We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicte Cuevas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicte below.

Nicte, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

Life always brings us challenges, but with those challenges come opportunities. I knew I always wanted to have my own business with a small but powerful team. However, I felt getting a strong working experience after graduating was important. Every job I had while in college, and after that, I was a knowledge sponge. I tried to soak in as much as I could. I mostly had amazing bosses that weren’t afraid to show me the ropes and help me prepare for my business dreams. Then, I met my husband, who was in the Military. And everything I had planned changed. When I moved to be with him, I couldn’t find a job. Despite my many years of experience and a degree, no one wanted to hire a military spouse. I applied in several places but heard crickets. 2 weeks after our wedding, my husband got short notice to deploy to a really dangerous spot. I was in a new city, I couldn’t find a job, and so I felt that was the time to start my business. While I managed to build my business and land a high-paying client, I was managing a lot as a new military spouse in a new city with no family and my husband in hot spots. It was a difficult season, but I never gave up and pushed through. Part of me wishes I would have started sooner to have an actual strategy to get started. Instead of staring because that was my only option, and I had to make it work. I loved what I did, and my young eagerness to get clients also brought a lot of mistakes out of desperation and a solid plan. Starting sooner, before I met the challenges of military life, would have allowed me to be more prepared as a new business owner, set goals, structure and boundaries.

Nicte, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Nicte Cuevas an award-winning bilingual Brand Strategist and Designer, and owner of Nicte Creative Design. I connect color, cultura, and design into a purpose-driven brand strategy for visionary companies. Through my empathy-driven methodology, I evolve, invigorate, and amplify businesses with unique brand positions. My roots from Venezuela, Mexico, and Colombia deepen my love and commitment to cultural diversity and help underrepresented communities feel seen, heard, and understood through brand experiences. I’ve worked with notable international brands such as Adobe, Behance, Adobe Express, LinkedIn, Creative Pro Network, The Houston Zoo, One Earth, Ford Momentum, Dignity Memorial, and Davidson College. And I have also worked with incredible small businesses and startups in English and Spanish markets.

Our work with cultural brands has had a massive impact locally and nationally. One of our largest projects was branding for a $4 million study for housing needs in Harris County in Houston, Texas. Our clients Ford Momentum and The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, along with the collective team involved were recently recognized in the coveted 2022 APA Texas Planning Awards.

When I’m not building brands, I do courses with LinkedIn Learning. As a LinkedIn Learning Instructor, I have taught over 70,000 worldwide with several courses on branding, color psychology, cultural diversity, and design.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Navigating budgets, not just for my business but for our client’s needs. When I became a business owner, I understood first-hand how a budget can limit some of your decisions and resources. It was completely different from when you work for a company that handles that with its own department and can provide you with the right resources. So, I had to learn to be strategic with my goals and define areas I needed to invest in to help my business grow. Knowing these limits also helped me understand that not all clients want to get cheap work — it’s that they are in a season in the business where they may have limited resources while they build.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

For many years I struggled to get pregnant. When I finally did, I was in my mid-30s and unfortunately developed severe preeclampsia just 2 weeks after the military moved us to a new city. I could barely walk and felt exhausted. When I went in for the check-up, the doctors had to move quickly as I had extremely high blood pressure. Unfortunately, my preeclampsia couldn’t be controlled, which led to me getting water in my lungs and having to induce my son at a delicate 26 weeks and 6 days. My son was born a micro preemie and had his first of 5 surgeries on his second day of life. He was so small my husband could hold him in his hand. He spent 111 days in the NICU, and at that time, I had to limit my client work and try to work from my phone while I would hold him in the NICU. We’ve navigated a lot of challenges but have overcome so much. That entire experience led me to diversify my income revenue in areas that gave me more flexibility to be there for my family. And that ultimately led me to do many courses with LinkedIn Learning. This also allowed me to be more selective with client work that aligned with our mission and has allowed me to hire a part-time employee.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nictecreativedesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.nictecreativedesign.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nictecreativedesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nictecuevas
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicteCreativDSN
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NicteCreativeDesign