Nicoline Huizinga is a certified, self-employed confidence and visibility strategist, coach, speaker, host of ‘The Confident Badass’ podcast and author of the book ‘Flick the Fuck It Switch’ due to be published in June 2019.
After working for international corporates for 25 years and learning the tricks of the trade from world class trainers and coaches, Nicoline now helps female solopreneurs to be visible on relevant platforms for them to land great client contracts in order to earn a shitload of money.
She strongly believes female solopreneurs should earn more money by using their unique talents and gifts. It’s her opinion that once women will have more money, they will use it to invest it in themselves, their families and their businesses, and empower other business owners (including their employees) and the less fortunate in this world along that journey.
Nicoline’s services include coaching and training for groups and in 1:1 programmes for female service providers to increase their authority, to sell to ideal clients with ease and to increase turnover as a result.
The book ‘Flick the Fuck It Switch’ is not for the weak at heart. It is all about the journey we call life and about the moment you feel there must be a lot more to life than you are experiencing right now, whether you are 15 or 75. Nicoline offers a simple, down to earth formula to get a grip on your life and make the change you always wanted, but never knew where to start.
With a great sense of humour and her Dutch direct way of not sugarcoating her knowledge and advice, she has helped many people to shift their mindset and change their lives from feeling ‘meh’ every day to thriving in their business- and personal lives. By finding ànd Flicking the Fuck It Switch, her coaching clients have made tremendous changes for the better.
Nicoline’s born and raised in the Netherlands, but her clients are located all over the world, as she is fluent in 4 languages. She is married, a humorous mum to a teenage son, a book addict and a fan of life long learning.
Welcome Nicoline, thank you for coming on board with us, can you introduce yourself to us?
My name is Nicoline Huizinga and I’m a certified, self-employed visibility strategist, coach, speaker, author of the book ‘Flick the Fuck It Switch’ and host of ‘The Confident Badass’ podcast. After working for international corporates for 25 years and learning the tricks of the trade from world class trainers and coaches, I now help female solopreneurs to be visible on relevant platforms for them to land great client contracts, so they earn a shitload of money.
I was born and raised in the Netherlands, but the world is my playground, as my clients are located all over the world, as I am fluent in 4 languages. I am married, a humorous mum to a teenage son (as I like to think so!), a book addict and a fan of life long learning.
Can you talk us through the path you have pathed to where you are now as a brand and content coach?
I always wanted to work internationally, so my very first job was a reservations employee for Air France, the French airline. Straight out of high school, I had to learn how to speak French – and no school French, because all everyone did was speaking French during the day. I listened for two months, and then I started to speak – and now my French accent is like any other native.
After another job in tourism and being a secretary to a wine importing company owner, I started an assistant’s job at an international training and coaching company. This is where my real business journey started, as everything I loved came together in that job: working internationally for wonderful corporates and working on improving human behaviour in business. After almost 16 years of working for that company and being trained as a trainer and a coach myself, I started my own business in 2010.
At first, I took on all kinds of assignments, and made lots of mistakes by doing stuff that didn’t resonate with me at all. But these mistakes proved to be great lessons. Because over time, I figured out how to make the most out of the online world, what it takes to be visible – both online and offline – and turn your tribe members into clients. With my training and coaching background, I can now help entrepreneurs to be visible, confident and attract their ideal clients.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I am an early riser, but I need some time to get my day started, so 20 minutes of meditation are necessary to start my day right. Right after that, I journal for about 20 minutes and then I work on my Spanish language skills for 20 minutes (I love the Duolingo app!). This 20-minute block technique (Pomodoro technique) works really well in business as well.
My teenage son is quite independent. As soon as he leaves for school, my working day starts. Usually, I check the status of my content on the various platforms and I work according to the planning I made the evening before.
I have one fixed day per week dedicated to creating and researching content that I release during the weeks after that. During the other days, I work with my clients. Either one on one, or in online groups or live during workshops or masterclasses. I just love it that no one day is exactly the same as the previous!
Can you us the way that you aim to empower solopreneurs to build a thriving business by finding and crafting their unique voice?
I truly believe we all have a unique talent to bring to this world, but especially women were brought up with the idea that we need to fit in and be nice.
Mind you, the idea of fitting in is not only a matter of upbringing, it is deeply rooted in the human race. Fitting in and being part of a group meant survival in the early days of mankind. Being singled out meant death, as you were likely to be caught by a wild animal when being on your own. And therefore, we have quite some deeply rooted beliefs to work on when we are talking about finding your unique voice.
