Author, Entrepreneur, and Visionary Nicole Lee on the Power of Passion By Meg Hale Brunton
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Nicole Lee discovered at an early age that she had a natural ability to style hair. Growing up, she always styled her friends’ hair in school and at church. Lee’s parents were adamant that she go to college, encouraging her to pursue her interest in Forensic Medicine. After beginning her education, however, she found herself disappointed by the experience. “I didn’t like college life,” Lee says. Instead, she got a full-time job and attended beauty school part-time. Within two years of getting her certification, she was able to open her first salon, Artistic Creations.
“When I opened my salon, something just clicked,” Lee says. “I believe I’m a natural-born entrepreneur.” Lee went on to open two more salons, Nikki’s Place and Salon Favor, before retiring after twenty years in the hair and beauty industry to focus on her family. When her father fell ill, Lee moved her family in with her parents and began homeschooling her three kids. “I decided to pour all my energy into my children,” she says. In addition to a part-time job with Americorp, where she learned about the nonprofit sector, Lee also began writing and quickly found she had a knack for it.
Over a period of nine years, Lee authored thirteen books focusing mainly on entrepreneurship, healing, and motherhood, including Healing Cosmetologist, How to Eradicate Fear — A Guide for Entrepreneurs, and How to Eradicate Emotional Paralysis — A Guide for Single Mothers. She also began hosting her own podcast called Spiritual Beings Having Human Experiences. The twelve-episode podcast covered everything from single parenting to the healing power of cosmetology, and even dream interpretation.
As she began the process of promoting her first book, Healing Cosmetologist, she was given the opportunity to do a makeover photo shoot for single mothers from underserved communities. “I thought I was just celebrating single mothers,” Lee says of the experience. “The idea just kept evolving and I realized this was bigger than I thought, and that I needed to do more.”
In 2016, Lee started a non-profit called Warrior Moms, whose mission is “To enable the single mother the ability to eradicate emotional paralysis among single mothers who live in poverty.” Through Warrior Moms, Lee uses her unique skills to teach single mothers how to start and run their own businesses while still balancing motherhood. She received a grant for her work with Warrior Moms from the People’s Liberty Foundation that year. To single moms, Lee offers her services as a holistic business counselor at no cost until their business launches. They also get free access to her online one-on-one course, “How to Eradicate Fear - A Guide for Entrepreneurs.”
“As founder, I’m here as a light to guide them through their journey of adversity by sharing effective tools for emotional healing and a pathway out of poverty through entrepreneurship,” Lee explains. “You’d be surprised how much strength, gifts and talents single moms have.” Within five years of founding Warrior Moms, Lee had developed several intellectual property creations that became tools to assist with the company’s goals. These creations include a documentary based on interviews with the women Lee worked with at the photo shoot, which was screened at the Cindependent Film Festival in Cincinnati; and a play written by single mothers called Savagery, which was produced as a reading at The Magnetic Theatre in Asheville in 2021.
“When I came to Asheville in 2020, I plugged into every opportunity for entrepreneurs and everything started manifesting,” Lee says, adding that she immediately connected with Asheville’s welcoming, progressive community. Lee joined the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and connected with Black Wall Street Asheville. She also became a Mountain BizWorks coach, where she counsels entrepreneurs. “I’ve got a wide scope of entrepreneurship and here I am sharing it with others,” she says. “It’s exciting! This is exactly what I want to do!”
“I love Asheville,” she exclaims. “It is so peaceful here. It really is the best place to be and continue the work of being a mother.” Lee’s daughter, a student at UNC Asheville, is already following in her mother’s footsteps of entrepreneurship. She has started her own holistic clothing brand called Peculiar Persona.
For her daughter and other budding entrepreneurs, Lee has plenty of sound advice. “Business success that flows effortlessly is because of passion, and it has to be something you’re good at - something that comes naturally to you,” she explains. “Your mind, body and spirit must be in alignment in order to be successful.” She advises her clients to make a clear list of goals and to not be afraid to ask for help. She also encourages them to seek a path that speaks to both their personal and professional lives.
Lee attributes her professional success to an innate sense of self-confidence and drive. “I’ve always had this knowledge that I was gonna be great,” she says. “Anything I put my mind to, it happened.” She also puts a lot of stock in having a hefty supply of common sense, being a voracious reader, and in allowing God to “super-rule” her in everything she does.
As for the future, Lee shows no signs of slowing down. She has three more books that she is hoping to publish in the next few years, and she has already received a grant from NC IDEA to relaunch her business platform to be geared towards Native American mothers with the support of The Sequoyah Fund. “This opportunity is super exciting for me,” she explains, “because I will be learning how to connect with other cultures through entrepreneurship.”
Though she has been immensely successful in her professional life, Lee maintains that motherhood is her #1 job. Despite being a self-made woman, she feels nothing but gratitude for the way things have turned out. “I’m grateful,” Lee says of her life experience thus far. “I think my journey was written out perfectly.”
For more information on Nicole Lee, visit her website: www.NicoleLee.Me