NK Podcast: Leading H.E.R. Way
What if I told you that building a successful business doesn’t have to mean running yourself into the ground?
Welcome to Leading HER Way, the podcast that challenges the outdated belief that success has to come with burnout.
I’m Nikisha, your disruptive coach, and after 15 years of growing multiple businesses, I’ve learned that working harder isn’t the answer—building smarter is.
Every week, I sit down with powerhouse women entrepreneurs and wedding pros who’ve cracked the code to scaling their businesses while reclaiming their time.
You’ll hear raw, unfiltered conversations, client transformations, and behind-the-scenes success stories proving that your business can thrive without you constantly putting out fires.
Here’s what you’ll take away:
✔️ How to build 7-figure systems that scale—so you’re not stuck in the weeds of your business.
✔️ How to stop being the bottleneck and design a business that runs smoothly without you.
✔️ Social proof from industry leaders who have mastered this shift—and are here to show you how.
So, if you’re ready to work less while earning more, hit play, and let’s create a business that ignites your freedom. 🔥
NK Podcast: Leading H.E.R. Way
Ep 62: From Hustle to Ease: Empowering Your Entrepreneurial Journey
Are you grinding day and night, convinced that working harder is the only way to make more money? What if I told you that’s a lie?
In this episode of Leading HER Way, I’m pulling back the curtain on the myths about making money that are keeping you stuck in burnout mode. If you’re tired of feeling overworked, underpaid, and overwhelmed, it’s time to shift your mindset and ignite a new approach to success.
Welcome to Season 3 of Leading HER Way and the How to Make Money series! In this episode, I dive deep into the biggest misconceptions about making money—working harder, charging less, and overloading offers with bonuses.
Spoiler alert: These strategies won’t get you the financial success you’re aiming for! Instead, I introduce my Three C’s framework—Clarity, Confidence, and Collaboration—which transformed my business from struggling with $1,000/sale to landing $15,000/deal.
3 Key Takeaways:
1️⃣ Clarity Creates Value: The way you position your offer matters. When you understand and communicate the real value of your services, clients see why they should invest in you.
2️⃣ Confidence is Non-Negotiable: Charging premium prices starts with owning your expertise. The more confident you are in your worth, the easier it is to attract high-quality clients.
3️⃣ Collaboration is the Shortcut to Success: Partnering with the right people—like wedding planners in my case—can help you streamline your process, increase sales, and create win-win relationships.
Don’t stop here!
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Welcome to Leading Her Way with your host and business guru, Nikisha King. This podcast is the ultimate destination for women, creative entrepreneurs, who want to break free from burnout. If you are overwhelmed by client demands and feel like you're doing this all alone, you, my friend, are in the right place alone. You, my friend, are in the right place Now. Let's dive in for steps to take back your time and simplify your workflow. All right, Nikisha, take it away.
Speaker 2:Hello, gorgeous, welcome to season three of Leading Her Way podcasts. It has been a time that I got to re-up work on some new things I'm coming out with which I'm so happy about. I am working on a new program for iconic wedding pros or iconic entrepreneurs like you, and I get to come back for our make or how to make money series. Now I've been really grappling with this how to make money question and I had a lot of thoughts about it, and when I have thoughts, I want to share it because I know my audience is actually struggling with this. I know there are entrepreneurs in the industry of the wedding event, world coaching, consults all of the people who are providing a service who is constantly trying to figure out the biggest question how to make money. And the reason we're trying to figure this out is because it is the fuel for our mission. It is the fuel for the thing that we love, and how to make money is one of those questions that we constantly think. We have to do some things to make money, and I want to go through that first. So let's define what you and I may think making money is all about. One do you think making money means working harder, working harder, having to go out there and sweat and get greased up, and when you do something like that, when you're up 12, 15 hours a day, at the end of the day do you go man, I worked so hard, I'm going to make all this money now. Do you find yourself in that position? There were moments in my past where I used to be up working 12 in the morning one in the morning, literally and waking up like six in the morning seven because I had young kids and I thought I did a lot for the day. I thought that was the grind. Being in the grind right, doing all things, doing 80% actionable steps and only getting like 20% results was the way I thought. Working harder meant I would make millions, and I don't know about you, but that was not the case and I'm going to share that was not the case. Working harder does not equal making money, and I'm going to say that because the word harder is only defined by you and what you think it means. Harder for you may be hard, different for me. However, working smarter Now that's something and we'll talk about that later.
Speaker 2:Another way that we entrepreneur entrepreneurs think we make money is by charging a low price, because if we charge a low price, everyone's going to want it right. All of a sudden, I'm going to charge a low price, everybody's going to want this because it's cheap and I'm going to make more money. And here's the thing when you charge low prices, you bring this amazing person who one loves to negotiate, will always negotiate your low price. Your low price might be so low and they will negotiate lower because they need that negotiation win-win situation. They need to know that I got it lower and it makes them feel good. Right, it's about them, it's not about you. You don't need to survive, you don't need to eat, it's about me. So charging those lower prices allow you to attract more clientele like that.
