Reinventing Success through Clarity, Courage, and Confidence with Amy Nubson

From personal crisis to entrepreneurial empowerment, Amy Nubson shares her journey of reclaiming herself, building a business on her own terms, and guiding women leaders to achieve success with clarity, courage, and confidence.

Amy Nubson, CEO of Nufire Collective, is known for helping entrepreneurs and leaders break free from limiting beliefs and create businesses that reflect their values. She has transformed her own life after facing devastating personal and financial challenges, turning her experiences into actionable frameworks that empower other women to thrive both personally and professionally.

Her journey wasn’t easy. After her husband’s severe car accident left the family with overwhelming medical debt, Amy found herself paralyzed in her office, watching the snow fall and realizing that her old approach of relentless hard work no longer worked. This turning point forced her to examine deeply ingrained childhood narratives about sacrifice and success, ultimately inspiring her three C’s framework, clarity, courage, and confidence, which became the foundation for her business and coaching philosophy.

In our conversation, Amy shares practical insights for overcoming limiting beliefs, including the importance of storytelling, setting boundaries, and cultivating financial literacy. She emphasizes that recognizing and reframing internal narratives allows women to make courageous choices, prioritize personal well-being, and build meaningful businesses without sacrificing themselves. Her perspective on money, community, and collaboration encourages leaders to redefine success beyond arbitrary numbers and focus instead on impact and fulfillment.

Amy’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, intentionality, and the transformative impact of women supporting women. Tune in to hear how Amy teaches us that true leadership begins with knowing yourself and building a life that reflects your values, not just your earnings.  Walk away inspired to challenge your own assumptions about work, success, and worth.

Chapters
👋 01:01 Meet Amy Nubson, CEO of Nufire Collective

💪 02:32 Amy’s Journey Overcoming Adversity

📖 07:05 The Power of Storytelling and Self-Discovery

⚖️ 15:23 Balancing Personal and Business Goals

📊 23:48 Understanding Growth Metrics

🚀 24:48 The One-Person Path to a Million-Dollar Business

🤖 26:02 Adapting to AI in Business

🤝 28:26 The Power of Collaboration

🎤 29:11 The Value of Live Events

Links
Website: https://nufirecollective.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nufirecollective/#
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amynubson-business-coach/
Special Offer: https://nufirecollective.com/exploring-your-story/
Connect with Amy Nubson to explore her 3C framework, learn how to align business with personal values, and engage with her community at Nufire Collective.

Sponsor
Go From Expert to Thought Leader with the Genius Discovery Program: http://talktokent.com

Reach out to Adrienne: [e-mail]

Visit our website: www.sheleadsmedia.com

Join us at the upcoming She Leads LIVE 2025 conference in NYC on November 6th & 7th. Learn more at sheleadsmedia.com

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— Adrienne 

Creators and Guests

Host

She Leads® Media

👩🏻‍⚖️ ⭐️ Adrienne Garland - She Leads® Podcast Network - 4 women X women ⭐️ 🎧 The She Leads Podcast Host| Leadership Conferences, Retreats #SheLeads #Women #entrepreneurs

What is The She Leads Podcast | Rewriting the Rules of Entrepreneurship?

No sugar-coating, no fluff - just real conversations that matter. The She Leads Podcast features raw, unfiltered stories from visionary women who see the future and who've been bold enough to break the mold and re-write the rules. Each episode amplifies diverse voices with powerful missions, giving women the platform they deserve while delivering actionable insights you won't find in business textbooks. Join host Adrienne Garland, MBA, Professor, Entrepreneur for the straight talk about entrepreneurship that other business podcasts are afraid to have.

