Interview with Nicole Donnelly

Host: Beau Billington

Guest: Nicole Donnelly

 

Beau  01:07

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Finding that next gear. I have Nicole Donnelly here yet again, on my other podcast. Nicole. Thanks for joining.

 

Nicole  01:54

Thank you, Beau. I’m so excited to talk to you again. I had so much fun the last time we talked. So I was just like, let me come back on your other shows. So we could talk some more.

 

Beau  02:03

No, that’s awesome. I appreciate it. And we feel like we’ve really connected on entrepreneurship, so super pumped to have you on here. Because, part of my goal is demystifying entrepreneurship and really kind of showing people what it’s really like, because it’s not all billion dollar exits and yachts.

 

Beau  02:18

There’s blood, sweat, and tears, stress, continuous anxiety, and just a bunch of stuff that goes on with starting and launching the company. But nevertheless, thanks for coming on. Really appreciate it. Kind of prior to jumping into the meat and potatoes here, maybe you could tell us a little bit about you and what you do and your marketing consulting company.

 

Nicole  02:37

Yeah, absolutely. So we work primarily with manufacturers, small manufacturers, and our mission really like goal is to help these small manufacturers really attract more buyers and improve their online presence. So you know, a lot of these manufacturers just have some really old school ways of how they’ve traditionally done sales and marketing. And so we’re really like, let’s help you this little David, we’re going to help you fight the gulyas we’re going to help you find new customers.

 

Nicole  03:06

And to do that we’re going to just create this awesome digital self serve experience for you online where you’re attracting new buyers through content marketing, through E-commerce, and really letting all of these customers see how awesome you are, you know. So, that’s what we do every day and so we we bring HubSpot to our clients that they need a new CRM to help them really be able to have a good process for building those customer relationships.

 

Nicole  03:31

We also do website design through HubSpot. And then we do content marketing as well. So we’ll build out all the infrastructure, video marketing, blogging, and all of that. So that’s what we do. That’s what we love and we love to shining a bright light on our clients and all the great work they’re doing, so.

 

Beau  03:31

No, I love that. I love the David and Goliath reference. And I feel like kind of like, that’s what like how my company is positioned in our charter as well. So I find that quite interesting. And so what do you do what you do if you always had a passion for marketing, HubSpot consulting, manufacturing companies, you know, why are you in this industry is this passion project? Or, Hey, I saw a business opportunity. I wanted to jump on it.

 

Nicole  04:11

Great question. So I worked for a manufacturing company in house doing marketing, and was able to literally build their marketing infrastructure from nothing. And it was so incredibly rewarding to see that transformation. It dawned on me, I was like, I would love to do this for other companies and be able to help them have a greater impact. And I knew that if I stayed at that company kept doing what I was doing there, it would have been great, but I just was really like, motivated, inspired.

 

Nicole  04:38

I just wanted to be able to impact and help more companies. And so that was kind of what started my journey. And I just love manufacturing. I think they’re the backbone of our economy. I think they just do so much great work and there’s just so much opportunity for them to shine. So that’s kind of why I decided to kind of go more in that direction. And so I was thinking about start, it’s kind of funny and serendipitous how it happened, I had been thinking about, you know, just going off and taking on my employer as a client. And I’ve been thinking about it for a while. And out of the blue, I was even starting to put put together a marketing plan to do this.

 

Nicole  04:41

So I could provide the same kind of fractional services for other companies. And out of the blue, I got contacted by another employer that I’d worked with before, who said, we would love to have you come and help us with our marketing. And I said, Oh, my gosh, this isn’t a sign what is and so I decided to just take the leap, I had two clients starting out, and obviously had product market fit right away from the gate. So, and it was great, because, you know, my business model was just ongoing month to month revenue.

 

Nicole  05:45

So from that perspective, it was kind of an easy, easier leap for me than if I was building out a new SaaS product.

