8 Business Lessons From Building Multiple Businesses w/ Nichole DeMario

You don’t need another strategy. You need to pay attention to what actually holds up over time.

After building multiple businesses and constantly looking for what connects them, Nicole realized the same patterns kept showing up. Not trends. Not tactics. Real, foundational lessons that impact how your business grows and how it feels to run it.

In this episode, she breaks down eight lessons that have shaped the way she approaches business today. From building something you genuinely believe in to understanding why visibility rooted in community and connection matters more than chasing followers or numbers. This is a look at what actually drives growth and where most people hold themselves back without realizing it. She also shares the mistakes most people make like staying quiet about what they are building and expecting people to notice anyway, overproducing instead of documenting what’s actually happening, and losing sight of why they started in the first place.

So, if you’ve been stuck in overthinking, second guessing, or focusing on the wrong things, this will bring you back to what actually matters and help you move forward with more clarity.

Connect with Nichole:

Instagram: @womantowoman.connect

Instagram: @momtomon.connect

Instagram: @storiedelements

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momtomommag

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womantowomanmag

Website: https://www.sendmediacompanyllc.com/

Chapters:

00:30 Why these 8 business lessons matter

01:30 Build what you actually believe in

02:30 Visibility is not about vanity metrics

03:30 How to find connection points in your business

04:30 Why you need to share what you’re building

05:30 Promoting yourself and actually sharing what you’re doing 

06:30 Staying human in your messaging

07:30 Why documenting beats overproducing

08:30 What to systemize and what to personalize

09:30 Protecting your values while growing 

Upcoming Events:

Chicago Retreat - July 14-16, 2026 - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/iid9wbr2yc

Napa Retreat - October 5-8, 2026 - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/cetj223rsr

Growth & Connect Events - https://laurennajar.myflodesk.com/hb2a0mwbqw

Let’s Stay Connected:
→ Follow Lauren on Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurennajar
→ Learn more or work with me: www.laurennajar.com
→ Follow Business Over Cocktails on IG: www.instagram.com/businessovercocktails
→ Attend Growth & Connect retreats & events: www.instagram.com/growthandconnect