Speaker 2:And if you get more clientele like that, guess where you end up? The entrepreneur, the person creating value or supposed to be. You end up overwhelmed. Creating value or supposed to be, you end up overwhelmed, burned out, exhausted, underappreciated, frustrated. Am I hitting a chord? Because I surely know I did when I was in those stages.
Speaker 2:And we think that is how you make money. We also think that money is made when we do more, give more, package more rather than an experience. We believe, if I take this offer, aka package. Cram every bonus in it. Cram every bonus in it. They're going to pick me. They want to work with me, although their experience even starting to initiate a conversation with you was like whacked out, like nothing worked. Links were broken, it took a lot to get to send this message to you and then, when I send it to you, I didn't even know if you got it because there was nothing coming back. Okay, but you send them a nice five page brochure with all your services because that's how you make money. No, it's not Sorry to pop your bubble, it's not Now.
Speaker 2:I say all of this because guess who was in that position? I was. Guess who was right there with you when she started out in 2009? Really, I don't even know when, because that was a blur 2011 had my first child, so I didn't have but so many years to start my first child. So I didn't have but so many years to start. And when I started out, I did all of that, working hard 12 hours a day. I wasn't sleeping, right, I had a baby. They don't sleep, so I didn't sleep. So guess what I can do when they were up, I can work on assembling invitations because I was an invitation designer and I was doing it in-house and it felt so glamorous to say that.
Speaker 2:But what I didn't know was what I was doing was a waste of effort and time. Saying things were done in-house made it seem like I was saving money, just to charge the lowest price possible. And let me tell you how painful that was To charge a fee, get paid and still have no money to contribute to my household. To charge a fee and get paid just to pay the cost of the materials. Okay, let me tell you, working harder does not mean making more money. I used to charge $1,000 for 100 invitations and the reason I charge that is because I didn't even understand the value I was giving. Because I didn't understand what value was. In my mind.
Speaker 2:I was selling a piece of paper. That was a product, and the people who wanted to pay cheap exactly thought I was selling papers. So they was like I'm not spending so much for a piece of paper that will be thrown away. Have you ever heard that, especially if you're an invitation stationary Hello flower company. Did you hear stuff like this before? Right, people always telling you I'm not going to pay this because, anyway, at the end of the night, it's going to be thrown away. They didn't understand the experience because they were so caught up in the numbers. They didn't understand what they were giving to the people they were inviting, just like I didn't understand, when I was selling it to them, the experience I was giving, the perfectionism I had, that I was giving the wanting to get it right I was giving and trust me, to the person who wanted the cheapest item. They didn't care about any of that. All they cared about is spending cheap and negotiating cheap.
Speaker 2:However, there is something that shifted in me and I want to share with you my three C's the thing that literally took me from this $1,000 invitation to selling it for $15,000. Yes, it for $15,000. Yes, how to make money, let's go. I want to share this story with you because I want you to understand all the beliefs you may be carrying may not be serving you. It's about the value you give. I could sell the same item that was $1,000 for $15,000. Why? How did you make up $14,000 worth of products or value or bonuses and I didn't? I just got really good at my three C's.
Speaker 2:Now I started out in 2019 shifting and I went to a weekend retreat. And when I went to this retreat, where I got to sit in this space listen to another invitation designer who was doing $10,000 deals and I was doing 1000 and this beautiful human being was hardly doing anything. She wasn't up at night. She was able to hang out with her family on the weekends. She was networking, collaborating. She found a company that was producing for her. She was making more money than I was doing nothing like I was doing. Yes, she sat with a client. Yes, she designed, had a concept, had someone else draw it up for her and then she got it ready to go out in the mail and then she sent it. It was just that simple for her and me work out in the mail and then she sent it. It was just that simple for her and me work hard in the key shit. That's how we do it.
Speaker 2:I was raised to work harder. Right, I was doing three designs. They'll pick the worst one. I don't know why I gave it to them. Don't ask me. And I would sit home, fight with my prints, lose envelopes and expense. That was unnecessary, assemble everything, because you know what? I'm? An in-house designer. That's a fly title. In-house designer means I work hard. You're going to see me sweat because this is what I do. This is what I love doing. I don't love doing that Someone else does and that is kudos to them, but me no. But that's what I made this story about.
Speaker 2:So when I went to this seminar and I saw this amazing person doing this of course in that moment she wasn't amazing I was very mad how dare you do, how dare you make this look easy and make more money than me and I'm sweating bullets and getting paid nothing. But I was so grateful for her because she ignited the fire in me and I was able to come back and I got to work. I started to work smarter, not harder, and I also was in communities that taught me about mindset shifts from that budget friendly to valuable not even affordable, but just valuable. It's still affordable because it's who we're speaking to being in the right room. So when I was in these communities there I gained clarity, clarity Say it with me Clarity when you join a community like mine. I have one called Iconic Wedding Pros, because I love my wedding professionals. They're amazing. In that community, we literally help people shift their perspective, and that's what I had.