 

Beau  05:54

No, that’s a great transition and you don’t often hear that, and at least I don’t. For me, personally, I jumped out of corporate America had zero prospects, zero idea what I was really doing, and it took like eight months to get my first customer. And first paycheck, and it was painful, but, so kudos to you for kind of opening yourself up and then finding an opportunity, another opportunity, and being able to kind of, I guess, really mitigate the risks that can be associated with entrepreneurship, like, quickly. So, that’s super cool.

 

Nicole  06:24

I think I’ve been really fortunate. But then I, as I look back, I realized, like, I had built those relationships over time, those relationships of trust, right over all those years prior to starting. So, you know, for anyone else out there who’s thinking about starting a business, maybe just like having the patience to just nurture those relationships, because you never know what’s going to end up happening and where you’re going to end up.

 

Nicole  06:46

So like, you know, if you’re in your 20s, and you really have a dream of starting your own business, just like my recommendation is, do great work, where you’re at, build those really strong relationships, where you’re at now. And eventually, those you know, it’s your relationships that make all the difference, frankly.

 

Beau  07:04

True, you have to ask for it. You know what I mean? Like, if you find yourself, similar to where you are, where I’ve got this idea, I want to go out on my own, I feel like to where a lot of people fails, they don’t literally ask for the business, or ask their employer, if they’d be open to hey, I want to go independent, I want to be a contractor. And going back to your point earlier, if you don’t have those strong relationships, I mean, you may be hard pressed to convert them. But if you do, then you could increase. But if you don’t take the shot, you will never score, you know, I think it’s a Wayne Gretzky.

 

Nicole  07:35

All they can do is say No, right?

 

Beau  07:37

Or fire you which, you know, again, if you have a relationship, most would be open to that. Well, how long have you been an entrepreneur?

 

Nicole  07:46

Oh, my goodness, I’m going on my three year anniversary in February, which is crazy to think about, oh, my gosh, what a whirlwind. I started my business a month before COVID. So yeah, it’s going to be right, like, Yeah, and you know, it’s interesting, because I find every year I’ve had to pivot a little bit, and like, kind of, like, move in a different direction a little bit, just based on what the needs are in the market, and what I’m hearing from my customers, and actually love that I realized I love the like constantly refining and tweaking the services and product, you know, I would be so bored if it just stayed the same. So anyway, it’s been really, it’s been a really fun journey to kind of like figure out and just kind of continually refine what what it is that we’re offering and doing. So

 

Beau  08:36

that’s awesome. I’m not going to relate as well on that front, where you know, the mundane drives me crazy. I do like having a pivot and being in this fluid state, but also to I feel like it increases anxiety and can be a bit times. To me, that is kind of the joy of of entrepreneurship. And, you know, as I mentioned a few months ago, you can make it through COVID, you can make it through anything, but part of that is is I think, you know, perseverance, being being able to persevere, but also being flexible and open to seeing market opportunities, right. I mean, if you’re doing this one thing, and it’s not working, it was working, it stops, you know, it’s time to pivot and or look for other revenue stream. So you’re not, you know, finding yourself in a bit of a situation. Absolutely.

 

Nicole  09:18

Totally agree.

 

Beau  09:19

Awesome. So, so when you started the company, you mentioned that you were kind of, you know, employed and you wanted to go independent. But what was what was your What was your actual situation there? Right? I mean, you’re married, you have kids, like, you know, is it stressful jumping out or, you know, you prepared mentally and, you know, all the different ways

 

