Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nichole Howard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nichole, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I’ve heard the average person spends approximately 90,000 hours of their lives at work, which is nearly a third of their life.

Therefore, it would be safe to say that if we want fulfilling lives our work should be fulfilling as well.  My companies mission was born from that belief.

My mission is to capture the light of female entrepreneurs and help them ignite the world with their passions and
talents.

And so far, I have captured 100’s of women on this journey from interior designers to
matchmakers.

However, discovering my passion and what is most fulfilling didn’t come easy to me.

Growing up, I never really felt confident
that I had “talent” and was at a loss as to what my passion would be. At 18, I was lost, I had no idea what
I wanted to do with my life, I had no hobbies and low self-worth. At a time when society deems us ready
to make life altering decisions, like choosing a major or going to work, I really had no idea what I wanted
and living a fulfilling life wasn’t even in scope of possibilities.

On my journey to try and find meaningful work, I followed the traditional American way; I invested my time
and money (loans!) into higher education in the hopes of finding my true “calling.”
This was a bumpy road in the beginning, I did horribly my first year in college.

However, I persevered and eventually graduated (with honors!) with a bachelor’s in psychology and then
after a few years of working full-time in a non-profit women’s health clinic, and as a part-time server (yes
two jobs were needed to pay off those loans!)  I decided I would obtain a master’s degree in strategic
communications, as this was a field that was always of interest to me.

I obtained a master’s in strategic communications, while working full-time at the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania; unfortunately, though, following the “established” educational road, to find my passion,
didn’t work.

I often felt like I was achieving degrees and great experience within each field of study but never really
achieving my ultimate desire, fulfillment from my work.

When I turned 30 something interesting happened. I came to a fork in the road when I was gifted my first
DSLR (in layman’s terms “fancy”) camera.

I will never forget my 30th birthday, I cried tears of joy as I unwrapped the gift.
*(Crying tears of joy has only happened to me twice; when I adopted my dog Tails and when the Eagles
won the Super Bowl). *

I had never owned anything so valuable because I had the limiting belief that I wasn’t worthy of something
so “expensive”.

Some back story on this belief – I grew up in an apartment with my mom and sister, and on those special
occasions when we went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s we would feel excited because as a treat we
could have soda with our dinner. Soda was an expense that wasn’t afforded at that time. And even though
we always felt cared for there was an undercurrent of “lack” surrounding me, which impacted a lot of my
decisions.

Receiving my first DSLR camera was a momentous moment for me because photography became my
first real hobby and years later it turned into my career.
I knew photography was special because my busy mind became calm behind the lens.

I later learned, as I am an avid personal development junkie, that I was entering “a flow state.”
When I photograph a subject, everything else just fades away because I am so focused on what I am
trying to create or capture, whether that be a sunset or a portrait.

This experience of “flow” shifted my perspective on what my life and career could feel like. I realized that I
had unlocked something huge, this was my gift. And I wanted to spend as much of my life feeling fulfilled,
in that state of flow and passion as I could.

As a result, I launched my business as a side-hustle in 2016 and in 2022 decided to make take a leap of
faith to become an entrepreneur as a full-time photographer.

The first question I get when I tell people I am a photographer is typically, “so you shoot weddings?”
And when I first started as a photographer, I thought that would be the case.
What has become clearer to me over the years, is once you immerse yourself in the world of
photography, there are so many ways of expressing that artistry.

From boudoir, to wildlife, to weddings and branding photography, the options are seemingly endless.
Which is amazing. And these options gave me so many opportunities to go deeper into my craft and learn
what area within this industry fulfills me the most.

And while I have photographed some beautiful weddings, I realized that my deeper passion within
photography lies with helping others who are also on my path:

I love photographing ambitious women who want to feel confident, live fulfilling lives, and use their gifts to
be of service to the world while getting highly compensated for those gifts.

Like I mentioned earlier, ,my mission is to capture the light of ambitious female entrepreneurs and help them ignite the world with their service.

My work has been featured in several publications from the Wall Street Journal to
Philadelphia Magazine. I feel grateful that I have found this path, even though it wasn’t a linear journey!
I believe everyone is deserving of a fulfilling career and life.

Especially after COVID, we all have seen how short life is and how important it is to embrace each moment to the best of our abilities.  Photography and finding my calling in life has quieted that the limiting belief that I had of not being worthy
I know now that I am worthy of the fulfilling life that I craved and enjoy supporting other female
entrepreneurs with their passions.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I think I covered this in the last question, let me know if you need more information.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I am completely, self-funded, because I started my business as a side -hustle. I worked in the corporate world for 10 years before launching my photography business full-time. During this time, I saved 6 months of life expenses, paid off my credit cards, and car. I also invested time in learning how to best manage my personal and business finances – seperately. My goal was to start my business with a clean slate, so I didn’t feel pressure to take on an abundance of work that did not inspire or excite me or I could stop working with clients or on projects if they became misaligned with my mission and values. I can say, about 1.5 years in, that this is a goal I have been able to achieve.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think my mission story answers this…let me know if it doesnt!       

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicholemchphotography.com
• Instagram: @nicholemchphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholemhoward/
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicholemchphotography