0:27

Winning is your guide to making

0:30

it in business . Join our award-winning

0:32

host and entrepreneur , Mackenzie Kilshaw

0:35

, and special guests in casual conversations

0:37

that will educate and inspire you

0:39

on your business journey . Winning

0:42

will help you learn the hard lessons the easy

0:44

way , with guidance from celebrated entrepreneurs

0:47

and business leaders . It's fun

0:49

, it's informative , it's Winning

0:51

.

0:53

Hello , welcome to Winning . I'm your host , Mackenzie

0:56

Kilshaw , and my guest today is Nicole

0:58

Romanoff . Hi Nicole , hi

1:00

Mackenzie , how are you ? I'm

1:03

doing really well . How are you ? I'm so good . I

1:07

was just telling Nicole how I'm so excited to

1:09

have her on , because Nicole is

1:11

what I would say is such an amazing

1:14

, talented photographer who has

1:16

built this career based on her talent

1:18

, and I'm so excited to go through with

1:20

you and how you did that . So

1:23

, if you don't know Nicole , she is

1:25

an award-winning photographer based out of Saskatoon

1:28

. She started her professional career

1:30

in 2015 and

1:32

has quickly made a name for herself in

1:34

the industry . She specializes in branding

1:37

, headshots , commercial and fashion photography

1:39

, which I think we'll talk about because we

1:41

work together a few times on fashion . Nicole's

1:44

work has been featured in print and fashion magazine

1:46

in Canada and tons of

1:48

other international magazines , and

1:50

on billboards . She was on a billboard in Toronto's

1:53

Yonge Street , which is super cool , and

1:55

Nicole also owns a White Space

1:57

photo studio in Saskatoon which

1:59

is a rental space for photographers

2:01

and creatives , so you have a lot going on .

2:04

I do . It's a lot to manage

2:06

, but I love it , but you love it .

2:08

I love that . So I kind of gave

2:11

the K notes version of you a

2:13

Nicole . But why don't you tell the listeners

2:15

a little bit more about you

2:17

and kind of where you started and

2:20

how did you get now to where you are

2:22

?

2:22

Oh gosh . Well

2:24

, it's been a journey and

2:28

I would say , unlike

2:30

maybe a lot of photographers

2:33

or maybe I shouldn't say that it kind

2:35

of took me a long time to figure out

2:37

what my path was and

2:39

especially where I fit in

2:42

in the industry . So

2:46

photography has just always been something

2:48

that I've been kind of interested

2:50

in and passionate about , but never really

2:53

. When I was

2:55

younger , I would say , I didn't really think of it as

2:57

a career path . I always

2:59

was like , oh , that would be so cool to shoot

3:01

for National Geographic .

3:04

I'm not sure .

