Your Personal Brand is Your Career Advantage

In this episode of Building Leadership Community, Coach Dora Mendez sits down with Nikki Groom, CEO and founder of Raised Voices, a personal brand strategy firm dedicated to helping leaders articulate their expertise and amplify their impact.

Nikki shares her journey from growing up in a working-class town in England to building a business that helps speakers, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders step into their authority. Together, they explore how personal branding, speaking, and community play a critical role in leadership development and career advancement.

This conversation is especially relevant for leaders navigating visibility, identity, and influence in today’s workplace.

Key Themes:
• Personal brand strategy and positioning
• Speaking as a leadership growth tool
• Building community in leadership
• Overcoming self-doubt and owning your voice
• Creating visibility and authority

Timestamps:
Timestamps:
00:00 – Why Your Voice Matters in Leadership
01:20 – Meet Nikki Groom
05:00 – From England to Entrepreneurial Leadership
09:00 – The Power of Community in Career Growth
13:30 – Speaking as a Leadership Strategy
16:30 – Personal Brand & Positioning Framework
19:45 – Overcoming Self-Doubt & Owning Your Voice
22:00 – Fear, Growth, and Leadership Identity
24:00 – How to Connect with Nikki

Guest Links:
Website: https://raised-voices.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkigroom/

https://nsaspeaker.org
https://.talkadot.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back, amazing leaders, to another powerful episode of Building Leadership Community Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Dora Mendez, and today's conversation is one you absolutely cannot miss. We're sitting down with a leader who has helped countless voices rise above the noise, a strategist who believes that in these uncertain times, your voice is exactly what the world needs. And a visionary who has made it her mission to position top speakers for maximum impact so they can lead and shape the future. Our guest today is a personal brand strategist, founder, and CEO, Nikki Groom. By the end of this conversation, you will walk away with clarity on your signature message, the courage to claim your expertise unapologetically, and a powerful reminder that your voice has the power to make a difference. This episode is your boost to rise boldly, authentically, and with the conviction that your message matters. So settle in, take a breath, and get ready. Hello and welcome to Building Leadership Community on the Pennsylvania. I'm your host, Amanda. I'm the founder and CEO of Coach LLC. Our kids will be entrepreneurs, business leaders, and community leaders that drive social impact. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. It means so much to us that you join us week after week for these conversations. It can be lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. That is why we started this podcast. If you are new to the building leadership community, we are so glad you're here. Please don't forget to like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Say hi in the comments. We have some great resources to share with you today. If you are thinking about starting your own podcast, check out our mini course, The Entrepreneurs Podcast Blueprint. I've partnered with my husband and co-producer Dylan Rogers to create five easy to follow video modules, along with a workbook that you can download and follow along at your own pace. And you'll get a very handy AI prompt sheet that will make getting your episode out there into the world a breeze. The link is in the description. Also, this video includes affiliate links. If you purchase through them, it helps us to keep bringing you amazing, inspiring content. Now, let me tell you about our incredible guest today. Nikki Groom is the CEO and founder of Raised Voices, a personal brand strategy firm positioning top speakers for maximum impact so they can lead and shape the future. Through a powerful positioning process, she shines a light on the signature idea speakers can call their own, puts words to their expertise, and develops a digital strategy that makes them impossible to forget. She has helped countless individuals find their voices. I met Nikki through a connection with Talkadot, which is a platform to help speakers get their voices heard. And so without any further ado, let's bring Nikki out onto the stage. Hi, Nikki.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Hi, I love the applause. That was great.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

You deserved it. You deserve all the applause. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 4:07

