Powerful Women of Purpose Series. Nicole Farmer

This week we have another life changing story of a brave woman who had the courage to see her purpose through the rough stones that life threw at her. Nicole Farmer, founder and owner of Lifeline Business Consulting has helped thousands of entrepreneurs realize their dreams. Inspite of the hardships in her life she realized that her dream is to help others fulfill their dreams.

About Nicole Farmer –

Nicole Farmer has been widely recognized for her distinctive voice and insight on the journey of entrepreneurship. After becoming the first African American woman to own a Tuffy Auto Service franchise in 2006 and running her own multi-million-dollar company, Farmer launched Lifeline Business Consulting Services. She subsequently founded LifeLine Business Consulting and has since coached thousands of entrepreneurs realize their dreams of entrepreneurship and receive millions of dollars in funding.

Farmer’s mission is clear: Inspire minority and women business owners to realize their dreams. LifeLine Business Consulting provides intensive training and coaching business development programs and is widely recognized as a leader in entrepreneurial training and development.

Through the tough times when you didn’t have food or shelter, what kept you going?

In the truly tough times, of no food or shelter, survival mode kicks in and leaves no room for strategy – only life or death. Whenever there was a moment to catch my breath, I was resourceful in every way that I could be. In that time, my Google was called the Yellow Pages and I called every single human service agency who would help pay lights and gas or offer free food. I went to libraries and contacted job recruiters and temp agencies while the librarians helped me with my resume or set me up on computers to practice typing skills. This way they could also be a reference and vouch for my character.

Did you know what your purpose was during this time?

Upon reflection, that girl of 14 did not know her purpose; she was in survival mode. I can see now that my Grandmother raised me in ways that planted a seed for knowing my purpose later. So, I take comfort knowing that the girl able to survive then carried those teachings through to the woman I am now.

No one should ever feel badly for feeling without purpose; during that dark time, a purpose could have knocked me over and I would not have recognized it! I now know that purpose exists in you, even when it is not known to you.

The decision to become an entrepreneur usually is not an easy one. What was the most difficult part of the journey?…how did you deal with fear?

Fear does not ever go away and doing the thing you are called to do in the face of that fear takes resolve. There are two commitments that must be made and renewed every day – to believe in myself and to forgive myself. The belief helps ignore the fears of not being worthy or “going back” and the forgiveness is for the mistakes that have and will be made. Shame and negativity can paralyze you, so forgive any misstep and take another step toward your purpose.

You are a great mentor for your kids and for young women who aspire to live their dreams. What is the biggest lesson you got from your life that you would want to share with every woman?

#1, regardless of any circumstance, you are a good girl! There are things that I have done that did not make my family proud and I had to heal from that and I had to forgive myself. Joy of childhood may have been robbed from you, you may have been parented with resentment or lifelessness, but you must heal from that and find a way to create from the inside out.

One big opportunity came knocking on your door and changed your life, tell us a bit more about that. When did you decide to be that opportunity for millions of others?

When I was presented with an opportunity to run an automotive shop (Tuffy Automotive Service Center) in 2006, I was surprised by the offer because at that point I was married to man who was abusive and overpowering and I did not think that I, a woman who had been in unstable situations most of her life, could possibly take that on. I only expected that opportunity would trickle down to me, not come directly at me. While going through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, I had a tremendous mindset switch away from believing that perpetual poverty was all that my life would be. I became interested in helping others (the way I needed help) reach their entrepreneurial dreams by teaching them what I had learned and helping them identify potential funding sources. I knew it didn’t have to be as hard for others as it was for me.

Looking back, at the time having to close the auto repair shop was the worst thing that had happened to me. It triggered a deep depression, suicidal ideations, a blow to my own esteem; believing I was “less than” and on my way directly back to poverty. I believe that I created LifeLine Business Consulting because I needed that help. I literally needed a LifeLife!

Your passion for helping people gave birth to ‘The Lifeline Network’. What would be the next step? How would you define your vision for your business and what is your top tip for new business owners in creating a vision for their business?

My top tip for a woman is to write the vision, make it plain! We all need a plan to go forward in our lives. We have a plan to take our children to school each day. We have a plan for what will be for dinner that evening. We have a plan on how and when we will exercise. Your business needs a plan, too. You don’t know it now, but you now have the bones for your Business Plan.

The vision for my business continues to be helping every individual that commits to believing in themselves enough to create the platform for their dreams to come true. LifeLine Business Consulting Services has seen a need to create a non-profit entity to access grant dollars so that we may more fully assist clients and their varied needs. This entity is named Grand Innovation. As the parent entity, LifeLine will continue to evolve and grow to assist clients at every level.

Here at Beauty and Purpose our goal is to inspire millions of women across the world to shine in their beauty by walking in their purpose. What is your definition of beauty and how do you celebrate your individual beauty?

The journey to becoming 100% whole is the only way that true beauty can come. True beauty looks like welcoming each day with joy, walking with your head held high, aspiring for greatness, and demanding excellence from yourself first. Celebrating my individual beauty means honoring, forgiving, and believing in the young girl inside me; being grateful for her strength to survive so that I can be here to experience healing.

Finally, besides the Bible what's your favorite self-development book?

I am an avid reader and truly get through dozens and dozens of self-development books per year and honestly gain insight and tools from each one. For this answer,I have two movies to mention: The Wiz (1978) and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Every year, I watch these again and again.

In The Wiz, Dorothy was tired and just ached to go home, but she first had to learn to help others solve problems to realize that she had the power within her all along (even though she could not see her purpose). In Willy Wonka, given the poverty in which young Charlie lived, there was absolutely no reason he should have dared to dream he could have a Golden Ticket and yet inside he had an intuitive inclination that something was there for him, beyond his imagination. For me, both these movies, and every moment I have lived until now has been to learn that our power and our purpose is within each of us. Not to worry if it is not apparent. Each day, recommit to believing in yourself daily and each day, recommit to forgiving yourself.

“Failure is not really failure; it’s just now repackaged as my next step towards success.” Don’t let anything get in the way of your success and take it to the next level with Nicole Farmer (LifeLine Business Consulting).

If you feel lost and want to get help finding your path to your purpose and freedom let us help you.

Thank you for reading and sharing. Share with us a take away from This Powerful Woman of Purpose feature. Shine on!