- Speaker #0
Have you ever wanted to start a passion project or online business? Maybe it's something where you share your talents or ideas just because it's something you really love and feel called to bring into the world. Now let's say you did that. You started sharing. It feels great. You keep sharing and it grows until you're reaching hundreds of thousands of people. Well, today's guest started her most recent creative journey with a simple desire to just share her kitchen hacks and recipes. And through sharing her passion, she has found a way to connect and resonate with nearly a million followers. She did it all in just a couple of years, and she is going to share her journey and tips with you for how to start to share your authentic voice and passion in the online space. Welcome to Unleash Your Inner Creative with Lauren LaGrasso. I'm Lauren LaGrasso. I'm a Webby Award-winning podcast host and producer, singer-songwriter, public speaker, and multi-passionate creative. This show sits at the intersection of creativity, mental health, self-development, and spirituality, and it is meant to give you tools to love, trust, and know yourself enough to claim your right to creativity and pursue whatever it is that's on your heart. Today's guest is Nicole Jakes. She's a wife, mom of two, home cook, and a lifestyle influencer and the podcast host of the show, The Home CEO. She's also the author of the book, Go Green When You Clean, which contains a multitude of recipes and tips to make DIY non-toxic cleaning products. On our Instagram page, Nicole shares amazing home tips ranging from the best way to store your food so it lasts longer, to DIY bug repellent, to homemade two-ingredient non-toxic dishwasher detergent. I wanted to have Nicole on the podcast because her life and her work is a great example that creativity can live everywhere, including in your home. The way she maintains her home, cooks for her family, entertains, and shares it with all of us is amongst the most creative I've ever seen. Today, she's going to share some of those amazing tips and home hacks. So definitely stay tuned for that. I also wanted to have her on because she's built her following so well, and honestly, so quickly. And I know so many of you are trying to do that to get your creative work seen. And she has some really amazing tips on how to create compelling content and build an audience and community. From today's chat, you'll learn how to start strengthening your self-trust, creative tips for your home, how to create great content and build an audience. and how to take back your power by simply changing the way you describe yourself. Okay, now here she is, Nicole Jakes. Nicole, I am so excited to have you on Unleash Your Inner Creative. You are one of the most innovative people I think I've ever met. So thank you for being here.
- Speaker #1
Thank you for having me.
- Speaker #0
It's a pleasure. And so I want to get into how you became just like this innovator of the home. And I love your origin story because I always believe creativity is deeply linked to the inner child. And I know it really started with being around your grandmother and your mother and just kind of being a little sponge around them. So can you tell us what planted the seed to become the CEO of the home?
- Speaker #1
Yeah. So I grew up with a Southern grandma who was like a home taught chef. and she kind of had to learn it herself. She didn't have a really involved mom, and she was a very young mom. And so she taught herself how to cook, how to clean the house, and she did it all herself. I came from a mother who was like, I want to host parties. Let's gather people around food. What new drink can I make? And how creative can I be? She's like the OG Pinterest mom. So Ruth's my grandmother. Pam's my mom. I am a combination of that. like I am literally a blend of both of them, but I also modernized it. So I think I saw the downfalls of modernism, being a woman, coming into your own, running your own home, all that that takes. I've been a stay at home mom ever since I had my kids. Our son is nine. And I was like, where's my village? Like my grandma had a village. My mom had a village, but like, we don't have a village. Our village is online. Our village is where? and I was with two friends, and they were like, you should be sharing these things. You know weird things. And I was like, okay, so you want me to show my weird side? Sure, no problem. Let me do that to the whole nation or above and beyond, globally. Who knows? But I started teaching myself how to make reels, and I just said, you know what? Maybe this is just where I'm supposed to be. Let's just try this out. I had no intention of it becoming what it did, and I am grateful for it every day because I... just thought like, I'll just share like how to clean your cast iron with half of a potato and salt. And people were like, you do what? I don't even know how to do that. I look at the home holistically. I'm also non-toxic. I have an autoimmune. So my journey has really helped shape how I view being a home CEO. And I just wanted to be the village for people to be able to listen to or show up on my Instagram feed and be like, oh, I needed that tip. I'm so glad someone's telling me that they've done the homework so I don't have to. So that's kind of the long version.
- Speaker #0
It's a beautiful version. I mean, I love just how unintimidating it all is because I think the problem with a lot of these things in the past is it's like a 15 step routine to get one small thing done. And I love that everything that you do is like, okay, here's three things that you need. Here you go. It will take you 15 minutes tops. You know, it really does feel inviting for people who maybe don't intuitively have this skillset, which I would put myself in that category. So I want to get into all your tips and- how creative you are in the home. But first, I want to go back to your story because I think it's super interesting. You went to college, got a degree in communication journalism, and then you went into PR. Tell me about this and your transition from the professional world to the world of the home.
- Speaker #1
because I came from Ruth and Pam, I always knew how to do things. I would go to college and I was the roommate who cleaned everybody's kitchen stove, right? And got through college in three years, graduated. I was down in Sonoma. And so I was commuting into the city to do internships. And I just have always loved to work in a creative environment. And public relations was that. I did it for healthcare clients. So I started. you know, credentials and other things in the healthcare field because I wanted to know more, learn more, pre-nursing classes, things like that. So I started to kind of blend the medical world into the creative world and loved public relations and marketing, but you burn out real fast and realize I'm never going to find like a husband and kids and like my own home if I don't slow this down a bit. So... kind of took some time to say like, is this really working? Kind of scaled back, found my balance. And then my husband and I reconnected. We got married. I was working up here in Oregon and operations for a dental company. So again, the healthcare has always followed me. Wellness and healthcare has always followed me, but it's always been blended in a... communicative, like collaborative and creative space. And so we had our son, I went back to work thinking I'd love it. I hated it. My identity had completely changed. I was not whom I was, you know, after giving birth, which I think a lot of mothers go through. And my husband was like, for the sake of our family, like stay home. And I just blossomed. And it was just the right move.
