Goals and Gratitude Nicole Haney

When Helen Smith started her business in 2017, she was hand making silicone teething products in her home

Fast forward five years and she now has a $10 million company selling foam play furniture across North America.

From showing up on social media and building community to warehousing and operations, Helen and I talk about what it took to get her business to where it is today.

Here's what we talk about:
- Why she shifted from teething products to play furniture
- How they used Facebook groups to drive organic traffic to their online store
- The importance of building trust and community with your customers
- Why they shifted from a pre-order model to a drop model and the benefits of not holding inventory
- Why she took a deal on Dragon's Den and what happened after the show
- The importance of asking questions in business and learning from others

Connect with Roo & You and Helen:
https://rooandyou.ca
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rooandyou
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-smith-rooandyou/
https://www.instagram.com/helensmith.__/

Connect with Nicole:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/

https://www.nicolehaney.com/

https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney/

Natalie Young started her business as a wedding and family photographer.

But as her family started to grow, she realized that 12 hour days shooting weddings every weekend wasn't going to fit her life anymore.

So she decided to make a bold change:

She completely shifted her entire business into branding photography for businesses.

And she made the change overnight.

This bold and courageous move has allowed Natalie to live the life she wants to have that supports her goals *and* her family.

Listen in to hear how Natalie has created a life by design. Here's what we talk about:

- Quitting her job to go all in on her business
- Dealing with the fears of growing competition in photography space
- How her and her husband work together in the business successfully
- How she managed client disappointment when she changed her business model
- How they consistently attract clients into their business
- Why outsourcing can help you stop trading time for money
- How she manages the slow seasons in her business

Connect with The Mint Studio:
https://www.instagram.com/themintstudio_/
https://www.themintstudio.ca/

Connect with Nicole:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/
https://www.nicolehaney.com/
https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney/

**Repost episode. Originally posted Aug 1, 2023***

Feeling stuck? In this week's episode, I'm talking all about feeling stuck in your business.

From what's causing it to what you can do about it, this week's episode is fiery so get yourself ready!

Here's what we talk about:
- Why it's better to learn as you go than try to make everything perfect before you start
- You don't need more knowledge
- The real thing that's holding you back is fear
- It *is* working, you just need to do it *more*

Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/
https://www.nicolehaney.com/
https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney/

PSA: Taking a break doesn't make you lazy

You guys *know* that I've been dealing with a ton of burnout lately

Want to know what's been going on BTS that's causing my burnout and what I'm doing about it?

That's what this week's episode is alllllll about:

- The backstory of what has been causing my burnout (spoiler alert: it's not just my workload)
- Why having boundaries is so important in your business
- The hack I use when saying no feels too uncomfortable (this is an absolute game-changer)
- Getting extensions on self-imposed deadlines
- Giving yourself permission to take a break (and why you need to stop equating breaks with laziness)

Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/
https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney
https://www.nicolehaney.com/

**Repost episode. Originally aired July 18, 2023**

You wake up. It's 2am. Your heart's pounding. You're sweaty. And you can't stop thinking:

Who am *I* to be trying to do *this*?

We've all been there. Imposter syndrome is a freaking monster and it can really take over your thoughts.

Because you're new at this. Because you're making mistakes. Because you have no idea what you're doing.

But here's the secret that no one tells you:

No one knows what the hell they're doing.

We're all screwing up. Over and over again. And doing our best. Making it up as we go.

In today's episode I'm talking about imposter syndrome and how I deal with it when it comes up for me.

Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/
https://www.nicolehaney.com/
https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney/

*Repost episode*

Originally posted June 13, 2023

99% of business is just trying things and seeing what sticks

But when we're in the process of trying new things, we have literally zero idea of it's going to work.

So we start to panic. What if it *doesn't* work? What if I look stupid? What if no one buys? What if I can't figure this out?

This is SUCH a common worry for entrepreneurs because our work involves so much uncertainty. Today's episode is all about what I do when I'm having these moments of panic and worrying - what if this just doesn't work?

Here's what I talk about:

- Is this productive worry or not?
- Failure is the price of admission
- Are you really just afraid of other people seeing you fail?
- Actually solve the problem
- How to get comfortable with uncertainty
- Failure is the only way forward

Connect with me:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/msnicolehaney/
https://www.instagram.com/itsnicolehaney/
https://www.nicolehaney.com/