Speaker 2:I was in communities where people were showing me things that I didn't even think was possible. Million dollar events, right, what does that look like? What does that look like? What does it look like to have that engagement with someone who wants to spend a million dollars on their event? What does it look like when they wanna spend a million but only have 50, 100 guests? It looks so good. If you don't know, check me out, I'll tell you. What does it look like to work with people who are in that caliber? No, everyone is not mean and nasty as they show you on television or people converse about. There are human beings who have high net worth, who are still loving and pleasurable and amazing, just like you and me, people who will speak to you with respect. Listen, don't believe the hype. Don't believe all the stories you hear, because those stories minimize your growth and guess who's losing out? You are, while the person who's telling the story, who experienced that, didn't lose out. They're just putting things out there, kind of persuading people not to step into their world. Don't let someone else's story dictate your possibilities.
Speaker 2:Okay, second and second C was confidence. Oh, yes, confidence. When I had to transition, transform into this new business owner, I had to know that what I was providing I've been doing for years. It was not new. I had to learn how to listen to their pain point and confidently say I can fix that for you and here's how I'm going to fix it, because I fixed it for so many other clients of mine and if you're starting out, you fix so many other challenges, maybe not in your business but surely in your life. So you do have that expertise. You are not new. Get rid of that new energy. That new energy is the energy that holds so many people back from showing up the way they're meant to be. So my second C is confidence. Yes, going in back straight up and doing what you're meant to do. Third C is my favorite. I love my third C Collaboration.
Speaker 2:When I transitioned from 1K to 15K, it was because I started to speak to wedding planners. I started to see how I could create a win-win relationship with them so I could be of service to them. I could take everything I knew how to do, make it quicker for them, become part of their unit and let them look good with the personal, customized invitations. But I also saw the human in them. I started to love on them. I started to appreciate them. I started to speak to them. I started to enjoy their company. I still do. I didn't collaborate just for money transfer. I collaborated because the human that I was working with I truly appreciated transfer. I collaborated because the human that I was working with I truly appreciated. I love who they are, I love how they speak, I love what they do. I love how they do their business.
Speaker 2:Collaboration is something more than a transaction. It literally is caring about someone, respecting them and wanting to help them, because you want to help them rise and you want to do it together. Want to help them rise and you want to do it together. How to make money is not about working harder, is not about low prices. It's not about bonuses and stuffing as much as you can. It's about your three seeds. It's about your clarity, your confidence and your collaboration. It is about doing the things that will help you grow. I'm telling you right now that I love what I do and there is no other way I could be where I am today without my three C's. So I'm going to take you on this wonderful season three series how to make money.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk about money, and it's not a negative thing. It's not something that's. If it is, you don't belong here. If you're an entrepreneur and you go yuck to money, you don't belong here. So let me just put that out here right now. Let me stop you dead in your tracks, because every business you go to every place the movie theater, the restaurants, the big shops, the Amazons, online, whatever app. You're listening to this right now without commercials you might be paying.
Speaker 2:We are all business owners. We are in a capitalist country. The way we earn revenue is we go out and we either work, give our time to someone so they can build value in their company and they pay us in return, or we build our own company and we're supposed to do exactly that create value and sell it and get a paycheck not even a paycheck. You get revenue so you could build your company. Stop treating your company like a hobby. So if you are not a fan of money, then you shouldn't be in entrepreneurship. Therefore, you shouldn't be listening to this podcast. It's not for you.
Speaker 2:However, if you're an entrepreneur and you understand that money making money is necessary because it's the only way that this works, then you belong right here. This is your series. This is for you. This is your 2025. This is the year you get to stand up, you get to choose, you get to earn the revenue for the value you give. And if you're not sure about your value yet, stay here, because I will help you understand what that is. We all have something to contribute. We are part of the whole and when we contribute, we do something magical.
Speaker 2:So get ready for the Leading Her Way podcast and remember her is for human, evolving and resilient. That is who you are. So remember that and let's have a good time together. Let's have a good time doing this together, having guests. So I will see you next Tuesday and, by the way, check my show notes for the resource page. I want to give abundantly to you. I don't want to hold back. Whatever I can do, I will create value for you for free. This is free. This podcast has no commercials. It's free. I want you to take what you need to. I want you to get your aha moments in. I want you to have moments where you think a little bit differently after our conversation. This is a place for you to evolve in your business. Have an amazing day and I'll speak to you soon.
Nikisha King:Thank you for joining us today on Leading Her Way. We loved having you with us. Remember each action you take, no matter how small, adds up to big results. If today's episode fired you up, hit subscribe for more insights and visit our resource hub, which is linked to the show notes. There you'll find tools to streamline, organize and grow your business. Keep moving forward and we'll be right here to cheer you on next week.