- Speaker #0
Did you have any hesitation in stepping into that role? Or did you just know in your body, like this is the right choice?
- Speaker #1
I think a mother is born when their child is born, and you have to realize that it's another piece of you. You have to kind of say like, hi, how are you, and get to know that side of you. And I think I was so desperate to leave the workplace as I just didn't find my heart in it anymore. I'm one who always follows her heart, by the way. I don't shy away from that. And I just found it at home. I was cooking and nourishing my family and growing it and my son's development. And then we had our daughter and it just continued. I just think I dove in head first, which is actually how I do everything. Same with Instagram and being on social media. I just, if I feel moved towards it, my heart says go, I go. I just didn't think twice.
- Speaker #0
I love that. There's a lot of people who know what their heart wants, but still ignore it. What would be your advice to those people on how to just start going with it and not letting the fear get in the way of them and what they truly know?
- Speaker #1
There has to be a healing era in that. We have to go through a form of healing our inner child. Even though I had the most glorious childhood, there are always pieces that you carry with you that you have to learn how to re-identify. So my biggest tip is rest is just as important as work. So when you rest, it's your body's time to tell you, is this working or is this not? And if you take that rest period, that doesn't mean pull away from work. That means take a Sunday off. okay. It means sit on your couch. Don't turn on the TV. Like think deeply about yourself. It's spending time with yourself that actually leads you to that. And the fear goes away because you feel very confident in who you are. The other quick tip I will give is choose three things a day you're going to do for yourself and stick to them for a solid 30 days. You'll find your self confidence raise. You wake up and you do those three things. They don't have to be long. Mine is like cold plunge for four minutes. Drink my. three amigos is what I call them, my peppermint tea, my bone broth, and my lemon water in the morning. And then the third one is carve out five minutes for meditation. They're very tangible and still be an effective human. but when I show up in those moments to do those three things, my confidence is sky high. And the fear slips away because you start to realize, you know, yourself better than anybody else. And if it's in you go do it,
- Speaker #0
right?
- Speaker #1
You are the one blocking you, right? So just move out of your way.
- Speaker #0
Right. Well, and it's teaching you that you can rely on yourself. I think a lot of why we don't follow our heart's desires is because we don't think we can trust ourselves. And so that I call it microdosing courage or microdosing self-trust. Building it over time helps you know that when you want to take the big leap, you can take the big leap because you've already shown up for yourself in all those small ways. So I love that. Great tangible tip. Let's get into CEO of the household. I love this transition you made mentally, spiritually, and emotionally from, oh, I'm a stay-at-home mom to I'm the CEO of the household. Tell me about this relabeling and how it changed everything for you.
- Speaker #1
This idea of a stay-at-home mom is so silly. The majority of what you need to do is outside the house, bring in groceries, furnish your home, go buy clothes for the kids. The majority of the time is not in the home. And I found that when I was asked eight years ago, when I made the transition from corporate to stay-at-home, I would go out to meetings or business dinners or whatever with my husband, and people would say, oh, what do you do? And I was like, I'm a stay-at-home mom. And the response was just not always kind. unfortunately. Or it was like, oh yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay. Kind of dismissed. Couldn't deepen connection with just saying I was a stay at home mom. And I started telling people I was a CEO when they asked. Yeah. I was like, let's just flip this script. Let me just throw out a big title, like doctor, lawyer, CEO, like let's just go big or go home. And I started saying, oh, I'm a CEO. And they're like, oh, of what company? I'm like the Jake's family. I'm a CEO of the Jake's family. and they loved it. Not only did it deepen connection, it was like, wow, what a great way to look at somebody who manages the family inside the home while their spouse is outside the home in an office spending time away from that. My husband was a big advocate for it and was like, I couldn't do my job and be successful if I didn't have her. I would have to hire four or five people to do her job. And that's the truth.
- Speaker #0
Yeah. It's such a big shift to go from I don't know. A lot of people, either they say it this way or I think other people are judging them and they know they're judging them. So they say it in this way that's like, oh, I just stay at home. But it's not just. It's this huge, huge job. As you said, it's the job of three to probably five people. For women out there who are listening, who are in a CEO of the household role, how do you advise they make that mental shift from, oh, I'm just a stay at home mom to, no, I'm the CEO of the household?
