As we stride into Episode 264 of the "Her Empire Builder Show," we're thrilled to feature the incredible Nicole Hatherley—a dynamic global brand strategist, professional speaker, executive coach, and inspiring entrepreneur!

Nicole Hatherly is obsessed with Brand Strategy and Humans!

She’s an award-winning global brand strategist, accredited professional speaker, executive coach, board advisor, and international awards judge with over 30 years experience creating innovative strategies for powerhouse brands like CommBank, TikTok, Foxtel, Woolworths, Electrolux, JC Penny, and Yahoo.

An international keynote speaker sharing her brand and thought leadership insights, Nicole has shared the stage with visionaries such as Arianna Huffington, Seth Godin, and Brené Brown.

As an Industry Fellow and adjunct instructor at the Queensland University of Technology, Nicole leads successful programs for academics and industry to activate their vital thought leadership to positively impact the world.

Her in-demand work ‘branding humans’ (humanely 😉) transforms professionals, celebrities, sports stars, academics and thought leaders from hidden gems into industry luminaries.

In her downtime, Nik's adventurous spirit sees her trekking to Everest’s base camp, surfing and hitting remote trails around the globe, embodying a life of exploration and discovery.

Where to find Nicole Hatherly:

Website here

LinkedIn here

Instagram here

Join our Free AI Training for Course Creators here

Join in our upcoming launch fun here

Tina Tower [00:00:00]:
Hi friend, welcome to episode 264 of her Empire Builder show. I have a beautiful member story for you today so our doors are open for her empire builder. We would love to have you join us. We only open for two weeks of the year so this is a very exciting time. You've been hearing a lot of member stories on the podcast and if you would like to have one yourself, go to herempirebuilder.com or if you're on social media, just dm me the word empire and that will send you all of the details that you need to know. Doors are closing on the 17 September so if you miss joining this round and you're listening to this later, you can always jump on the waitlist. We open twice a year, once in March and once in September, but we would love to have you in if you are a female course creator and you are looking for all the things to grow your business, it is the best online education and community for female course creators in the world. Go to herampirebuilder.com and one of those wonderful members that we have inside is Nicole Haderley.

Tina Tower [00:01:09]:
I met Nick many, many years ago. She was working in corporate for a company that I was doing work with and attending conferences that they had put on and she is human sunshine. When I met her for the first time I was just like, this woman has so much happiness and joy emanating out of her and is just like a little energizer bunny, bounces everywhere. She runs everywhere. Like she just has so much energy. It is ridiculous. What I have learned from Nick now is she is obsessed with brand strategy and humans. She has been running her own business since 2016 and joined us inside her Empire builder in 2020.

Tina Tower [00:01:51]:
So she's been a member for four years already and it's been four years since she launched her online programs and she's changed her entire life. Like this corporate girl is now like this absolute entrepreneur, entrepreneurial powerhouse. She's an award winning global brand strategist, accredited professional speaker, executive coach, board advisor and international awards judge with over 30 years experience in creating innovative strategies for powerhouse brands like Comm Bank, TikTok, Foxtel, Woolworths, Electrolux, JC Penney and Yahoo. Like all the big names, right? As an international keynote speaker, she shares her brand through thought leadership insights and has shared the stage with visionaries such as Ariana Huffington, Seth Godin and Brene Brown. Girl Crush as an industry fellow and adjunct instructor at the Queensland University of Technology, Nick leads successful programs for academics and industry to activate their vital thought leadership to positively impact the world. Her in demand work, branding humans humanely transforms professionals, celebrities, sports stars, academics and thought leaders from hidden gems into industry luminaries. In her downtime, Nick's adventurous spirit sees her trekking to Everest base camp, surfing and hitting remote trails around the globe, embodying a life of exploration and discovery. She's also one of the kindest, most generous, funny humans that I know and is such an incredible member of our her empire builder community.