3:08

I just love the idea of

3:10

traveling to

3:12

different places and just working with

3:14

cool people . But

3:17

I

3:19

would say , once

3:21

I hit university I was like oh

3:23

gosh , I'm at a real crossroads here

3:25

. I don't really know how

3:28

to pursue that . So I ended

3:30

up going into commerce , getting my commerce degree

3:32

, as I think you do as well . Yeah

3:35

, you bet Alumni and

3:37

I feel like that really

3:40

helped me in a lot of different ways , just

3:42

with more of a professional

3:44

aspect and understanding business . And

3:47

then , once I graduated again

3:51

, I was like , oh god , what do I

3:53

do ? So

3:55

I ended up working for Coca-Cola

3:58

for a number of years and actually

4:00

more specifically for Vitamin Water and

4:02

Smart Water . I worked as the business

4:04

development manager for the province

4:06

, which was such a cool job

4:08

and such a great opportunity . Just

4:11

worked with all these super

4:13

cool people from across Canada

4:16

and got

4:19

to travel the country . I

4:22

learned so much . And then , once

4:25

the brand was more established , I

4:28

was actually laid off from the

4:30

company , which happens

4:33

, and I think I really do

4:35

believe that everything does happen for a reason

4:37

because , as much as I

4:39

loved it , I knew that it wasn't

4:41

my passion . And so

4:44

again , here I am at this crossroads

4:46

Do I take the corporate route ? Do

4:49

I venture off and do something on my own

4:51

? And as

4:53

you know I ventured off and tried something

4:55

on my own , but I would

4:57

say it wasn't an

5:00

automatic decision for me . It

5:02

took a couple years . I was doing

5:05

all sorts of things . I've always been a dance

5:07

teacher and so I was doing that full time

5:10

and I was also nannying for my sister

5:12

who had just had a baby . I was working at Lulu

5:14

emon and I'd picked up my camera

5:16

again and I

5:18

always tell the story that it

5:21

was really like nannying for my sister

5:23

. I would just practice taking

5:25

photos on her and just getting

5:28

into it and really

5:30

what it was was . It was

5:32

people that would be like why are you

5:34

doing this ? And I was like

5:36

I don't know . I

5:39

just didn't think that . It was like

5:41

, oh my goodness , I don't know . So

5:44

that was really my journey . And

5:46

then once I got this affirmation from

5:48

people or they opened my eyes that no , you can

5:53

do this , so you should do this

5:55

or at least try I

5:59

jumped with both feet in and

6:01

it's been yeah

6:03

, I haven't looked back like nine years

6:05

now and just to think of

6:07

the progression and the evolution

6:10

of even the business

6:12

aspect of it yes

6:14

, even like the photos

6:16

that I've taken and now I

6:18

have like a studio space . It's just , it's

6:21

wild . So

6:23

, yeah , it took me

6:25

about 13 or 14

6:27

years to like actually turn it

6:29

into a career , which is

6:32

, yeah , it's been a journey .

6:34

I think , though , Nicole , honestly , there are

6:36

so many people like you that

6:38

you know you go to university because

6:41

you think that that's what you have to do to get

6:43

a good job . I think it's changed a little bit now

6:45

, but years ago , right , you

6:47

had to get a trade , or you had to go to school and

6:50

get an adult job all college

6:52

. I have that same thing

6:55

. When you said , you graduated and you're like now what

6:57

? I felt that too , because I'm like okay

6:59

, now I'm an adult , I'm done school , I'm

7:02

in my you know , still early twenties

7:04

, but now I need , like , a big girl job . So

7:07

you just get a job because you're like well , I have to

7:09

pay for stuff and have money

7:11

. Right , I have to have an income , exactly

7:13

.

7:13

You get that job , yeah .

7:16

And then even if you're thinking , okay , I like

7:19

doing this , I really like to do this as

7:21

a career , it's really hard to make that leap

7:23

into leaving

7:25

what you know , leaving an income in

7:28

your what's called yeah , exactly , and

7:30

in your case , being laid off . and so

7:33

many people I talked to they're like , well , I got laid

7:35

off . And then you're like , okay

7:37

, now what ? Right ? And

7:39

really , you , you still tried

7:41

some other things , but you went right back to that

7:43

taking photos and you

7:45

are so talented . I'm sure

7:48

that talent grew , like I'm sure , when you

7:50

first started . You're not how you are

7:52

now right . No , no

7:54

, you gotta look back and think , oh geez .

7:56

Yeah , totally , especially when I

7:58

look back at like some of the photos I've edited

8:01

, I'm like why would I do that again

8:03

? It's like all it's

8:06

all part of the process and just

8:08

growing as an artist and yeah

8:11

, so I try and give myself a

8:13

little bit of like . You know , grace

8:15

being like you know , like that girl

8:17

was just on her way , you know

8:19

, and she was just like learning and

8:23

I , yeah , I don't regret not

8:25

jumping into photography earlier , because

8:29

I do believe , like what

8:31

you're intended to do will

8:33

find you if you're open to it . Yes

8:36

, and it just wasn't like

8:38

my time . I guess you could say , yeah , you

8:41

know , like I wasn't ready . I had to like learn

8:43

these other things or , you

8:46

know , whatever it was , meet the right

8:48

people .

8:49

Yeah , exactly . Well , and think about you

8:52

went through commerce so you learned a lot

8:54

about business and that

8:56

helps you run a business . Having

8:58

you know job with Coca Cola , Lululemon

9:01

, like the amount of people you've seen today in Lululemon

9:04

. Right , that recognize your face

9:06

, you maybe get to know them . That

9:08

networking really helps

9:10

you to build your own business

9:12

, right .

9:13

Absolutely yeah , and so

9:15

even just you know , saying

9:17

yes to all those experiences along

9:20

the way is daunting

9:22

and tiring as it can be . I think

9:24

we'll always get you to

9:27

where you need to be in the end , if that

9:29

makes sense .

9:30

Yeah , I totally agree . I always say never

9:32

pass up an opportunity , because

9:35

you will probably learn something

9:37

from whatever that is and

9:40

meet some people that down the line

9:42

are really going to help you along

9:45

, you know , along your journey .

9:47

Absolutely .

9:48

Yeah , yeah , yeah , for sure . So

9:52

when ? Okay . So you're practicing

9:54

on your excuse me your sister and

9:56

people are like you're really good , Nicole , you need to do this , so

9:59

you take this leap . How did

10:01

you find clients to

10:04

start growing your business when you first started

10:06

?