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Business Chaser, your quick pour of strategy, clarity, and momentum. We skip the small talk and get straight to the strategy here in these bite-sized episodes. We're here to help you grow smarter, market better, and chase what matters all in 15 minutes or less. I'm your host, Lauren Najar. Tune in and let's chat.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Welcome back to Business Over Cocktails. I'm Nicole. So glad to be on with Lauren today. I wish this was a cocktail, but unfortunately, my family has all been sick and I am the last one standing. So it is T for me, 24-7. So bear with me here if you hear my voice going out. But we're gonna we're gonna do our best here. So I'll honestly say, on top of trying to fight being sick, I have been thinking about what I wanted to share with you. What sort of tidbits about my businesses would relate to the masses? And I woke up at one o'clock in the morning, kind of wondering about my outline and thinking about all the things that I wanted to share. And I probably made too many changes last night, last minute, but it was one of those things that just couldn't get off my brain because I feel that this is so important to share the things that I've learned over the years, being in business, starting multiple businesses, trying to find the commonality, the next move, the business partners, et cetera, et cetera. So I put together eight business tips for all of you. And why eight? Just for relatability, eight is my favorite number. It is also a connection to my husband, both in our dating anniversary and our wedding anniversary. My kids' birthdays all have eights in them. So eight is what it is. Not because it's anything special for business, but special for me. So here we go. So I'll start with build what you believe in. And that sounds pretty simple, but the best business strategies start with conviction. If you wouldn't stand behind it publicly, it's not worth your energy privately. And you know, you just it it takes so much to build a business. So you have to put your energy really where it's worth. Treat visibility like a value, not a vanity metric. And that sounds like a very loaded statement. I think Lauren even spoke to this not too long ago on her own channels. Don't chase followers, cultivate community. And I think a lot of people throw around the community phrase loosely, but show up where your audience feels you, not just sees you. You know, if you're if you're just looking for that like and subscribe that may not get you to the end results of what you're trying to do within your business. And find your connection points. I think I said this when I first started is if you have multiple businesses, look for where they naturally overlap your story, your values, your audiences' emotions. That's your through line. That's your story. And for me, you know, storytelling is the heart of everything that I do. And I think when you can look at the connection points in your business, it makes everything easier. Not all of your businesses will naturally relate. And sometimes you don't want them to. You're trying to diversify your portfolio, and that all makes sense. But you can find those ways to connect and lead that story throughout and explain your why when you're starting to share more about your business. And at the very least, if they don't naturally connect, then behind the scenes, the connections can make sense. When you start to grow an internal team, you can explain why you have all of these things and how people can be a part of that journey. Talk about what you're building. I am so guilty of this. I think oftentimes you see these quotes about people will say, don't talk about what you're doing, don't put it out there until it's real, or don't say anything at all and just show up. But people don't know your dreams or your ideas or what's in motion unless you share it. Promote yourself with pride. It's not about bragging, but inviting people along. And I think you are more inclined to come up in rooms that you're not in when people know what is going on with you and what's on your mind. And then people want to connect with you, whether that's to work with you in your business or to build something bigger to collaborate. There's so much opportunity if you just speak up. And I'm guilty of it. I do the same thing. I put in the work, I put in the time, and I don't often share what I'm doing. And I'm learning that myself multiple years in the making. Stay human in your messaging for point number five. Whether it's a magazine column, a LinkedIn post, or a brand partnership, let people see the person behind the business. That's where you know the trust really starts. You know, anytime that you can make yourself relatable and real and make that connection point, people are going to perk up and the right people, your target audience are going to are going to connect and want to work with you more, starting off, et cetera, et cetera. Document and don't overproduce. Like I said, your audience craves real. Share what you're learning, what's working, what's messy, and they'll root for your success. And I think when you can give people just a little glimpse of behind the curtain or behind the lens, it makes them realize that this business has humans and people working behind it. And again, they want to work with people that they can relate to, you know, that they can see have that human component. Systemize what you can, personalize what you should. And this is another great point that again, I think whether you have one business or multiple, that you need to automate the repetitive tasks, but never the human touch. So there are so many things that we do in our day-to-day in businesses that certainly can be automated, that can be handed off. And I think we get so bogged down in the minutia that we forget about that. So for me, that's, you know, that's bookkeeping and invoicing and things like that, things that don't sing to my heart. And I've learned how to automate those processes and hand those off to others. And that's really where you can be more efficient. It shouldn't come at the expense naturally of your empathy. You know, so you put in the time, the energy to do those things and, you know, really lean into the things that are worth your while. And I think lastly, keep the heart in the hustle. You're grinding, you're working as a business owner, you know, you're you're on 24-7 oftentimes. And I think growth matters, but not at the cost of why you started. So protect your joy, protect your values and the impact you want to leave behind. And when you feel like the needle is moving in a direction that you're not sure about, it's okay to step back and pause and really think about alignment and whether or not it's directionally where you want to go. Not all the time do you have time on your side. And sometimes you have to backtrack a little bit and take a step back and maybe go back and make some changes and own some decisions that you made and fix it along the way. And that's okay. But I think always having that mission, that value, something that can connect you back to the entire reason you you decided to go down that road is really beautiful. So that's a lot to say in a short amount of time. Like I said, eight points for no reason other than my own. I hope that's a little bit helpful to you to remind yourself of some key things to keep in mind. Hopefully, eight becomes your favorite number two. And I hope to connect further. Feel free to look at the show notes and find me on all the different channels to whatever stings to you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

That's your quick hit of clarity and momentum for the week. If it sparks something, share it with a friend or tag us in your stories at Business Over Cocktails and or at Lauren Major. We love seeing what resonates. Don't forget, Mondays are for full-length episodes with rich conversations. And Fridays are the Business Chaser episodes. These are bite sized insights pulled from our guests to keep you inspired and aligned throughout the week. Do you have a question or takeaway? DM us at Business Over Cocktails. We just might feature it in a feature episode. Cheers.