Tina Tower [00:03:27]:
So if you are interested in changing direction and the struggles that come with changing direction and how to niche down on messaging, you are going to absolutely love this chat with Nicole Hatterly. Here she is. Hello and welcome to her Empire Builder show. I'm your business strategist and host, Tina Tower and I am so happy you are here. My goal with this show is to bring you the inspirational and informative conversations with interesting humans as well as the tools, tips and resources to help you build your online business. Since starting my first business at 20, I have built and sold four times. And in 2018, while travelling around the world with my family for a year, I tripped and fell into this wonderful world of online courses, and I instantly fell in love. I'm a million dollar course creator, a world traveler, best selling author, a mummer of two man children and a lucky wife.

Tina Tower [00:04:25]:
There's no playing small here. It's your time to grow to run a highly profitable business that makes you wildly wealthy while you positively impact your clients and the world around you and have the life you've always dreamed of. Let's get it. Hello, Nicole Hatherley.

Main Episode

Nicole Hatherley [00:04:46]:
This is super thrilling. Look at us together.

Tina Tower [00:04:50]:
I know. Okay, so there's many things that I want to ask you about, but one of them main ones, like, we met at Commonwealth bank, women in focus back in like 2011 ish, I think where you were like, corporate boss, you were there, you had it all going on. You were so entrenched in that kind of corporate world. And now you've fully transitioned from that structured corporate life to your beautiful autonomy that you've got in entrepreneurship, which was, I think you did it in about 2016. But can you talk to us about why you did that shift and what mindset shifts that you had to make in that whole transition?

Nicole Hatherley [00:05:33]:
Great questions, because you've watched me when I first came out of corporate, still being corporatized, still using.

Tina Tower [00:05:41]:
How many times have I said to you, I'm going, I don't know what those words mean, Nicole. Like, you're saying a lot of very fancy words and it sounds very impressive, but I have no idea what you mean.

Nicole Hatherley [00:05:51]:
And I'm the word person. So let me take you on the journey. I had been in corporate, in senior management and executive management positions, responsible for people and roadmaps and technology and innovation. And it came to a point, and it was actually nine years and eight months when I actually left my last corporate role in Commonwealth bank. And that gives you an idea, because it wasn't a pro rider long surface leave. So it was this point where I knew that I could do a lot more good with my messaging. Externally, we were working in women in focus, and it was brilliant because for five years, I was able to be lent to women in business and look at how they were actually leveraging their brand and their personal brand. So brand led business growth and really how they could do that more and how they could show up on stage.

Nicole Hatherley [00:06:50]:
I was speaking a lot then as well, on stages, how they could show up and shine without going under the radar of their brand. So I was starting to pull together. Oh, what would those programs look like? What would I actually share with women, beyond the wonderful women that we had in the community? And there was an opportunity, actually, I didn't go straight into my own. I actually went and worked for ten months, actually, in a women owned business. It was Luke beauty food with Cindy Lucan. And that was really to understand if I could improve to myself that I could make it outside of corporate, because it had been 24 years, so I wasn't. I wasn't totally sold, to be honest.

Tina Tower [00:07:38]:
Yeah. And was that because. Because I know there's a lot of people that make the transition from corporate into entrepreneurship, and it's one that I think, like, I think it would be difficult because there was, like, naivety is bliss sometimes at the start, and I've never had a job, which means I didn't have far to fall, you know, like, when you go in through that failure and the like, starting from nothing, whereas I think coming from big bougie corporate salaries as well, into nothing is very risky and very scary. How did you get your mind around that?

Nicole Hatherley [00:08:09]:
It took about two years. Yeah. Really? A lot of the work that I do now. Yeah. Is making sure I shortcut that for other, not just women, for all genders. And what I can pin it down to and articulate it is. It took me two years. And you use this beautiful word to shift from discipline to autonomy.

Nicole Hatherley [00:08:28]:
I had no idea how to choose where you would hear entrepreneurs say over and over again, I'm unemployable. You couldn't fence me in now, I'm the type of person that if you give me the rules, if you give me the guardrails, the rules, if you give me what I'm running at, I will smash through that and go further. And so that's what I did in corporate. I was always exceeds expectations. I was always rolling, modeling in behaviours.

Tina Tower [00:08:54]:
You got an a on your report card every time.

