Case Study: Nicole Smith (EQ Expert)
From Stagnation to Empowerment: How Judy Tsuei Helped Nicole Smith Embrace Her Leadership and Own Her Disruptor Identity
“I strive to help people be emotionally brilliant.”
With 30 years of corporate experience under her belt, Nicole Smith transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding JMS Creative Leadership Solutions. The company focuses on leadership development with a specialization in emotional intelligence.
The Challenge
As Nicole worked to spread the word about JMS Creative Leadership Solutions, she began to feel that her business was “a little stagnant.”
She especially felt this in three specific pain points:
She had difficulties embracing her most authentic voice
Something was holding her back from truly “owning” her enormous experience
She was struggling to find her target audience
When Nicole received a grant from the Tory Burch Foundation she knew exactly what she wanted to do with the money. She asked Judy Tsuei, another Tory Burch Fellow, whether she could use her grant to work with her.
Nicole’s Journey with Judy
As Judy began to coach Nicole, Judy did a deep dive into every aspect of Nicole’s career.
“She started diving into my business… my background, my purpose, my passion.”
More than anything, Judy worked with Nicole on the three pain points where she knew she needed help the most.
Nicole Becomes a Leader Who “Owns” Her Experience
When Nicole first founded JMS Creative Leadership Solutions, something was holding her back from touting her full experience as she spoke to her personal brand. She even hesitated to state something as irrefutable as the fact that she has 30 years of corporate experience. Judy pushed her to fully “own” that experience unapologetically.
Now, Nicole has become much more “intentional with how I show up.” While her past training pushed her to use corporate words like “founder,” she’s started to feel confident in boldly speaking to who she is. Now she has no hesitation to use language such as, “I’m the driving force.”
“Stand in it. Own it. Own your experience. Own what your business brings.”
Nicole says Judy was instrumental in “making sure my words matched who I was.”
Judy helped Nicole realize that she was unintentionally “shrinking” herself. Nicole applied her own transformation to her work with her clients.
Those have become the new mantras Nicole lives by — and advocates her clients to do, too. Nicole credits Judy for helping her develop messaging that aligned with her true self, leveraging her experience and expertise unapologetically.
Nicole Finds Her Target Audience
“I think before I was walking down the street with my audience, and it was just like whoever would come out of the house and join me for the walk. But now… I’m being… more intentional in regards to my business strategy… and who I’m talking to…”
Nicole feels encouraged because the opportunities she has access to have gotten bigger.
Her clients have included larger billing and more prominent reputability. Her platform and outreach have expanded as well.
Judy helped Nicole transform her mindset on how she approaches her business.
Judy guided Nicole on asking “the right questions, and it made me just dig a little deeper in regards to who I was and how I wanted my business to be.”
Branding Success
In addition to helping Nicole to hone in on her target audience, Judy assisted in creating a clear and compelling brand identity that accurately reflected her values.
“Throughout my years in the corporate world, I was always called a disruptor. You’re a disruptor, Nicole… I was always called a disruptor because I asked a lot of questions. And [disruptor] seemed to be a negative connotation for me. Judy helped me be able to say, ‘Yes. I am a disruptor… I’m going to own that… that means I shift perspectives. I change mindsets. I spark curiosity.’”
With Judy’s guidance, Nicole has come to realize that this is her authentic voice.
“I disrupt with love. With respect. I am going to challenge you… I want to spark that curiosity for you to go, “Hmm, okay, that's a new way of looking at things.”
Thanks to Judy’s support, Nicole has been able to embrace her true self, allowing her to connect with her audience on a deeper level and build trust.
Key Results
Nicole now confidently owns her expertise and communicates her value proposition with clarity and impact. She also credits Judy for the following:
Stronger brand identity: Nicole's brand now accurately reflects her unique value proposition and expertise.
Expanding opportunities: With a solid foundation and clear messaging, Nicole is attracting larger organizations and high-value clients.
Increased impact and influence: Nicole's ability to connect with her audience authentically and empower them through emotional intelligence will lead to a greater impact and influence in her industry.
Judy’s Process
The coaching engagement with Judy spanned 8 weeks. Judy employed a personalized coaching and guidance approach, working closely with Nicole to:
“I love Judy. Just having her in my tribe… She’s an inspiration. Sometimes you have silent mentors and sometimes you have very loud mentors, right? Judy [is] a silent mentor to me meaning I watch her. You watch your mentors in action versus always hearing them talk right? So she is one of those action mentors for me. I see her doing her thing, and I love it. In regards to her coaching and the way she guided me, she just allowed me to shift my mindset… She’s authentic. She’s genuine… She’s a brilliant businesswoman… She helped me out more than she realizes.”
Identify core challenges and goals: Judy conducted in-depth discussions to understand Nicole's pain points and aspirations.
Develop a customized action plan: Based on the identified challenges and goals, Judy created a tailored plan to address Nicole's specific needs.
Provide ongoing support and feedback: Judy offered continuous guidance and feedback throughout the process, ensuring Nicole's progress and success.
Win-Win
Judy's coaching had a significant impact on Nicole’s confidence, brand voice, and overall business growth. She feels poised for substantial growth due to her refined messaging and the stronger foundation Judy helped her build.
