Today we’d like to introduce you to Allyson Nickerson.
Allyson, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2015, I was in the process of applying for vet school and started contemplating if being a veterinarian is really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I quickly realized that I wanted to own and manage my own business versus working as a doctor and was bitten by the entrepreneur bug.
After praying to God, I was directed to contact a high school friend of mine who I haven’t spoken to in years. We met up, and I learned she was the Director of Operations at her company and also had her own business! She agreed to mentor me (for free might I add) and that experience was incredibly invaluable. I truly believe God set up my life this way and granted me this hands on knowledge. After months of marketing, advertising, and branding lessons, I felt I had the tools to step out and start my own company. Chasing Fearless was born in 2016.
We are an inspirational business who help dreamers on a mission to go after their dreams. I never want someone to feel as if their true dreams have to be suppressed because they seem too big or too scary. The reasonable route in life would have been for me to go to vet school, especially with my background in animal science and medical field; but it would not have been fulfilling.
Being an entrepreneur challenges my mind constantly, and I absolutely love that! I am constantly learning and challenging my mind to do bigger and better things.
At the top of this year, I launched my first e-book, “How to Become Fearless”. This book is a beginner’s template to help dreamers get out of their head and start planning out their dream.
At the end of 2016, my husband and I had our first kiddo and are now expecting our second! I am super excited to teach them the importance of staying true to your dreams, hard work, and having faith.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This journey has definitely not been easy! I had no real background in business, entrepreneurship, management. accounting, NOTHING when starting my business! The only knowledge I had was the internship with my friend and budgeting tips from my parents since birth. This was an entirely new chapter in my life.
Struggles I have faced have involved finances, like many entrepreneurs, and learning how to market myself efficiently. The most important lessons I can suggest to people starting down this road are: 1. Learn all that you can. Whether you have a mentor or attend workshops, take everything in. 2. Have a business card to hand out, even if it only has your name, number, and social media handles on it. It’s better than what I did, writing on small strips of paper! 3. Lastly, understand that you are your main support system. A lot of family and friends will either look at you crazy when you tell them your big dream, and they may try to discourage you. It’s important to remember that you are doing this for you, and you only. If we stayed focusing on what other people said, then we wouldn’t be dreamers on a mission.
what should we know about Chasing Fearless? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My business is what I call an inspirational business. Chasing Fearless focuses on encouraging and empowering others to go after their dream(s). I provide advice to beginners with marketing and branding tools, workshops for networking and informational opportunities, and am also a speaker over topics such as: how to balance your new life, how to get from being a dreamer to a doer, and social media marketing tips.
Now, I know this sounds cliche, everyone is doing it right? Well, what sets me apart is that I have been at the bottom and am still climbing my way to the top. I am as crazy as you think you are, going after my dream of running my own empire. Being an owner of multiple businesses. Yeah, it’s crazy, but this is what I want to do and I am here to support and give my time and knowledge to whoever is as crazy and driven as I am!
Chasing Fearless also loves supporting other small businesses. We are passionate about supporting our community!
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Women that have inspired me range from people in my circle to celebrities. Let me first start out with my high school friend R’ymonda. She is now a full-time entrepreneur and is launching her new venture in the beauty care world with her product, Lip Love! My ladypreneur circle and good friends consist of my friends: Leigh (event planner and decorator), SaRatta (hand stamp jewelry maker and business coach), Porchia (mobile bartender), and Alex (VP of a theater company and actress). These women are constantly supporting and pushing me. They also inspire me because they have taken their passions and turned them into business plans and now profitable businesses. They don’t give up on me and I won’t give up on them.
My celebrity inspirations. Let me start off with the queen Mrs. Queen Latifah! She not only was one of the trailblazers for females in hip-hop, but then turned that into multiple businesses that include acting, television host, and director. She hasn’t let anything stand in her way and continues to prove others wrong. Kandi Burress is also an inspiration for the same reason. She has multiple businesses and hasn’t let others comments influence her.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chasingfearless.org
- Email: chasingfearless@gmail.com
- Instagram: @chasingfearless
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/chasingfearless
Image Credit:
Photography by Be in The Moment Events (Leigh Jernigan), Domenique Smith (President and CEO of Free My Dreams Ent.)
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
