CEO Of My Soul: The Self-Love Journey of a Small Business Owner

by Esquire Nicole "Nic" Cober

Overview

Small business consultant Nicole "Nic" Cober, Esq. knows the sobering statistic: Nearly 80% of ALL small businesses fail. She knows it because she's lived it. This is her story.

She built her first business, Soul...Day Spa and Salon, to be a community staple in the DC metro area, with a flawless local reputation and national media acclaim. She felt like she had it all: a successful business, a beautiful family, a dream house...and a Benz to boot! But, after nearly ten years, her personal and professional lives collided and crumbled. She was forced to close her businesses, file bankruptcy, confront both divorce(s) and eviction notices, all while raising her two sons.

Through it all, Nic kept her head held high, and she came back from defeat stronger than ever. Losing Soul, the business, was a catalyst to reconnecting with her own soul through self-love and her faith. Now, she wants to share what she has learned with unflinching honesty, sister-wit and vulnerability to help her fellow "soul" sisters and small business owners achieve their dreams and avoid some of her pitfalls without sacrificing love, family, or happiness.

In CEO of My SOUL, Nic shares the perfect blend of valuable business advice woven together with true accounts of relationship struggles, family triumphs, and self-reflection.

The book is a practical and personal how-to guide for entrepreneurs, but it's also much more than that. It's an invitation to join Nic on a personal journey: a spiritual quest for self-love and fulfillment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692675212
Publisher:	CJ Publishing
Publication date:	03/29/2016
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Born to blaze trails, Nicole Cober's entrepreneurial spirit was cultivated as the owner and operator of Soul Day Spa and Salon, a spa and hair salon chain that served as a revitalization catalyst in a burgeoning area of the Nation's Capital. Over the course of nearly ten years, Soul would be acclaimed for its ingenuity, five-star quality service, and avant-garde branding. The spas were spotlighted in a number of national media outlets, including Essence, People, Allure, The Washingtonian, American Spa, Salon Today, The Washington Post, Upscale, Black Enterprise and the CBS Morning Show to name a few. Soul was featured on the Style Network's reality show, "Ambush Makeover," and earned recognition by the Washington City Paper for "Best Stylist" and "Best Spa." A community champion, Nicole and her team annually partnered with Rachel's Women's Shelter in Washington, D.C. to provide complimentary services to residents.

Having come full circle in her exciting professional journey, Nicole currently blends her entrepreneurial, business, and legal prowess to offer a distinct suite of services as the Principal Managing Partner of Cober Johnson & Romney. Affectionately known about town as "The Lawyerpreneur", she takes the concept of business consulting a few steps further, providing a blueprint for gaining business clarity, portraying and positioning authentic brands, and legally protecting those brands, intellectual properties, and creative works. She empowers start-ups and local small businesses to reach their full potential with her creative effective branding and growth strategies.

A zealous advocate for her clients, her experience spans a broad spectrum of industries, including entertainment, beauty, creative, and cosmeceutical. She is also a mentor for SCORE and an instructor for the "Emerging Leaders Initiative"; both programs are affiliated with the Small Business Administration.

Further, Nicole is a sought-after media influencer who provides her expertise to an array of local and national media. She is a regular small business contributor for American Express OPEN Forum, Black Enterprise, and Citibank's Women and Co., and she serves as a regular on-air small business consultant for Fox 5 DC and WJLA-TV's NewsChannel 8. On Fox 5 DC, Nicole also served as the expert for the station's "Business Savvy Sundays" series. She has also fostered strong relationships with radio outlets such as Sirius, WPGC, WHUR and WKYS and print outlets such as the Washington Post, Allure, Essence, Ebony/Jet, Washingtonian, and People. Nicole also shares her advice with audiences large and small as a public speaker and coach.

Nicole is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Howard University School of Law. Prior to Soul Day Spa, Nicole was a litigation associate at Dickstein Shapiro, one of Washington DC's largest and most renowned law firms. At Dickstein, she specialized in employment and antitrust law. Nicole was also senior law clerk for Chief Judge Annice Wagner of the DC Court of Appeals.

Table of Contents

PART ONE-ENVISION.
1.The Conception of Soul-My Work-Life Imbalance. 17
2."Dear God, It's Me, Nic."-The Mother Of Soul. 31
3.What's The Big Idea? 37
4."It Was All A Dream" 45
5.The Creation of My SOUL. Cookbooks, Hide and Seek & Business Plans 49
6.The Perfect Name-Soul. Soul? SOUL! 55
7.Rent To Own 59
8.The SBA'S 504 Boyz 63
9.My Architect She-Ro! 69
10.Location...Location...LOCATION. 73
11."Who Put This Thing Together??" 79
12.Designer Diva Denise 89
13.St. Stephen's and Lil' Ruby Bridges 97
PART TWO-ESTABLISH.
14.Operations...In the Beginning 107
15.Marketing Your Soul 113
16.Mr. Knowles and the Queen Bees.
(Management & Staff Matters) 125
17.For The Love Of Money....Financials. 137

PART THREE-"EM"-BALANCE.
18.Home Girl Imbalance. "Dance Turned Into A Romance" 147
19.The Tax Man Cometh 157
20.The "Proposal" 163
21.Under Pressure... 167
22.Shenanigans... 181
23.Coley Bear 187
24.Playa Del Carmen 191
25.Keep Goin' Gurl 195
26.Mr. Cober Comes To Washington 199
27.Michelle and Barack...NOT. 207
28.The Town Center 211
29."Let's Just Kiss And Say Goodbye" 217
30.DE(ath) La SOUL. 223
31.The Shady Aftermath 239
PART FOUR-EXPAND.
32.The Runaway Bride...In Reverse. 259
33."Wake Up!!!" 271
34."Believe In Yourself As I Believe In You." 279
35.Super Soul Sundays and Myself 285
36.Purpose Driven Life & My Super Friends 301
37.Mister Melody 309
38.My Life Now 323

Editorial Reviews

"[The] book is so inspirational and a 'rise-up-from-the-ashes,' comeback queen, feel good type of book."
--Tamika Felder, CEO of Cervivor

From the Publisher