10:07

Right , well , kind of going back to my last

10:09

, the last thing I said , I saying

10:11

yes to everything . I said yes

10:13

to everything . So if

10:16

anyone wanted me to photograph anything , I'd be like

10:18

, yes , I will . And

10:21

just starting to market myself on

10:23

Instagram or push out my work so

10:26

that it was seen on a larger audience

10:28

, and just starting to interact

10:30

with more people . And actually

10:33

my sister was the marketing director for the

10:35

Saskatchewan Jazz Festival at the

10:38

time and I was like , hey , can I just like

10:40

shoot whatever shows I

10:42

or like can I shoot it ? And

10:44

she's like , yeah for sure , here's the pass , like

10:47

go at it . So I

10:50

shot every single night like

10:52

as many shows as I possibly

10:54

could be at , as like one person

10:57

, and I would stay up till like

10:59

3am just editing . So I was

11:01

. It was a hustle , but

11:03

you know , when people see you out with a camera

11:05

, they start to identify you more as a

11:08

, as a photographer or

11:10

you know , whatever , whatever it is

11:12

that you're kind of like

11:14

putting out there . And

11:17

so because I think I've , I've already

11:19

, I've was that person that said yes

11:21

to so many things along the way and already

11:23

had that network . You know , when people

11:26

start identifying you as something

11:28

new , they start sharing your name and

11:31

so really it was like very much like a grassroots

11:34

sort of like spread and

11:36

just saying yes and learning what it is

11:38

that I enjoy to do , because

11:40

I would say that , like , what I

11:42

was shooting in the very beginning is

11:45

is not what I'm shooting

11:47

today , and so

11:49

it's just really interesting to see , like

11:52

, how wide my net was and

11:54

now where , where

11:57

that's brought me today in terms of , like

11:59

, the style that I shoot and the clients that

12:01

I have .

12:03

So , yeah , and I think that's really important too , because

12:05

when you have a talent

12:07

and you make that into your career

12:10

, you still have to niche

12:12

where you are , because not

12:15

many photographers shoot family

12:18

photos and weddings and

12:20

headshots and sports

12:23

teams and right , like you have

12:25

to fashion , like you have to find out

12:27

. Okay , I love fashion , I

12:29

okay , and if you , you guys got to go into Nicole's

12:31

Instagram because you do

12:34

love fashion , because I can tell by what

12:36

you wear , and

12:38

but also that I know I alluded

12:41

to it at the beginning , but Nicole and I , the

12:43

first time I ever met

12:45

Nicole or knew who you were , you

12:48

came to my store and I don't remember what

12:50

it was for , but you said , hey

12:52

, could I borrow some clothes for

12:55

these models to wear for me

12:57

to take pictures and then I'll tag you in the photos

12:59

. And I was like sure , because I also

13:01

was just starting out and for

13:03

me that was a way to okay , Nicole's

13:05

going to take some really awesome pictures that

13:08

now people are going to see the clothes are

13:10

from me and they're going to probably come to me , right

13:12

, so it worked out really well , but that's

13:15

that was how I first first

13:18

met you and knew who you were .

13:20

The collaboration and

13:22

I kind of completely

13:24

forgot . So you're part of my story in a

13:26

way , because that was the issue that

13:28

I originally did , and

13:30

it was I was volunteering

13:32

for SFDF , which is the

13:35

Saskatoon Fashion and Design Festival

13:37

. N time and

13:39

I was running their blog , and

13:41

so I was trying to like bridge those relationships

13:44

by you know getting

13:46

partners like you who own like cool

13:49

clothing stores and then you

13:51

know creating like these sort of editorial

13:53

blog pieces for them , and

13:55

I yes , I remember that that was like

13:57

one of my first sort of like I

14:00

guess you could call it like fashion shoots with

14:03

Megan Kardash

14:05

and it was actually . She

14:07

was like a big part of you

14:10

know encouraging me as well . She's like you

14:12

know , you're really good right . I was like what ? Yeah

14:16

, you're like well , not good yeah

14:18

you always don't yourself everybody else

14:20

see the talent and in your own self , I'm like well , I'm

14:23

fine , I'm not that great oh

14:25

yeah , this is just me , I don't

14:27

know like , yeah , oh , anyways

14:30

, yeah , I can't believe I , yeah , forgot

14:32

about that , but I love , I love how

14:34

those images turned out . But , yeah

14:36

, really comes down to collaboration as well

14:39

. And yeah , just trying to

14:41

offer something

14:43

, yeah , and

14:45

offer something , and

14:47

then networking a

14:50

little . You know , I did . Sometimes

14:52

that word networking can sound a little

14:54

bit too like I

14:56

don't know .