Nicole  09:40

was I prepared mentally, I don’t know if you could ever be fully prepared mentally for entrepreneurship. I would say, the steps that I took, I probably took the most conservative route, frankly, than most people do when it comes to starting a business right. So that’s what worked for me. Like, I think knowing who I am and my personality like, that’s, that’s what it needed needed to be somewhat safe in order for me to take the leap, right? And how husband had like a very comfortable job. So from that perspective, I didn’t have to worry about health insurance. It really was just kind of like a passion dream project for me. So I’m it’s just been really fortunate how it all came together in that way and my husband, you know, I will tell you I had I have been wanting to be an entrepreneur for sheesh decades, my dad was a successful entrepreneur, my grandfather, my great grandfather, so it’s like, kind of blood. In my blood. It’s like this legacy that just I feel compelled. I have to just honor You know, so I’ve always just had this deep, deep dream to do it. And I’ve brought several ideas to my husband over the years, and my husband is very much not the opposite of me, which is such a blessing. Oh, my gosh, I can’t tell you like, how he makes me a better entrepreneur, frankly, like he is the person who’s like, challenges me and says, Are you sure about that? Or have you thought about this? And I hate him for it. Like, I get so bad in the moment. I’m like, yeah, he keeps me grounded. And I’m like, can’t you just be my cheerleader? You know, and I realized, like, I need to be challenged. Like, I thrive. I’ve realized this over time, like I thrive when someone challenges me. I like as much as it annoys me. I just, it makes me better. And so he’s he’s chat. He’s always challenges I’ve come to him with like, these different business ideas over the years. And he’s always put holes in all of them. I remember one one time I came to him, I was like, I want to franchise it. You know, this is, oh, this was a terrible idea. This would have been terrible. I love to travel. I’m gonna tell you this. This is this would have been the most awful disaster. So I love to travel. And I had this idea like, what if I started a franchise, I franchised out a travel agency. And I just started like booking, you know, doing I love to travel, I love planning trips. What if I did this? And I was like, really heavily looking into this? Probably six months before COVID hit. And my husband was like, this is a crazy idea. What are you thinking? This is for? COVID. He’s like, he was basically like, why would you do this? When you’re marketing and having great success with what you’re doing? Now? Why don’t you just follow that path? Right? And he challenged me hard on it. And he was absolutely right. He was absolutely.

 

Beau  12:29

Well, I think that industry to that. I mean, he got hammered during COVID. And so yes, maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do. Or maybe it’s just the timing was off, right? I mean, two years from now, maybe it’s gonna be a great upgrade, you know, constantly. I can relate as well, you know, I’m kind of a dreamer, like, kind of, you know, just to kind of think about what ifs and my wife as well, my spouse, similar, it’s, you know, she’s she’s very, you know, black or white. And I’m very much gray. And she kind of helps me, which is good, because I do need to be challenged as well. So I can I can completely relate there. And I think too, it’s when starting a company, it’s important that you are transparent, you are open, you are vocal with your spouse, because it can be a bit tricky sometimes when you’re navigating the the highs and the lows of entrepreneurship. And, and candidly also the, the uncertainty, I think that’s a lot of times the biggest, especially like during times of like COVID potential recession, like what’s gonna happen, you know, but the flip side is, you know, you work for corporate America, and it’s the same thing. The uncertainty is there, because you don’t know if you’re going to be laid off or not. So that’s what I that’s what I tell myself.

 

Nicole  13:37

Yeah, to make yourself sleep at least a little better at night. Yeah, no, you’re right. I think you do have to embrace the uncertainty. I have learned that that’s one of the biggest learnings I’ve had since starting this is that you can’t count on anything. There’s like nothing that you can really count on. And you have to get comfortable in that you have to get comfortable with that. discomfortable feeling this comfortable. That uncomfortable? Yes, yeah. Oh, man. long week.

 

Beau  14:08

Sorry, yeah, no, it takes a while. I think the best advice I got some of the pieces of good advice that I received was embrace the sleepless nights. You know what I mean? Like, I wake up every night at three o’clock ish. And just kind of, it’s like a five minute 10 minute kind of, you know, situation, but learn to embrace it. That’s part of it. And sometimes I’ll think of something critical and I’ll write it down other times, just swirling around the next day, but I’ve learned embrace that it still sucks. I wish it would go away. But sometimes you have to embrace the negative aspects of entrepreneurship. Otherwise, it’s gonna eat you alive. You know?

 

Nicole  14:43

Yeah, that’s so true. You do have to give yourself grace. Grace,

 

Beau  14:47

was there the defining moment when he started a company like did you like it? Was there a day where you just you just you knew it was time?