I'm good, thank you. It's so good to reconnect with you. And uh, we had such a great conversation last time. I'm excited for where today will lead us.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yes, I am well, you know, I'm really proud that we have this uh platform because you're all about raising voices, we're all about building community. Um, and I think it's a it's a great alignment of our missions. Um, we both want to change the world in our own way using our expertise. And I'd love for you to share your leadership story with our listeners and our viewers.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Yeah, I totally agree. We're in the business of building platforms, and you can't do that without communities. So I I really feel that sense of alignment as well. Um, you know, it's so interesting whenever I'm asked to share my personal leadership story, there's all this kind of a degree of trepidation because it's not always comfortable to do. And the work that I do with other people is I help them to figure out what story do I need to tell about myself and my expertise and my experience. And yet when it comes to do it for myself, it's like, this feels so awkward. And that's why so much of my work is about going deep with folks and really helping to reflect back to them what makes them so great. It's just hard to do sometimes for yourself. Um, I guess like if I try, if I go the short- You're just talking to me.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

I'm just your girlfriend.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Yeah, all right, all right, I don't relax here. Well, I um, you know, and I didn't really connect to this part of my story for many years because you know how so many things we go through so many things, or we grow through so many things, and we don't necessarily see this significance. But the town that I grew up in was um in the middle of England, this sort of gritty working class town that certainly during the 80s and 90s was going through a lot of industrial decline and high unemployment and um, you know, just general economic uncertainty. And so I feel like, especially at that time, people kind of lost sight of hope to to a large degree and began to maybe lower their expectations. And so that was the environment I grew up in. And yet I was lucky at home, even after my dad lost his job that he'd had for years at the gas board. Uh, my parents had this phrase that for whatever reason they would just say to us again and again and again. And that phrase was, you never know what's gonna happen tomorrow. And so I'm so grateful that they said that to me because it stuck with me. And I think that that phrase really does emphasize the fact that whatever happens, like we have to hold on to hope. And so much of that defines my work today. Um, I no longer live in England 17 years ago. I um followed my marketing career and did an intra-company transfer to a company here in Rhode Island and worked as a marketing director here for many years, got my green card, decided to start my own business, didn't know what I was doing, but flew by the seat of my pants. Um, and that was so many years ago. Now I like, I'd like to think I have a much better sense of what I'm doing. Um, but but it has just been this real trial by fire in terms of putting myself into situations, whether it be moving to a different country where I didn't know anyone or anything, um, or starting my own business when I didn't know, I just kind of had to figure things out as I went along, that I think has continued to instill in me this sense of tenacity and and grit and this it crazy as it may be, but um desire to never give up, no matter what it takes. And so I'm I'm stubborn, I'm um, I'm determined, I'm committed. And so much of that now plays through into the work that I get to do for my clients because I want to see them succeed. I want to use all of my strengths and skills to help uplift them and their voices and make sure that they're getting the um the reach that they deserve. So that's it in a nutshell, but I'm sure you have more questions for me.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

