Nicole:

Hey friend, you’d never believe it. I had been building up to this day for weeks. I had the opportunity as a brand new blogger to attend this pretty huge event. They were expecting over 3000 attendees and every single major brand in my industry was going to be present. I knew that being at this event could be transformative. I had the opportunity to meet the heads of every single industry, all the major bloggers were going to be there, so there was an opportunity to collaborate and there were going to be panels, keynotes, and celebrities. I could get content for weeks and possibly secure some major money that, maybe just maybe, would allow me to turn my blogging thing into a full-time job. I was ready. Now, I spent time with the husband building out a binder with every single major blogger’s name in there, so that I knew what was going on with them, their business and their brands. I also took a list of every single brand that was going to be there, their head associates, and did my research so that I knew going into it, what to talk to them about. I coordinated because I was a blogger, my outfits, my hair, my makeup, and I was so excited to show up at this event because I really knew that this might be the thing that tips the scale and really you launches things to where they need to be.

So I showed up that day and I was ready. I had a plan of attack. I knew all the different booths that I was going to hit and I knew exactly who I needed to shake hands with. I walked in with the husband at my side, God bless him, taking photos of me and snapping things as well as taking some video to document things as they went. I was new to the whole blogging thing and I had been working my nine to five job, but I was excited to spend that Friday through Sunday working on what I loved. Which was sharing my solution, sharing my answers, and building a little side hustle that I knew mattered.

So I went over fully prepared to chat with some brand ideas and partnership opportunities. I mean I knew that this was going to be something and while I was there they mentioned that they were having a panel that afternoon. They were going to be having a discussion about their different products and different offerings, hairstyles and then an open Q and A. And all I could think was, Gosh, how could I have not gotten on this panel? I wish I knew something about it earlier. Not only would it have been great visibility for my brand, but what an opportunity to show this company, how into their stuff I was, and how great of a representative I’d be.

Well, I made my intentions known. I said to them, you know what? I really would have loved to have been on this panel and I recognize that I’m a little late to the game on getting signed up, but what I would absolutely love is if you kept me in mind next time and if you need any help today at all, whether it’s picking up boxes or packing up, or maybe a last-minute interview guest or someone to host, I’d be more than happy to step in and just let me know. I’ll stay close. They looked at me and they were kind of surprised. I guess typically people have a tendency to not humble themselves enough to say, Hey, I’ll pitch in where I can and I could tell that it was probably a little refreshing for them to hear that. And they said, well, you know what Nicole, we appreciate that. We will absolutely keep you in mind, but we’re all full for today. And that was okay with me. I had no problem but I was still going to stay close. So I hung out a bit. I wait until a little bit before this was about to go on the panel and all of a sudden I see a look in the vice president of the company’s eyes. Something was definitely wrong. She starts scanning the room and she spots me. She runs over and she says, Hey Nicole! Actually, would you mind filling it on the panel? We actually have a free spot. Someone didn’t show up. I looked up, I said, a little thank you God in my head and then I looked at her and said, no problem. I gotcha. She said, thanks so much, and I got out there. Guys, I rocked that panel. It was awesome. People were laughing, hubbin was walking through the aisles handing out my business cards and it was a great time.

From then on I built an ongoing relationship with that brand and even to this day we still stay in touch with opportunities if they need any client help, you name it, I’m there for them. But let me tell you how that’s pocket open on the panel and it wasn’t just because I’m heavily favored. Amen. It was also because one of the bloggers that didn’t show up, well, she thought she was Kim Kardashian.

And that’s what this episode is about. You are not Kim Kardashian. This is one of the things that people forget in this space because of Insta fame. Just because you have a ton of followers, just because you have a lot of notoriety, just because you have visibility or who your friends are or what celebrities you hang out with, does not mean that you can not show up, not do the work, not be professional and still get paid. You are not Kim Kardashian. You will not get paid for your looks. You’re not going to get paid just for standing in the room. You have to do something. You have to be professional. You have to show up.

Here’s what happened. That blogger was contracted to show up on site, but she decided she just didn’t want to come. She had something else she wanted to do. The opportunity didn’t interest her enough, and maybe she didn’t feel wedded enough to the brand. I don’t know what was going through her mind that morning, but what I do know was that it was incredibly unprofessional. So she decided to not show at all and she no-showed, no call, and guess who got to step into that role because I was a consummate professional because they knew they could trust me and guess who built an ongoing relationship. Yeah, me. And that can also be you as long as you understand that in this business world if you’re wondering how can I differentiate myself, how can I stand out? Because there are a million people doing what I do. There are a million people in the industry I want to be in. There are so many people out there who are already successful. How can I get famous through all the noise? Well, guess what? Your business professionalism, your work ethic can be your differentiator.