- Speaker #1
So I made a list one day and it included everything I had done that day and I started piling it on and I did it every day for a month. This is what I did every second of my day. I just started journaling it. If you look back on all that entails, it is nuts. I probably do two to three times more than most humans in a nine to five. and I think that's what we have to understand, that if you just stopped doing it, you went away for a weekend and left everyone up to their own devices, it would never run properly. So I started saying, well, I'm going to start running my home like a business. You know, I delegate to my kids. I delegate to my husband. And I just started owning the role of like, what do we need to get done to make this household run happy, less stress, less mess, and more success, and getting back to joy. And I realized, just like we all do, it's easier with a team of people. Well, your team is the family you've created. And, you know, I'm not saying like, here's your salary. We don't do even like paying our kids for chores. Like, it's just part of what you do. There's no, oh, this is your room and this is our room. It's, hey, can you go into the living room? It's everybody's room. And go pick up everything in it. So even if my daughter's toys are in that room, my son is going to take... ownership of that. I'm trying to train my next generation to think this whole house is ours. So for me and my partner, I have to do equal to them and we need to work together in a partnership. And I think that mental switch of me thinking, hmm, how would I run this if it was a business would be great. I outsource my groceries. They get delivered to my door. Some of it, you have to hire the village and some of it is use the village that you've created, but your village is really inside your home now.
- Speaker #0
And how did thinking of your home become as a business set you up for the business that you've gone on to create with your Instagram page?
- Speaker #1
That I run my business with my Instagram page with heart. I run it as a give back. I think of what I do. Yes, it is a business for sure. But I use my platform to promote kindness and goodness and love on your neighbor and shine your bright light and move your body for someone who can't. And how can we all work together for less mess, less stress and more success? Because originally when I set out to do it, it was all just what was in my head. I want it to be a helping platform. I want people to show up and feel better about themselves than when they leave. I treat it just the way I treat my home. When I host people, I want them leaving my house feeling better about themselves than when they walked in my front door, and that's exactly what I apply to my page. It's authentic. I am private. My kids are not on there. But I want to make sure that when people show up, it's how my home is. Happy, joyful. just holistic, doing everything as a holistic venture, not just one piece adds to one piece to this piece.
- Speaker #0
I definitely feel that when I'm on your page. I do feel like I'm in your home. It's nice. And then, okay, I'm curious how this started because I actually scrolled back to the first post you did. I was deep in the charcuterie board era, which I loved. How did you approach content when you first started posting? Were you just like, whatever is coming up, I'm going to share it, and then you followed your nose? Tell me about how it's evolved.
- Speaker #1
This is a really good question. So I started the handle as the board housewife PDX, and I was making charcuterie boards for all my friends'parties and my own parties. And everyone was like, wow, these are incredible. Like you need a business. And after like the 15th person, I was like, all right, let's just post that as part of it. I made connections in the charcuterie world with other creators and loved them and just started to find my own little village amongst charcuterie of all things. But I grew up in Sonoma. I do love a charcuterie board. I mean, you can't deny that.
- Speaker #0
I mean, they're the best.
- Speaker #1
They're the best. And I just started sharing it. And I realized quickly that I needed to turn this into a brick and mortar. If I was going to do it, my town needs this. There's a void here. And I didn't want that time away from my kids. So I pivoted. I followed my nose. I looked at what people were loving and I started sharing more of that. It was always kitchen hacks and tips for your home. That was always part of it mixed in with charcuterie. and after a year, I changed the handle, and I've never looked back. I did just share last week in Noah's charcuterie board I did for my sister-in-law's bridal shower.
- Speaker #0
Back to your roots.
- Speaker #1
It pops up every now and then, especially in summer, but... the majority of it was, what does my community need here? And let me deliver that to them. And it is what it is now. A little pivot again. That's part of social media.
- Speaker #0
So what was a moment when you were posting in that initial year or so where you were like, oh, something's happening here? And how did it feel?
- Speaker #1
I am a creator that does not look at her numbers. I don't judge my growth as an indicator of success. I judge the engagement. Just like a friendship. If I only see you once a month, I want to make sure it's quality. So I focus more on that than how fast I'm growing. But it's undeniable when your friends show up with 500K balloons and are like, oh my gosh, you hit half a million people. And I remember that moment thinking, hmm. wow, okay, how many people is that? Well, I'd gone to a concert the next week and there was the auditorium fills 25,000 people. And I took a moment to be really present and look around that auditorium and realize we have half a million people here in this community. I am looking at 25,000 in awe. And I just felt this big sense of responsibility. And so I do know that that's part of what I do. And I have a responsibility in my community to show up and be me and help. But I will say that was probably a big moment. And then everything else started coming. The pieces of business that needed to be put in. Everyone's like, where's a blog and where's this? And I'm like, yo, yo, we just started this. This is very new. I'm a baby. You know, I've only been in this two years and then these platforms grew and you can always be doing more in social media. And so you just have to start following what's bringing you joy.
- Speaker #0
What does bring you the most joy?
- Speaker #1
this deepening connection. So I think that we're missing that in social media currently, I think with algorithm changes and things that we're seeing here for creators, how are you going to deepen your community? Because we all live in different places all over the world. And we get a glimpse of this when you get noticed when you're out. Like I was in Paris walking the streets and this two girls approached us and they were like, are you Nicole? I follow you. And my mom was like, are we seriously in Paris right now? And these people are like, they know you. And I was like, no, they know me. Like that's why I hug them. So whether it be in my town or when I'm traveling, we get a glimpse of how large our impact is. But I think that's really what it's about. It's impact versus influence.
- Speaker #0
Because social media, as much as you try, it can be really impersonal and it can feel disconnected. How have you found ways in the online space to connect with people?