So that's wonderful, and I love that you included your immigration, part of your immigration story. And when you mention grit and tenacity, that's sort of really just a reflection of uh how much immigrants contribute to this country and uh what you're doing to just bring that and uh you know bring that spirit, that entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic to what you do. And so I love this um, you know, you mentioned it briefly about the alignment with the community. So I'd love to hear from you what community means to you. What does it mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah, I think I've always enjoyed community. Uh you know, it's just one of those things. And maybe that comes from again, I don't mean to therapise myself, but grow growing up and in school, I kind of never quite belonged to one group or another. I was kind of just this chameleon between groups, and um, and yet when I find someone I really connect to, I've always been the kind of person where I'm like, you know, here I am, and I'll be real and authentic, and I love to connect with other people from that place. And so, especially when I started my business, Rhode Island is such a tiny little state. And I thought, gosh, I don't know if there are many other folks like me who are starting businesses, particularly online businesses, or with that online focus. You know, this is going back all the way to 2012 time. Um, but I made it my mission to find other people like me. So thanks to social media, I was able to connect with people and I would send them messages and much much as we did. You know, we connected through a LinkedIn message, I think, in the first instance, potentially.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Or um Yeah, that's how it was. It was LinkedIn, right? You one of your clients, talk a dot, had mentioned how had raved about you. And I reached out on LinkedIn and said, Hey, you know, you got yeah, you know, this really kind shout out, and I'd love to connect and learn more about you. And when we spoke, um I just knew I had to have you on the show. Um, I don't think we've had um, you know, someone who works with public speakers like you do on the show. Um, so I don't want to stray. I would love to get back and hear what community means to you um before we go off on on the tangent. But yeah, I'd love to hear more about that because we did connect, that's how we connected through social through social media.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Yeah. Um, by the way, give me a tangent and I'll I'll run with it. I love my tangents. But um, yeah, I think you know, and and and that's that is a whole another tangent, just the power of social media. Like I do still really enjoy it for connecting with people that I may not have connected with otherwise. So um I would just would reach out to people and I would organize coffee dates. And then there are still um friends that I made, acquaintances, um, parts of my network, and we've never, like you and I have never met in person, but it doesn't matter. And I think that there's just so much power and strength that can be found in saying, hey, this is kind of what I'm going through or where I'm at, and um, how about you? And just finding those kind of connecting pieces of our stories so that exactly as you say at the top of this show, you know that you're not doing it alone because it does, especially, you know, I work from home alone and all of our team is remote, and sometimes it can be a little bit quiet. And so just reminding yourself that other people are out there going through a lot of the same stuff, or maybe have found a way through. And so it has been um, I don't think that I could have done it without community. I feel like it's been that integral to my journey and continues to be. And in fact, in some of those, you know, anyone who's an entrepreneur knows this, you know, that's that's kind of how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Yeah, so for our listeners, uh he's doing the little like dive and swimming. Um uh it's sort of the feast and famine.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

The feast and famine, and in those valleys, especially, it's like, gosh, am I on the right track? Am I doing the right thing? And then and lots of questions can crowd in. And I feel like, especially in those moments, to remind ourselves there are people that we can reach out to, and um, you know, and it and it goes both ways. So I I think community for me has been indispensable and it and it shifts and changes, you know, over the years. I've found my my home or a sense of belonging in different groups, be it online or in person. And sometimes those groups go away and new communities come to be. Right now, I'm really enjoying being a member of the National Speakers Association and really getting to know folks there. Uh, talk a dot has a phenomenal community, speaking of community. So yeah, it's been it's I wouldn't have been able to get where I it maybe I would have done, but it would have been a lot harder and I'd be absolutely miserable if I didn't have the community idea I do around me.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

