole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

That’s a difficult question. When I was younger I had always dreamed of being a music artist. I knew I was talented at a very young age and I had it all mapped out in my head of how my future was going to go. I was often involved in anything around me that was related to singing and entertainment. I was apart of school talent shows, church choir, local talent shows, and more. I think I was around 11 or 12 when I started taking my singing talents seriously. At that age, me “being serious” ,consisted of me learning how to write songs with my first keyboard. I just knew I was on my way to stardom. Of course, as you get older, you begin to realize that life does not go exactly as you had planned. I was in the BETA & Honors club, but by the time I got to highschool I was yearning for a creative outlet. Those outlets ended up with me joining the school chorus club, danceline team, and hiphop team. I didn’t have the best childhood growing up, so these things were like my escape. In chorus I was able to practice my vocal skills and perform at school talent shows. When I was on the danceline team, I was apart of the band. I loved it because I got to dance on the field during halftime at the football games. Our band participated in several competitions where we would always get the highest superior rating. We also got the chance to perform in the Disney Parade in Orlando, FL. During basketball season I would perform during halftime as well. When I got to my senior year, I finished high school early because I had taken some other classes that would help me advance and start college early. I had a plan to go to the Art Institute of Atlanta for audio production, but I was not able to go due to how expensive private schools are. I floated around different community colleges trying different programs, but nothing stuck or interested me. This is when I decided to join the Army. I served about 5 years and was able to gain experience in the IT field (which was my job), as well as travel to many different countries. Looking back now, I can say that I would have been ok with starting my creative career journey later because I have learned so much about this industry and the business of it. I was able to audition for Americas Got Talent and The Voice. I have learned from experiences how to turn failure into a positive outcome. I now know how marketing works, how to start and manage a business, the importance of networking, and so much more. The music industry is difficult and not a lot of people get the business side of things. It’s so easy to end up in the wrong business deal when your a young artist with no idea of what to do. Now I know how important it is to protect yourself as an artist.

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

What sets me apart from others? I believe my versatility and drive is what sets me apart. I am a business person at the core, so I am always looking for a way to turn a creative passion into something profitable. Some people only know me as a music artist, but I am also a business owner. I spend a lot of my time learning audio engineering at my current school (Full Sail University), recording at different recording studios from Tampa, FL down to Miami, and networking with other artists, radio stations, and producers. I also created my own label (Dreambox Music) that I’m hoping to grow into something bigger one day. On the flip side of that, I also spend much of my time investing in and growing my other business. I created my own brand (Skinology Studio) and turned it into a business. At first Skinology Studio was a service based business where I did microbladed brows. Since I have gotten more into e-commerce, I have started to turn this business into an online product based store. Skinology Studio has its first lipstick design that will be launching soon. Running two different businesses can be frustrating, but I always think about the positive outcome of what could be. I look at other people in the industry that are doing it on a bigger scale than me and say to myself “they had to start somewhere”. I mean look at Rihanna…music artist turned billionaire because of how she invested in herself. She made great music for years then pivoted to invest in her ideas of having a beauty & lingerie brand (Fenty). I feel like I am doing the same thing now, on a smaller scale, but I’m proud of the journey and the success that I have made so far. I’m just getting started!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think that when it comes to non-creatives, the best way to show support is to actually “show some support”. A lot of times we are entrepreneurs that are striving to get to the point where we can live off our income from our creative passions. A lot of people don’t understand the lifestyle you live and can’t relate to your goals when you are a creative. I’ve lost friends, relationships, and had to pivot from different careers while on my journey. You hear it all the time “the market is saturated, everyone is trying to do what you’re doing, are you sure that’s what you want to do”? My best advice for creatives and any entrepreneur trying to build a business is to stay away from or limit access from negative people, especially if they’ve never done what you’re trying to do. This life is hard enough and we don’t need negativity clouding our goals. Non-creatives see the polished end results of something and never really see what it took to get there. They don’t see the long hours in the recording studio. They don’t understand the business side of the industry when it comes to distribution, royalty splits, copyrights, owning your masters, and the legal aspect of things. Non-creatives don’t understand how hard it is to get in front of an audience to build your fanbase. A lot of independent artist have to promote themselves, invest their own money into music videos, recording time, paying the producer, and more. They don’t understand when you have to outsource to different vendors to create your product idea just the way you want it with the right ingredients. They don’t see how you have to self teach yourself a lot of things like creating your LLC the right way, working with a graphic designer for your unique business logo, trademarks, designing websites, business credit, and building an automated business that can be successful. Not everyone wants to work a 9-5. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with having a 9-5, but for myself…it would be something I would use as a crutch for the time being. Whatever income I would bring in from my 9-5 would be used to invest into my personal goals and aspirations.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

The slogan for my independent music label (Dreambox Music) is “Turning dreams to reality.” My current goal for my label is to push that narrative with myself. By investing in myself the way that I am doing, it creates a path of freedom. I am the artist, as well as the owner, so I handle everything from finding a producer to create a beat, write the songs, handle all the paperwork aspects, and oversee the royalty side of things. I also do most of the branding and promoting myself. My long term goal is to build a team so that I don’t have to wear so many hats. I would also like to create an opportunity for other artists to be apart of my label once things really get going. For my business “Skinology Studio”, I want to build a luxury beauty/skincare brand. I see my company being amongst other known brands like MAC, Tom Ford, FENTY, & YSL. The overall vision is to go from an online store, to having many stores located throughout malls all over just like Sephora or Ulta.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladynicoledidit/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVYG__ErF-n4dMF-7KL3vSQ
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4uDMvlZuEuD5hURTiHHVtY?si=gWsl7-aeRcSw6rFV5oOlZQ Skinology Studio IG: @skinology_studio