This week I wanted to feature an up and coming fashion designer who is not only beautiful and talented,  but she is a prominent leader and  personal business partner and friend to my husband and I. 

Lisa Nicole Cloud is the CEO and designer of the Lisa Nicole Collection. Originally from Maryland and now Atlanta based, Lisa began her brand nearly a 1 1/2 years ago and has been having exponential growth ever since. It also doesn’t hurt when she has the help from her Creative Director of her Diamond Collection, Dwight Eubanks from the Real Housewives of Atlanta! I got to sit down with Lisa after our business meeting last Monday to ask her a couple of questions about how she got started and this is what she had to say:

When did know you wanted to design clothes?

Lisa: “I have always had an passion for fashion. When I was looking for a new business, I wanted an industry that would make sense with the brand I already built. Sometimes it’s hard to find clothes as a successful woman when buying clothes off the rack that you don’t run into someone else wearing. “

Lisa went on to tell me about a national’s event that our company held a couple of years ago where she and a few other prominent women had taken center stage. The unthinkable had happened, she and another business partner were wearing the same dress! As you can imagine, all eyes were on the two women and one could only think “Oh wow,” at least I did.

It was at that moment that Lisa decided that this could never happen again and decided she would work with designers to create her own personal look. During this process Lisa found she had a gift. The gift became the Lisa Nicole Collection and she wanted to share it with everyone. She simply enjoyed what she was doing, which made it easy to turn her “passion into profits,” she said.

Who are some designers that inspire you?

Lisa: “I studied the model of Donna Karan, Karen Millen and Jessica Simpson. Donna Karren had different lines at different prices and Jessica Simpson was a lifestyle. I really wanted my brand to be a lifestyle; not just clothes, but shoes handbags and cosmetics. “

Some other designers Lisa love’s and have helped to frame her line include: Gucci, Valentino, Roberto Cavalli and Michael Costello.

Where do you see yourself growing with your line?

Lisa:”It’s very expensive and it’s glamorous in this industry. If you don’t know what your doing, you can get eaten alive in it [industry]. People are always amazed at what I have been able to do with the Lisa Nicole Collection in a year and a half. I go to all the major trade shows and work through boutiques. I am happy and my growth is at a manageable pace.”

Lisa and her family taking their walk at the closing of her Atlanta A-List Fashion Experience show December 16, 2013. Proceeds went to Medshare, a non-profit organization that aids medical needs. This particular one was for Haiti.

Lisa has had so much success that retailers have started asking to sell her product, however she wishes to keep it at a “direct to consumer” level for right now. In 2014 Lisa plans to continue working with boutiques and increasing her e-commerce.

Here she is receiving an award for community service efforts from Consulate General of Haiti in Atlanta, Grandy Thomas. Along side her is her husband (on the left), Dr. Darren Naugles.

Finally I leave you with a quote from Lisa that I find profoundly true, “Looking good is apart of success… when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good you do good. ”

Talk about a woman who wears many hats! If you are interested in the Lisa Nicole Collection please visit her website at lisanicolecollection.com. You can also find her on the Bravo reality show, Married to Medicine. this coming spring. The show will spotlight her own life successes, while being married to her doctor husband.

Lastly, if you want to learn more about the company Lisa and I are apart of click the link along side “From Working Mom to Stay at Home Mom…”