- Speaker #1
your DMs. Do not ignore your direct messages. Do not delegate them. There are so many creators that do this and I get it. It's hours of work to be in them and answer them. But mini chat has helped with that because it can get them what they need from me right away. So I appreciate using automated services like here's the recipe right into your direct messages. But I also spend about one to two hours a day replying to people with a voice text with my voice telling them, hey, I'm here. Let me help you with your question. And I think that that sets it apart. I think you arrive at a loyal following because you're not just chasing trends. You're sharing who you really are, what you're going through. And then you also are looking at the connection as a big part of it. And it's actually what fills my cup. I love voice texting with my followers. I think it's so beautiful. I would never have met you today, right? Like we would never be having this conversation had these platforms not allowed for me to deepen connections. So don't ignore your DMs, set up like an inner circle broadcast channel, look for ways to continue to deliver longer format. People that want more from you will show up there and really... focus on those areas first is my biggest three tips.
- Speaker #0
Those are great tips. I want to get into some of the actual things you share. I mean, you mentioned cleaning a cast iron with potato and salt. You're very creative with potatoes though. That is not the end of your potato reign. Can you share why the potato is one of the best, least known, like multifaceted agents in the home?
- Speaker #1
It's in its starch. which is kind of like a gooey, sticky substance, right? And that starch really helps with cleaning because it adheres to uneven surfaces. Like we think glass is completely flush, but if you put it under a microscope, it's all these different little ridges that come together. So the starch helps create a nice, even balance. Starch is also just a great agent. I mean, we talk about this in dry cleaning. They use starching agents. This actually is an agent we use. There's so much science behind starch. So I find that you can just do so much with it. The potato also is just, it's a go-to. They're affordable. They're all over. They're easy to grow. So I think it's also just like the crop works really well, especially in America, which we all know, we love our French fries and our potatoes, but they are a great cleaning agent because they're gooey sticky and they remove particle with that gooey sticky agent.
- Speaker #0
Did you say you clean shoes with potatoes? Like... tell me some of the things besides the pan that you use it for. Did I hear that? I listened to a bunch of interviews of yours, so it's all blending together now.
- Speaker #1
No, for sure. So I use oxygen boost or a melamine sponge, which you can purchase off Amazon, not like a magic eraser, which by the way, that's really what a magic eraser is. And then you can get it really, like really, really clean. So oxygen boost from like Branch B6, you can find whitening oxygen boost at Whole Foods. That is like my tried and true way with some dish soap to get your shoes clean. And it works so well. But the potato can be used in taking off really sticky substances from pans, like cast iron, and getting it really clean when you mix it with a high pH of salt. And then I use it to defog my mirrors. So I clean my mirror with half of a potato and then I wipe it down and your mirrors won't fog. The starch agent sits there and it prevents it from fogging. So that's another good one. You can use it in a mixture where you can like spray it on stainless steel and it'll make it to where you don't get fingerprints. That sticky substance is like... very key to so many things. And then you can clean glass with it as well. You can definitely, I mean, you need another DIY spray to go with it, but it will really clean your glass because it cleans out all those little ridges in it. So the potato is a go-to in my house.
- Speaker #0
Yeah. And I love your peeling technique for it too. So you don't peel potatoes ahead of time. Can you share your peeling technique?
- Speaker #1
No. So for the longest time, I watched my grandma throw all of her potatoes in the rinse cycle of her dishwasher, like for Thanksgiving. And I was like, that's not what that's used for. My grandma was like, yes, it is. Like you host Thanksgiving one year and then you tell me how you're going to wash all your potatoes. So big events. I put them all in the dishwasher, clean them. Not like cleaning cycle, just a rinse. Take them out. I put a circle with a knife around them, around their center. And then I throw them in boiling water. And then when they come out, I stunk them for like an ice bath, maybe. one to two to three minutes, depends how many you're going to put in there. And then you just peel them with your fingers. Like the skins literally fall straight off. And then you can crisp those up and eat them because the skin of a potato is very healthy. But my kids are like, please do not serve me mashed potatoes with brown pieces in them. So for anyone out there listening, you can do both. It's all good. Then the potato is completely done. Boiling them, people are like, that's not as efficient. And I disagree because boiling them takes about 20 to 25 minutes for like a regular size potato. So I'm not only cooking the potato to the mash it, I'm then peeling it as well. But peelers are on a potato are hit or miss because of their uneven surface. And so I prefer this method. 12 out of 10.
- Speaker #0
Yeah, I want to try it for sure. You also have an amazing tip about cucumbers because that has been one of my slimiest friends in the kitchen. I buy them and then like two days later, they're just slime balls. Can you tell me your cucumber method, storage method?
- Speaker #1
Yeah. So the cucumber is not, you know, a normal cucumber, not an English cucumber, thin skin versus thick skin. But those are meant to be on a cool place in your counter. So cucumbers are not meant to be in the refrigerator at all. It helps increase their moisture in the refrigerator. And then they create mold. They get slimy. That's what we see. So mine are always on the counter. For an English cucumber. you know, thinner skin, you wash it a little bit of salt to scrub everything off of it and just some water and then put it in a bag with a moisture grabber, as I call them, called a paper towel. And you can put them in the crisper drawer, which is less moisture, and they will stay fresh for like two to three weeks.
- Speaker #0
It's incredible. Wait, so tell me this, a Persian cucumber I should be keeping on my counter.
- Speaker #1
you can put them in a fridge. So wash them because they're thinner skin, right? Those Persian ones are thinner skin. So wash them with a little bit of salt and water, wrap them in their own little individual paper towel burritos, and then stick them in a bag and then put them in the refrigerator. Those ones are okay. But like the American cucumber, the thick skin, normal cucumber that, you know, a slicing cucumber, those can be left on the counter in a cool spot.
