We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole James a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

This is a great question because I don’t feel like it should have happened sooner or later. It happened when it was supposed to happen. I was an Event Director and Marketing Director for diffferent country clubs. I loved my jobs and even past jobs, because they all taught me different things. I now use those things and excute them daily with my own business. Of course it would have been great to start earlier, but this is real life. And in the real world we do need some security and planning before we completly make a huge change like starting a business and going full time with it. I encourage anyone who wants to start their own business to do so, but also to make sure to plan correctly as well. When I quit my full time job I did take a downgrade on pay, as I was still trying to gather and obtain more clients. But I alloted for that, and now I am so thankful for the struggles at the start and where it led me to now.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

While I was a Marketing Director for a Country Club, I also started helping a Western Graphic tee company with their wholesale sales. It was just a fun way for me to stay me, while also being in the corporate world. I am a small town country girl at heart and a farmers daughter. So when I got to get away from my corporate job and attend these Western fashion Markets it didn’t even feel like work to me. I was a fun escape! I managed the Country Clubs social media, and then started helping Ali Dee Brand (the western graphic tee company) with her social media. The more markets I went to and the more store owners I chatted with I somehow found myself helping them with their social media. I ended up creating an LLC and started promoting myself. I am originally from Arizona, and that is how my name Zona Girl Nava Marketing came about. I wanted something unique and different, but also a name that felt like me. I now live in Texas with my Husband and daughters, so my business name holds a special place in my heart knowing I have taken Arizona with me.

I don’t consider my self a fahion guru, I am more of a ball cap and tee kind of girl, but the western fashion world has become my niche. I am a farmers daughter and now a Ranchers wife, therefore Western life and Ag life lives deep in my soul. I think that is what helped set me a part from others, is having that ag background. Western Business owners really seem to trust my judgement when it comes to creating a game plan for their social media and marketing strategy. I am so proud of our ag community and I really try to show that through their pages. The saying “If you ate today, thank your local farmer or rancher” means a lot to me. And being able to help these business owenrs while spreading ag awareness has been more rewarding than I can describe.

My little social media management company has grown to an actual Marketing company. I now have a few amazing girls who help me and we offer different services. We help with all things social media, email campaigns, graphic design, western influencer collaborations, to product and brand photography. Once a year we host a huge photoshoot with a well known western influencer and have a collab photoshoot with many different western brands and boutiques. That has become one of my favorite projects.

Being so emmersed in the fashion western world and being able to network all these years has led to another business endevour. Ali Dee (the same person who’s clothing brand I started helping with and still do), and I started a comapny called Western Life and Style. It is an online western magazine and community. We love to help promote western businesses on our social media platforms, we have a private facebook group page that has become the go to spot for all things western. This includes people posting about recipies, fashion, promoting their businesses, people in search of things, parent talk, basically anything. We now have a permanent showroom at Dallas Market, that has become a one stop shop for western store owners, and host fun influencer mixers there as well. We are the first company to have a 30 over 30 woman winners nomination list. We gave the winners buckles and have been promoting them on all of our socials and website. We also have a podcast called Western Life and Style Trailblazers. That has been a lot of fun, we sometimes have guest speakers who are either business owenrs, influencers, or talk agriculture.

I live on a Ranch here in Texas with my Husband Wesley, and Two daughters Ryder and Rylyn. Being a stay at home mom and working full time from home has been a blessing. I love being able to raise and watch my girls grow, and also show them what hard work is as well.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Of course staying consistent is very helpful when trying to grow your online presence, but also just being true to yourself. If you are posting for likes then that isn’t going to get you anywhere. I have a business page and personal page, but I have used my personal page to promote myself more. I do that by sharing content that means a lot to me. I think everyone is sick of the perfect fake photos, and are now grasping towards more real and true posts. I post what it’s like here living on a ranch, mom life, work life, funny engagement posts. I post what makes me, me. Don’t spend forever on a caption or spend so much time putting though on it. If you like it and it means something to you, then share it.

A lot say to find that specific niche and just focus on that, but I don’t typically believe that is true. You will find your audience eventully and you will start seeing support. I have been loving this quote latley, “There are people that will never support you because it’s you. Then there are people that will always support you because it’s you. You just have to find your people.” and really stop caring what others think.

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

I really think growing up in the ag world, has given me an advantage when it comes to my western business owner clientele. My father has been a farmer all his life, and I grew up in a small town. Majority of my clients share that same connection with me being involved in ag. Or it can be the complete opposite, and the owner wants their business to really relate to the western community. Therefore they trust in my process, and how we share conent that will relate to the ag community in a genuine way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zonagirlnava.com/
• Instagram: @zonagirlnava
• Facebook: Zona Girl Nava LLC/ Social Media Management
• Twitter: @zonagirlnava
• Youtube: Western Life & Style Trailblazers
• Other: https://westernlifeandstyle.com Podcast is on Apple and Spotify: Western Life and Style Trailblazers

Image Credits
Photos by Mariella Nava