 

Nicole  14:55

It when I got that phone call when I got that phone call from my previous employer I knew I was like, it’s time to do this. Next. So I had to I had to approach my existing employer. And that was hard. I that was hard conversation. Like I was worried about what if they said no? What if they said, No, we don’t want this, we’re not going to be supportive, then, you know, that would have been a lot, a lot harder of a journey for me. But they were gracious enough to say yes, but yeah, that was it. For me. That was the sign and I, man, I’ve never looked back. Yeah. Every day has been just incredible. Like, I wake up every day with incredible gratitude, frankly, just credible gratitude. Like, How lucky is it that we get to do what we love, we get to have such a great impact on the people that work with us and our clients. And I mean, people live their whole lives, Bo, and they don’t, you know, they don’t have sometimes that experience. And I just I just wake up every day and gratitude, gratitude, as challenging as it is deep gratitude that I feel like I’m living really true to what it is that I’m called to do. You know,

 

Beau  16:02

we need to bring gratitude back into my life. Because I definitely do agree, though. I mean, I sought out to do this, this was kind of my journey. And what I really wanted to do what I wanted to do since I was 16, but it is easy sometimes to kind of, you know, lose a gratitude. And this year was the first year all around the sixth year, in April of 23. This was the first year I actually like felt like an employee of my own company. And that’s been a bit of a weird dynamic, and I can’t, I can’t put my finger on why. And so I’m trying to kind of get myself out of kind of that rut, and remember the gratitude, remember that I’m doing what I love, because sometimes you can forget about it and get caught up in the weeds and just the, the busyness, you know, which is, which is what we do. But, um, in that day, and is there been in this three year, this three years? Is there been a time where you thought about hanging it up? Or is it just been green lights? And you know, this was this is your journey? And this is your meant to do?

 

Nicole  16:56

Right boss? No, I will tell you, it was probably like maybe four months ago, I had to walk away from a client. And it was becoming a pretty toxic situation for my team. Just speaking frankly, yeah. And the, and this, this client was actually the client that approached me at the beginning to come in and do work for them. So they were like the impetus for me to start start my business. And, you know, we it just came to a point where the expectations that they had and the way that they were, there was a missile alignment of values, I’ll say, Sure, in terms of how they, you know, like, I pride myself on just being really authentic and creating a culture where people can feel vulnerable and safe. And there’s not like micromanagement happening, and the team feels free to. And you know, when you’re in a service business like I am, there has to be a mutual respect where like you’re hiring us to provide expertise and advice and recommendations. And at some point, if you’re not willing to, you know, be open to our recommendations, you know, like, it’s not serving either of us, you know, and so it got to a really, really like painful point where I just had to step up and be like, I can’t put my team in the situation where they’re not being affected or trusted to do the work that they do so well. And I had to have a really difficult conversation with this client who I have had a personal relationship with for a long time. You know, so that was incredibly painful. And it was a really large account. You know, I was, you know, I wasn’t like, just, you know, this was a large account. And so I have, you know, have, it’s not like, it’s just me, I have an employee, I have contractors that I work with, so I had to think about the fact that like, Okay, I’ve got to make sure financially, this works for my employee, and, you know, all of that. And so it was a really stressful situation for me emotionally from a business perspective standpoint, but like, I knew at the end of the day, Bo, I was like, I have to stay true to my values and what you know, and what I’m trying the values that I’m trying to, like, hold true to for my team. And so I knew that it was like I knew it was the right decision, hands down, but it was still really really difficult. And I remember having intense feelings of regret after I walked away from that account. And for like, a week. I was like, What am I done? Why am I like I just felt so like, like this feeling of like, Oh, I’ve just been so disloyal to this, to this client has been so great to me. But anyway, so there was a point where I was like, this is just too much. Is it like, is it really worth it for me to continue? You know, this is just the stress of it and everything I really did think long and hard about it. I was like maybe it’s just not worth it. Maybe I should just like hang it up and just be a stay at home mom and you know do my own projects, you know, but

 

Beau  19:58

yeah, I’ve got a similar story where the first one Light that I ever brought on, was the first client that ever fired. You know, the old 8020 rule where I think, you know, they, they were 20% of our revenue at the time, but they literally took up 80% of the time. So needy, and we have rule, yes. And that’s okay. And I felt the same kind of anxiety and like, oh, there’s a created a gap. And, you know, when you’re when you’re kind of fighting for survival, you know, it’s, you think every single business that you’re working with is important. And sometimes they’re not, right. I mean, this one just literally sucked the life directly out of me. And out of my team, and I should I wish to fire them way faster, honestly. So I can I can totally relate. And I think that’s, you know, something important for the budding entrepreneurs out there is, it’s okay to fire customers, and not all good, not all businesses good business.

 

Nicole  20:49

You’re so right about that, I think you hit a good point, as you have to think about time, time is our most valuable asset more than money more than anything else. And the older I get, the longer I’m in business, the more I realize like time is, is it. And you’re right, like if you’re working with a client, it’s like literally sucking all of the time out of you and your team so that you as a business owner aren’t able to focus on some of those, like, higher level things that you need to be doing to drive the business forward, you have to like realize that that is more valuable, that time is more valuable than the money, you know, and the time for your team. So I completely agree with you and

 

Beau  21:25

the energy levels. Shifting gears, so what do you think the number one trait is for entrepreneurs that find success versus those that don’t?

 

Nicole  21:33

Ooh, this is a cool question. I would say resourcefulness, resourcefulness, I think, yeah, I think that to be successful, you have to be resourceful, you have to be able to be nimble, to like, come up with solutions. And in scrappy situations, when you’re dealing with a lot of constraints, you have to be flexible, and that all comes back to resourcefulness. A lot of it you have to put your like, if there’s something that you don’t know, you have this, you got to figure it out? How are you going to figure it out? Are you going to learn it, you’re going to find someone who’s going to help you do it. And so I think it’s like the ability to just be flexible enough and nimble enough to like and resourceful enough to say like, here’s the problem, here’s the constraint. How am I going to get creative here and figure this out? And I think, to me, like, that’s what’s worked for me, you know, is, you know, just trying to like, be as resourceful as possible dealing, because there’s constraints and every business, sure identifying what those constraints are and figuring out okay, how can I come up with a creative solution to this crisp constraint? And being resourceful? Man is it it’s so fun, it’s such a cool challenge.

 

Beau  22:35

I think that’s a great response. And I totally agree, I mean, especially when you’re an SMB, and you’re typically on a shoestring budget, and you can’t, just to buy all the software that you need, you’ve got to do the due diligence, the research on like, you and I’ve even made the decision, like, Okay, I want I need this software, I want the software, but that’s more of like an aspirational, like three to five years down, I need to start here, you know, we’ll we’ll match that as much as we grow out of this, you know, we’ll move to the neck. So I think resourcefulness is an awesome response. So if you go back, you know, prior to starting three years ago, give yourself one piece of advice, or that piece of advice be,

 

Nicole  23:11

Oh, that would be fine to your tribe. because entrepreneurship is a lonely journey. Yes, slow. I was, I would say, that was okay. I was surprised by two things. When I started my business that I was not expecting, I wasn’t expecting it to be lovely. And I wasn’t expecting it to be like, all consuming, like day and night, like you can’t stop thinking about it. You know, so those were the two things I was surprised by, but I think like, find your tribe, like, you know, get active on LinkedIn, you know, connect with other people in your industry, you know, get involved with your chamber of commerce, like network network network, and find the people that are going to be there to support you, when you have those hard days, you know, because there are going to be hard days, like, you have to embrace the fact that it’s a roller coaster. And you got to stay even and having people who are in it, and experiencing like entrepreneurship, it’s great to have people who can just be in it with you. It just really helps.

