Meet Nicole Albani

We recently connected with Nicole Albani and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I have always been what some might call a little “weird.” I am an old soul, a homebody, an introvert. Even as a kid, I didn’t really do what other kids did. I never wanted to just “fit in” and marched to the beat of my own drum. I never really cared what others thought of me and always did what I felt was right. I watched my mom be a strong independent woman, and knew I wanted to be one too. Now that I am an adult, I continue to look to that inner voice that I had even as a kid. Motherhood and owning a business has made the comparison game extra hard, but I keep looking inward instead of outward for what is right. I gain inspiration from others, but try not to compare myself to them.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My Name is Nicole. I’m a 35 year old mom, wife, orchestra teacher, business owner, and cellist from Long Island, NY. I started my business in 2022 while I was out on maternity leave after my daughter was born. It was very important to me to keep my personhood outside of motherhood, and I also wanted to try to earn a little extra money while I was home. I had been making my own greeting cards for years. My mother and I would go once a month to a card-making class. I absolutely fell in love with it, and would make cards for my friends and family for every special occasion. I was told “you should start an Etsy shop” more times than I could count.

I finally started my business because I wanted to share my love of card-making with the world. I am not a very artistic person, but with my cards I am able to make beautiful works of art. The teacher in me wanted to share card-making with others so I included DIY card-making kits in my shop and they quickly became my best-sellers. People love to create their own projects and these kits allow them to do that.

I absolutely love my business. It has become one of my biggest passions. It lets me be creative, work with my hands, solve problems, connect with people from all over the country, and be involved in all of their special occasions. It is a wonderful feeling to get card orders for special birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and other big milestones.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience

Organization/Time Management

Communication

Resilience
Being a business owner was so foreign to me and the learning curve was HUGE. There have been many issues along the way that have made me question whether I want to continue at all. I think resilience means taking the lows, learning from them, recovering from them in a healthy way, and then implementing what you learned to continue your journey better than before

Organization/Time Management
This is an area I excel in in my life. However, being a new mom on top of starting a new business from scratch made me really have to hone in on my skills. Using timers to get work done efficiently, setting reminders/deadlines, prioritizing certain aspects of my business are all skills I have used to help my business flourish

Communication
This is an area I am used to from my teaching career. My communication skills helped me not only build my business by communicating with customers (some of whom were not so nice), but with networking with other business owners; reaching out to those who were doing what I was doing. Asking questions, taking classes/seminars, communicating the struggles as well as the highs with those who were doing what I was doing really helped me thrive and find my confidence as a business owner. In my professional experience both as a teacher and a business owner, I find that communication is one of the most valuable skills and assets you can have.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal clients are busy moms/women who love to craft and/or are in charge of all of the special events in their family’s life. My cards provide unique, keepsake items to accompany gifts so women can cross one more thing off their “to do” lists and buy gorgeous cards from their couch. My DIY card making kits are perfect for people who want to craft but don’t want to do the work of creating everything from scratch, or feel they don’t have the skills to be creative. I want to help people find the joy in crafting and using their hands to make beautiful things.

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