Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Kerkeni

Hi Nicole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

One of my first core memories was when I was camping with my family. I was 4 years old, and we were allowed to pick one item from the gift shop. I settled on a sparkly green rock. Little did I know that this would eventually shape my entire future.

I grew up feeling as though I didn’t quite fit in. I loved being in nature, collecting “rocks,” and always felt things very deeply. I sometimes struggled with the conformity of school but excelled in the arts and creative fields. This eventually led me to take up professional makeup artistry.

At 22 years old, I opened a beauty salon in the small town I grew up in and quickly found myself working excessive hours. While I was grateful for the success I had achieved in such a short time, I was experiencing severe burnout. I realized that working as a service provider meant I would always be limiting my income as there are only so many hours in a day.

I began researching the idea of multiple streams of income to allow myself to work fewer hours but continue to increase my income. It was at that point I found myself booking an appointment with a psychic medium. I had nothing to lose and thought it could be fun; I was always interested in the spiritual world anyway.

The reading gave me so much insight, and right after it, I went straight to the bookstore where I picked up my first book on crystal energy and healing. I was hooked; it felt as though I had found the missing piece of my puzzle. I was so excited to go and buy some crystals but quickly realized there were no local options. Over the next year, I began investing my income from my beauty business into purchasing crystals to retail inside the salon.

Word of mouth quickly spread from the customer traffic inside my salon and partnered with my marketing strategy, it seemed to be exactly what our area needed. Both businesses were thriving until COVID hit. My salon was forced to close for months on end, so I moved my crystal business to e-commerce. Through my resilience and determination, I was able to grow and expand, which resulted in me being nominated and awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020.

During this time, I realized the instability of the beauty industry and decided to reevaluate my future dreams and goals. This resulted in me closing down my salon, and I decided to travel and explore, sharing my healing journey online. Using the marketing strategies and experience from my businesses, along with my background in photography, I quickly amassed over 100K followers on TikTok and recently over 50K on Instagram. Through this newfound creative outlet, I decided to pursue online marketing and content creation, which has allowed me to travel and work remotely.

Over the past year, I have continued to change and evolve on a personal level, which has led me to become a Reiki healer and a certified spiritual life coach. As I step into this new era of self-healing, self-love, and wellness, it is forcing me to rebrand and change my content style and niche. Although this can be scary and very difficult, I am so excited to begin this chapter as my truest and most authentic self.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

I think I can speak for most when I say the COVID lockdowns were one of the biggest struggles entrepreneurs and small business owners faced. I also think that it allowed us all to take a step back, evaluate how we conduct business, and adjust our approach.

My biggest struggle currently is changing my content and niche. When you build a following and platform based on funny content directed at a certain demographic, stepping outside of that tends to make you lose your reach, momentum, and even followers. As incredible as social media can be for growing a business, it can also be difficult to stay on top of trends in the fast-paced environment.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

I own a small crystal retail business, and offer content creation and marketing stategies for small businesses. Alongside that, I also offer Reiki healing and am a newly double-certified Spiritual Life Coach. I am a part time content creator and micro-influencer, which has earned me a Google Panel as an Internet Personality.

Through this entire journey, I would say I’m most proud of the personal growth and self-development I’ve done. This has allowed me to step into my most authentic self and help others do the same.

What sets me apart from most is my thirst for knowledge. I’m always educating myself and exploring different avenues to be able to help others, no matter what stage of life they are in or what they are going through.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

We’re all energetic souls living a human experience. We’re meant to laugh, cry, hurt, heal and evolve. Take the risk, do what makes you happy and follow your heart. Don’t become so focused on the future that you stop living in the now.

My new website is coming soon !

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nicolekerkeni.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolekerkeni?igsh=eG9kZThwYjNoMmNo&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nicolekerkeni
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicolekerkeni?_t=8meYh936AkQ&_r=1