The Boss Series: Interview with Dana Nicole
Welcome to The Boss Series!
My goal for this series is to shed light on the hurdles and challenges of the freelance/remote/work-at-home lifestyle, but also to encourage and give hope to women who dream of freedom from their cubicles.
I want to prove that it's possible to change careers — or to pursue any other type of work-related freedom — and I want to do that by sharing “case studies” of women who have done exactly that!
Interview with Dana Nicole
Today we’re hearing from Dana Nicole, Owner of Dana Nicole Designs. Dana Nicole is a freelance content marketer who specializes in writing SEO-friendly blog articles, and teaching small businesses how they can leverage online marketing to grow their business. She is currently an expat in Germany with her husband and their dog. When Dana isn't working, she can be found enjoying a cup of tea, traveling to new places and watching re-runs of The Office.
Dana, what products or services do you offer?
I’m a content marketer, which is just a fancy way of saying I write content that helps drive traffic, sales, and leads! I also help other businesses and bloggers learn how they can do the same by teaching different strategies through my blog and online courses.
I got my start freelancing as a graphic/web designer, and while I still do the odd design work here and there, my main focus is now article writing!
When did you begin your freelance, remote career? Did you have a "normal" job before you started?
I began officially taking clients on in 2017, but prior to starting my own business, I worked a couple of different office jobs that I loved.
My first job out of university was working in the accounting department for an oil and gas company. I like numbers, but I graduated with a degree in marketing and I wanted to be able to put my marketing degree to use, so after a few years, I decided to look for a job in marketing.
From there, I worked as the sole marketer for a power and utilities company. That was where I learned all about SEO! About a year after that, the economy began to decline and unfortunately, the marketing position I was in was let go. The company I was with didn’t want to lay me off, however, and offered me a position helping our power traders.
I ended up accepting the position, and worked on a trade floor (similar to the one you are envisioning on Wall Street: slightly chaotic, massive screens everywhere showcasing the stock market, etc.) and although it wasn’t a marketing position, I enjoyed getting to learn about something new!
And then a year after that, my husband signed a pro-hockey contract overseas and I found out I was going to need to quit my job to move with him. That was when Dana Nicole Designs was born, and in 2017, after a year of teaching myself the skills I needed, I opened up my web and graphic design company and began taking on clients!
How did you get to where you are today? What inspired you to pursue the freelance career you have now?
I totally wish I could say that I had the guts to pursue something as scary as entrepreneurship, but truthfully, I enjoyed my cushy office jobs. I built Dana Nicole Designs out of a necessity to have something for myself. When my husband got transferred to Europe, I knew that I would need to start a business so I had a purpose and something that was all my own. Our back-and-forth lifestyle doesn’t allow me to hold down a regular job, so I knew that I’d need to create a job for myself.
As a plus, I’m a homebody and love working from home, so in the end, it worked out incredibly well.
At what point did you realize that your move to freelance work was going to work out for you? That you weren't crazy for having this dream, and that it was totally doable?
There were a few key points in my business that made me say, “yes, I’m actually GOOD at what I do and I know my stuff.”
The first was the month when I exceeded my monthly income from my office job. That felt incredibly good. And let me tell you, it took me a long time to get to that point.
The second moment was when I began to land guest posts on some of the websites that I read when I was first starting out. Thinking that I was suddenly giving advice to people who were just like me three and four years ago is such an empowering feeling.
Pretend you're at a cocktail party, or you're in some other really awkward small-talk situation. How do you answer the question, "so, what do you do?"
Do I have to? Haha!
This question is SO challenging to answer and makes me feel uncomfortable, simply because I struggle to explain what I do in a concise way. If you manage a blog, you’ll know how difficult it is to try and explain to someone what you do, because there are so many moving parts (e-commerce, social media marketing, content creation, affiliate marketing, sponsorships... the list goes on)! The thing is, online work is so foreign to people, still.
Most of the time, I say something like, “I work in online marketing! I have a blog where I teach businesses tips for marketing their business online, and I also help other businesses on a project-to-project basis.”
How do people typically respond when you tell them what you do?
Most people understand what online marketing is to some extent, but if I get too deep into it and begin explaining my blog, my e-commerce, affiliate sales, and all that fun stuff, there’s usually lots of confusion, which is ok! I don’t expect anybody to understand it fully, because a few years ago, I had no idea how it all worked either.
Do you feel supported by the people who (try to) understand your freelance work?
I feel 100% supported by those around me. My family doesn’t understand what I do to the full extent, but they always ask how work is going and will listen when I have to explain some foreign concept, and do their best to offer advice when I need it.
I think a lot of people I met are interested and intrigued by the work that I do!
Have you moved since you began your freelance/remote/work-at-home career?
My husband’s job requires us to move every few months, so I’ve moved a lot which is one reason why working remotely has been the perfect career path for me! We’ve done a total of seven overseas moves in the last three years.
Do you work alone, or with a team?
I’ve outsourced help, but it was always remote work. I work 100% alone and usually that’s how I like it! Some days I miss people, however. As an introvert, I don’t need much socialization to keep me going, but I do miss walking into the office and just seeing people.
So would you say that you sometimes feel like you're missing out on something by working alone? Or that you sometimes feel lonely?
The loneliness comes and goes for me but I think that has more to do with our frequent moves than my at-home work. My social circle is constantly changing and for an introvert, that’s hard. Luckily, our hockey families are always incredible people!
What do you do to combat feelings of loneliness? Join clubs? Work in co-workspaces or at coffee shops?
Co-workspaces aren’t an option for me in the small town we are living in, and commuting into the large city would be incredibly costly. I try to make plans with others at least once a week (unrelated to work) just so I can get out of the house and talk to someone aside from my dog. :)
What are three must-have freelance/remote/work-at-home tools?
I couldn’t function without:
ConvertKit (email marketing software)
Tailwind (Pinterest and Instagram scheduling)
Buffer (Facebook + Twitter scheduling)
Basically, any software that can help me with the low-value tasks that take time away from high-value tasks.
How do you face the challenges of a freelance career?
To quote Dori, “just keep swimming.” Having your own business is such a rollercoaster. Don’t focus on the competition too much and don’t compare your success or your pitfalls to anyone else.
What is one of your greatest accomplishments since beginning your remote freelance career? What did that accomplishment teach you?
As I mentioned earlier, surpassing my monthly income from my corporate job was a huge accomplishment. Before getting to that point, there were a lot of ups and downs. It taught me to be very resilient and when something doesn’t work, to find another solution. Business is always about evolving.
I also donate a portion of my ad revenue towards one of my local animal shelters back home, and being able to do that makes me feel like Dana Nicole Designs has a greater purpose. It’s a good feeling, especially since I can’t be there physically to help the dogs anymore.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to change careers completely, or who wants to start a freelance/remote/work-at-home "side-hustle?"
Don’t get discouraged if the pieces don’t fall together as quickly as you’d hoped! They definitely didn’t for me, but I kept pushing and kept moving forward and eventually, things started happening.
Starting a freelance career as a side-hustle is also a great way to test the waters before quitting your job (if you have that option)!
Thank you, Dana Nicole!
Dana and I met on Instagram a few years ago and have kept in touch through social media and email ever since. I have learned so much from her — especially since I began my own freelance journey not too long ago!
Connect with Dana Nicole here: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
P.S. I very highly recommend downloading one or all of Dana Nicole’s Lightroom Mobile Presets!