Nicole Hatherley [00:08:57]:
Totally. And you saw how I worked and how I played and everything was done. It wasn't an ambitious drive. It was a, let's do this, let's take it beyond, let's give this to as many people, let's all shine. And it was really that firing off all cylinders. But if I knew the guardrails and I knew the goal, that was great. Coming to my own, oh, I still struggle. I'm eight years in and trying to set my own agenda, trying to set my own annual goals, as you would know from our goal setting in her empire Builder sessions, where I sit there almost in tears going, I don't know.

Tina Tower [00:09:36]:
Tell me what to do, just give me a call.

Nicole Hatherley [00:09:40]:
So I guess everyone who is listening, who's either had that transition but couldn't put that feeling towards it is almost always that discipline, that safety net. I could jump around and I was going to be caught most of the time into that autonomy. And you see this with people going, I've left my job, but every morning I get up, I still get dressed, go down to the train station, get my cup of coffee, come back, sit in my office, and I'm ready to go. Then at 05:00 I finish and I'm like, whoa, okay, let's chat.

Tina Tower [00:10:14]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's the, so you've been, I mean, you have embraced the freedom of it now. Like, I know the way that you work, with your cadence of your timing and embracing that freedom. So I think, I think you're well and truly unemployable now, Nick.

Nicole Hatherley [00:10:30]:
Well and truly. I was saying that to another friend, saying, oh, my goodness, I would hate to employ me. And what you were saying really came to fruition probably about only three years ago where I ring fenced, and I still do Monday and Friday where I'm not on. I still work, but no one gets to see me if I don't choose them. So I've got no hair, no makeup, basically having a shower and getting some makeup on, but I get to choose. So really I'm only on three days a week. And for an energy management point of view when it comes to autonomy, it was a game changer. Yeah, I didn't know I could do that.

Tina Tower [00:11:07]:
You can do whatever you want. You can make whatever rule you like. This is what I don't understand about so many, and that's what I think would be the hardest part of going from employment or from, you know, we have a lot of teachers like, that go from the education system or from corporate or from different things that you go into somewhere where, you know, we just came off a masterclass before this and someone said, like, can I do this or do I have to do this? And it's like, you don't have to do anything and you can do anything. Like, you can completely make up all the rules, whatever you want at any time, and change direction. Like, it's the most incredible, beautiful thing. But I do think that it is easier for that than people that have never known any different for that. The other one is a learned skill.

Nicole Hatherley [00:11:53]:
You are absolutely right. And if you try and put those entrepreneurs into corporate, a lot of them would just go crazy.

Tina Tower [00:12:00]:
Well, I don't understand. I'll talk to some friends that have corporate jobs and I'm like, and you say yes to that? Like, you put up with that. Like, how is there not a mutiny? Yeah, it's just not fair. Anyway, so you went from business brand to personal brand recently. So you initially operated under brand True north, and then now you've transitioned more into Nicole Hatterley very first. Can you share your insights on why you've made that shift and why and how you've navigated repositioning that brand identity?

Nicole Hatherley [00:12:33]:
Absolutely. First of all, being the brand person who wasn't in their own personal brand was quite itchy.

Tina Tower [00:12:42]:
So I think that's still the tail end of corporate, though, is you felt like you needed a brand behind you.

Nicole Hatherley [00:12:49]:
It is. And I was also working with a lot of brands, a lot of businesses. So my business brand true north was branding businesses, products and services. But what I was really craving doing and what I really moved into through Covid was branding humans was looking at that impact and the legacy rather than selling things commodities. And so with my brand shift, I use my own brand team. I've got a team developer and designers, and I was the worst client they've ever had. It was. I've actually marked my journey and that's in my, my new course and that's personal rebrand boot camp.

Nicole Hatherley [00:13:32]:
And I looked at the tick, the traps and the kind of mind field that I had to go through, and I really had a new empathy for everyone I work with. But that journey was really important because Bran, true north, I could hide behind that, but what was starting to happen was my credibility as a keynote speaker, my credibility as an adjunct instructor through academia. They did not care about brand true north.