I know as well as you do that if you’re passionate about what you have to offer to this world, whether it is being a terrific mom or whether it is stepping out there and being a great speaker or having a terrific product. That you’re able to stand out because of how much you care about what’s given. Let’s be honest, the money’s nice. It’s great when you get paid to serve in your purpose, but at the end of the day, if you’re truly doing what you love, you would do it for free. You care about the results. You care about helping people. You care about making an impact. That’s why you show up every single day and because of that, if you couple that same care and deep connection to what you’re doing with professionalism, business skills, knowing how to respond to an email and do things on time, knowing how to say what you’re going to do and actually do it.

Knowing how to act with integrity and couple that with a little bit of old school things like picking up the phone to follow up with a client, and checking in with them to see how they like the service that you provided. If you do these things, you will stand out and you’re going to differentiate yourself. There’s something that’s going on with social media, and I dunno if you’ve seen it too, but it’s starting to bug me because it really isn’t how things work in corporate America.

There’s something that’s happening where if you go on the Internet and you just post a bunch of pictures of yourself, selfies or butt shots at the gym, or pictures of you with nice things like Lamborghinis and fancy handbags, designer clothes or, or expensive shoes, shopping trips and pictures, you know, and in crazy locales that all of a sudden people are gonna think you made it and that you’re worthy to spend money with. Well, guess what your worth does not reside in stuff. And the truth is people with real money and real purpose, are not spending it on stuff. When I scroll down people’s Instagram pages and I see nothing but designer labels and fancy pants things, all I could think is that’s money that’s not sitting in their bank account. People who truly have commas are humble. They shop at Target, they-they save, sometimes they thrift, occasionally they mend a pair of socks because, why throw away a good pair of socks. Right? 

And I mean the reality is there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to nice things. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the fruits of your labor. But if that becomes all that you are, to the point where you start believing that these things are worth more than the service that you offer, it’s going to show in your work and people aren’t going to want to work with you. You have to remember that whatever got you here isn’t going to get you there. So that does mean that you have to uplevel and bring new skills to the game.

You have to constantly learn, constantly evolving, constantly growing. And there’s nothing wrong with, you know, treating yourself and getting a little fancier while you do it. But also remember that the things that you did that got you here, are some of the things that you’re going to need to keep doing no matter where you go. If you find yourself confused about what’s working and you feel like you need to revamp and start a new in order to get ahead, well, I’m going to advise you to say, hey, sometimes it’s about taking it back to the basics. One of the things that was always very successful for me and my business was making myself accessible. I run all of my own social media and it’s not uncommon for me to get into my inbox, kick customer service out and answer emails myself. It wasn’t weird in my early stages for me to pick up the phone and call my students. It didn’t matter if I had 1 or 1000.

I was picking up the phone and calling them up and saying, hey, how’s it going? This is actually Nicole and I want to know how you’re doing, and the reason why I did that is that we’re in the business of people. I care about people and you should too. As a matter of fact, I bet you do. We wouldn’t be best friends, Internet, podcast style if you weren’t kind of like me if you weren’t about being and doing, and serving and giving something more and so that’s why I want to caution you and use that story as a cautionary tale to understand that, listen, we’re never going to get paid for just showing up. We have to make sure that we are truly connected with serving people with excellence, right? Top notch service. You want to do the work but you want to do it well and you want people to trust you. You want to have integrity. You want to make sure that when you leave the room, all they remember is how awesome you were when you showed up and how awesomely you served.

So instead of worrying about, oh my gosh, how am I going to stand out? Is the thing that I offer good enough? Just make sure that what you do offer you do well, that you get better at the work that you do, that you focus on trying to grow every single day. If you do your work with excellence, you will never be in a position where people are going to say, Hey, I’m going to go with the next girl. Now, if there is nothing that you remember, there’s nothing else you take from this podcast. The one thing that I want you to remember, and this one’s easy, you are not Kim Kardashian girl. You gotta do the work. You gotta show up. You gotta show out, you gotta slay and you gotta deliver. All that sounds good and great. We’ve talked about doing the work, right? We’ve talked about how we have to keep it all together and make sure that we are always showing up, right? All these things matter, but what if we’re doing the work and things are getting out of hand? I know that it’s very easy when you’re passionate about something to spend all day doing it, getting lost in the moment, and that can have some really serious effects on your life. I’m guilty of it.

As a matter of fact, I had a huge moment happen with my kids that changed everything. It changed how I did business. It changed how I looked at the world. It changed how I interacted with my students. It changed who I was, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it In our next episode because this thing will change everything for you.

Thanks so much for listening, friend. If you enjoyed this podcast, head over to www.NicoleWalters.com. I’d love for us to stay in touch, so make sure you drop your email address so I can send you inspiration, business details, and the occasional funny story and because I’m so generous, there might even be a selfie in the next. Thanks again. Make sure you subscribe and come back soon.