 

Beau  24:14

No, I totally relate. And I didn’t, I didn’t think about that, you know, the first three, four years, and for whatever reason, and I was just kind of on my own. And, you know, most of the people that I’m around, have corporate jobs and don’t understand, first of all, actually do and second of all, don’t understand what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. And so, you know, I just find myself not really talking to people. And I’ve since found some folks that I that I’ve talked to and we have conversations and it’s all about entrepreneurship, and you know, the family aspect, the business aspect, and just the whole encompassing thing. And that’s been very cathartic to me personally, is having a tribe and it’s funny when I have these conversations, I’d say, you know, greater than 50% of the folks that I talked to say the same thing and it’s lonely, it’s scary, but having people that are in your exact same situation is extremely helpful. So I appreciate that insight, Nicole. Well, let’s go to the lightning round here. Six quick questions. Give me Give me your best answer. So what’s your favorite, favorite aspect of being your own boss?

 

Nicole  25:14

Ooh, oh, this is fun. Well, I get to ban I get to, I can do like, I get to choose exactly. This isn’t a lightning round answer. But I get to build it. Exactly. That’s the way that I want to and alignment with what my values are. And I have, you know, I I get to make this vision come to life. You know, that’s what I love most about it. You know, I love leading a team. I love the team that I work with. They’re credible. rockstars. And so I think that’s what I love. I love just being able to help lead them and get them fired up and excited about the impact that we’re having. You know,

 

Beau  25:50

I love that I love that answer. And I feel the same. It’s, you know, leading the charge versus having having somebody telling me, hey, you need to do these things like, no, no, I got it. I’m a self starter. I don’t I don’t need that that much direction. So I appreciate that answer. Least favorite part about being your own boss. Please favorite part.

 

Nicole  26:11

The buck stops with you every time. And that can be stressful. So if there’s a client, a client deliverable that needs to get done, it stops with you, you got to make sure it goes out and gets done every single time like, yes. And so sometimes that’s stressful, because when you care, and you know, I think as entrepreneurs, we all care, like we just just care so much about doing good work. So that’s the hardest part is like, you know, dealing with that, managing that part of it.

 

Beau  26:46

Yeah. And I think too, like decision fatigue, I get tired of just making decisions all the time. And just wanted to be easy sometimes. But

 

Nicole  26:55

I’m so glad you mentioned that decision fatigue, because I gotta tell you, my daughter have an eight year old daughter. She’s almost eight. And the decision fatigue is so real. Like, she sits there. And she’ll she’s in a space now where she asks questions all day, like, throughout all the hours of the day, I can’t just it’s just question after question after question. And literally, I have to tell her, like, how do you want me to question I can’t answer. Any more questions. I already have decision fatigue from work, you know, but I think one thing that’s really helped me there too, is like, as much as possible, because I struggle with decision fatigue, is I try to push decision making down as much as I possibly can to try to empower the team to feel like they can make those decisions so that it doesn’t always roll up to me. So that’s something I found it’s really helped me manage that, because that’s a real problem for me.

 

Beau  27:48

Yeah, no, no, I agree that, for the record, I’ve got two girls, seven and nine. And so I’m continuously being peppered with questions 24/7 and love it. But yeah, sometimes I just told him like, Hey, I’m on break, like, we’ll, we’ll resume in 1520 minutes, but I need some downtime. What about your biggest success, and then the follow up to that would be the biggest failure.