14:57

Yeah , use car sales m kind

14:59

of . I know exactly , yeah

15:01

, I feel .

15:02

I feel the same way too .

15:03

It's building relationships for me right

15:05

, more than just like handing out business

15:08

cards and like , oh hey , nice to me too , and then you

15:10

never talked to that person again .

15:11

Right , yeah , it's like what can you do for me ? And

15:14

versus like , okay , let's get

15:16

to know each other and see , yeah

15:19

, help one another .

15:20

Yeah , exactly , and really when you

15:22

came to me I didn't know that you were just starting

15:24

out . You are so professional and

15:26

to me I'm like she's really good and

15:28

I remember you sent me some of the pictures

15:30

to use . I put them on my website to

15:32

and I never once doubted you

15:35

like that . You were professional

15:37

and talented and you

15:39

were very friendly . You were great to work with . So

15:41

if those times ever came

15:43

Like , I would have always said yes , because

15:46

it was good for both of us and you're

15:48

so awesome to work with .

15:50

Well , thank you for saying that .

15:52

Well , that's a testament to where you started , to

15:54

where you are now . Right , really

15:56

, it's , it's a lot it's you , it's

15:59

a lot of just you , and your personality

16:01

too . That's something

16:03

. Yeah , okay . So you

16:05

started out . You're like I'm gonna do this , you

16:08

take every job that you can take

16:10

and I'm gonna just put it out there that

16:12

probably a lot of those jobs you didn't get paid for

16:14

.

16:15

Oh , I would say the majority , yeah .

16:17

Yeah , yeah . So you're putting

16:19

yourself out there . How

16:22

do you get from that to

16:24

being in all of these editorials

16:26

? And you're on billboards in

16:28

Toronto and internationally

16:30

. How is that journey

16:33

of growth ?

16:36

I think it's just persistence

16:38

and consistency and

16:40

, I think

16:42

, just never giving up right . So

16:44

, like I , I've

16:46

always been someone that's really driven

16:48

to

16:51

achieve my goals and I've been

16:53

, you know , very inspired by fashion

16:55

and just I

16:58

guess there's like a competitive part of me

17:00

too that's like , oh , I really like , I

17:03

got it . I got it like be

17:05

my best or see

17:08

how good I can get , like can I be on

17:10

a billboard , can I get a magazine

17:12

editorial ? And just

17:14

always started challenging myself and pushing

17:16

myself forward . So

17:20

I would say , just yeah

17:24

, I am not someone that takes a lot of breaks

17:26

. I know that's , that's something I'm working

17:28

on and I am getting better at it .

17:30

Yeah , but it's important to get me .

17:32

Yeah , it really , really is , and

17:34

but I would

17:36

say just constantly like

17:39

, continue

17:41

to do what I do , so kind

17:44

of shooting as much as I can , and

17:47

just continue to put high

17:49

quality work out there . I

17:52

catching work , stuff that's relevant

17:54

, and then , yeah

17:57

, it will just catch the eye of those

18:00

people that you want to to work

18:02

with and those opportunities

18:04

will come .

18:06

Yeah , yeah , 100% , and , like we

18:08

said , it's building that community

18:10

and it's the connections

18:12

that you have with other people , because now

18:15

you've taken my headshots and you

18:17

know , like you're like , oh , I know someone , they're really great

18:19

. I'm just I'm gonna just call right , like it

18:21

just kind of I think branches from there . Yeah

18:24

, absolutely yeah , we

18:26

talked before we started recording . Of course , we always

18:28

talk before and I always say we should have been recording

18:30

this , but I

18:32

just want to touch on your Instagram page . We

18:35

all know how important social media is for businesses

18:38

and we kind of were chatting

18:40

about but I think this is kind of cool

18:42

subject to talk about . While recording , we

18:44

chatted about how , when

18:46

your page started , or

18:49

when you first started your pages , was

18:51

most likely people that liked your photos , right

18:53

, like , oh , that's an awesome photo , the

18:55

photographer is great , I'm gonna follow her . But

18:58

now you have really

19:00

branched out and you're

19:02

giving so much advice now

19:04

to other photographers and

19:07

how I did the shoot , how I change

19:09

the lighting , all things like that . Clearly

19:13

, I don't know anything about photography . You

19:17

have really branched out and let's

19:19

talk about that , because you said , so many of your followers

19:22

now are worldwide and they're photographers

19:24

, right , so that's also changed your

19:26

business yeah , it really , really has

19:29

.