Tina Tower [00:14:05]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole Hatherley [00:14:05]:
They cared about leadership and more personal brand. And so branch True north didn't cut it. It didn't make sense in the quadrant. That is my business strategy, which is really interesting. So I knew that, that I knew that branch Renault was limited. Everyone knew the brand of Nicole Hatherley. There was no question in the market what I did and how I did it. And it's mainly I'm known as energized, energizing people back into their businesses, their.

Tina Tower [00:14:36]:
Brands, or I always describe you to other people as human sunshine.

Nicole Hatherley [00:14:39]:
That's. Thank you. That's it. And brand true north was not cutting that. Brand true north still exists. Most of our clients are in America, North America. They love brand true north, especially the Canadians. But Nicole Hatherley is here.

Tina Tower [00:14:54]:
Yes.

Nicole Hatherley [00:14:55]:
And so that transition was a bumpy one. It was 14 months in the cocoon stage.

Tina Tower [00:15:00]:
I was like, you came up against, like, those minefields and the different things, like, what were those actual parts that you came up against that you were like, this is hard for me to do.

Nicole Hatherley [00:15:10]:
Yeah. Can I tell you the big one? I'll cut straight to the chase. And I didn't realize this sat underneath and I'm just getting a little shaky. Isn't that funny? It was a fear, and it wasn't a fear of failure as Nicole Hatterley. It was an absolute fear of success as Nicole Hatherley. Because there was no question what I did, who I was. It was very clear I was a professional speaker, I'm accredited now. All of these big kind of ticks that I thought I needed, I got.

Nicole Hatherley [00:15:43]:
And what I realized was I was getting those and getting this fear because of my fear of success. If I have the floodgates open, people will want more from me. And I've been burnt out before. I've had burnout twice in my career, which I knew that leaving corporate, we were accessible areas in the roles that we were in. And I was ultra connected. And all I really, all really little Nikki wanted to do was kind of cave dwell in that I didn't want more, which is ironic because I do want more. I want to help more, I want to give more. I couldn't find that balance.

Nicole Hatherley [00:16:24]:
So I would come back into Brantrue north and it took 14 months for me. And how it played out was I would do positioning, which I'm really good at for other people, and I just found nothing came up with where I needed it to be. I didn't want to be the personal brand girl because I do a lot more. And it was actually her empire builder was actually our accountability call. Remember that call with our accountability group? And I was really vulnerable. I shared with everyone. I had this fear, and I shared all the positioning opportunities, and everyone went, oh, my goodness. It's human brand strategist.

Tina Tower [00:17:00]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nicole Hatherley [00:17:01]:
I just. I couldn't see the label because I was inside the jar, and I burst into tears after that, and I realized exactly what my clients were feeling every single time.

Tina Tower [00:17:10]:
Yeah. And, I mean, it does help you be able to serve people when you've gone through it yourself as well. And it's something that, like, I know it can sound crazy to people saying fearful of success, but I see it happen all the time, and it's sometimes by being, like, you know, in getting that burnout, but a lot of the time, it's that exposure as well and other, like, going, what does this mean for how people will perceive me to, like, the. The amount of women that I talk to that go, like, I don't want people to think I'll get too big for my boots kind of thing. That is a huge thing. And I see that hold more people back than the fear of failure. Yeah.

Nicole Hatherley [00:17:47]:
What was really interesting, and I think this will help everyone listening because it so helped us last week when we were with you, we were at the Kajabi conference, and you did these beautiful round tables, and we had an extraordinary table of women who I'm just in awe of. And we were sitting there, and we had to do our biggest challenge, biggest business challenge, and ours was so common. But the women were starting to say. The women were collectively saying just this fear of failure. And I came around and I said, mine's a little different. It's the fear of success. And I took them through the three things that articulate the fear of success, which is starting to get that overwhelm of what people want from me, not living up to the expectation when the floodgates open and not being able to turn it off. And everyone literally, we had a teary, teary eyed, went, oh, my goodness, that's me, too.

Nicole Hatherley [00:18:39]:
It's not the fear of failure. I also had the fear of success. I just didn't know it.