 

Nicole  28:10

biggest success has probably been this year, our company grew 80%. This year, it was a huge year for the company we took a lot of new accounts on. And so I would say that’s been the biggest success is being able to scale this year and have that lot of growth but and build a team that can really just knock it out. So I’ve been really proud of like, the culture that we’re building the team that we’re building and the work that we’re doing for our clients. So that’s been really rewarding for me to watch. Thanks. Yeah, I’m excited about it. It’s been a great year. Yeah, biggest failure. Ooh. You know, I had, I would say, probably my biggest failure would be I lost an account. And this was this one really hurt. And it was a difficult account, because they their business was struggling, they were in, they were in an industry that was pretty much going through a lot of transition. And so they were in a position where they kind of had to make some hard choices about how they were going to change almost their whole entire business strategy in order to remain, you know, to remain competitive in their market because there’s a lot of shifting, and there’s a lot of rolling up happening and it’s so anyway, and it just, you know, the work that we were doing, they you know, they just came one day and they just said look, we have we have to we’re gonna have to close down shop in like three months, because it’s getting so bad. And that was a big failure for me because I felt like we had tried so so hard to try to get some traction and get them some more new customers and everything and we just, you know, all the vanity metrics were there. You know, we were doing we did all kinds of video marketing. We were doing the read As on their website, it was beautiful and inbound content. And they just didn’t have enough time. There wasn’t enough time for them, they had to make the hard decision, you know. And that was a huge, I got off that call, and I just cried. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, I failed them. You know, it was awful. That was, that was a big failure. But it was a good learning experience. Because I realized that I, you know, in future, if I have a client in that situation, I have to realize that I can’t do everything for them. Number one, I can’t save their business. Right? Like, that’s not my responsibility to save their business. Number two, I have to push back. And if I like, that’s one thing I regretted is I didn’t push on them enough to say you really need to make a change. I had presented to them the problem, I told them, like, this is what the landscape looks like, this is your problem. And this is what we recommend, and put together a plan for them. But they didn’t. They didn’t implement on it. And I didn’t push him hard enough. So I feel like that was something I learned in future with my accounts is like, I go in and put a marketing plan together for them. And if they’re not adhering to it, I have to push on that. Right? I can’t just let them run over, you know, and just you know, so anyway,

 

Beau  31:10

well, that’s, I mean, that’s the kind of you know, when a failure happens, and we’ve all had it, you feel bad about in the situation, but I feel it’s really always just a good learning experience down the road and you learn what not to do. And you might my biggest my failures personally have always led to me making better decisions in the future on how to manage clients, how to manage my time, etc. So yeah, they’re tough when you’re in it, but a lot of times, if you’re so inclined, it can be a really nice learning experience. Alright, last question for you. What’s the hardest part about having your own business?

 

Nicole  31:44

The hardest part about having my own business is the challenge of it. It’s just really hard every day is a different challenge. It changes all the time, the needs change, and it’s, it’s the part of this part, but it’s also the part I love the most. So I feel like I am crazy, because I just love the hard. I’m like the girl that when I go on a hike, I like when the hill comes, I go faster up the hill, you know, like when I’m at Orangetheory and I say okay, we’re gonna It’s all out pace now. I’m like, I’m all out you know, so it’s just how it

 

Beau  32:18

is with the hills. You guys hit the hills and then you can walk you know, the

 

Nicole  32:23

freakin hills. Yeah, absolutely. And I just that’s what I love about it. I just love the challenge of it. It really drives me and you know, it’s just how my brain is wired. My brain doesn’t shut down. You know, I I you know, let’s bless a very very active brain. It’s a very active mind and I can’t shut it down so I might as well channel

 

Beau  32:47

that’s that’s my Yeah, both a blessing and a curse. I will Nicole really appreciate you coming on where can people find you?

 

Nicole  32:53

They can find me on LinkedIn. my LinkedIn profile is Nicole dash, Donnelly, dash dmg and my website is Donnelly. M group.com. That’s d o n n e l l y m group.com. And yeah, that’s how you can find me. Yeah, awesome.

 

Beau  33:09

Well, cool. Hey, I really appreciate your time today. Love the insights. Love what you shared on the lightning round as well as kind of the the getting deep part and thanks for your time. It was a pleasure talking to you, Nicole. I appreciate it.

 

Nicole  33:21

Appreciate it. Thank you.

 

Beau  33:22

All right, you take care. All right, bye. I’m gonna send you there. I’m gonna stop recording. It’s fun. Thanks for coming on. appreciate ya.