19:29

I would say that for several

19:32

years I , oh

19:34

, to be honest , I feel like I kind

19:36

of had like this negative mindset

19:38

around Instagram and

19:40

kind of like what it was about , and

19:43

in the summer or early fall

19:45

even , I think , I really sort

19:48

of like switched my mindset around that

19:50

and thought about like okay

19:53

, like how can I use this as a tool to

19:55

kind of serve and provide

19:57

value , as

19:59

opposed to just like ? Oh , here's

20:02

something I did and

20:04

I would say in the last few years , just

20:08

overall in my business , it's really

20:10

come down to you , how can I serve

20:12

? And more

20:15

so than like , how can I just serve me

20:17

? It's like no . I like provide

20:20

value and share

20:22

and so in the

20:24

fall I kind of I joined

20:26

this challenge is 10 day real

20:29

challenge , and so

20:31

that really forced me to get in the habit

20:33

of just posting every

20:35

day and trying

20:37

to share something useful and knowledgeable

20:40

and learning about hooks and in

20:43

all , all of things . That kind of get

20:45

more eyes on you . And

20:47

I've kept up with that really good

20:49

and I've kind of switched like who

20:52

who I've

20:54

, I guess , been targeting

20:56

. So it has been more

20:58

of like how can I serve other photographers

21:01

? Because in the beginning

21:03

I would

21:05

say that I didn't really I didn't have a

21:07

mentor , I

21:10

just practiced all myself

21:12

, I studied as much as I

21:14

could online , and

21:18

so I was like how can I

21:20

provide value and what sort

21:22

of tips would be helpful for photographers

21:25

, and kind of

21:27

thinking about it in those terms . And

21:29

I think it's grown my

21:31

account since geez

21:34

, I feel like since even November , it's

21:36

grown like 13,000

21:39

, like for photographers

21:42

, like from all over the world , and it's

21:44

been so great and there's so much encouragement

21:46

and people like finding value

21:49

in what I'm sharing and

21:51

like it's

21:53

wild , it's so cool and just to hear

21:55

from people you

21:57

know , like in Norway or in

22:00

the States and it's

22:02

really kind of leading me down

22:04

this path that I didn't see for myself

22:06

, in terms of more of like a mentor

22:08

and kind of

22:10

opening up like more mentorship opportunities

22:13

for people that were

22:15

, you know , in my shoes , you

22:18

know , a few years back , so it's

22:20

been so cool .

22:22

It's so crazy with Instagram

22:24

and we've had an episode

22:27

recently on just Instagram

22:29

and how you can be successful on Instagram really

22:32

, whoever your target audience

22:34

is , if you provide

22:37

them content that's valuable and

22:39

they're interested in . Like 13,000

22:42

new followers in just a

22:44

few months is insane .

22:46

It is insane , it's wild . I congratulate

22:49

every day . I'm like what the heck you're

22:52

like what is ?

22:53

happening . Yeah , but

22:55

me , as a non photographer that's followed your page for a long

22:57

time , I'm like this is cool , like I watch

22:59

it real . Because I'm like this is so cool I'm

23:01

not going to use it , but it's still interesting

23:04

to me , right , like I'm a photographer

23:06

, but it's still interesting to me . I'm like that's really cool

23:08

.

23:09

Oh , that's great .

23:10

But yeah , but the photographer you've now

23:12

opened yourself up for a whole

23:14

new line of business

23:17

really is

23:19

that you could , and you likely

23:21

will , have a mentorship program . Someone

23:24

can work with you and learn how to do these things

23:26

yes , absolutely .

23:28

And that I have been starting

23:30

to hop on calls with

23:32

people that are interested

23:35

in me , mentoring them from all

23:37

over the world and just

23:39

hearing what they need help with and how

23:41

can I help them . And

23:45

yeah , I'm just so excited

23:47

about it and I just want to help

23:49

others . I think that's it's

23:52

really interesting , because becoming

23:55

a photographer it's almost like

23:57

we do it for us . It's

23:59

like this is what I enjoy , and

24:02

now it's kind of transitioned into

24:04

how can I give and

24:07

how can I be of service , and

24:10

then , once you kind of figure that

24:12

out , it really changes business

24:14

.