Tina Tower [00:18:44]:
Yeah, I think it's really prevalent. So I'm glad that you've brought that up, because I'm sure a lot of people can go, oh, yeah. And we can get more comfortable with success, but it's only through examining it and really figuring out what is holding you back and being, being okay with that in there as well.

Nicole Hatherley [00:18:58]:
Yeah, totally.

Tina Tower [00:18:59]:
Yeah. Okay. So now how has your, we've kind of touched on this a little bit, but how has your message evolved over the last year? Because I know that we touched on it a little bit when we chatted the other day in going, like, in who your target market is and how that evolves. And the reason I ask this question is because I love that it can be an evolution. A lot of people will feel like once I pick a market, once I stick there, like, that's it. I can't change my mind on that. And you've been really good at going, this is what's right for this season and this part of the economy. And then as it ebbs and flows, I can ebb and flow with that.

Tina Tower [00:19:34]:
So can you talk to us a little bit about how your messaging has changed for different audiences through that?

Nicole Hatherley [00:19:39]:
I would love to. And how it's, how it came about Washington. Me wondering, should I niche down? Because I have got four very clear quadrants and if everyone listening takes themselves through their career golden thread, what their talents and skills, what they're good at, they may find that they've got a similar. And with niching, you don't have to niche your products or services, but you need to niche your messaging. And that's what I nailed. You also need to niche what's the, what I call your golden thread that overarches everything so it makes sense to everyone. So to bring it to life, I'm brand, but I'm also leadership. So a lot of people who know me in corporate and executive management, and I do executive coaching.

Nicole Hatherley [00:20:25]:
I work with universities doing adjunct instructing, and I'm an industry fellow. They don't really care about my brand work. Yeah, they only care about leadership and thought leadership and how to get their message out there. The brand people, when I'm rebranding someone, they don't actually care that I'm a leadership strategist as well. So what I was able to do is I've got brand on one side, strategy on the other, sorry, leadership on the other. And then I've got public facing. So I work with professional experts and entrepreneurs, and then I've got corporate executives and academics. And so my message overarching is branding humans.

Nicole Hatherley [00:21:01]:
It's, I align your vision, articulate your value and amplify your visibility. So I do that for every single segment, and they all light up because my tagline or what I do or my messaging is all about them. That's all they want to do, is they want to align, articulate, and amplify. They want to work on their vision, their value, and their visibility. That's all I do. Yeah, three things. And then, or else I kind of make it a little bit more simple. And basically it's how to talk about yourself without feeling like a boaster, an imposter, or a tosser, because your work doesn't speak for itself, which is so relatable.

Tina Tower [00:21:37]:
Yeah.

Nicole Hatherley [00:21:38]:
So that comes from that conversation that we had where you're like, oh, these are big words, but I don't really know what you do. And I came out with, well, I help you talk about yourself without feeling like a poster imposter or toss without.

Tina Tower [00:21:49]:
Going not to brag, however, not to brag I am.

Nicole Hatherley [00:21:54]:
But that we've got to watch our language because it really just has to rubber has to hit the road with people going far out. That's what I need. It can't be about you, and it can't be fancy because people aren't fancy at the end of the day. They just know what keeps them awake at night. So if you can actually come back to what is my client saying to themselves at 03:00 a.m. in the morning? I know my client is saying I'm shit at talking about myself. I just need to get more visibility. I don't know what to say when it's about me and my value, and I don't really know where I'm going.

Nicole Hatherley [00:22:28]:
They're the things that keep my client awake at night. And I was so obsessed with that and making that into my message.

Tina Tower [00:22:35]:
And that is like you've nailed messaging with that, because then once you've got that worked out, it helps you do all of your writing, it helps you do all your social media, it helps you create all your content, your speeches, like, everything stems from that. So naturally.

Nicole Hatherley [00:22:49]:
Absolutely. And that's where the extension of, well, what do people, what do people need? And for my audience now I've got the personal rebrand plan playbook and the personal brand boot camp, and we've got reinvent you. So it all comes into this transitional nature of everyone's transitioning. They will always need a transition in their message. They're always shifting from something to something else and really losing this beautiful golden thread of all of their value for many years, thinking they have to cut it off. And say something that other people want them to say.