- Speaker #0
Amazing. What other hacks are you... using right now in your own kitchen that you're obsessed with? Like what are your maybe like top two or three that you're using right now?
- Speaker #1
my DIY natural scrub I use every single day probably it's just baking soda and castile soap but you can clean almost any surface with it and it is a powerhouse cleaner it's been around for ages my grandmother used to use it I didn't know everyone didn't use it it was one of those my second one is that I'm in my herb era and so peeling herbs is like you know getting off the rosemary stems or cilantro or whatever it may be I just use a cheese grater pull the stems straight through. So I stick them in the little greater areas and then I just pull them all through and I have these nice leaves for all of my herbs. So that's another one I'm using all the time. It's salad season. Okay. I don't think people know this, but I think this is where I end up being unique is I read the manuals to everything. So your salad spinner is also a salad washer. So I chop up my romaine or I chop up my iceberg. I throw it in. the salad spinner with water and a little bit of salt. I then press it down and it spins it and spins it and spins it. I strain it while in the salad spinner, dump out the dirty water and then dry it. So your salad spinner is not just to dry your lettuce. It's also to wash your lettuce. So those are three things I think daily right now that are top of mind that I've like used before we got on the pod that are applicable to our season.
- Speaker #0
So good. I'm curious because obviously like you have... increase the amount of time that you're working now from outside of your job as the CEO of the household. How has that been, making that transition? How are you doing with it? And I'm also curious how your family is doing with it and embracing it.
- Speaker #1
That's so kind of you to ask. That's like a very kind question. So in the beginning, I think I just burned myself out. I'd wake up in the morning and I'd work for like three or four hours, tend to the kids, get them off to school, get things done. What I have learned is I need to be more comfortable with hiring help. and that is something that is this internal mom guilt cycle, which is so unneeded. So I had to do some inner work to get to where I'm at now, which was delegate, find the right people, keep the team lean, make them people that you trust, because I've had a lot of unfortunate incidences with that. It comes with quick success, so to speak. Our family is doing amazing. I mean, I have an amazing husband who is like, You do you. I'm so proud of you. I'm your biggest cheerleader. The kids are in school when I work and I keep to those hours, but it requires a very rigid timed schedule. And I can't say I'm always good about it. I tend to be the type A and I sometimes fall into the bad qualities of being type A and want to do it all and look at what I could be accomplishing if I didn't have all this home CEO duties and roles. but I'm learning and I'm growing and I never want to shut that off. So when there's a tough season, I lean into my family. That's what I've learned is the best cure to that, but we're doing well. Yeah. Doing good.
- Speaker #0
So beautiful. You mentioned the inner work you had to do. I think so many people, regardless of where they're at in life, have a deep fear of asking for help or having to admit that they can't do it all. What was the inner work, if you don't mind sharing some of it? broad strokes even, that you did to get you to a place where you knew you were not only in need of that, but deserving of that. I read a lot. So I started looking at my consumption levels. It's where it took me first. And I looked at what media I was consuming, what I was scrolling through, who I was following, what TV shows I watched, in addition to my diet and my exercise and my holistic body. and then fine-tuned it. So last year, I really didn't watch TV. Everyone's like, okay, did you see the show? And I'm like, no, I didn't. But I read 75 books.
- Speaker #1
Oh my gosh.
- Speaker #0
And worked full-time. And we don't have a nanny or a sitter. So I was proud of that. And I think reading other people's experiences that were similar to mine, some great books I can think off the top of my head are like the Book of Boundaries by Melissa Urban, who created the Whole30. Her book was paramount. to me getting on board with my boundary setting, which gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to do that all over in my life. Another one was The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control. Ooh, that one stung. I was like, this is so me. I have this bad quality about being type A, but type A I should be embracing. And it really flipped my mindset. So there are some books that really stood out. to me, the other thing is I was on a health journey. And so I had to lean inward and figure out my autoimmune. So my body even told me, Hey, you're going to have to stop this. Like, we're not going to burn out anymore. We're going to make a health incident happen to stop it, which inevitably is what will happen to people if they don't listen to themselves and rest is just as important as work. And I just started to listen to things around me rather than try to control them. Whoa. Yeah. Changing what I was consuming. And then flipping the script on my mindset and perspective were really healing agents in understanding who I was, where this was going and what I wanted it to be.
- Speaker #1
Wow. That's amazing. Yeah. I'm curious about the autoimmune too. Like I noticed on your content, it's not something that you're like highlighting or going into every day, but when you started out, you were drinking alcohol and now you have stopped consuming it. I've been reevaluating my own relationship with alcohol over the past couple of years and then learning more about the health, not benefits of it. And so I'm curious how you made that decision and how cutting it out of your life has affected your overall life.
