Grace Proof

Latest Episodes:

012: Building a Brand Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

One of the most life-changing moments that helped to propel the success of my boutique came when I realized this: nobody can be you and that is your superpower. That's why today I am going to share with you how I built my brand. Building a brand is about creating real, genuine connections with your audience whether you've met them or not. It's about cultivating relationships and showing up for your customers. It's not just blindly selling to people but making that connection to where they want to support you and buy from your business. Today I shared how becoming relatable will help you build your brand, why you need to open up to customers and the importance of showing up and being consistent.

What's in this episode:

A huge turning point in Nicole's business
How customer connections will make you stand out from the competition
Becoming relatable to her customers by sharing her story
The importance of opening up your heart and ears and building relationships
Creating a presence online and in-store
Showing up and being consistent without caring what others think
Building a team to help you interact online
Paying attention to what your audience wants to see on social media
Catering your messaging to your ideal customer
Being able to adapt to changes and evolve over time

I am so glad you decided to tune in today. Continue to follow along my journey as a wife, a mama, and a girl boss by connecting with me on my website, Instagram or Facebook. You can also check out my personal Instagram to get a behind the scenes look at my life. If you want to hear more about my journey in the fashion industry, I'd encourage you to subscribe so we can continue to get to know each other.

011: Finding Confidence Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

We all have those days where we're just in a funk. Not every day is going to be perfect and seamless but you have to push through it and find the confidence within yourself. On this episode I am sharing how I pull myself out of a funk when I am feeling unconfident and how your personal style will make you a more confident person. I share why I have "glam days" and why these are essential for self-confidence. I also chat about surrendering on the days where you're feeling unconfident and why you need to stop comparing yourself to other people.

What's in this episode:

How Nicole pulls herself out of a funk when she's feeling unconfident
Why you're enough as you are right now
Reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason
How your personal style helps you with being confident
Learning to accept yourself fully as you are
Finding the good in every situation
Surrendering on the days that you feel less confident
Why Nicole commits to a few "glam days" a week
Why you need to stop comparing yourself to other people

010: Give Yourself Grace Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

As we're inching closer to the holiday season, I wanted to share three simple tips that I use to help relieve stress and enjoy this time of year. This can be such a hectic time of year with growing to-do lists but it's so important to just slow down and enjoy the little moments. Today I opened up about celebrating new holiday traditions in honor of loved ones we've lost, why you should set intentions for your days and how I am feeling about my 30th birthday coming up.

What's in this episode:

The Black Friday tradition that Nicole does every year
Why shopping small is so important
Reflecting on her life before her 30th birthday
Slowing down and enjoying the little moments during the holiday season
Keeping the memories alive for lost loved ones over the holidays
Taking the pressure off of yourself and taking time for yourself
Three simple tips to relieve stress and enjoy the rest of the year
Staying off of social media so you aren't pressured to compare yourself to others
Practicing a brain dump and how therapeutic this can be for you
Finding time for yourself no matter how busy you get
Why you should focus on setting an intention for the day
Nicole's intention of being kind to herself

009: Building a Team #girlboss Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

As a busy entrepreneur, there will come a time when you realize that your hands are in one too many pots. It's hard to not want to do all of the things in your business but let's face it, you can't clone yourself. In this episode, I share how I knew that it was time to start building a team after feeling completely overwhelmed and not knowing how to best spend my time. I talk about my current employees and what their roles are to help support the business. I also discuss how I had to figure out my joy and what lights me up the most in my business so I could start to delegate tasks to my team.

This episode is about recognizing when you need help and learning to admit that you need help to others and being okay with asking for support.

What's in this episode:

Feeling completely overwhelmed and not knowing what to do with her time
Admitting that you need help in order to grow
Figuring out her joy in the business and what she can hand off to other people
How her team helps her business in the store, warehouse and with operations
Creating a friendly and positive work environment
Learning to leave work at the office and be more present at home
Moving her office to the warehouse and learning to juggle time within the warehouse and boutique
Being real and vulnerable on social media
Recognizing where you need help and speaking up when you need to
Making decisions that will be the best for her customers

008: NJB Warehouse Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

There is no easy way to navigate through grief and losing somebody you love. In this episode, I will talk about losing two of the most important people in my life and how hard it was to navigate through that grief. I share what was going on in my business during this time including selling out of products quickly and deciding to move toward having a separate inventory for our in-store and online items. I talk about deciding that I needed even more space to hold inventory and how this brought me to renting warehouse space.

If you've been deeply hurt by a loss in your life, I want you to know that it is okay to take a break when you need to and feel the feelings you feel. Just take a couple of moments to sit with your thoughts and know that your loved ones would want you to continue to push forward.

What's in this episode:

The changes that have come with the second boutique location
Selling out of products and moving toward separate inventory
Needing more employees to help run the boutique
Deciding she needed more space for her online business
Getting her warehouse
Her grandmother struggling with her health
Losing her grandmother and navigating through grief
Her grandfather's passing
Handling the loss of both grandparents within a few months

007: My First Boutique Location Aug 13, 2019

Show notes

When it came to my boutique, I always had a hunch about the next step to take for my business. In this episode, I chat about the pivotal growth that I experienced through discovery by word of mouth and how this led me to open my first location. I also talk about about the ups and downs that I faced there while running the boutique. I share how I knew I was outgrowing that location, how I figured out it was time to hire employees and a turning point I faced in my business from a mishap that happened before a fashion show.

