Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicki B.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nicki, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
In July of 2019, my mom passed from a sudden illness. She didn’t have any life insurance or savings. My family was left with the decision to ask everyone we knew for money to help cover the cost of her funeral expenses. I was so embarrassed being that I was the one who had a “good” job and no money saved. A few days later, my family and I had collected enough money to cover all of her funeral expenses. But deep down, I was still feeling like a failure.
So, in November, I decided to take a deep dive into my finances because there was no way that I had been working for over ten years and didn’t have an emergency fund. I started budgeting and sharing my debt-free journey online with others which led to me creating a budgeting workbook to help others manage their finances. That’s when it hit me. My purpose was to help millennials manage their finances so they can build their emergency fund, pay down debt, save more money, and live a life they love.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Nicki, I’m a fashion and lifestyle blogger based in Atlanta, GA. On my platforms, I share affordable outfit ideas, styling tips, and life on a budget. I’ve been creating content online for a few years and recently started a lifestyle blog sharing life on a budget from a sneaker enthusiast’s perspective. Some of my favorite things to do are bowling, going out to eat, karaoke, and buying sneakers. My favorite color is purple.
What I feel is most exciting and special about my content is that I teach my audience how to manage their finances without sacrificing their lifestyle. I have an audience of people who are serious sneakerheads. My platform is where they can come to learn how to budget for the latest sneakers, find out where to buy sneakers, how to style the sneakers they already have, and what to do with their sneakers when they are done with them so that they can put a little extra cash back into their pockets.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, the three qualities that were most impactful in my journey were consistency, authenticity, and relatability.
The advice I would give to folks who are early in their journey is that in the beginning, nobody cares about you, they only care about what you can do for them. Once I adapted to this, then I began to create content.
The way I was able to stay consistent was by using a planner. Every week, I would review my analytics to see what my audience was engaging with, and I would create more of that. On Sundays, I would batch all of my content and save them to drafts to post throughout the week.
Authenticity and relatability kind of went hand and hand. I would show up online and share my experiences good, bad, and ugly. People loved how honest I was with my finances and that led to them trusting me with theirs.
So, the best advice I can give on authenticity and relatable is to just be yourself because people can smell a phony from a mile away.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The book that has played an important role in my development is The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. This is where I learned about budgeting and The Baby Steps.
My most valuable nugget of wisdom is to do a written budget every month before the month begins so that you can tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juscallmenicki.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/juscallmenicki
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@Juscallmenicki