Adrienne Garland (00:00:00): Leadership isn't just changing. It's evolving in ways we're only just beginning to imagine. And women, we're not playing this game anymore. We're the ones reshaping the entire field, building models, movements, and businesses that serve more than just a few. On the She Leads Podcast, you'll hear real conversations with women who've broken through all kinds of barriers, revenue, identity, borders, and expectations. There's no sugar coating here, just the truth told by those who are living it. I'm Adrienne Garland, entrepreneur, strategist, educator, and creator of live experiences, gathering women leaders together for over a decade. And this is the She Leads Podcast.
Adrienne Garland (00:00:46): Hi everybody and welcome back to the She Leads Podcast. I'm very excited to introduce my next guest to you. Her name is Amy Nubson and she's the CEO of NuFire Collective. NuFire Collective combines personal and business growth along with business consulting. Amy started NuFire Collective after she developed a method of rediscovering herself using her three C's, clarity, courage, and confidence to rebuild herself after almost losing it all. This was brought on by juggling too many roles, terrible clients, and following the advice of others who may not have had her best interests in mind. I can uh totally relate to that.
Adrienne Garland (00:01:34): Amy believes that in order to succeed in life, we need to be clear about who we are and what we want. Part of that success are the stories that we tell ourselves and others. But once we know ourselves, we can collaborate with others. And when we join forces, it allows us to stop being isolated and gives us the courage to take larger action to achieve greater success. Welcome to the She Leads Podcast, Amy.
Amy Nubson (00:02:05): Thank you. I'm so excited to be here and talk about all the things we can talk about as entrepreneurs.
Adrienne Garland (00:02:12): I love it. It's what I talk about. I feel like every single day I am just obsessed with entrepreneurship and I I think I have been for I guess it's about 15 years now. It's probably a lot longer than that. But I I actually want to start because we were laughing a little bit before we got on here. You know, I I sort of have this vision of you like Amy rising from the ashes, right? To then go out and help everybody. And sometimes we do need to suffer in order to see the lesson and then we can help others.
Adrienne Garland (00:02:44): So, let's maybe wind it back. You know, I don't want to resurface any painful memories, but I think so many of us can relate to like just juggling too many things, listening to people that don't have our best interest in mind and like trying something new because we're experimental and then oh my gosh, we're faced with like loans and no money and no prospects. So let's let's let's wind it back to there.
Amy Nubson (00:03:13): That's a good summary. Yes. So there was a moment where I found myself crying in my office like tears was running down. It was that beautiful morning like when the snow just starts to fall and it's just beautiful and dancing and I was just sitting there mesmerized. I couldn't stop staring at the snow.
Amy Nubson (00:03:40): And I didn't even realize and eventually it got dark in my office. I had been staring almost all day at the snow. I was just too frozen to do anything. And I I had come to realize I'm like I don't want to go home.
Adrienne Garland (00:03:57): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:03:59): Like I couldn't bring myself to go home. And as I sat there in that day and that and just and I'm like, how did I get here?
Adrienne Garland (00:04:09): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:04:10): What did I what could I have done differently? Like what is happening?
Adrienne Garland (00:04:17): Right.
Amy Nubson (00:04:17): Everything I had thought I knew had gotten flipped upside down. And it all started with a phone call.
Amy Nubson (00:04:26): And that day, what triggered me that morning was a client had demanded a refund. And I was like, "Oh god, with what money? I have nothing nothing left".
Amy Nubson (00:04:41): There's and and I got it. Figure I'm like I totally get it. My husband who was my business who is my business partner had been involved in a car accident and was unable to work. And the work wasn't getting done. But when you don't realize how vulnerable you really are, things can go so quickly, so so bad.
Adrienne Garland (00:05:05): Like. Yes.
Amy Nubson (00:05:07): And That phone call that literally had started my life that flipped upside down was the ambulance calling me and saying, "Your husband is fine. Don't worry, but come meet him at the hospital". And that isn't the case. We were denied car insurance. Our car insurance denied us.
Adrienne Garland (00:05:28): Oh my goodness.
Amy Nubson (00:05:30): We were six figures of medical debt within six months. And we were in a a lawsuit that I never wanted to be in. My husband couldn't work or walk. So I'm like, "No, I'm primary caretaker. I don't know how to deal with everything. Everything I learned about myself, like keep your head down, work really hard, did not matter". And so I had to reflect on me. What did I do? And God, I wanted to sh I wanted to blame my husband so bad like on all the problems like we were having. I'm like, it's his fault. He was in the accident. No.
