My Story: How Julie Nichols Marketing Got Started
That’s me.
I was recently inspired by Lindsay Pinchuk at Dear FoundHer to write my story — the full version. Lindsay, I’m taking you up on this. I hope this story helps you, my readers, to get to know me and better understand what I’m trying to accomplish with my new business, Julie Nichols Marketing. So here goes.
I always wanted to be a performer. From my earliest memories, I was constantly singing or humming a tune, and I would act out my favorite cartoons recorded on VHS. Even out in public I would sing just loud enough for people to notice in the hopes that I’d get “discovered” by a producer walking by. Yeah, that didn’t happen.
But I did pursue a career in theatre, studying acting, directing, design, and voice in college. I loved it. I wanted to be a working actor and couldn’t wait to graduate and get out there! Before graduation, I landed my first contract with a children’s theatre and education company. I was actually doing it! Sure, I couldn’t afford my own cell phone bill (thanks Mom and Dad) but I was making a living as an actor. I was living the dream!
After two years of touring, I missed home. I returned to the Chicago area and started to make a name for myself in the theatre scene at night while holding down a day job. It was at these day jobs that I learned about the corporate world and how to utilize my strong communication and teaching skills to grow my career. I earned years of on-the-job experience in marketing, event planning, and curriculum design. I wrote a personal blog to keep my writing and editing skills sharp. I devoted hours to digital marketing for a small non-profit theatre and learned an incredible amount about fundraising, organic marketing, and the user experience.
After 10 years of building a career in administrative support and theatre, I had twins. It’s what I like to call the record scratch of my life. I had to pivot away from theatre and survive my twins’ first year of life. It was a little soul-crushing and also a very uninspiring year, but I was also too tired to really notice. When I was finally able to come up for air after their first birthday, I realized that my administrative day job (at that time, working for attorneys) wasn’t enough. I missed being creative and I wanted to lead a team, not support other leaders. I needed a career change.
I decided to take the leap into working for a small (micro, really) online business that really needed a lot of help. Joining this new organization gave me the opportunity to spread my wings and upskill like crazy. I wore many hats, among them general manager, digital marketer, online course designer, content writer, editor, instructor, account manager, podcast producer, live event producer, public speaker, and social media/SEO/email marketing consultant. I’m tired just writing that.
I learned all the tips and tricks to boost the business’s online presence for little to no cost. We were scrappy. Our marketing budget was very small and everything we did was tailored to drive organic traffic. I also saw firsthand how hard it is to be a small business owner and an entrepreneur. The unique struggles and triumphs of that experience molded me into who I am today.
After 8 years at that job, I was laid off. I was crushed, to say the least. I loved my job. I had no idea what I wanted to do next, but I knew I loved teaching, writing, and coaching. So I pivoted to learning and development (aka corporate training) and did that for a year. And then I was laid off again. Two layoffs within 15 months. Ouch. This was starting to hurt. I had never lost a job prior to this period in time. I was always the one finding new opportunities and leaving them wanting more. I didn’t like this feeling of being out of control and alone.
I was exhausted and lost. Nothing felt right. The 2023 job market was a mess. I turned to networking groups and quickly filled my calendar with coffee chats to expand my network and hopefully find a corporate training role. I met with corporate leaders, small business leaders, and entrepreneurs. The conversation would start with learning and development and inevitably turn to my experience with small business marketing. Like on cue, they would always ask me for advice on marketing their own business. I found myself sharing tips and advice on the subjects of building online courses, building a community on social media, starting a podcast, search engine optimization, the importance of email marketing, and so on. I left each session feeling invigorated from sharing this information and feeling like I had helped out a small business owner. I felt alive. I felt like me.
It hit me then -- THIS is what I really want to do!
I quickly got myself together and founded Julie Nichols Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in organic marketing strategy, education, and execution.
My mission is to empower small businesses with organic marketing literacy and guidance to drive organic lead generation for less cost. I love coaching small business teams and solopreneurs to do their own online marketing, such as email marketing, organic SEO, and web content. This stuff isn’t rocket science, but it took years for me to learn through lots of research, experimentation, and lessons learned. I want to condense those lessons and share my best tips and advice with you to accelerate your growth and save you money.
I lead my business with these values:
Communication — Open channels and active listening
Accessibility — Connecting authentically and easily
Trust — Belief in ability and reliability
Knowledge — Lifelong pursuit of learning
Clarity — Clear message, clear objectives
I work with a fantastic team of graphic designers, web designers, content writers, photographers, videographers, digital ad providers, and marketing analytics providers, to name a few. I really enjoy bringing together teams of incredible people who are not only seriously talented, they are a pleasure to work with, meet deadlines, and are really good listeners. These are the people that I trust and want to work with, as I’ll be your project manager to make sure everything comes together on time and on budget.
While going out on my own is a little bit scary, I feel like I’ve done this before. I have run a small business. I have implemented all the best organic marketing practices. I have an incredible network that is growing by the day. I have pretty much nothing in the bank and my financial safety net is my 401(k). But I can’t go back. I need to give this my best shot. I want to be my own boss and share my talents and knowledge with others to help them shine. I’m ready: Put me in, coach!
If you’d like to connect to discuss your marketing needs, I would love to book a free discovery call with you. Or contact me directly to share your thoughts. I’d love to hear them!
