Pivot owner, Nicci Hicks poses in the first room of her store. Credit: Courtesy of Sheron Colbert
After a career in law, Nicci Hicks chose to not give up her dream.
Pivoting careers from lawyer and corporate executive to business owner allowed Hicks to act on a childhood love for fashion by opening Pivot, a women’s boutique with a curated selection of shoes, handbags and accessories in July.
“Each time I climbed that corporate ladder here in Columbus, I thought, man, that’s really cool to do,” Hicks said. “So, I just decided to go out on faith and be brave and, and pursue it during the pandemic.”
B.J. Hicks, Nicci Hicks’ husband, said he knew Nicci Hicks wanted to open a boutique and he thought she would be successful doing so.
“After several conversations, it became abundantly clear that to not do this would be harmful to her,” B.J. Hicks said. “I know she has full passion and when she has full thoughts into something, she will be successful. So, that’s when it became very easy for me to say, well, of course you have to do this.”
B.J. Hicks said his wife’s shopping skills and understanding of others is a reason he knew she could take on the challenge of opening a boutique.
“She’s a good shopper. She’s a professional shopper. She has a keen understanding of people,” B.J. Hicks said. “She has a keen understanding of what makes a great store and what makes a great business.”
B.J. Hicks said Nicci Hicks’ experience as a lawyer and corporate executive provided her the foundation to navigate the legal side of owning a business along with her people skills.
“She could look at the contract, she could speak with a leasing agent, landlords and banks,” B.J. Hicks said. “But then she also has the soft skills and the EQ to welcome someone in any walk of life, male, female, age is no difference.”
Crystal Plunkett-Saunders, a friend of Nicci Hicks, said Nicci Hicks’ focus on small, women-owned, minority-owned and sustainable brands has educated her on how to become a better consumer.
“I think when you’re shopping at a department store, you’re more so looking at, you know, the color, the material, but I don’t think you look about, I don’t think you pay as much attention or just me,” Plunkett-Saunders said. “I don’t think I paid that much attention to the sustainability or the impact that the designers made on the world because it’s been so limiting. So I appreciate her putting it all in one place.”
Pivot carries brands from all over the world that are sustainable and inclusive such as TKEES, Woden and Shoto, according to their website.
“So, we carry established and emerging brands from around the world with the focus on brands that are inclusive,” Nicci Hicks said. “So Black owned, women and minority owned as well as those brands that are sustainable.”
Although Pivot serves as the name for Nicci Hicks’ business, she said it is representative of her own personal transformation.
“I think when we think about careers, often we think about them in a linear fashion, but we all are worth multiple passions and purposes,” Nicci Hicks said. “So, it just represents bravery. It represents going in on faith, it represents investing in yourself.”