Amy Nubson (00:06:06): It was what was what could I take control of? I'm part of It was my money mindset. It was the idea I believe that money was always readily available. So don't worry about it. Just spend it and more money will come. You could always make more money.
Adrienne Garland (00:06:23): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:06:24): Which is a great idea until there is no money coming in. And if you have no nest egg, no savings, no comprehension of how money works, it was gone quickly. And so That was one thing I realized. The other thing I realized is I had created my entire business around my husband's skill set.
Amy Nubson (00:06:50): It wasn't what I wanted. It wasn't what I I wanted to create for myself. So, I left with this shell of a company I didn't want. And I was angry.
Adrienne Garland (00:07:01): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:07:01): So, it's amazing how quickly you could lose everything but then find the greatest gift in it by finding your own journey. And I had to re figure out who I was, what I wanted. And a lot of hard truths about myself came out from that discovery.
Adrienne Garland (00:07:18): How did you do that? Did was that something that you said like I need to figure this out on my own? Did you get help from someone else? How did you sort of approach that? Because oftenimes when we are in that situation, you know, we're the ones that are in the situation, we can't outthink our ourselves. We oftentimes need an outside perspective. So, how did you start to approach that?
Amy Nubson (00:07:44): A lot of it I did myself in the because I was very proud and I was very stubborn.
Amy Nubson (00:07:53): right? And I was like, I can totally do this. I was a farm kid. I wasn't used to asking for help. So, I did a lot of the hard work myself, which took longer.
Amy Nubson (00:08:11): right? And then I wanted to when everything shut down in 2020, I was like, well, here's the time to work on a fear. And one of my greatest fear was public speaking. And so I was like, I'll sign up. I'll do this class. And I went through it. I accident I like ride all the way through my first speech. Like literally snot every it was awful. And but what I learned about it was stories you tell yourself and the stories that are happening. There's always a thread back to somewhere.
Amy Nubson (00:08:50): And by learning the craft of storytelling allowed me to look back at my history and go, why? Oh my goodness. This is Why? And I never put the two together. And like my success mindset started in childhood. And my success was because I was a farm kid. And as a farm kid, you get up in the morning at 5:00 a.m. You go to the barn at and we're talking Wisconsin. So in the middle of the winter, it's 2030 below and you're milking cows with no heat in the barn.
Adrienne Garland (00:09:30): No thank you.
Amy Nubson (00:09:31): And you're like, right? You know, like who what 8-year-old is like, yeah, I'll go I'll I'll totally go down there.
Amy Nubson (00:09:42): For me, It didn't matter if you had a broken leg, which I've had it, you know, or a broken arm, you still had to do chores because the animals were depending on you. So, for me, success equaled sacrifice.
Adrienne Garland (00:10:04): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:10:05): My emotional and physical needs did not matter.
Adrienne Garland (00:10:09): right? You just had to get the job done.
Amy Nubson (00:10:13): Exactly. So, what did I do in business? Success equals sacrifice. I sacrificed my own needs and wants for my husband's. I put myself in the hospital three times where I'm over exhaustion and work. I mean, I've done it all. I'm like, "Dude, I really, really made that happen".
Adrienne Garland (00:10:35): Yeah, we do. Storytelling. We do do that to our selves and oftentimes we're our own worst enemy. And you would think that after maybe two times, right, that we would learn our lesson.
Amy Nubson (00:11:00): Yeah. Yeah. And you're like, logically you know it you know it's a silly thing and you're like why does this still keep happening.
Amy Nubson (00:11:13): and it wasn't until I got to like when I learned storytelling and started looking back at it I'm like oh my goodness this is my script.
Adrienne Garland (00:11:21): Yeah. So how did you change how did you change that story that you were sort of telling yourself that you know at all costs even including your health.
Adrienne Garland (00:11:35): you know that the the the business or you know, the work must go on, right? How did you change it to say no, that doesn't work anymore.
Amy Nubson (00:11:46): Yeah. Because you could probably obviously tell I had no boundaries in life and I'm terrible at saying no. So, first thing I had to learn is to say no. How do I get comfortable with that? So, it was like little steps and the next thing was like, what are my boundaries? How do I hold them? So, I had to learn these skills that I'm like, I wish I would have learned them as a child of course. But then the next thing was when I started telling my stories, I started to heal them or I started to hear them more frequently and recognize them and when they were happening in the moment and going, "Wait, I know what's happening here. I may not be able to change my instinct of what I want to do, but I can make a different choice".