So that's how so I want to share just add a little bit more about community. We'll put the links to the organizations that you mentioned, and I'll put my I have my affiliate link to talk it out, which is one of your clients who are anyway, we how we connected. Um, and so the public something I don't talk about a lot on the podcast is the public speaking part of my business is really, and you know, I'm taking advantage of your brand strategist expertise to share with our audience and viewers. So the public speaking part of my business is the smallest piece, but it is my biggest lead funnel. I I go out there, I I I do a you know, you know, a panel, fireside chat, a keynote, a work, facilitate a workshop. And um, I don't make a lot of money for doing that, but there's always one or two people in the audience who like what I have to say and then connect with me afterward and then hire me for you know coach like leadership development, HR consulting. And so public speaking has been my biggest lead funnel. It and plus I enjoy doing it. I I really I enjoy engaging with people, talking with people, sharing what I know. I love watching people um, you know, get that aha moment when we're working together. And you know, I teach to a lot of people, some people who follow the podcast know that I also teach at a I'm an adjunct professor at a local uh so it's like the educator in me. I just really love the engagement. And so I'd love to for you to sort of share a little bit about your philosophy. I mean, clearly raised voices. I would love to hear a little bit more about your your leadership philosophy and how um ultimately you landed on raised voices as your uh you know company name and or, you know, I'd love for I think people would really like to hear learn about how that came about.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Yeah, and I think so much of my story, if I look back, is connected to this idea of I don't know what's ahead necessarily, or maybe I can't see everything in minute detail, but I'm just gonna take the next logical step. And so when I think about my kind of leadership philosophy and how I came to be doing the work that I'm doing today, I loved what you shared about using speaking as that kind of inroad to the rest of your work and everything else that you do and offer. And I um I love that. I'm such a big proponent of that as well. In fact, with my marketing background, that kind of fueled my work with speakers in the first instance. And I haven't only worked with speakers, I've worked with authors and thought leaders and experts. And I just think that, you know, speaking can be great. And if you can make an entire career just out of speaking, wonderful. But most of the time I find that the folks that I work with have this kind of whole ecosystem. And so getting out there, being heard for your expertise, being seen, um just does wonders in terms of helping people to uh helping people to connect to you and connect to your work. Um, feel like they kind of know you and they trust you. And then the relationship that you have with them after the fact is is so much easier and there's so much less friction. So I think it's a wonderful way in. Um and I guess that does tie directly to my leadership philosophy in terms of speaking, especially, is that I I really do believe, and I think you'd shared this at the beginning as part of my bio, but I really do believe that all of us have the power to affect change. And oftentimes it doesn't feel like that. And you know, it feels, you know, it can be easy to lose sight of hope again, kind of going back to that theme, but um, I really believe that it's in all of us. And so the idea behind raised voices is um is really making sure that the right voices are getting heard and that um the right messages are getting out there and um people are being perceived as the experts that they are from day one in my business. I've worked with so many different folks who have a really great message or have a really great mission and vision for change, but they couldn't necessarily articulate that in a way that other people could take and run with, or in a way that other people could get on board with. And so so much of my work is at that intersection. How do we take all of who you are and everything that you bring to the table and then think about your audience and what they're struggling with and what they're feeling? And how can you speak to that in a way that makes them feel seen and heard and understood, and in a way that allows you to be perceived as the expert that you are? So that's kind of the balancing act that I'm always doing in terms of making sure that your messaging, your positioning is really on point. And then when we build the platform to support all of that, it just kind of brings it to life in a really powerful way.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

So I and I've seen the platforms that you build, you know, like we're talking about in the partnership. So I can, I'm a testament to, you know, the reach that you have. I mean, you really have like an incredible reach. Um, and so and I'm happy that our audience and viewers are get a chance to get some insight into that and into what you do. What advice would you give to um leaders? Maybe something you would have told your younger self back in, you know, blue-collar England.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah, you know, it's it's so interesting. And so so I had the um absolute honor and pleasure of working with Arel Moody, who's the founder of Tolkadot on his positioning and messaging. And so that was brought to life in in partnership with some other talented folks. And um, yeah, you know, I think Arel is a great example of um of really allowing kind of giving someone permission or or enabling them, empowering them to give themselves permission to be fully seen. Because when I look, and and you can still see Arel's old website if you go into uh the website Way Back Machine. I don't know if you've ever Googled that or used that, but it's really eye-opening. It's like, oh wow, this is their old website. Um but Arel proudly shared his older websites when he promoted his new website because he wanted people to see the journey. And I think one of the things his old website just didn't do for him is that it didn't really answer the question, why you? And I think that that's there are there are three questions that I think we always need to be answering when we're thinking about our positioning and our messaging and and and how we're putting ourselves out there from a marketing perspective. And that is why you, why me, and why us. And so I think oftentimes what folks can do is almost over-index on talking about their audience and forget to mention, um, I got some qualifications or I've been through some stuff. And so that's what we were able to do with Aural. He had these really powerful stories of um, you know, things that his dad had told him way back in the day, things that he shares in one of his TEDx talks that just wasn't coming to the surface. Um, and it's interesting that you ask me, how does this tell it would kind of align with what I might have told my younger self? Honestly, I don't, I think my younger self was with me at all times. Maybe, maybe that's the case for all of us. And I think whenever we're feeling some kind of way about things, it's like, oh, that's the part of me that um, you know, someone once told me I'd I'd never be able to do this thing or I would never qualify for that. I I remember when I was 15, I was told that I couldn't have a career as a journalist because I was too quiet and too shy. And then I went on and I did a whole bunch of stuff in the journalism field. So I think there's always these little voices or these little experiences that pop back up and it's like our body remembers. Um, and I think it's our responsibility in those moments to kind of get present and to send some love to that part of ourselves and let them know, hey, I've got you. We're so much further ahead than you know. And what are you worried about? Let's figure it out together and make sure we have a plan of action. So I would love to say, you know, I never doubt myself, I don't, but it, you know, she's with me always, and it's okay. You know, I talk about um Big Nikki and little Nikki, and like little Nikki is just a part of me who just needs that little bit of extra reassurance, and I'm happy to give it to her. And in the meantime, what's always astounding to me is that there's also Big Nikki, who somehow knows without a shadow of doubt of a doubt, what I'm capable of. And so when it comes to really figuring out what do I need to do next, like that's the voice that I try and tune into. Um, but both voices are always there, you know, it's just how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