- Speaker #0
Okay, I'm going to try not to get emotional here because I think that that was like one of the last components I had to shed to then deepen my connection with not only my online community, but my friendships, my relationships with everybody. So I read Quit Like a Woman, pretty common sober journeys book to pick up. And I was drinking a glass of wine while reading it, unwinding while trying to understand why I was just trying to, you know, my relationship with it. Let's back up a bit. So my autoimmune was very traumatic. I choked at a pool eating a salad. Like, what the heck is going on? And I was rushed to the emergency room and the food bolus was in my throat for 12 hours. They pushed it into my stomach. They sent me home from that vacation with my husband saying, you have an autoimmune. Go figure it out. Here's a ton of medication to take. and I was in a tizzy because I was also working, right? I also had this platform and it was growing exponentially. And then it was in charcuterie with cheeses and now I'm not eating them. And I was like so confused, but it was actually part of my journey in my social media world too. So after that, and a lot of flights and a lot of tearful nights, I realized I didn't have the right doctor team. And it took me a long time to create that. And I have doctors all over the United States. They're not just here in Oregon. And they were like, cut out these food groups. so consumption, right? Diet. So I changed that and realized dairy and egg are a big exacerbator of that, but I was still having flare ups and I was off medication at this point. So I had made a big milestone of being change your diet, change your exercise, change your stress level. And then now you don't need medication. Okay. That's a big thumbs up, but I was still having these flare ups. But the one thing I never let go of was alcohol. And my doctor said like, okay, what about drinking wine? Why? and I was like, I don't think I've ever had a doctor talk to me about alcohol consumption. You guys always ask about it along with tobacco, but like, is there a correlation? So Bell started going off. I read Quit Like a Woman. I got to one page of the book. I remember this so distinctively. and she was talking about what it does to your brain, and in it, you can't store memories. And I dumped that glass of wine out. I cried for about an hour and realized that all these memories with my kids or with my family or these celebrations in life are being missed, stored in my brain because I'm consuming alcohol. I wasn't always perfect. There were a few times where I was like, okay, I'm at a wedding. I'm going to have a glass of wine, and inevitably my body would be like, see, that was a bad idea because I would have a flare-up. And so after like two or three times through my first year of sobriety and chasing, I call myself sober forward. I think that's a better word for it.
- Speaker #1
I think that's really important because it also, I think that probably will help you stay sober for longer because it takes the pressure off. It's not this huge thing. It's this thing that you are putting at the forefront of your life and making the filter for your life. But it's not like everything. So I love that tip. Thank you.
- Speaker #0
Yes, we've got plant forward. I'm like, how about sober forward? Like I try to not drink the majority of my year. but every now and then if I want a glass of champagne in France with my mom to cheers that were there, I indulge, but it is harder. I had to change my mindset about what alcohol was. And now I can only view it as really what's in it as an ingredient label. And I don't want that in my body. Ethanol is one of the top ingredients in it. I don't need that. I think it was just, again, mindset shift and then addressing why I was even drinking, which it was either social or to like wind down from a tough day. And I found other outlets for that. But Quit Like a Woman is really what triggered me saying, if this is preventing me from keeping memories with my family, we need to stop.
- Speaker #1
It's a fantastic book. And Hallie has actually been a guest on the show. She's awesome.
- Speaker #0
Yes.
- Speaker #1
Yeah. I love that whole perspective. I think it's also like a much more forgiving approach to sobriety or being sober curious than, I mean, 12 Steps are great and I know they're life-saving, but like for people that are more in your shoes or mine or anybody else's who's like, just curious about their relationship with alcohol, I think that's a great. place to start thinking about it.
- Speaker #0
Yeah. Sober forward. By the way, the industry is going that direction, which I'm really happy to start seeing. So yeah. High five to that.
- Speaker #1
Yeah. And you make gorgeous mocktail recipes too. So everybody go check them out if you want to have a cute little mocktail on a summer night.
- Speaker #0
They taste just as good.
- Speaker #1
They really do. Especially if you're putting, it's not just soda and like a splash of juice, you know, it's like, there's so many complex tastes. that you can put in. And I think you have to be even more creative to make a great mocktail. So stretch your creativity, make a mocktail. Hey, creative, if you love the show and it is meant a lot to you, could you do me a favor? Rate and review on Apple. Give it a review on Spotify. Share it with a friend. These things all make a major difference in a podcaster's life and in growing their show. And I really want to build up this community of creatives who love, trust, and know themselves and love, trust, and deeply know others. So if you could do that and share the show with someone you care about, that would mean so much. All right. I love you. You've offered so many great tips. I wonder though, like throughout this process, fear being in the driver's seat, we're always gonna feel fear. But if you're having fear in the driver's seat of your life, it's very difficult to make a choice that is from your heart, that is toward your dream. For somebody who is sitting there right now listening to this and said, wow, it's like so amazing what Nicole's done. She's built up this business in just two years and she's growing continually. But I don't think I could ever do that. Like here's all the reasons why I can't. So for that person listening right now, what's your advice to them on how to take fear out of the driver's seat and start going toward their dream?
- Speaker #0
So a dream will always stay a dream if you don't put it first. So it's priority setting. We can create excuses a million different ways up and down. But until you get tired of your own shit and not making a change, you will never make the jump. And I think that this is true for so many people. It is courageous to go do something that is considered chasing a dream. but it also, that fear that's like, I don't know if I'm going to make it. I don't know if I'm going to make it. Use it to propel you forward. Don't use it to hold you back. So take fear and say, well, I'm going to take this fear and I'm going to use it to make my success. Not I'm going to use this fear and let me keep it, you know, holding me back.
- Speaker #1
I love that. I have a couple like just content questions because I'm always curious about this. My friend Bill, he has a background in radio. He used to work as a programming director at a radio station. And he said this great quote to me. If you don't have a repetition problem, you have a problem. Because what he found was that when the radio station would repeat songs, they would get tons of complaints like, why are you repeating songs? How could you do this? But the minute they'd stop repeating songs, they would fall in the ratings. So people think that they want something original, but what they really want is comfort. Plus, they don't always retain it the first time. So I'm curious, what is your approach to repeating and repurposing content?