Adrienne Garland (00:12:35): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:12:36): And that's where that courageous action happens. It's like, I really want to do this because this is what I know, but it will not serve me. I have to make a different choice even though it's scary and uncomfortable.
Adrienne Garland (00:12:50): Well, I think it's so funny the the the the work ethic, if you will, is definitely, you know, puritanical. It's it's how this country started, right? Work hard and and get results. And, you know, it work it does work. It works until it doesn't work anymore.
Adrienne Garland (00:13:10): Yeah. And so, it's almost like you It's you you run this play over and over again. It's so well worn that it's very difficult to, you know, step out of it because that trench is it's so deep. And I think so many women can relate to this because we have been told, you know, I don't know if the stories that are being told now are any different, but certainly when we were growing up, we were told to work hard, keep our head down, don't stand out, right? Don't try to do Don't try to be better than anyone else. Just work really hard and you will eventually get recognized. And then you don't It turned out that we don't we didn't get recognized, right? And it turned out we burned out.
Adrienne Garland (00:14:02): And so many people, you know, this hard work, it did lead them to incredible success, right? There are many people that have million-dollar, multi-million dollar businesses because of exactly what you're talking about. And you know, it almost doesn't it doesn't matter where your business gets to. If you're just working hard, you are definitely not making the right strategic moves. And it seems like what you're saying is that it goes back to well, what are the stories that are we that we're telling ourselves?
Amy Nubson (00:14:38): Yes. Yeah. The stories we tell ourselves are almost more important than the stories we say out loud.
Adrienne Garland (00:14:48): Yes.
Amy Nubson (00:14:49): Right. So, the story that I believed when I was a kid that I was I was a farm, you know, dairy farmer. So therefore, I would never like I could only achieve so much success, right?
Amy Nubson (00:15:10): Because I'd been like that's where I could go like this weird feeling.
Adrienne Garland (00:15:17): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:15:17): On myself and I hated being a farm kid. Like I don't I'm not a country person at all.
Adrienne Garland (00:15:25): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:15:25): But still there was that element that I was just like this is where I'm I'm from the country. I didn't have a great ed, you know, like I wasn't a private education. I didn't have access to millionaires. I feel like.
Amy Nubson (00:15:39): right. It just had all these stories in my head that I'm like because of this I can't achieve higher than this point.
Adrienne Garland (00:15:52): Yeah. It's almost like you used that story as a ceiling to keep yourself safe whereas maybe someone else could have been telling the same story but could have said and I want to get out right and right and so that I think is the critical difference the difference maker.
Amy Nubson (00:16:11): Yeah. Because there's moments in my life, I remember I was telling my dad I was going to go to a university. He goes, "You're not smart enough to go to university".
Adrienne Garland (00:16:21): Thanks, Dad. That's real encouragement right then.
Amy Nubson (00:16:25): right? And I was like, "Watch me". You know, like, and I graduated with high honors.
Adrienne Garland (00:16:32): Amazing. Oh gosh.
Amy Nubson (00:16:34): But, you know, so some of those times you're like, I can overachieve this and you can use it to fuel you. And I did it first in the first going to like prove them wrong. And then I actually started to love what I was doing and I just naturally got great grades because I found something I loved.
Adrienne Garland (00:16:54): Right. Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:16:56): But yeah, it's it's not this it's so it's just if I would have accepted that story and then played it over and over in my head, I would have done really poor in co college and I may have to add a different life.
Adrienne Garland (00:17:15): So let's talk about how what you sort of help people with because this podcast is all about, you know, practical tips for what people can do, especially women, right? Like we are all about women, entrepreneurs, leaders. We're all leaders. How can we take the the right actions, have the right mindset, surround ourselves with the right people in order to live a life that is meaningful to us and that and that we can take care of ourselves, you know, quite frankly. So, how do you sort of help people because I think so many people get get stuck in the this this maladaptive story. So how do you get people out of it?
Amy Nubson (00:18:00): Well, one I the first thing I usually do is say that your personal life matters just as much as your business life. Your personal goals, your wants, your needs. And then when I work with people as a coach, I'm like, "Tell me your personal goals". And they're like, "But we're talking about business". I go, "I need to know where you want to go personally because that's motivator".
