Meet Nikki Gomez

We were lucky to catch up with Nikki Gomez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I think I get my resilience from overcoming a lot. I was born to a teenage mom in a loving, but poor family in The South Bronx in the late 70’s. There were a lot of challenges growing up that included parental drug addiction, neglect, domestic violence and a lot of instability. When you’re a child in extreme circumstances that are not in your control, you have to be resilient to survive and not lose your optimism about life and the future.

I remember being about 10 years old and needing to fix things in my room that you normally would have a mom or dad help with. Well, I got tired of waiting for them to help me so I decided to do it on my own. I found extra paint in the basement of our apartment building and my aunt gave me a wallpaper border from her job. One day I got up early and just started painting and wallpapering my room. I moved furniture, hung photos and really made it my own. I think from that day on I learned that I can accomplish anything in life as long as I go for it and if I can’t get help, I try to figure it out on my own.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I actually do several things for work. I have been a working model since 2004, a professional photographer since 2007 and a model career coach (Modelpreneur coach) for the past 4 years. Throughout my 20+ career in fashion and modeling, I got to wear many hats and learn every side of the industry from modeling to production to wholesale and eventually I was an agent in NYC and helped start their plus size print division.

I made sure to observe and learn as much as I could on this journey. 11 years ago I had a life threatening medical scare and decided to change course and venture into entrepreneurship. For a while I thought that was going to only do photography and then I had a realization that I was always sharing my experiences and knowledge with the models I was working with. I loved seeing them succeed and I loved educating! In 2019 I launched my first style of classes called “The Model Intensive Bootcamp” and when lockdown forced us all inside, I became resilient and started teaching courses through online workshops. These proved successful and inspired me to launch The Modelpreneur Masterclass in 2021. In the past 4 years I have helped dozens of models book their dream clients and accelerate their careers.

The Modelpreneur Masterclass has since become a digital class available through my Mighty Networks. I have found that this platform allows models to enroll at any time and they can also learn at their own pace but still have access to me when they need more help.

I also still offer One on One coaching to select models.

Recently I have been taking on more local photography opportunities locally in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well as more commercial modeling opportunities nationally.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think these 3 skills were the most impactful on my journey:

1. Adaptability: The path to your version of success is non linear. It’s important to be adaptable to change and open to pivoting along the way. We are multifaceted beings and sometimes being adaptable might mean leaning into other skills and talent to help you through hurdles on your path.

2. A Positive Mindset: When you venture into solo-preneurship or entrepreneurship there’s going to a lot of hurdles, learning curves and rejection. I found it essential to not take everything personally and realize it’s all an opportunity to learn and grow. Sometimes we need “failure” so we can step back, observe and re-evaluate the situation and make necessary changes.

3. Be Open to Coaching: I have had coaches on my journey and I can’t begin to tell you how valuable that was for me and my business. Coaches are not emotionally invested in your business. They have the ability to take a step back and see the bigger picture. Coaches can see things that may be on your blind spots for one reason or another. This is extremely valuable and can change the trajectory of your business and life!

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

This is a great question! I have a feeling this is going to be a bit of a “hot take” but I think we need to stop trying to “improve ourselves” and instead start trying to adapt to the ways we work as individuals. I have found more success when I honored the way I work and function and STOPPED comparing myself to the ways others work and function.

One example of this is the struggle I had working in corporate America. I did the 9-5 (although it was more like 8-6pm) life for a long time. I struggled with exhaustion, depression and anxiety. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find my groove. I told myself I needed to “toughen up” and push through! I was a New Yorker and hustle and grind culture was the norm. I felt myself constantly fighting burn out and ultimately that lead to a sudden aneurysm. This lead to me having to face some truths about myself. I realized I am most productive later in the day.

I decided to carve out a life for myself that included waking up organically. working on my passions later in the day and into the night. Remarkably I learned that I have almost endless energy when I am doing things I love to do. So instead of fixing myself and forcing myself to wake up at 5am every morning, I observed myself and adapted my work/play schedule to fit my strengths. The energy I was spending fighting my natural rhythm was actually exhausting me.

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