- Speaker #0
Do it. So I am a big, you don't know who's watching every day. So I kind of go on with that mentality. As a past consumer of social media, it's what I missed from the majority of influencers and content creators out there, that every day, not everybody's on their phone looking at you. And so think about every day being new eyes. What are you going to show them? What is something that if they missed, you want them to see? Take the viral moments, post them once a month. I don't know why we burn ourselves out to create new content every day. I did that for my first year and a half. And I will tell you, it is not a fun place to end up in. Take what's working and use it again. Repost it. See if other people want to see it. And you can even say in the voiceover or say to the camera, you know, 33 million views. I'm reposting this because a lot of you guys loved it and it saved your flowers from going bad. But use it to your advantage. Constantly cranking content will lead to extreme burnout. So my biggest tip, take your most viral, repost them, act like the people that were there yesterday aren't watching today. What do you want the people to know? If you have that mentality, it's the best way to go about it.
- Speaker #1
Yeah. And I'm curious, just for my own purposes, do you currently film on an iPhone or do you do a real camera? What is your approach to that piece
- Speaker #0
Okay. I hope no one laughs at this, but I just got a computer.
- Speaker #1
That's amazing.
- Speaker #0
In February. I have done my entire business off my iPhone. And I'm the one who edits it, tapes it, edits it, posts it for you, writes her own captions still. I still hold a large part of all of that in my hands because it's the part that started me. And I think we always need to remember where we start from. And it was just me and my iPhone. So. Yes, I am a bare bones creator.
- Speaker #1
Well, it's working great. Proof that you don't need a fancy camera or even a fancy computer. Just use your phone. How did you start doing the voiceovers? Do you find that works better than just talking directly to the camera?
- Speaker #0
You know, this is an ebb and flow in consumption. So right now I'm finding my reels are doing really well when I'm the one talking directly to people. But the reason I started doing voiceovers is because my kids were always yelling in the background.
- Speaker #1
It's a great reason.
- Speaker #0
A hundred percent. Or the dog was barking or the UPS truck was showing up. And I was like, I can't do this and create. I need to create in God's light. So I only really film when the lighting is ideal in my home. But that means that I'm on the sun schedule and I live in Oregon, so I don't always have the sun. and I just started doing voiceovers for pure survival.
- Speaker #1
That's a good reason. When you're feeling burnt out, because I know you've got a much better system now, but I'm sure at some points you still are like, oh, God, I don't know if I could do this today. Where do you get your creative inspiration from?
- Speaker #0
people, my community. I'm in my DMs. When people are asking me something and it pops up like four times, I know people probably need that. So I look to the community to tell me. Actually, in my inner circle, my broadcast channel that's free on Instagram, they just launched that feature. I share recipes ahead of time, but I also ask them, what real do you want? The people dictate what they see. And I think it's important to give them the power to have that too. to work in tandem with them, not just me force feeding them whatever I think they should be viewing or seeing or learning. Some of my most viral content was just from a follower saying, hey, can you teach me this?
- Speaker #1
Wow. I love that. And then I'm curious because you mentioned your kids in the background, how much of what's going on with you do they understand and what do they think about it?
- Speaker #0
This is so funny. So they don't see a ton of it because they do it during school. But obviously, like today, I'm going to tape something or I'm going to get on and do a mocktail journey. And they see that my daughter in the beginning would mimic it. She'd be like, look what I'm cooking. She'd set a perfect cell phone and be like, look what I'm cooking. You can eat it too. Your kids will love it. Follow here. And I was like, do you know why mommy says that? So we talk a lot about why I do it and how I do it. We are also talk to them about how it works because daddy goes to an office and mommy doesn't. And then we're out at dinner and people are like, oh my gosh, I don't mean to interrupt, but I follow you. So they even get it when we're out now. and I want them to watch me interact with a community member and think, wow, my mom has a lot of joy come from that, right? So when I meet somebody out, I'm like, oh, my gosh, hi. Give them a big hug. I think we model the behavior we want from our children. And so I try to tell them like this career that mommy's built is a gift and I still get to be here with you and we still get to have all of these benefits from it. And I haven't had to let go of still being mommy. I will always be mommy. It is comical. My son's like, all right, yeah, my mom's famous on Instagram. I don't know. You know, my daughter's like, well, my mom helps this community online learn how to clean their house. So the way they view it is very different.
- Speaker #1
That's so interesting.
- Speaker #0
Yeah, we're learning every single day. We're learning how to navigate it because it is new still.
- Speaker #1
Yeah. And speaking of new, you have a new podcast, The Home CEO. Tell me about that because I know from my own experience, podcasts are just one of the best ways to form real connection and to feel an even deeper connection because it's voice to voice. But tell me about that leap and what it's been like for you.