24:15

For sure , and you're such a genuine

24:18

person and I think people see that

24:20

like you can tell someone's

24:22

personality from these

24:25

. People in Norway don't know who you are , but

24:27

they can tell you're a genuinely good

24:30

human that wants to help other people

24:33

and you're probably

24:35

going to benefit from it financially and

24:38

getting more clients and whatnot , but

24:40

you're not doing it for that . You're doing it to

24:43

serve people , which is

24:46

what's important .

24:46

Right , yeah , absolutely , and

24:48

that's really what makes you feel good

24:50

. You know , yeah , helping

24:52

people , I think , is really what I

24:56

don't know . That's why people volunteer , that's

24:59

why people donate money . You

25:02

can't beat that feeling . I

25:05

don't think any sum of money would

25:07

give you the same feeling as helping

25:10

others .

25:12

Oh , I fully agree . I

25:14

know you have done lots . I've done lots

25:16

in the community . You don't do it

25:18

for recognition . You

25:20

do it because you genuinely

25:22

want your community to be better , right

25:25

, right , yeah , I love that . I

25:28

want to talk a little bit about White Space because

25:30

, ok , so you're a photographer

25:32

, you're really

25:35

well known in Saskatoon and

25:37

now you have White Space , so

25:39

tell us a little bit about it and who

25:41

maybe would use it

25:43

. But also , why

25:46

did you do that ? What made you branch

25:48

out into having a space ?

25:50

Yeah , well , that's a great

25:53

story . Because

25:56

I'm so interested in fashion photography

25:58

, I have really

26:00

focused a lot on studio

26:02

lighting , and

26:04

that's led me down the path of what

26:07

I'm mostly shooting now which is a lot of headshots

26:09

and branding and experimenting

26:12

with fashion , lighting and that sort of thing , and

26:15

I used to shoot out of my home or I

26:17

did for many , many years and

26:19

I would

26:22

have to clean my house first

26:24

of all .

26:25

Yeah , yeah , yeah , people are coming right

26:27

. Yeah , I got that .

26:29

All the furniture or like moving out of the

26:31

way . And then I had two cats

26:34

and people are allergic to cats , and

26:36

so I was like , man , I really need

26:38

to find a better solution here

26:40

, plus something that would give me

26:42

the opportunity to shoot

26:45

in a different way . So , more natural light

26:47

photography , because in my home I was

26:49

very limited . I could really only do

26:51

a certain number

26:54

of studio lighting setups

26:56

. Yeah Well , I would say that

26:58

it was a few years

27:00

of looking for different spaces

27:02

and it just seemed like

27:04

rent was ridiculous and

27:07

I was like , yep , this worked , and

27:09

nothing really looked like

27:12

it would work , like

27:14

it wasn't . It didn't have the aesthetic

27:16

that I wanted , it didn't have

27:19

the natural light that I wanted , and

27:22

so it was just a few

27:25

years of looking and then one

27:27

day , around Christmas time this would have been two

27:30

years ago I was like I'm just gonna

27:32

check and see what's out there , and I saw

27:35

this space come up and

27:37

I was like , oh my God , this is it , and I like instantly

27:39

messaged the real estate person

27:42

and I want this . Yeah

27:45

, eventually , this place , yeah

27:47

. And so that was two years

27:49

ago around this time and I

27:51

completely like renovated

27:54

it , I painted it , I painted the floors

27:56

and

27:58

then a year later I was like I

28:00

really need more space and

28:03

so I took over the unit next to mine

28:06

and then knocked down the wall

28:08

. So now it's like twice the size

28:10

and

28:12

it's been so great Like

28:14

not only has it been great for my

28:17

business and like me

28:19

as an artist and working with other people , it's

28:23

been great for the community too , because

28:25

I now rented out to other photographers

28:28

which in the when I first started

28:30

that wasn't really part of what

28:33

where I saw the space , I was like man , if people

28:35

like if a couple people a year , I did that so great . Now

28:40

it's like like several

28:42

renters a week and people

28:45

love using the space and and

28:49

it is so different Like I chose

28:51

white floors because I rented

28:53

the studio in Seattle a few years ago and it was completely white , like white hardwood , like

28:55

original hardwood floors that were painted white white walls , and

29:04

I was like I want this . And yeah

29:07

, there was nothing else in town like it

29:09

and and

29:11

then I just made it happen . I kept that

29:13

vision in my mind and , yeah , made

29:16

it happen . So it's been . I love that story and that inspiration that you got from that Seattle

29:18

studio and then .

