Nicole Begley: From Zookeeper to Entrepreneur

When You Follow Your Joy, It Won't Steer You Wrong

Today I'm chatting with one of my business besties, Nicole, who embodies everything this season of Joy First is about. After spending 13 years as a zookeeper making just over $30K/year at the peak of her career, Nicole started a family which led into a pivot into entrepreneurship. Since those first nervous steps into life as a photographer, she's built a profitable, truly scalable business that now allows her the income and freedom to travel internationally dozens of times a year, live the horse life: competing at shows alongside her teenage daughter, and even run a non-profit that in its first year managed to raise over a quarter million dollars for wildlife conservation.

One thing I love and admire about Nicole is how she's consistently leaned into what brings her joy—never what conventional wisdom said would make the most money. From becoming a pet photographer when "pet photography wasn't even a thing" to launching international photography retreats in castles and villas across Europe, she's built success by following her curiosity and pursuing passion.

In this episode dive deep into her transition from struggling photography business to online education empire, and how she's structured her life to accommodate her "neuro-spicy" tendencies that make doing repetitive tasks nearly impossible. Her super power is systems and let me tell you, she's a genius at it (I think spreadsheets might be her actual love language 😂)

You'll hear about a few of her most powerful "light bulb moments" and she shares candidly about how she balances it all: motherhood, entrepreneurship, the horses, the travel and her latest obsession: sourdough.

I love Nicole's version o joy first living and working— and I know it will inspire you to find your own route to build more wealth and impact your way: with more joy and freedom at the front.

What You'll Learn:

• How Nicole's passion for animals led her from zookeeper to building a 6-figure pet photography business
• The moment she realized she could make $20K from one simple digital product and how it changed everything
• What particular type of revenue stream can create more stability and freedom for your business
• How her mastermind experience sparked a nonprofit that's now raised over $250K for wildlife conservation
• The systems she uses to run multiple businesses while traveling internationally

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Hair of the Dog Academy - Nicole's pet photography education business - https://hairofthedogacademy.com/
• Hair of the Dog Conservation Fund - Nicole's nonprofit supporting wildlife conservation - https://www.hodconservationfund.org/
• Nicole's Instagram: @nicolebigleyofficial - https://www.instagram.com/nicolebegleyofficial
• Learn more about Commercial Pet Photography (our joint venture) - https://learn.hairofthedogacademy.com/commercial-registration
• Joy First Founders Circle - Join our private podcast to get bonus travel hacking content from Nicole (and lots more!) - https://go.joyfirstworld.com/JFFC

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