101: Nicole Stephenson — The Voice They Told You Was Too Loud

There's a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from being good at fitting in. Nicole Stephenson knows this feeling well. She spent years being told she was "too loud," "too much," "too honest." Then she wrote a book about what happens when you finally stop apologizing for being yourself. Nicole is the founder of Narrativa Consulting, a part-time lecturer at The Wharton School, and the author of Unapologetic: Boldly Lead the Life and Career You Deserve. In this conversation, we talk about the ten years she spent running a private women's mentorship program and what she noticed about what actually made those women succeed (spoiler: it wasn't the sales scripts). We get into her three-year book-writing process, why she hired a book coach, and the financial gut-check that almost stopped her from publishing at all. She also shares how the book found its way to a complete stranger in New York — and what that phone call taught her about why she does this work. If you've ever been told you were too loud or too much, this one's for you. In this episode: The moment Nicole realized the things people told her to keep quiet were the things closing her sales What ten years of mentoring women taught her about what actually builds confidence How a 40-day writing challenge (over Lent), left the book sitting in a draft folder Why she turned down ghostwriting and insisted the book be in her own voice The real cost of writing a book — money, momentum, and nearly walking away before publishing Why she launched the book on her 40th birthday (and how she celebrated both) Connect with Nicole: Website: narrativaconsulting.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicole-stephenson Instagram: @_nicole_stephenson Book: Unapologetic: Boldly Lead the Life and Career You Deserve Connect with Jacqueline Fisch: Hire Jacqueline for private Intuitive Writing Mentoring The Intuitive Writing Studio Substack: Energy-First Writing LinkedIn Instagram Timestamps: 00:00 Why Fitting In Exhausts Us 01:13 Nicole's Career Wake Up 01:57 Owning Bold Authenticity 05:21 The Promotion Lunch Pivot 07:16 Spark Behind Unapologetic 09:22 Community And Accountability 12:31 How She Actually Wrote It 14:36 Book Coach And New Outline 19:25 Staying True To Your Voice 21:43 Writer's Block And Life Shifts 22:40 Burnout And Doubt 23:28 Publisher Sticker Shock 24:04 Committing To Finish 24:23 Finding The Right Publisher 25:02 Momentum Lost And Lessons 26:02 Launching On 40th Birthday 28:05 Starting Narrativa LLC 30:39 Book Launching And A Basic Website 32:56 Strangers Respond To The Book 36:46 Reach Out To Creators 38:27 Advice For Aspiring Authors 40:02 Coffee Vs Tea Rituals 41:43 Closing Thanks