29:19

I loved when you said there was nothing like it

29:21

in Saskatoon . That resonates with me so much . When I open

29:24

my store , I'm like I don't

29:26

want to be like anybody else , I want to be unique

29:28

. Right sets you apart and that's how you get

29:30

more clients right . Yeah yeah , absolutely . You have done

29:32

such a great job on the . I think

29:35

okay , just want to back up a little

29:37

bit . I think when people have a talent and they're

29:39

like , okay , I want to make this my

29:41

career A lot of limiting thoughts

29:44

come in like they're like well , I'm just

29:47

me , right , like you're just

29:49

one person , so I can't just take one person . I can't just

29:51

take one person . I can't

29:53

just take photos all day long , all day , every day

29:56

. I need that many clients and you know it's burnout editing all of that stuff

29:59

, but you have done such a great job in growing

30:01

your business with White Space , with

30:03

mentoring other people right

30:11

. You have taken yourself as the talent

30:13

and look what you've done , like it's

30:15

amazing the growth

30:17

you've had in nine years . I mean

30:19

, most people don't do these things , you know

30:21

. You know , you're just one person . You're just one person . You

30:24

have taken yourself as

30:27

the talent and look what you've done Like

30:29

it's amazing the growth you've had

30:32

in nine years . I mean most

30:34

people don't do these things in their

30:36

entire career .

30:38

Yeah , no , it is . It

30:40

is really cool . And even

30:42

if you asked me a year ago if I

30:44

would be , you know , mentoring

30:47

other people or growing

30:49

this following on Instagram , I would have thought you were crazy . I

30:52

wouldn't like that . I don't see that for myself . Yeah

30:56

, I've just always been someone that

30:59

has just

31:01

stayed open

31:03

to opportunities and just

31:07

always just

31:09

continuing to find new

31:11

ways and to listen to you , to

31:14

my intuition and and that's

31:17

something that I would say that I'm still working on

31:20

you know , learning like , okay , do I enjoy this ? Okay , do

31:22

I enjoy this ? Like now I'm

31:24

at that point where I can only say yes to

31:26

so many things , and so

31:28

, in order for it to be a yes , it

31:30

has to be , you know , something

31:32

that I really , really want

31:34

, because , as we all know

31:36

, time is like a very finite

31:39

resource , right ? It's precious . There's

31:42

only so much of it and

31:44

there's only so much energy that that

31:47

you can give right .

31:48

Yeah , exactly , you've done so

31:51

like so well , though

31:53

, and I don't think that this is the

31:55

end . I don't think it stops here . I think , if I

31:57

talk to you in two or three years from now

31:59

, there's going to be something else , because

32:01

really , you were very talented

32:04

, but you're also a very great business woman

32:06

. Like you , you

32:08

look at all the branches you've done . They

32:11

still all come back to you , they all make sense

32:13

, right , but

32:15

you've got all these other revenue streams

32:17

and different

32:20

ways to make

32:22

your business more successful without

32:25

stretching you too thin right as one person

32:27

.

32:28

Yes , yeah , and I think I

32:30

really do see my

32:33

business moving in more

32:35

of like a , you know , a

32:37

course

32:40

, you know , like doing more courses and

32:42

teaching ways

32:44

that I can reach more people a

32:47

little faster , I suppose . Yeah , you know

32:49

what I mean .

32:52

Oh , yeah , for sure . And , like we always say to

32:54

, the dream is to make

32:56

money while you sleep right , or make money

32:58

while you're on vacation , That

33:01

is as an entrepreneur . You're like how

33:03

can I be more successful

33:06

and maybe financial success isn't what

33:08

you see as successful , but how can

33:10

I do more and do better without

33:13

me ? Actually yeah

33:16

, without . Like you said , you're not great at taking

33:18

breaks . Well , most entrepreneurs aren't . It's

33:21

important to you learn that along the

33:23

way . But maybe

33:25

you have an online course that people can purchase

33:27

and take the course right , right yeah

33:30

, and I do .

33:30

I love teaching too , you know

33:33

. So if I can like share my knowledge

33:35

on a greater scale , then

33:39

I I'm definitely like open to that

33:41

, you know . And yeah

33:44

, so I find that really exciting because

33:46

I absolutely love working with my

33:48

clients , but I love working with

33:50

other photographers and I love and

33:53

honestly I love business . Like I

33:55

, I love thinking of new ideas

33:57

and ways to grow and expand . So

33:59

, yeah , I

34:01

would say I'm really excited to see , like

34:04

, what comes next .

34:06

I am too well . ollow me on Instagram and then we'll all know

34:08

. Yeah

34:10

, I love that . Do you have a most important

34:13

lesson that you've learned that you want to share

34:15

?