- Speaker #0
Okay, so I was like, I want to talk. I love to talk. I was born to talk. I will talk here if I did today. Like, that is my thing. I think talking is how you communicate your feelings, your excitement, your energy. It's a birthright. We're all given this opportunity to speak our minds and our voices and what's in our hearts. And that is actually what connects us is our words, not just our actions. Actions are obviously important, the responsibility part. So I was like, let's podcast. like, let's just do it. Let's just podcast. I pulled my audience a few times. They were like, yeah, we need a podcast. It allows me to deliver a longer format amongst interviewing experts. And by the way, everyone that has been on my pod now is a friend. We text all the time. We talk about what's up and coming. Like what's Gabi cooking was like a real moment for me. She's kind of Ina garden to me and we did the pod and I'm seeing her on Tuesday. She's in Portland and we're hanging out and I'm going to her book signing. Like that kind of stuff to me, I would never have those opportunities to connect with some truly amazing human beings had I not turned to podcasting. And it just shows where the market is going and how we really crave this interconnection and knowledge from other humans. And this is a great way to do it. Because guess what? I can fold laundry while I listen to this. As a home CEO, this is like the ideal. Now I'm going to get a wealth of knowledge in 40 minutes, and I'm going to have learned something new in the time I've listened to this podcast. and I got something done. And I was like, if I'm consuming it this way, there are others that need it too. Let's make it happen. So I am loving it. I also love new things. Yeah.
- Speaker #1
You're right on because I always say podcasting is one of the best kept secret networking tools. it's not really a networking tool. It's a connection tool. Because if you really do connect with someone in this way, you're connected and bonded to them for life. Like, how often are we just dropping into a heartfelt conversation with people? Not as often as I would like. And I love that this medium exists so that we can really connect in that way. And if we do it well, we make the listener feel like they're like the other host or guest in the room. So I love that that's what's resonating with you. I want to know what else is next. Like you're growing so fast. What's your dream with the page and your business?
- Speaker #0
You know, I set out for it to just be like 8,000 people and a deep connection amongst these 8,000 people. That was like my first year goal was to hit 8,000 followers. And in my first year, I think I was over 250,000. And I want to try to reach other communities out there. I think that's really what I'm going to start lending myself to next. We launched an ebook this past May, a blog this past May, and a podcast in May. So I had three launches last month. It was a lot. but there are different forms of connection. And, you know, the end goal, if you said, what is your dream? My dream is to have a TV show, right, where I could do this, because let's just talk about reaching a whole other medium. But I think further than that, I want it to be useful for the people out there that need this information. It really should be wildly available. So looking at how to make that more global or mainstream is kind of always my M.O. I also want to start to see more charities fold into this. I do work with St. Jude and I work with Boys and Girls Club. And my husband and I personally donate a lot of what I make to those arenas. But I want to see that there is another give back or mission behind it. And I'd love to see a book. I would love to see a book. The e-book was amazing and the response has been overwhelming and it really shows that if you had the backing between a large publishing firm, it could be something that we're all missing and that would be pretty cool. So I'm hopeful and that's all I can be.
- Speaker #1
I see it all for you. Is there any final words or parting message you would like to leave the Unleash Creative Cuties? Anything on your heart or mind you want to share?
- Speaker #0
You know, a lot of life is just being adaptable. It's being able to pivot. If you can really dig deep and find the best way that you pivot and can be adaptable. you'll make it through a lot of the challenging times. And I wake up every day and I have my three mantras and I say it in our community every day, which is move your body for those who can't and gratitude you get to move. We take movement for granted. It could be stretching. It could be going on a walk, but getting that movement in your body really helps. Shining your beautiful bright light wherever you go is always one of my sayings, but we find ourselves dim sometimes, including myself. And that's when you rely on your community to relight that spark. So really. Be picky and choosy about who are in your community because you deserve the best. And doing something kind for someone else every single day is a really good way to blend in gratitude. So doing something for somebody else, whether it be buying the coffee for somebody in line or just sending a text to tell somebody, like, keep going, you've got this. it fills a cup up you maybe didn't know you needed filled. So those are just some of the things that are always on my heart. The other one recently, I think we're all kind of feeling amongst the social media realm is taste your words before you speak them to other people. That can be in a DM form, that can be in a comment form, but you know, taste your words before you let them out. May they always be in love and kindness. And those are just some things I kind of live by day to day.
- Speaker #1
I love that. Well, Nicole, you are so special. Thank you for sharing your light and love with us today and with the world. And I can't wait to see what you do next. So many big things for you.
- Speaker #0
Thank you so much for having me here. This is exactly why I love this. It's deepening connection and making other connections out in the world. And that's really what it's about. Find your village, hold them close. So this has been the best way to kick off my day. So thank you for having me.
- Speaker #1
Thank you for listening. And thanks to my guest, Nicole Jakes. For more info on Nicole, follow her at itsnicolejakes and visit her website, nicolejakes.com. You can also find her podcast, The Home CEO Podcast, wherever good podcasts are found. Thanks to Rachel Fulton for helping edit and associate produce this episode. Follow her at Rachel M. Fulton. Thank you to Liz Full for the show's theme music. Follow her at Liz Full. And again, thank you. If you like what you heard today, remember to rate, review, and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. share the show with a friend and post about it on social media. Tag me at Lauren LaGrasso and at Unleash Your Inner Creative and I will repost to share my gratitude. Also tag the guests at It's Nicole Jakes, J-A-Q-U-E-S, so they can share as well. Something that really resonated with my conversation with Nicole was the part about rest. It's something that I continually need to remind myself of. So my wish for you and honestly for myself and for all of us this week is that you embrace rest and delegate your tasks. It's so important to take a break. Breathe deeply and know that taking care of yourself is as important as taking care of others. I love you and I believe in you. Talk with you next week.