Tina Tower [00:23:24]:
Yeah, exactly. And all of Nick's courses, we will link in the show notes so you can see that as well. But you joined us in her empire builder back in 2020 in our first. And launched your business, like soon after. How did being part of our community, like, influence your approach to building online business?

Nicole Hatherley [00:23:45]:
So many things. I didn't have an online business when I exited in 2016, as you said, I launched my first program, my digital program, thanks to idutolaunch, followed most of the things I'd say it was about 80% and that was a huge success. It was the 11th of the 11th, 2020, and I launched brand your way and that was in the midst of COVID People were just working out, we're going to be in here for a long time, so they really needed this brand.

Tina Tower [00:24:13]:
We're going to be in here for a long time. Yeah.

Nicole Hatherley [00:24:16]:
And so it was a $20,000 launch. I did cap it at ten founding members at $2,000 each, which was a great first launch. Oh, my goodness. It worked perfectly because my waitlist was another 13 on the waitlist and I was really true. Yes, I was really sorry there was another 13 on the wait list, so I only had, and I remember I only had 84 people on my list back then. I've got my launch debrief, 84 people. So that's all it took. But my social media, because of the nurturing I'd done with my audience for the last.

Tina Tower [00:24:57]:
And that's it. I think, you know, especially when you're starting out and you've got a small audience, like your, your connection is a lot richer as well. Like, a lot of those people know you quite well and we're waiting for you to be able to deliver that.

Nicole Hatherley [00:25:11]:
Absolutely. And then it turned a little bit of a corner and it went a little bit sideways, but in a good way for me, and this is probably interesting for other people who find a different pathway. I launched my program and then in January, off the back of that, I launched brand your way membership and it was a hit. So people just wanted to come into the membership. I had the twelve month roadmap, that's what they wanted to do, and they didn't so much want to go through the program, they just wanted me live well, as in me taking them through live. And so that was my monthly recurring revenue and it was more than I expected. And then I went into, I did launch a second time and we got probably another ten people, I think. Then I launched the third time.

Nicole Hatherley [00:25:57]:
And, Tina, I got one person. And so this is my one person launch. It was September 2022, so two years ago now. And I was in my depth of despair going, how could I have not warmed up the audience? I know the program. So I didn't give myself enough leadway. And also I had exhausted my list and people were able to come into the membership. So that one person, though, I launched my high value vip thanks to her empire build, because you had just gone through vip and how to. We did our masterclass on VIP's.

Nicole Hatherley [00:26:37]:
I'm like, my God, I can just do my six weeks for one day for this person. And so that launched that off the back. And since then, I've just finished my 21st vip. VIP. That's at an average of about $9,000. So that's bringing in about 190 grand over those two years, which is a huge injection into a digital based business.

Tina Tower [00:27:05]:
And this is so impactful to vip days with someone in a day that intense. It's just, I love vip days.

Nicole Hatherley [00:27:13]:
And the problem with my program, and it's a big problem, is it's very hard to go through as an individual because they're so individualized when we're talking about personalized messaging, where someone can really hold the whole group back if they're not getting their messaging or not getting heard. So the vip, thank goodness for my third launch flop. And then I paused, launching 14 months ago to go through this rebrand. And what I did through that rebrand is also focus on building credibility for.

Tina Tower [00:27:45]:
Nicole Hatherley, which, I mean, your speaking engagements have been incredible. Like what? What do you see as the biggest things that you've done in the last year to build that personal brand?

Nicole Hatherley [00:27:55]:
Yes. Becoming an accredited global speaker. And that's been making sure that I'm on big stages. So, New York, Toronto. Oh, I was in South America. Yeah. Oh, I forgot about that.

Tina Tower [00:28:09]:
Been all over the whole retreat in Fiji.

Nicole Hatherley [00:28:11]:
Yes. And we're doing that again. So the retreat in Fiji, and that was the other thing, is a high value collaboration. So, Christina Carlson, founder of KKK and your dream life. Shana Blaze, Australia's most trusted interior designer, who actually takes us through life design with the same model she takes through interior design. And Sarah Pirinalli, who is wandering Wanda, wired for wonder, one of the world's best design thinkers. So we've got the four areas of design, dream design, develop and deliver. And that was a game changer with raising visibility for all of us, actually.