Being nice can be a tough challenge when you have an opinion and especially when this opinion differs from other people. It really hurts my heart that too many women choose to stay silent instead of speaking up. Many of my clients struggle with the idea of trying to be nice, while they really want to voice their point of view and make a difference in the world.
My coaching empowers them to feel more confident, to embrace what makes them different from others and speak their truth, knowing that you can’t please everyone and being OK with that.
Can you give 3 ways we can thrive as an entrepreneur?
That’s a lovely question! I can think of at least 10 ways we can thrive as an entrepreneur, but let’s narrow it down to 3!
- Don’t wait taking a big leap in your entrepreneurial life until you have either: a) lost weight, b) have taken another course, c) had a good hair cut, or d) finalised your entire offer – or any other excuse you may come up with. As my lovely mentor Marie Forleo always says: start before you’re ready!For instance: don’t design an entire course before you have 1 single client. Design the outline and the first module in detail and take it from there! Take on some beta testers at a fair price and improve your program on the fly.
You will learn by taking action. Not by thinking.
- Work with a mentor and an accountability partner. The best thing I’ve done is working with a mentor to push me and to hold me accountable, as it really made me take big scary leaps that I would never have taken myself. I’ve wasted years trying to figure everything out on my own and apart from the fact that it’s quite a lonely existence, it didn’t get me the results that I got after I started working with a mentor.
- Run your business on your own terms. Create immutable laws to live and work by. One of my immutable laws is that I only want to work with women who are willing to learn and to push themselves. I’m not here to be your friend, I’m here to make you and your business better. That might be scary and sometimes I tell you things that may hurt you a bit. But this tough love will get you where you want to be!
Where can you see yourself within the next 5 years and how are you planning to grow or diversify?
In the next 5 years, I can see myself travelling, delivering key notes and programs all over the world. I can see myself running multiple online programs and live retreats with guest experts on aspects of visibility, mindset and entrepreneurship.
My main plan to grow and diversify is to connect and cooperate with other amazing professionals. I have been working on that for a few years now and it starting to pay off.
What avenues are you exploring to promote your Flick the Fuck It Switch book?
I’m a regular guest on podcast shows, I write guest blogs, I deliver masterclasses for networking clubs and I plan on delivering live masterclasses about the book as soon as it’s published. I can’t wait to share this book with my audience!
Number one rule in business you stick by?
That’s not just a rule in business but in life in general, and that rule is: equality. We may not be the same, but we are equal. I am not your superior, nor your servant. We all have an amazing talent, background and story and it’s important to take the time to listen to one another. And while we’re at it: we need to listen to deeply understand, not to react.
I truly believe that once we practice this, the world will be a better place for all of us.
How do you define your own success?
My success is based on my drive to help more women be visible, speak up and thrive in their businesses. For me, that deeply-rooted WHY is a strong motivation to get out of bed every morning and to be visible myself.
How I got here was by having an open mind, the everlasting willingness to learn and the willingness to be vulnerable at times as well. Asking for help is not a weakness, it is a sign of strength. Knowing what you’re good at and what you suck at are the main assets for an entrepreneur, as it means you can outsource what you suck at, so you can do more of what you’re good at!
What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?
#BEYOUROWN has many meanings for me. First of all: be your own boss, but only when you’re made for it. If you haven’t got what it takes to be an entrepreneur: then don’t go down that road. Find a wonderful job that makes you happy. Be your own is also about following your own path, whatever it is, or whatever other people may think of it. Be your own is about knowing what makes you different and embracing each and every aspect of yourself, even the dark sides. And last but not least: #BEYOUROWN means that you are your own. You’re no one else’s property or responsibility. You’re responsible for YOU and the choices that you make. The only thing that will be with you for the rest of your life, is YOU. So better take good care of that YOU and do what makes YOU happy.
Finally, what are you working on throughout 2019?
Throughout 2019, I’ll be launching the book and its masterclasses of course! I’m curious to see what will derive from that. Naturally, I’ll be working on my 1:1 and group programs as well. And my ongoing mission will be to connect with more amazing business partners to help each other thrive!
Instagram: @nicoline_huizinga
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetimetobevisibleisnow/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolinehuizinga/
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRTS_w1wWjhm3VcNVQYh1bQ
Website:https://nicolinehuizinga.com https://anchor.fm/nicoline-huizinga
Image taken by Lia Remmelzwaal Fotografie