Adrienne Garland (00:18:28): Yep.
Amy Nubson (00:18:29): That's what we're trying to achieve. And sometimes I realized in the beginning of my career, I lost sight of that.
Amy Nubson (00:18:41): You know, I did what everybody else told me I should be doing, right? And so, and I and I was taught too when I first start I started my business young. I was 24 when I started my business.
Adrienne Garland (00:18:59): Good for you. That's bold right there.
Amy Nubson (00:19:02): Right. I was absolutely a horrible employee as a corporate because I'm like, I hate every moment of this. And I realized it wasn't for me and I didn't fit. But I also had to figure it out all because I was so young and I was told to act like a corporation. To all my goals should have been like I should have had employees and a brick-and-mortar office and I rejected all of that. I was an early adapter to virtual teams and.
Amy Nubson (00:20:00): you know, you know, I was working from home, electronic mail.
Adrienne Garland (00:20:07): I know, right? And I was in college when I got my first email. Um,
Amy Nubson (00:20:13): but I was early really early adapted to technology. Zoom, I've been using it for over 10 years, you know, like.
Adrienne Garland (00:20:23): wow.
Amy Nubson (00:20:24): it's one of those things where it was or however long it's been. I don't know, but it feels like forever. When I looked at what I wanted to create for myself, I didn't want to be stuck in a location. I love traveling. I travel all over. We go away for the winter. We've been doing that for 10 years. And I was like, I can't do that if I have a office and employees in my in space with me. So I started creating my business really quickly around myself after that accident because the personal goals mattered and that drove me very clearly.
Amy Nubson (00:21:05): The other thing I tell people is what is your money mindset because when I was first in 24 financials was my worst element of business. I didn't understand how it worked. I didn't know how to do accounting. I didn't know any of it. Mhm.
Amy Nubson (00:21:23): And now almost all my clients in the marketing field are all CPAs and and financial people. And they're like, "How do you know all this?" And I'm like, "I learned it".
Adrienne Garland (00:21:35): Yeah. So.
Adrienne Garland (00:21:37): Well, I think so many women so many women and I think it starts young and it's so unfortunate, you know, so many women are are sort of pushed off of the the path the math path, right? Yes. And it's so unfortunate because it's it's not as complicated as everybody makes it seem and then women lose their confidence around math and then they lose their confidence around financials and then you know investing and everything and and all of these things are so unfortunate and I do feel like it's a weird societal thing that kind of keeps women in a certain place and I I think we need to reject that and do exactly what you did. and educate ourselves on everything having to do with math and finance and investments. It's the only way that we are going to be able to influence positivity in this world. You know, know your numbers. I say that to everybody all the time.
Amy Nubson (00:22:42): Yes, I completely agree. You have to know your numbers because I always say the stories we live by in our head, our numbers tell a different story. And they kind of need to match. When they're not matching, there's something wrong. There's a disconnect. There's a there's something you're not paying attention to.
Adrienne Garland (00:23:08): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:23:09): You know, and that's why I always love my my numbers are my balancer.
Adrienne Garland (00:23:14): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:23:15): And I pay attention to it now. They're neutral. Yeah. They're they're just telling us one element of what's happening.
Amy Nubson (00:23:25): And usually it's like a health check, right? How healthy are you, right? That's remember, right? And you know, for a long time it was that first hurdle. early in my career was that I know you talked about a million dollars, but my first hurdle was getting over 100,000. You're like, I can't do that, right?
Adrienne Garland (00:23:55): Oh my god, that first hurdle is. Big number. Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:24:00): Right. And you're like, it's not a big number. It really isn't. You know, and whatever you feel like that cap is, that'll be the hardest number to hit.
Amy Nubson (00:24:16): And when I talk to people about million dollars, they're like, I can't do that. I'm like, why can't you?