Tina Tower [00:28:50]:
When's the next retreat happening with that one?

Nicole Hatherley [00:28:52]:
So we are. We've got half sold. It is the 25th to the 29 October. It's at Mommy Bay, Fiji. It's all inclusive. It's very accessible and affordable. It's $6,500 for the whole four days for your reinvention or your workbooks or your meals or your accommodation and us.

Tina Tower [00:29:13]:
Nice. I will link to that one also so that people can check that out if there's. We're going live very soon, so hopefully there'll still be another couple of spots.

Nicole Hatherley [00:29:21]:
Hopefully it is. And the reinventors from last year, we did. We sold out last year. It will sell out again this year. But almost half of what we've sold now is reinventors coming back, which is fantastic.

Tina Tower [00:29:33]:
Nice. Nice. Now you've mentioned to us, you know, you've had some internal resistance, and I think it was not last year's end of year planning day. The year before that, you were like, I think I have ADHD.

Nicole Hatherley [00:29:50]:
Oh, wasn't that a big one?

Tina Tower [00:29:52]:
Yeah, you're like, I was talking about it a little bit. You're like, I think I do. And now you've gone and got your formal diagnosis of that. How has understanding that and the way that you've approached your work kind of shifted since there? And have you got any advice for other people that are, that are kind of facing similar challenges?

Nicole Hatherley [00:30:10]:
Such a good question. I had no idea I was neurospicy. I had an idea that I had probably 13 or 14 different things wrong with me that I just couldn't get different, as in executive function. I didn't understand executive function. So my executive function is very different to other people and I'm quite low on time and time blindness, time organization, memory, short term memory, a few things. And I just thought, I couldn't do this, I couldn't do what other people do. And with time, I'm not organized to deliver, so I have to have a lot of processes. So I look very organized and I am, but it's very process.

Nicole Hatherley [00:31:00]:
And what happened when you were talking about it was a light dawned on me because I actually couldn't do the goal setting the way that everyone else was doing. And I realized I struggled with the executive function of future focus. I do it a different way. So being diagnosed was pivotal. I don't think I probably needed the actual diagnosis to understand, and I hold the label lightly, but the difference is it really is understanding my executive function. My business has gone next level because I know that I'm like rain woman on a whiteboard. The ideas that I have, the way that I can see concepts, the way that I can actually articulate value is my neurospiciness. Do not get me to write a report.

Nicole Hatherley [00:31:45]:
Do not get me to follow up. Do not get me to do anything that is long form writing on my own. It just doesn't suit me. So I've got a wonderful team around me that picks that up. They're fantastic in the executive function that I'm not good at, and it has just been amazing. Two years. I am so much more in joy.

Tina Tower [00:32:08]:
Yeah, I love that.

Nicole Hatherley [00:32:09]:
And I was always in that resistance, wondering why I couldn't do things. But I realized that the things I can do, oh, my goodness, I wouldn't change them for the world totally.

Tina Tower [00:32:20]:
Well, I mean, I was really lucky diagnosed when I was at uni. So I was about 20 when I had my formal diagnosis, which was rare for girls back then because we present so differently. But then, I know many women, it's very common in female entrepreneurship that have an ADHD formal diagnosis, but present really, really differently. And so, to me, it's a superpower. Like, I went on medication for two years when I was finishing uni, and it really took my spark away. And the superpower I have, but there's a lot that, you know, like, my reliance upon Monday boards is next level ridiculous, but I need that level of organization and discipline to actually not be overwhelmed and not let my brain explode.

Nicole Hatherley [00:33:07]:
So, we can now circle back full circle, and this may be helpful for others. This is why I thrived in court.

Tina Tower [00:33:15]:
Yeah.

Nicole Hatherley [00:33:15]:
Give me the guardrails, give me the processes. Give me what you're expecting of me. And this is why I was okay at school.

Tina Tower [00:33:23]:
Million mile an hour I would go.