34:17

Yeah , I do . I

34:21

would say that it's

34:25

so important to take action

34:27

. You know , like it's , it's

34:30

one thing to like have these dreams , or

34:34

if there's something that you're really passionate

34:37

about and you want to

34:39

happen , you

34:41

need to take the first step and you need to

34:43

be brave enough to take it . I

34:48

would say that that is like the

34:50

number one thing . Even

34:52

in my daily life it's like , oh

34:55

, I need to be brave , I need to take

34:57

step out of this comfort zone

35:00

and take chances and take action

35:02

, and that's how you'll

35:04

grow and that's how you'll learn . And

35:08

you know , stumbling along the way

35:11

is good , like you

35:13

know , I agree , I think

35:15

that my biggest

35:17

teachers have been like those mistakes

35:20

, or

35:22

yeah , so I would

35:24

say that my biggest lesson , or

35:27

the biggest lesson I could

35:29

share , is

35:31

just to not be

35:34

to get over that fear and just to

35:36

take action , however

35:38

small , as long as you're working towards

35:42

your goal , whatever .

35:44

I agree , it's so important . And guess what

35:46

? If you trip and fall , you just get back up

35:48

and keep going right .

35:50

Yeah because , no one cares , like

35:52

the only person that really cares if

35:55

you make a mistake . Is you i ?

35:57

No one else even knows .

35:58

Focused on their own lives and

36:00

what's going on . So Isn't that

36:03

true ? Yeah , like we gotta get over

36:05

ourselves , I agree

36:07

.

36:08

I agree , and most people don't even know . That's

36:11

the funniest part . I remember when

36:13

I had my store and I would try

36:15

things that flopped and I'd be like , oh , I'm so embarrassed

36:17

. And then I'm like , wait a minute , nobody even knows

36:20

. Like just in your

36:22

own self you get so concerned

36:24

and then you realize actually

36:27

it doesn't matter because nobody else knows the difference

36:29

.

36:30

I know you learn something , move along right , yeah

36:32

, exactly yeah . And

36:34

I think as you get older

36:36

, you'll become

36:38

more confident with each of

36:40

those learnings , like the more chances you

36:43

take , the more

36:45

willing you are to take bigger chances

36:47

and then just grow exponentially

36:49

. Do you know what I mean ? Like I just- .

36:51

Oh , 100% . I was actually just gonna ask

36:53

you if there was one thing that you wish you would know , but

36:55

I think that might just be the perfect answer

36:57

, right .

36:59

Exactly , yeah , just to try

37:01

, yeah , try .

37:02

I love it , Nicole . Where can people find

37:05

you ? I know people are gonna wanna learn more about

37:07

you . Where's the best place for them to search

37:09

you ?

37:10

Right , I hang out on Instagram

37:12

quite a lot . It's a NicoleRomanoffPhoto

37:15

, and then I have a website

37:18

it's NicoleRomanoff . com

37:21

, and I'm

37:24

also on the other social media sites as well

37:26

. But I think if you wanna

37:28

really follow along on

37:30

a daily basis , Instagram

37:32

is like the place to go .

37:35

Awesome . Thank you so much for being on , Nicole

37:37

. I really appreciate this and

37:39

I know there's so many people listening that have

37:41

a talent . They're like I really wanna do this and I

37:44

really think that seeing

37:46

your success will help them make their choice to

37:48

do it .

37:49

So thank you , thank you . Well , that gives me such

37:51

joy , and thank you so much for having

37:53

me . I love this and

37:56

I'm so excited for this podcast

37:58

.

37:59

Awesome , me too . Thank you so much

38:01

again and for everybody listening . We'll see

38:03

you on the next episode . Thanks for

38:05

listening to Winning . Be sure to subscribe

38:08

to get all of our new episodes . If

38:10

you enjoyed this episode and you'd like

38:12

to help support the podcast , please share

38:14

it with others , post about it on social

38:16

media and leave a rating and

38:18

review wherever you listen to Winning

38:20

. To all T catch catch . To catch all of the latest from

38:22

us , a can Winning Podcast

38:24

on Facebook Instagram at Winning

38:26

Podcast underscore podcast , facebook

38:29

a Winning podcast and

38:31

on Twitter at Winning pod . Winning

38:33

was created Mackenzie and is produced by me

38:35

, mackenzie Firby Kilshaw Music , created

38:38

by Summer Furby , editing by Seth

38:40

Armstrong . Special thanks to Shauna

38:42

Foster for voicing our opening and

38:45

, of course , a huge thank you to

38:47

this episode's guest . Thanks again

38:49

for listening and I'll see you on the next

38:51

episode .