31 | BWIB: Nicola Peters on Showing Up Proudly as a Black Business Woman
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Black Women In Business: Nicola Peters
Welcome to the Black Women in Business series. Each week, I’m handing the mic over to some incredibly talented entrepreneurs and giving them the space to share their stories and what they've learned throughout their business journey.
Through this series, our intention is to highlight and amplify more Black voices and celebrate the powerful female CEOs, leaders and innovators we have in this space.
Meet Nicola Peters
Hi, my name is Nicola Melinda and I have started my first business back in 2014 as a creative service provider selling wedding stationery. Since then, I’ve pivoted to providing DFY services as an operations specialist.
Now, I’m a Certified Director of Operations, and Founder of my agency Systems Haus, which helps 6 fig coaches and consultants work towards making their business vision a reality.
How being a Black Woman has impacted Nicola’s business
For me, growing my business really started back when I was working my 9-5, and just building up the confidence to actually show myself as a Black business owner. And that was a massive, massive thing for me to have the confidence to do.
I personally feel that running and growing a business as a Black Woman definitely comes with mindset blocks where you feel as though you might be judged in a certain way, or people might perceive your business in a certain way.
I definitely found that in the early days of growing my business online. A friend of mine even advised me not to show up as the face of my business because people might not take me seriously as a Black business owner.
Safe to say, as I pivoted into running a service-based business in 209, I decided that I was going to have to show my face. I was going to show that this is a Black-owned business. And really bringing attention to the fact that we have quality, we have the skill set, and actually, we can inspire other women in our position (or who wants to be in our position) to utilise their skill set, so they can also grow a business.
Being a black woman, especially in the UK, has not It's not been an easy journey. But I have had to seek out a community of people that I can draw encouragement from. We don't always see successful Black Women doing what we want to do, so I've sought that network out for myself and taken time to build relationships within the business community.
This has been an ongoing journey for me over the last three years. Some people will show support, and some people might feel a bit threatened because of their own insecurities. You just have to learn not to take that personally.
Back in 2020, when my business really started to take off and grow, I saw a shift in how Black-Owned businesses were perceived. It almost felt like it was a commodity for people to put on show that we invest in Black-Owned businesses. BLM got a lot of other business owners wanting to invest, but overtime that has died off.
For me, that’s helped me to really understand the importance of looking after our own community and investing where we can give back. It's not all about how much money you can make, sometimes it’s just investing the time to help and mentor others. And also, understanding that you don't have to say yes to every opportunity just because someone feels that they want to put into a Black business.
You get to be the driver of who you want to work with and who you want to grow your business alongside. I feel that there are definitely spaces that are still to be opened for us.
In the UK, I see a lot of opportunities where individuals are able to network and really support each other. But these are not rooms that I see our faces in. And I would love to see more of that within the business community.
Nicola’s advice to Black Women growing their online business.
My advice to anybody who is in a position where you want to grow a business, and perhaps you have experienced your own setbacks, or had to overcome your own challenges: If you are ready to take that leap, there is a network if you can tap into that network that is ready to support you.
We are here to ensure that you can have the skill set to grow your business, but also to show that we, as a community, are talented. We do have a very strong skill set. We do have a lot to bring to the table.
Don't be intimidated by the fact that your face isn't in a certain room. Be proud to walk into that room and own the value that you can bring to the table. This is really what we need right now to ensure that we continue to grow and support others who are going to come through the generations.
Connect with Nicola
If you would like to connect with Tatiana, you’ll find her over on Instagram @msnicolamelinda.
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Hey! I’m Tish!
I'm a marketing mentor for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to create more time, freedom & profit in their online business, in a way that feels good to them!
If you’re ready to build your business on your own terms, so that you can live the life you desire… grab a cuppa, get comfy & stay for a while ☕️ ✨
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