So- why would you want to work with me anyway?

TL;DR- Nicki Kane, she/her, 50something, Kiwi, a fair bit of business experience and no tolerance for intolerance!

First - a bit about me:

 Born and bred in Aoteoroa New Zealand, I grew up in the tiniest of rural towns. I did the normal thing of school, then university - except something in me just didn't see myself working in any of the areas my business degree was preparing me for, and so 2/3rds of the way through my degree I left. (Although just to be sure I'd given it a good go, I tried changing to an arts degree with an idea of becoming an archaeologist afterwards- but having to sit through years of Elizabethan history lectures to be able to go and dig cool 1000+ year old stuff up didn't make sense and so I left for good.)

I'm an only child- so when I became a mum of two I just wasn't prepared for any of it- why didn't someone warn me that breakfast was a contact sport???

I'm a bit of a nerd and definitely an oddball - one of my favourite sayings is "Normal is overrated". I grew up in a family full of love but somewhat short on money, which I think gave me a wonderful and enduring lesson in figuring out how to do great things on a shoestring budget. It taught me the value of questioning the status quo - why pay to do something the way everyone else is doing it if you can do it better and cheaper yourself? I also love trying new things- which would explain why I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in my mid 40's, started gaming when I turned 50, and why I know what Century eggs and deep fried chicken feet taste like - but for people who like them don't worry - I'm leaving them ALL for you!

A bit more about me (yep, it's gonna get serious for a bit!):

I want everyone that takes this course to know they're in a safe space where intolerance, hatred, and bigotry will not be tolerated. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect is something that is a non-negotiable here. I welcome everyone of all genders/gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, colours, creeds, abilities, neurodiversities, and all the other differences that make this world such a wonderful place to be. The things I don't tolerate are hatred, disrespect, racism/sexism/all the other negative -ism's, and anything that masquerades as 'free speech' that in reality is just someone's excuse for being an a**hole. (Yep, it's my business- I'm allowed to say that. If you don't like it, just don't join!) My pronouns are she/her, and I am an 'imperfect ally'- I'm going to do my best to show respect to everyone I have contact with, but I'm also human and will probably muck up more than once. I really appreciate the opportunity to learn- so if you see some way I can do better then please let me know and I'll do my very best  to do it!

Next: A bit about my business experience:

I've had my fair share of times working for other people, but I always end up back working for myself - 20+ years and counting so far. I love having the ability to set my own direction, to change things if they can be done better or more efficiently, and to double down on things that are working so that things really get humming. 

I've worked in a huge variety of industries and run businesses in a fair few of them too - in terms of longevity my 2 'traditional' businesses have both been around at least 10 years.

The first one was a beauty therapy business that had a learning curve the size of the Himalayas. They say that you either pay for business education in dollars or experience and I got masses of education running that one! At its peak it was physically the largest clinic in the city we were operating in, and there were 7 of us making sure that all of our clients felt as pampered and beautiful as we could possibly make them!

After looking for an exit from the beauty industry for a while I more or less fell into my second business, and I started a personal risk / life insurance brokerage. Since then I've won multiple awards, and have also been a member of an invitation only worldwide financial adviser association that to even be invited to join you first have to be recognised as one of the top advisers in your country. 

(An important side note for anyone who has a negative impression of the insurance industry and the people who work in it: in NZ the insurance industry definitely has it's flaws but as a whole it works really well to support it's clients, and as advisers we work incredibly hard to look after our clients at every step along the journey from policy inception to claim time and beyond. I've personally helped people through claims for everything from cataract operations to cancer treatments and so many other things as well- and being able to help them have access to the things they need when they need them is incredibly rewarding and important work.) 

The brokerage is actually still running just as well as ever, with me currently as the sole adviser and a small but mighty support team - huge proof that this course you're considering definitely works! When I started the course it was because I was incredibly frustrated that I just couldn't get the brokerage to the next level and I knew I needed help to get there. I had no time to do any of the business or personal things I wanted to do because I was constantly working in the business. Now fast forward to 3 years later after immersing myself in the course and transforming the way my brokerage runs: I'm growing this second business while keeping the first one going at the same time- it's living proof that this course works incredibly well! 

Both my beauty therapy and insurance businesses I've started from the ground up by myself- so if you're looking for someone who can walk the talk, I've already done it twice and am doing it a 3rd time with this one. Each time I've learned huge lessons - often in what not to do- but hey, lessons are lessons! And the thing that I've learned most is how much better it is when people are helping people- which is why I absolutely love helping people through the Stuck to Scaled course! It's incredibly rewarding for me when I see people's lightbulb moments- that moment when the problem they've been banging their head against for ages suddenly gets solved and they can see their goals and dreams getting that much closer!

A bit more about my business experience:

I've definitely experienced the down sides of business too- a Global Financial Crisis, SOOO many recessions (both national and personal!), and the times where I was so sick of it I just wanted to chuck it all in and go back to the 9-5 of working for someone else. 

But I couldn't ever quite bring myself to do it- because no matter how tough the times were I still loved it. And as time went by, I realised that life doesn't give out extra credit because I did everything the hard way. That it made sense to look around for ways to get where I wanted faster and easier. That there are some incredibly clever people out there who I could learn from and get to where I want to be in a fraction of the time it would take me to figure it out myself.

It was like using a compass versus a GPS to get somewhere. Sure, the compass would tell me the general direction to go in- and after a lot of trial and error I'd probably make it- whereas a GPS would tell me the best way to get to my destination in the shortest time possible. And before I knew it, I'd be at my destination, lounging by the pool of life and sipping a nice cool drink, wondering where all the other people were that I saw on the way that were still trying to get there with compasses.

And now I'm thrilled that I can share this with you!