Meet Nikki Becker | President & Founder of Ghauste Agency

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

Hi Nikki, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I would have to say, learning to pivot and not being afraid to change course. I think a lot of times, as business owners/founders, we feel like we have to stick to our initial vision and make it work, otherwise we feel the whole vision was a failure. However, I’ve really learned that the opposite is true. I think the best business owners are the ones that aren’t afraid to abandon things that are not serving the business and try new things to adapt to the changing market. The business I run today has lived maybe 5 different lives since it’s initial launch in 2017. The core of what we do is the same, but the services we offer, the way we provide our services, etc has changed significantly and is the reason we have been able to survive things like COVID. We even changed our company name and branding along the way. Some may say that pieces of our journey were a failure, but I think the fact that we’ve been able to grow exponentially year after year is a testament to the opposite.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Technically, I am the founder of Ghauste Agency, which operates as a private label manufacturing firm within the fashion, beauty and lifestyle space. However, the company I run today has come a long way from the initial company I founded back in 2018. When I started the business, it operated more as a one-woman consultancy for emerging brands in the fashion space. I would provide insights and basic support to new and/or young brands, in the fashion space, looking to cultivate their brand identity and launch their line and/or grow their product offering based on my extensive experience in trend research, product design, manufacturing, importing, wholesale and direct to consumer sales and brand marketing. With time, we slowly started adding more and more services as happy clients continued to request that we manage more aspects of the processes we were helping to put in place. For example, after receiving a marketing audit, we would have clients request that we produce the photo/video shoot concepts we were proposing, and/or build out their e-commerce website using the collateral created, etc. So, we started offering full package and a-la-carte services to help businesses build/strengthen their brand identity through the products they offer. Our design team is extremely adept at being able to take larger market trends and fine tune them to fit within the individual identities of the brands we work with to create truly unique and highly saleable products. Today we have clients that range from new entrepreneurs all the way to major retailers and continue to grow our product offerings.

I think one of the biggest challenges for any small business owner is letting go of what you thought the game plan was going to look like. I think when you start your business, you have a plan and a vision for how everything is going to go/what everything is going to look like. However, you quickly realize there are so many things that are going to unfold that were never planned for – some good, some bad. The key is to roll with the punches, get creative and not be afraid to keep re-working the roadmap. However, that’s easier to say in hindsight. In realtime, making those changes/adjustments can feel like failure and that can be extremely hard to work through. Sometimes it is failure in a way, but a necessary one to move forward and get to the place where the big sucesses will be. It’s a lot of letting go of ego and surrendering to the process and trusting that you will get where you need to go if you keep moving forward and putting in the work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Where to start? haha
Okay, well to start I am a coffee addict soo I would definitely take them to my favorite coffee spot to start: Kings Road Cafe. I always buy their 1 lb bags in bulk to keep at the house to keep me stoked between coffee runs haha. I even take back extra bags to Paris for my apartment there so I’m never without haha. For out of towners looking for their breakfast burrito fix, I would head to Cofax for sure – I recommend the Veggie with Guac. Would probably head to Melrose after for some fun boutique shopping in the afternoon, maybe grab reservations at the Broad Museum and grab some photos in the Rain Room. Dinner would for sure be at Funke or Mother Wolfe – I’m obsessed with everything Chef Evan Fuke is cooking these days and the ambiance is unparalleled. Since we’re heading into holiday season I’d probably end the night at Beverly Hills Hotel for their Souffle Holiday Calendar and Cocktails. Sundays I’m convinced were made for Brunch at Malibu Farm Pier Cafe – everyone I’ve sent there is obsessed! I usually go hiking nearby in the morning, head there for brunch and then to Brentood or Larchmont for the farmers market to pickup local artisan goodies for the week!

Website: https://www.ghauste.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghausteagency/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ghausteagency

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