Nicole Hatherley [00:33:25]:
But if I'm left to my own devices, I can't organize a party. And I can organize a party, actually, but I can't organize much. My organizational skills in executive function aren't my brightest part, and that's what I think.

Tina Tower [00:33:40]:
Like, no matter what, as an entrepreneur, knowing yourself and knowing your brain and knowing how to get a. The best out of yourself is absolute key to unlocking your success.

Nicole Hatherley [00:33:49]:
And this doesn't. This is not about neurodivergent or anything. Even if you go in and I become a Gallups Clifton strengths coach, if you go in and just understand your strengths. My strengths actually have an underlying understanding of my neurodiversity. So it's really interesting that it does display that in my strengthen, as well. It's not always like that, but it gives you such a good clue to know yourself. Everyone should know their top five strengths.

Tina Tower [00:34:21]:
Yeah. Nice. Okay, I've got two questions left. One is, what would you tell people that are looking at joining her empire builder and are like, do I want to do this online thing? Am I going to be able to do it? Like, is this going to be the thing that's going to help me get there? What's your advice? Other than like join?

Nicole Hatherley [00:34:38]:
Yeah, my top advice is join. It's an investment in ourselves that you can't put a price on. And I say this because as you.

Tina Tower [00:34:50]:
Put a price on it and you've gotten a massive return on investment. Yeah, I love that.

Nicole Hatherley [00:34:55]:
And this is where there is a price on it. I could never price it. So what you've heard really, actually naturally throughout conversation is those pivotal moments where I learned who I was in that sense, or I really needed our accountability code because I was really in a struggle space. I really needed the cohort to catch me when I kind of realized that I wonderfully different. All of those moments, not many of them were about the digital programs and digital courses, but I have been able to follow them. They have been a lifeline for my business. I have built again. We've gone from strength to strength.

Nicole Hatherley [00:35:36]:
This year we keep building the business. Hopefully I'll be on the Bougie boat again this year.

Tina Tower [00:35:43]:
People that don't know at the end of every year I rent a boat on Sydney Harbour and we fill it with the 20 people that have experienced the most growth inside their business. And we call it the Bougie boat. And it's like the celebration boat, which is fantastic.

Nicole Hatherley [00:35:57]:
See, you are my equivalent to the corporate goals. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You tell me to get there and I will. It's been the content definitely has built my business, but it's the community, the cohort and the coaching that has built me as an entrepreneur has built my confidence. And I'm quite a confident person. But I'm talking about the quiet confidence that I can sit in a room and know I belong.

Tina Tower [00:36:23]:
Yeah, love that, Nick. That's my favorite thing. That makes me the happiest out of everything. That is exactly what I wanted to build. So thank you for saying that. And my final question for you, success. Look like for you, going forward now.

Nicole Hatherley [00:36:39]:
It'S very different this year. Success for me is doing a lot less and making it mean more. And I'm talking about doing a lot less product services, doing less, spruiking of what those different products and services are and really coming in. My focus is on branding humans and so that has really come in. Success for me is every single person that can actually see their own value, realize their own value and then articulate it, their life changes.

Tina Tower [00:37:19]:
Yeah, so good. Nick, thank you so much for coming on and chatting with us. I have linked to Nicole's all her things with her courses and her retreats and all her things to go and find fabulous in there. She is human sunshine. Thank you for sharing it with us today and inspiring everyone. You're amazing. Thank you.

Nicole Hatherley [00:37:38]:
Oh, and thank you for this podcast. It is another one of those pieces, but it's open to everyone. It's so generous and it's been an absolute privilege and pleasure and fun to be on and to be contributing. Thank you.

Tina Tower [00:37:54]:
This episode was brought to you by my signature group coaching program, Her Empire Builder. The best online education for female course creators in the world. Check it out @tinatower.com. along with so many free resources to help you get building your empire and seeing those results that you deserve. If you loved this episode, please don't keep it a secret. Share it with a friend on social media and tag me @tina_tower and give it a review. It really does help help us to be able to bring you bigger and better content as we grow. Have the most beautiful day.

Tina Tower [00:38:31]:
I'm Tina Tower and I'm cheering you on all the way.