We recently connected with Nicole Santos and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Growing up as a First Gen Filipina in America and seeing my immigrant parents run their business, I’ve always had a dream that I would be an entrepreneur as well. However, as years passed and society’s expectations began arising, I gained my B.S. in Psychology and went on to a career in tech. I only made it a few years until a little voice in my mind began reminding me of the dream I had as a child. At this moment in my life I was feeling lost, I was working from home at a tech startup making 6-figures yet something didn’t feel right. I took a leap and worked with my first life coach and within those few months I discovered I wanted to start my own coaching practice. Within 90 days, I went from this thought to launching my coaching business online.
For the next year and a half I was coaching clients at night and on the weekends while still working my 9-5. During all this I kept having a small voice in my mind saying “quit, you can do it” but the fear of losing my stable income and failing kept me in the hustle of my career. However, in May of 2023 I took my first international solo trip to Costa Rica that gave me the last push I needed to go all in on my dream. The first day I came back to work and logged online, I had this knot in my stomach that could no longer be ignored. It was time to leave. Although I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be in my business and making the amount of money I wanted, I felt like it was the right time. So a few days after, I made the biggest risk I’ve ever taken my whole life and quit my safe, secure and high paying job to dedicate all my time and energy to my coaching business.
After leaving my job I was able to go on my longest trip I’ve ever taken, have worked with and held space for 200+ individuals, given talks at fairs and workshops including my Alma Mater, launched my podcast and started hosting group healing events around the Bay Area. Although these are all amazing experiences and accomplishments I had throughout the last year since leaving my career, what I treasured the most was having time freedom to able to spend precious moments with my dad, dog of 15 years and grandmother who all passed just months of taking this big risk. And though I did take this big leap for my dream and business, I really took this leap for myself.
Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m Nicole Santos, a Self-Trust Purpose Coach blending mindset and strategy work with somatic and energy healing. I’ve taken my learnings from studying the science of Psychology along with gaining a deep understanding of mind and body connection through more holistic teachings into my coaching practice. Primarily working with BI&POC allows me to focus on uplifting my community who historically have less resources, opportunities and overall support.
My signature offer is a 6-month 1:1 coaching container where I work with ambitious individuals on regaining their self trust and confidence to allow them to rediscover their most authentic selves. My clients transformations have resulted in leaving engagements no longer serving them, leaving 9-5’s to go all in on their business, and having a more clearer vision and marketing strategy for their business. In simple terms, I help individuals turn up the volume of their inner voice that’s been waiting for them to go after their wildest dreams and live in their purpose. We do this by rewiring thought patters while also creating safety within the body at the same time.
Clients primarily work with me because they’ve reached a point where they realized they are tired of living a life that looked good on the outside but didn’t feel right on the inside. Many clients choose to specifically work with me because they deeply resonated with my story and transformation. Growing up I overused drugs and alcohol to cope with my heavy emotions. I was down a dark path as a teen feeling alone, angry and confused at the world which resulted me in getting kicked out of school for selling drugs. Then, in my mid twenties I took a real good look at my life and realized I wanted something more. And that’s how I ended up here today, coaching and being a guide to show others your past experiences do not have to define you.
It’s very common for many coaches to primarily focus on mindset and brain work alone however, I’ve learned that that’s only half the work. Working on the thoughts in your mind will not solve all your challenges. Addressing the energies within and tapping into how emotions and feelings are sitting within your physical body as well as releasing them are just as important. I believe only focusing on one does not solve the root of problems since it doesn’t allow the two to communicate. It’s like the brain and body are speaking different languages but taking this approach will help facilitate the translation for communication. This is what helped me take control of my life as well as all my clients I’ve served over the last 3 years.
When I’m not coaching my amazing clients, I am recording for my podcast “Get In Your Feelings”, facilitating group healing workshops, giving talks at fairs and events and supporting mamas through birth doula work. My mission is to create a safe space to help guide souls to their most raw authentic selves through discovering their own unique inner medicine.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Learning the Self Coaching Model by Brooke Castillo has been one of the most impactful tools for my mindset, business and overall life. The model shows that our thoughts create our feelings which impact our actions then creating our results. I’ve used this model countless times since it allows me to take direct control over the results within my business. For example, if I’m not booking as many clients as I desire I no longer look at external reasons like it being a slow season or clients simply not interested at this time. Instead, I look directly at my thoughts since our thoughts will always create our results. What are my thoughts? How do they make me feel? Simple shifts in thoughts will create dramatic changes in results. It’s almost like a plane being flown to a destination. If the coordinates are off even by a little, you will end up in a completely different destination however, if adjusted correctly then the plane will land in the desired location. This is the exact same concept with adjusting our thoughts.
Think of a big opportunity you have within your business and create the first model which is the unintentional model. Once completing that then you can move onto the intentional model which is the results you want to see. This model can easily be found online just like a plug and play. Ask yourself, how do you want to feel about this circumstance? If you did feel those feelings what actions would you be taking? I like to remind myself and my clients that this is not a 1+1=2 formula however, it will absolutely get you closer to your desired outcome compared to what is currently occurring within the business.
Anything that anyone has ever created like the wheel, television or internet all started with a thought. If their thoughts were “this won’t work” or “no one will get behind this” then none of those inventions would have ever come to light. Instead they had to shift to thoughts to ones like “I know this will make a huge impact” or “people are waiting for this invention”. So the next time you’re not getting the results you want, take a clear inventory on what thoughts are occurring and make the necessary changes. Because your thoughts will always create your results.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I believe the most effective strategy for growing your clientele is the strategy that works for you. I’ve seen countless online strategies that focus on a very specific formula that might include posting a certain amount of times a week at certain times, well researched hashtags, Reels over Carousel, etc. As a growing business, especially when you’re still a 1 person show, the primary focus is to get your service or product in front of as many eyes as possible. The best way to do that is to trust your own intuition, not be afraid of failure, view business as your playground, over deliver and give as much value as possible.
Learning to trust your intuition means tuning into your own energy and self by asking “what do I want to share?” and “what does my audience and clientele need from me right now?”. Many new entrepreneurs are fearful of failing, posting the wrong thing or sharing too little or too much. Hyper focusing on your offer or product and thinking “what else could I add to make this irresistible and a no brainer to invest in?” will also allow your clientele to be magnetized to you. When you create these small shifts, greater results will come since the vision is focused on the audience instead of researching and finding the “perfect” formula. Unpopular opinion – there is no perfect strategy. Instead, invest in yourself by working with mentors and coaches that’ll help guide you to your inner voice so you can find your unique perfect strategy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nicoletgsantos.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicoletgsantos/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-tracey-santos/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/5B4UAwwjfM3RG01LRtdsdb
Image Credits
Alisson Dones
Kai San Juan
Mario