Quitting your dream job to start a business is a very risky decision, especially if you’re in a high-ranking, visible position at a famous company.
But My Good Woman, Nicole Marra, did just that.
As the CEO and Founder of Fixer Advisory Group, Nicole is a trusted strategic partner to some of the world’s most dynamic luxury brands.
She’s earned a reputation as a creative, collaborative problem-solver empowering her clients to grow and thrive by improving their operations, legal functioning, diversity, equality and inclusion, corporate culture, and more.
Nicole led Gucci America’s legal, real estate, compliance, security, and crisis management functions for over a decade before taking the leap and drawing together all the strands of her skills and experience to create Fixer.
In this episode, Nicole and I discuss
- What prompts a person to leave a perfect-on-paper job and ditch the career they’ve worked so hard to build to start their own thing
- Why women need to get better about asking for help (because help is everywhere!)
- When you work with someone so closely that it feels like you’re sharing a brain
- Connecting with your inner child, your inspiration, and that part of you that wants to shine
This episode at a glance:
[00:14:40] When you’re passionate about something, you’ll find the time and energy for it.
[00:16:29] What Nicole found most surprising about making the leap to being a business owner – support was coming from all sides. The people around her carried her over the launch line.
[00:21:13] The most significant challenge Nicole faced: trying to wear all the hats simultaneously. Allocating time, dividing time efficiently, and how to keep working at the highest level of her ability. And what she did to fix that. She’s a fixer!
[00:25:13] When men build businesses, they start by surrounding themselves with help. Women often try to build systems so they don’t need to ask for help.
[00:31:52] ”The Power of the Pack”: the power that women have when they work together.
[00:37:19] The foundations of running a business (or having any type of career) as a woman, according to Nicole: having enough childcare and support to run your household, so you can go out and do other things. The importance of routine and knowing that certain things just get taken care of regularly.
[00:42:23] Nicole’s leadership style is casual and exacting at the same time. It’s about being informal and personal but expecting nothing less than excellence from your team.
[00:56:03] What Nicole’s Times Square billboard would say: Enough of being afraid of everything. Put yourself out there. If you want to reach a mass audience and be as broad and accessible as possible, you can’t live in fear of what would happen if you did exactly that.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode
- Check out Fixer Advisory Group – and follow Nicole on LinkedIn or Instagram
- 10 Lives Exercise
- Check out Trello, a project management tool that works like digital post-its (and so much more)
- Get a waterproof notepad for the shower
- Get groceries delivered with FreshDirect – and everything else with Amazon Prime
- Dawn’s go-to business foundations: Neutrogena face wipes and a Revlon Colorstay lip color
- Check out Chief, the Female Networking organization
