We recently connected with Tiffani Nicholle and have shared our conversation below.

Tiffani, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

Over the course of my career, I have done a total of four internships. They were all unpaid and spread out over the course of about five years. It’s funny because when I look back, in all of my internships I worked directly with the CEO and they were all women. Those moments really helped shape the trajectory of my career and how I do business today. I learned to execute at a high level by watching the way the women I worked for. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly had to fetch coffee, work long hours, do food runs, etc. However, I also didn’t take those moments and opportunities for granted. From a magazine company to a production company, to digital marketing, to music and visual arts, I’ve got to work across different industries and in different positions. The knowledge I’ve gained from those experiences has been deemed to be invaluable and made the hard moments worth it in the end.

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

My name is Tiffani Nicholle. I am a two-time published author and songwriter, with a background in business development, and operations. For me, music is what started my journey of learning business. I started out creating music as a way to heal and to shed light on self-love and mental health.

As I worked to develop my music career, I took on internships to learn about the business side as well as a way to build relationships. That pushed me into copywriting, which took off fairly quickly. I started freelance copywriting and got to work with brands like DOVE, Mahogany PR, Rolling Out Magazine, etc. During that time I got to work with a lot of CEOs and really learn different business structures, strategies, and industries.

The skills I gained from copywriting led me to be an executive manager in an events establishment. I was in charge of managing relationships with celebrity and high-profile clients, systems, daily operations, contract negotiations, hiring, training, and managing day-to-day operations. During my time there I was able to book the company’s largest contract which was the Stellar Awards after-show for the award-winning gospel artist 1K Phew. I also got to work with celebrities such as Adele and Megan Good.

Currently, I am an Office and Project Manager for a children’s educational STEM company. I manage day-to-day operations as well as corporate and school partnerships.

In addition to the work that I do professionally, I am also the Vice Chairman of the Governance team at an APS school. I get to work with the Principal, educators, school district, and constituents to help develop the school’s strategic plan, budget allocation, curriculum, etc.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

The best way, in my opinion, to keep in touch with clients is going to vary for everyone. Knowing your audience, understanding their demographics and buyer persona, really is key to understanding which way is going to be the best method to keep in touch with your clients. For some that may look like emailing lists, for others that may be social media, and for some it may be community events. You really have to be able to identify your target audience down to what they like to do for fun. That’s the best way to approach keeping in touch, and that leads to brand loyalty. Brand loyalty boils down to being who you say you are and doing what you say you’re going to do. Consumers are loyal to the brands they can trust, and that’s one of the key components of being able to stand out from competitors.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team starts with great leadership. Lead by example. Work side by side with your team. Set high expectations and hold yourself to the same standard. Also, in a time when everyone is so hustle crazy, don’t forget that we are all human. Show empathy and give grace so that your team knows that they have the space to grow and improve in a trusted environment.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: tiffaninicholle
• Twitter: tiffaninicholle