I love that. I love that you said two things I love to uplift, I love those three questions, uh me. You us, yeah. I think that's great. And then I love this big lick Nikki, little Nikki. And what I I love is it's always with with us. And I just I just I had I kind of had an epiphany listening to you talk that when I was younger, I was fearless. Right. And then I got older, and then that's when like I got fear. I was so fearless. You know, I used to dive off of diving 23 feet in the air and just jump into the water. And now I would I would never do that now. Um, you know, partly because of you know my middle-aged body. But um I just I just love that whole sometimes we're it's not what we would tell our younger self, but what our younger self would tell us. Um, you know, and like my younger self was so fearless and would take so much risk. And I have sort of learned to be more risk adverse, and then I just I I feel like my younger self would tell me now to take more risks and not to be so afraid.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Yeah, I love that. It's like every version of ourselves and every era has something to teach the other versions of ourselves, and we're always evolving like that, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Yeah, but I love this big Nikki, little Nikki. Um, but um, so yeah, so we're coming, we're winding down, you know. I, you know, I appreciate you opening up. I know that that was, you know, you're used to helping other people do that. And so I appreciate so much that you opened up here. Um and uh what would you like to, you know, share with our audience and listeners about you, your business? What would you like to um share?

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Yeah, I I meant what I said earlier in terms of I love social media connections. If you're on social media, be it LinkedIn or Instagram, I'm very easy to find. It's Nikki Groom pretty much everywhere. Um, please send me a note and say hi. Um send me an email through our website, raised-voices.com. Versus actually typing it out. Um, and just make the connection. And even if there's nothing specific, but you just want to say, hey, I love the episode, or if you have a specific question, I'm I'm more than open to um having a chaving an email chat um or conversation. I do have for those that would find it useful, a speaker roadmap, which I kind of just pile in all the things that I learn about the speaker industry in terms of uh best practices. So I'm happy to share that with any folks that reach out as well. Um, but otherwise, I would just say, yeah, let's uh let's stay connected. Um and uh yeah, I'd I'd love to learn about you and see what you're up to in the world. And uh, much as Dora and I uh our connection came out of a simple LinkedIn message, that's often how the best relationships start. So please don't hesitate to reach out and uh I'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

So thank you, Nikki. I'm so thrilled and um over the moon that you allowed us to showcase uh your business, your leadership philosophy. And um yeah, so I want to thank all our listeners and viewers. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe right there if you're watching on YouTube. Um and say hi in the comments. We will have all of the links that uh Nikki N-I-K-K-I groom um mentioned in this episode for you to handle. So, Nikki, can you uh hold on there while we roll our closing credits? Absolutely. You've been listening to Building Leadership Community. Watch on YouTube at CoachDora M. Listen wherever you get your podcast. Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube at Coach Dora M. Visit me on the web at coachdoramendez.com. Hosted by me, DoraMendez. Produced by Dora Mendez and Dylan Rogers. Graphic, editing, and sound mixing by Dylan Rogers.