We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Rhone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

Alright, Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

In the middle of 2020, I was faced with a major decision: to stay employed at my six-figure HR job (provide for my family) or leave the full-time job to become a stay-at-home mom (also to provide for my family but in a different way). I was torn between what to do because I’d spent the last 15 years building my career in Human Resources, but the pandemic required me to shift my perspective of what was essential vs. important. Not only was it necessary for me to help my children through mandatory e-learning, but I was also the primary care giver for my father. On top of that, I was struggling with overwhelm, exhaustion and burnout from trying to do everything. I was operating at what I now call max capacity.

After much thought, prayer and honestly freaking out, my husband and I decided it was time for me to take a risk and walk away from my role so that I could focus on what was essential – my health/well-being and my family. We downsized from a three-bedroom, three-level home to a two-bedroom townhome to reduce expenses, and relocated our family into a new area. My children changed schools, my husband took on a new role and I became a stay-at-home mom while building my own business, Flourishing, LLC.

From that risky move, I was able to take what I’ve done in the HR space and build a five-figure coaching and consulting business where I now help women create sustainable success by doing the same thing – focusing on what’s essential rather than important. Since 2020, I’ve shared openly about my near-death experience of being at max capacity and how it shaped my business. I teach women what capacity is, how to manage it and how to create sustainable success in both their personal and professional lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve spent over a decade as a coach and human resources leader in the corporate sector supporting thousands of employees globally, so I know what it’s like to wear many hats and juggle competing priorities. I’ve worked for and partnered with billion-dollar, fortune 500 companies such as BMO Harris Bank, Roosevelt University and Northwestern Medicine, to help them coach employees, build leadership capabilities and cultivate thriving company cultures.

After spending years working 60+ hours a week, commuting four hours a day to/from work and secretly struggling with depression, anxiety and being the “go-to” person in my friend/family/work groups, I found myself fighting for my life in ICU in January of 2019. While in the hospital, I was faced with making some serious but changes in my personal and professional life. I had to re-evaluate what was essential and what what was important, because continuing to run myself into the ground would land me right back in the hospital. I realized while still working in HR that many of the leaders who came to see me asked me to take my “HR hat” off to help them work through and talk about things that were happening outside of work, but impacting their ability to show up and be effective at work.

I decided to lean into the idea of being able to bring our whole selves to work, and found myself providing support to help people deal with challenges that had nothing to do with work. After a while, I started taking clients outside of work, started a podcast that is now internationally known, and began speaking to share my experience of managing your capacity for sustainable success. I use what I call the keys of managing your capacity, which are awareness, alignment and action, to help individuals manage their time, energy and resources (aka capacity) in both persona and professional life.

Because of my 20+ years of corporate experience, I understand the unique challenges of busy, high performing women as well as growing businesses, and how a lack of fluidity can create a barrier between them and their next level. So here I am now, coaching and consulting with million dollar organizations to teach the world about capacity.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

For me, this was tough, because I literally only used social media to do just that… be social. I had to learn how to present myself and my business on social media to bring awareness to my brand and services. I tried facebook groups, lives, reels, stories, all of those things. But the one thing I didn’t have starting out was a strategy. I was literally posting just to post and have a presence.

As you start out, my biggest pieces of advice would be to:
1. Identify who you’re talking to and why: how do you want them to feel as a result of seeing you/your content on social media?
2. Talk from your heart – that’s where the real content is… people want to connect with you and relate to you
3. Hire someone to help… you don’t know what you don’t know, and hiring someone can help you build your business faster than if you did it on your own. It’s worth the investment’

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being authentic is the one thing that has helped me to build my reputation within the coaching and personal development industry. There are so many coaches and “gurus” out here, but there’s nobody like me. My story is unique, how I help people is unique, my personality is unique… all of those parts are authentically me. When I first started, I tried to emulate my mentors or people that I saw making big moves, but that didn’t work and it didn’t feel good.

As I’ve grown, I’ve had to learn how to embrace me, my story and all the ups and downs that come along with being an entrepreneur. Instead of me highlighting only the good things, I’m just as fast to talk about what hasn’t worked and what I struggle with. That level of transparency and authenticity is what builds connection.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicolerhone.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_rhone/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicoleRhoneCapacityCoach/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/nicolerhone

Image Credits
Afkara Mason Photography