My story didn't begin with a business...
It began with learning that life doesn't always follow the plan.
... and, apparently, neither do I!
Hi, I'm Nicola
“I'm okay. This is me now. Let me tell you what happened.”
I've spent most of my life fiercely independent, slightly stubborn and convinced that if I just worked hard enough, I could figure pretty much anything out.
Life had other ideas!
My journey through health, work and business hasn't been particularly linear - but looking back, I can see that every detour taught me something about the way I wanted to live.
And eventually, the way I wanted to earn.
🔙Rewind to 1988
The day the wheels fell off. Quite literally.
At 18, I was already fiercely independent.
I'd left school, moved out of home, was working and earning my own money.
School and I simply never fitted - so I was out the door as soon as possible (or I was legally allowed)!
“Not quite 1988 - but damn close!”
I wanted to work. I wanted independence. And even back then, I seemed to be constantly looking for ways of doing things a little differently rather than travelling in the main lane.
Then one day, while working in a café in Christchurch, I stepped down from a bar-stool-height seat.
And everything changed.
I lost movement from around my waist down and experienced extraordinary pain in my back.
What followed were years of hospital visits, medications, pain and unanswered questions.
And perhaps hardest of all... not being believed.
For almost four years I existed in a strange no-man's-land between knowing something was very wrong and repeatedly being told there wasn't an explanation for it.
“Until finally, someone started asking different questions.”
1992 — Finally getting answers
1992 — Finally getting answers
“At 22 I finally had an answer: a chronic form of arthritis ...
Not exactly what I had in mind. I had spent years fighting to prove something was wrong and now suddenly found myself fighting just as hard against what the answer meant.”
Nicola, 1992-ish
Diagnosis: achieved. Acceptance: not at all.
At 22, I'd had enough - I was done and I needed answers!
I went back to my GP and essentially said: Something is wrong. I need someone to find out what.
Eventually I was referred to a rheumatology specialist.
Tests followed (lots of tests). Scans followed.
And then came words I'd never heard before:
You have Ankylosing Spondylitis.
My immediate response?
"Are you sure?" (Apparently at 22 I thought I knew more than the specialist with all the letters after her name. 😂)
I had a form of inflammatory arthritis that can affect the spine and other joints.
It wasn't exactly the answer I wanted.
But after years of uncertainty, having an answer did matter - just not in the way I thought!
1992 → 2016
The years I spent trying to prove the world was flat.
Spoiler alert: it remained stubbornly round.
2002 - Still not picking up the clue phone. ☎️
If pushing through was an Olympic sport,
I was definitely in training.
2007 - Still showing up
Working. Pushing. Getting on with it.
Asking for help? Apparently not my thing.
2015 - Life was still happening.
Work. Travel. Good times. Hard times.
From the outside, life looked pretty normal.
Then I did what I knew best. I pushed harder.
Diagnosis didn't suddenly make everything easy.
There were years of medications, flare-ups, hospital visits and trying to find what would work.
And throughout all of it, I kept trying to be the person I'd always been.
→ Work→ Push → Crash → Recover → Repeat!
It was a Rinse & Repeat cycle.
I'd work at 110 miles an hour until my body forced me to stop, then the moment I felt remotely capable, I'd start again.
I wasn't exactly picking up the clue phone.
Eventually, something had to give.
And it did.
I reached a point where I couldn't keep pretending I was coping.
I asked for help.
For someone fiercely independent, that was harder than it sounds.
With support, I began to understand that what I was experiencing wasn't only physical.
I was grieving.
My independence had always been tangled up with my ability to work, earn, contribute and look after myself.
Somewhere along the way I'd created a belief that said:
If I'm not working, I'm not contributing. And if I'm not contributing... who am I?
That took considerably longer to untangle.
But slowly, I did.
2016 — Then I went out for coffee...
2016 — Then I went out for coffee...
Isn't it funny how some of life's biggest changes arrive without announcing themselves.
By 2016, I'd lived with my condition for decades. There was flare-ups, more hospital admissions and a shit ton more medications. I was functioning, but I wasn't particularly happy with how I felt.
One morning, while out getting coffee with a colleague, I noticed a poster in a local health-food shop. It advertised a seminar about food, additives and a whole-food approach to eating.
I'd spent years being fairly open to alternative health approaches, because I had tried a variety of things - but nothing really stuck!
But something made me curious enough to go to this one ... and that ordinary little decision became a massive turning point.
I thought I was eating pretty well! Spoiler: I wasn't
Over the following months, my husband and I began learning more about whole foods, ingredients, processed foods and what we were bringing into our home.
I started making different choices
Not all at once
And certainly not perfectly
I became more educated in how food is processed, what is added (and what is NOT added) and simplifying the fuel for our bodies.
Those choices gradually became part of the way I live today.
And my own experience of my health and wellbeing during those years changed enormously.
I still live with Ankylosing Spondylitis. There is permanent joint damage from the progression of the disease, I still receive medical treatment, and I'm certainly not presenting my experience as medical advice or suggesting my choices will produce the same outcome for someone else.
Simply sharing what changed for me.
And it changed far more than what was on my plate.
It changed the questions I was willing to ask.
Whole Foods
So it turns out, “I thought I ate pretty healthy” had some big room for improvement
Education
The more I learned, the more I questioned - You don't know what you don't know!
2016 to today
The pivot from health → life → income
The pivot from health → life → income
These small choices led to three bigger questions.
The Food We Eat
Choose source food closer to its original form. If the ingredient list reads like a science experiment, it's shouldn't be eaten!
Label reader obsessed - Knowing what’s actually in your food gives us the power to make a better choice.
Better trumps perfect. Small, consistent swaps are far more realistic than trying to overhaul your entire life overnight.
Daily Home Choices
Question the basics that live in your home. Water, cleaning products, personal care and everyday essentials all deserve the same scrutiny as food.
Look beyond the cheapest option. I deeply care about ingredients, longevity, waste and whether something genuinely adds value.
Spend in alignment with your values. Where and how you shop regularly is another choice.
How We Earn Income
Relying on one income stream can leave us vulnerable. I’d rather have options than hope nothing changes.
More income shouldn’t = more hours. I look for ways to earn alongside what I already do, not simply pile on more work.
Work should fit the life you want to live. For me, health, energy and freedom matter just as much as the income itself.
"I didn't want to stop earning - I wanted more choice in how I earned."
So, What's Next?
What you explore next is entirely up to you.
Explore my free resources
Access free guides, recipes, ideas and useful things I've collected along the way
I am curious about the income bit 🤔
Want to understand what I actually do, the businesses I've chosen and how they fit together?
I'll drop you an email
Got a question? Something resonated? Or you simply want to say hello?