We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Boyd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, how do you think about risk?
I am a huge fan of taking risks and a believer that the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. I have taken risks throughout my whole career from deciding to jump from one big 4 firm to another to get more into tech/consulting to leaving a corporate job for a boutique consulting firm with a more flexible and entrepreneurial working environment, to spending my personal savings and bootstrapping my company Prept.

I have always kept my eyes open for career opportunities and have found it helps me see what is possible, identify my worth to the market, broaden my skillset, and push me to be uncomfortable vs. comfortable and truly grow as a professional!

Last I think the topic of readiness is connected here and I think if you wait until you are ready…it may never happen. Take the leap, try it out, at a minimum its a “flopportunity” – a term someone once shared with me but holds so much truth in that worst case you live and learn!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Prept got its start from a brainstorm sesh, while I was on maternity leave, on the back of my closet door with sticky notes – true story. I wanted to solve a problem for women that I was passionate about because I experienced it in my own life – that being the stress getting “prept” for moments in my life. From my wedding, to others weddings, to just going to work/hanging out with friends, I wanted to look perfectly put together…but it was so much time & effort. Going to stores, online shopping, curating outfits, finding beauty products, etc. was all effort that I wanted a more enjoyable experience for. So I started to get passionate about creating a solution to this problem…

Enter Prept. Prept provides personalized, yet affordable style + beauty services that are designed to help you save time/stress and feel beautiful, confident, & “Prept” for anything. We know women have different needs when it comes to style/beauty – so we try to offer something for everyone. From special occasion styling to everyday wardrobe advice, and makeup lessons to makeup bag makeovers, we match you to professionals (aka bffs) that you can work with 1:1, virtually.

Fast forward to now I have successfully built and launched this company during a pandemic, grown a community of amazing women through social media, listened to our community and clients to learn, evolve, and pivot, invested in tech (we have had an app Beta, were working on another!), invested in countless relationships and partnerships, etc. We are now in full blown growth mode as we scale up virtually and in major cities through our in person Prept Party concept.

Last, and part of my story, while I have always loved fashion and trend setting personally, out of college the path I knew and route I wanted to go was corporate. I wanted a big name on my resume and to have a good job and get paid! I knew nothing about entrepreneurship. That all changed when I had some real time off to think about the next step in my career. I would encourage others to explore this path! It can feel like a risk but it is so rewarding and worth a shot. I believe that it truly allows you to truly explore something you are passionate about.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
SO I recently moved to LA and I live in Brentwood but have been traveling to LA and exploring the city / Cali for years. Here are my recs at the top of my mind!

Brunch
– Coral Tree Cafe
– Great White
– Republique
– Catch

Dinner
– Love me some sushi – Katsuya and Sugarfish are my go-tos right now
– A.O.C (Brentwood)
– Elephante (Santa Monica)
– N.10
– Bacari (West Hollywood)

Vibes
– Rooftop by JG (BH)
– Santolina (BH)
– Calabra (Santa Monica)
– EP & LP (West Hollywood)

Hang
– Malibu Farm Pier Cafe
– Malibu Wines
– The Grove
– Palisades Village

Recover
-Joe & the Juice
– Alfred
-Kreation

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Love this as the starting point and I should give credit where it is due. S.O. to Taylor, my husband that has given me the support I need to get started (even helping me come up with the name) and keep going even at the cost of nights, weekends, our savings, him having to do manual labor to setup our events, helping me with fundraising, etc. It has not been an easy road and I’m only a ~1 year in but he has let met put it all on the line to live my dreams and do something that I am truly passionate about and I couldn’t have done it without him. My almost 2 yr old daughter also keeps me going she is the light of my life and everything I do now is for her!

Website: www.prept.club

Instagram: https://instagram.com/prept_

Facebook: www.facebook.com/preptclub

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_OzrkUSpeRbwgScdfKvtiw

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.