I was born & raised in the quaint suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio…a great place to be from. After high school, I moved to Columbus, where I graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. A couple of years later, I transplanted to sunny Phoenix, Arizona, where I moved up the corporate ladder in various auditing & accounting roles. Then it happened…even though the sky was the limit with my current career, I could not help but feel like I had more to offer…a higher purpose, you could say.

That is when I plunged into the world of small business ownership, and my husband, Matt (i.e. “the catch”), and I decided to open a private childcare center. Although I had a lot of business knowledge, I had NO experience in commercial real estate, building design & construction, or running a school. As the only business owner in a start-up community, I found myself feeling like a “big fish” in a small pond, and had to get creative in order for my business to survive.

Over the years, I have gotten a crash course in all of those things and more, as well as lessons in home ownership, infertility, and mommyhood. Two years after opening our school’s doors, we moved into our third home. A year and a half later, our “small blond”, Matilda, was born. I have since learned that work-life balance does not really exist…but there are lots of ways you can create a kind of controlled chaos.

I can’t wait to share some bits of wit & wisdom I have learned along the way, as well as things I am still working on. Maybe my stories will help you make a change that you have been putting off. At the very least, I hope it helps you laugh…after all, laughter is the best medicine!

Enjoy,

Nicole