This episode is about feeling fear but acting anyway. When I realized I needed a physical location for the boutique, I was so scared. I was even more scared when I made the leap again into a bigger space and had a jump in the prices of rent and inventory. I had a lot of people telling me to stay put where I was, but I knew in my heart that this was the next step for my business so I acted despite the fear. I want to encourage you to do the same - when you're facing fear in your life, act anyway.

What's in this episode:

Starting with pop-up's and parties
How her business grew through word of mouth
Opening her first location
Moving parties into the boutique
Having to close for personal emergencies
Hiring her first employees
Starting their Black Friday tradition
What she does for the holiday season
Selling out of styles quickly and realizing she would need more inventory
Trying to get things online and using live videos for growth
Realizing she was outgrowing her location
Closing for one month while transitioning to her new space
How she feels about the group page and the community its created
How a delayed shipment affected her fashion show
How this ended up being a turning point in her business
Realizing her why for her business
Knowing in her heart the next steps for her business

Links:

#NJBBABE Community!

006: Finding Love + Loving MYSELF Jul 23, 2019

Show notes

Everything in life happens for a reason. It often seems that timing is everything, and I truly believe that your paths will cross with the right people at exactly the right time. That is exactly what happened with my husband Matt and I. On today's episode, I share about learning to love yourself again, how Matt came into my life after I thought I would never be married again and how we've blended our families together.

Wherever you're at in life right now - whether you're in a dark place and you're going through a breakup or divorce, know that you're going to be okay. Love is real. Love is out there. You just have to learn to love yourself and everything else will fall into place.

What's in this episode:

Understanding that you have to treat yourself well
Learning to love herself and her body again
Crossing paths with her husband, Matt when they needed each other most
How Nicole met Matt
Thinking she was never going to be getting married again
Blending their families together
Being blindsided by their engagement
The feeling of knowing that it was okay to be happy and fall in love again
Knowing that she was making the right decision when walking down the aisle

005: My Prince Charming Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

Everything happens for a reason. This has been a recurring theme in my life that I have noticed time and time again. It was when I needed him most that my prince charming came into my world, my son Jace.

On today's episode, I discuss how I found out I was pregnant with Jace. I share how anxious I was during my pregnancy and how I knew that I would be having a boy. I also chat about my first night home with Jace and Ellie and the realization that I came to that night and the discovery of who I was as a person while raising my two babies.

What's in this episode:

How her son Jace came into her life when she needed him the most
Not knowing how to tell her family that she wanted to get out of her relationship
Deciding she wanted to get a divorce
Finding out that she was pregnant
Knowing that she was going to have a boy and having it confirmed
Being anxious about having another child
The fear of not having enough love in her heart
Naming her son after her father
The feeling that she had when Jace was born
Having her best friend in the same hospital also giving birth
The disaster that she had on her first night home from the hospital
Jace being at the boutique with her for the first 6 months
Discovering who she is while raising two babies

004: Opening the Boutique Jul 09, 2019

Show notes

Without realizing it, I started to begin building my brand and business. On today's episode, I talk about how I grew my business through word of mouth and started getting featured in local magazines and publications. I share what it was like when I officially got the keys to open my boutique.

I also open up a little bit about the struggles that I was facing in my personal life. From this episode, I hope you will begin to wonder how to get out of a situation that you no longer want to be in. Whether that be a relationship, marriage, job, finances or whatever it may be for you. I hope that you walk away feeling confident in finding those who you can lean on to be your rock and both love and support you during those bad seasons.

What's in this episode:

Growing the brand without realizing it
The fashion parties she hosted
Building her brand through word of mouth
Getting featured in local magazines and publications
Her passion for connecting with people
Nicole's mission to bring trendy fashion to her small town
Finding a space for her boutique
Doing in-store parties for her business
The struggles she was facing in her personal life
Being in a relationship that no longer served her
Not wanting to let anyone down
Getting to the point where she had to do what was right for her

003: Starting My Business Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

What is your "why" for doing what you do? Your why will be what fuels you during all of the most challenging moments. Early on in my career as I was starting my business, I realized that my why was my family. At that moment, it was my daughter. I knew I couldn't one day tell my daughter to follow her dreams without first following mine. On today's episode, I will share with you how I started my business and discovered my why, one of the biggest regrets I have to date and how I transitioned from designer to a boutique owner. If you are considering going after a dream, I urge you to find your why, without mine I am not sure I would've been able to continue pushing. As you're following your dreams, be open to changes because not everything will go as planned but if you can grow and adapt to changes, everything will turn out okay.

What's in this episode:

Why she moved home to Delaware
Feeling the need to be able to stand out
Starting her business as a designer
The issues she found with being a custom designer
Trying to figure out other ways to make money
Finding out she was pregnant with Ellie
One of the biggest regrets of Nicole's life
Deciding if she should give up or keep going after her dreams
The life-changing moment she had when her daughter was born
The fear of being a mom and how being a parent changes you
Using her parent's house for her business
How hard it was being a designer
The idea of having her own boutique
Launching her website and selling out the first day
Finding your "why" and the reason you're doing what you're doing

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