Adrienne Garland (00:24:22): Hey everyone. So, for years, I've been working with Dr. Kent and sending people in my network his way. He does so much impact work. What do I mean by that? Well, he helps people create books and podcasts and things like that. He even helps with this podcast behind the scenes. Dr. Kent is my thought partner. Anyone listening knows that we all need to do what we can to get our thoughts, opinions, and voices out into the world and how important it is for women to invest in other women and for women to hire other women. I am all about that. And You all know that. But in this case, I think Dr. Kent is an exception. He's doing something really different via this new program that he's launched called the Genius Discovery Program. So, he wants to work with people like me and like you who are impact driven. Dr. Kent has an intensive program that goes for a month. He also has a three-month program where he figures out where you're headed with your brand, your business, your speaking, and your signature story as a thought leader. I've known Dr. Kent for a long time. So, believe me when I say that he has a ton of experience working with people that are looking to make an impact but might not know exactly how to approach that. So, if you're interested in talking to him, you can go directly to talktokent.com or you can send me a DM on Instagram at sheleads media or just shoot me an email over at [e-mail].
Adrienne Garland (00:25:34): You know, it's really funny. I was listening to There's a such an amazing woman. She has a podcast. Her name is Jessica Fernley and she has a podcast called The Seven Figure Consultant and she's so lovely. She's, you know, British and she just sounds so beautiful. And she was talking about how she works with, you know, a lot of consultants. She helps people to to do seven, eight figure consulting businesses. And she said that lately she has been, you know, she always used to set goals with people, but lately she's kind of been backing off of setting these goals and that they are focusing a little bit more on like the energy of it all because she said she she set a goal with a client to I think achieved like $250,000 in revenue for the year.
Adrienne Garland (00:26:24): and she said she started working with her and everything like that and and then the woman achieved $100,000 in her first month. So the $250,000 goal became so unrealistic. Right. And so sometimes you you think that a goal is a stretch goal when it's actually not and then you you put a ceiling on that in instead of being open to the possibilities. It's that was I thought that was a wild story. I loved it.
Amy Nubson (00:26:56): Yeah. I look at like percentages of growth. I look at growth numbers like are we moving up? Are we trending up? If we're trending down, why why are we trending down? You know, like so I like to look at it as more of a narrative than like a cap.
Amy Nubson (00:27:14): you know, or because there's always potential if you're growing up.
Adrienne Garland (00:27:20): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:27:20): And even if it's small, it's still going up. That's the whole goal. And I agree, the energy of of money and achieving sometimes small wins can keep compound, you know, keep compiling and eventually it gets bigger and bigger. And for me and my husband, like we never wanted to be a $5 million company because that means a lot of employees, that means, you know, like that means a different look, right?
Adrienne Garland (00:27:54): Yes.
Amy Nubson (00:27:55): So, you have to find that sweet spot of like what does it look like and what is.
Amy Nubson (00:27:59): what is comfortable there, right? What do you want? What what is like your definition of success?
Adrienne Garland (00:28:06): There's another book that I want to just recommend for everybody. And the reason that I have this book on my mind is because my conference this past Friday, we had Oh, we had such a fun panel. I do it every single year. It's called Pitch the Media. And one of the women that was on the panel, she's a journalist and she's she's also an author. And she wrote this book called The $1 Million One-Person Business. And at the time, which is a couple years ago now, that kind of seemed a little revolutionary, right? But if you think about it, you outsource people, you have contractors. But now with AI, a 1 million one-person business is very achievable. And when you just said like a $5 million business, lots of employees, I wonder, you know, even even that.
Adrienne Garland (00:29:16): things are changing. It might be possible to be a two-person $5 million business.
Amy Nubson (00:29:26): It might be and that's the de definitely the challenge of today is how things are changing and how do you you have I feel like there's not as much to reference, right? Like this was the norm, but now how do we measure the norm?
Amy Nubson (00:29:45): you know, and as a marketer over 25 years now, I've had to watch trends and adapt and adjust and try to get ahead of trends as things are going. And I've seen a lot of business owners that are free like like scared and I'm like, don't worry, I've weathered this many times. As a marketer, I'm in I'm well practiced.
Adrienne Garland (00:30:11): Yes.
Amy Nubson (00:30:12): But I know a lot of you haven't had to do these massive changes.
Amy Nubson (00:30:20): Yeah. And it what I it's come down to me is I will adapt always. What am I wanting to adapt to and being very clear what that adaption means? And then I go all in, right? Because sometimes AI for like I for me I think is an amazing tool but. I don't want to get lost in it, right? I need to keep that personal side of things and that the stories and I need to be me in it. So there's certain elements I refuse to let AI be a part of and there's some elements I'm like of course it can take care of that element no big deal.
Amy Nubson (00:30:57): right. We've all been doing it with Calendarly AI forever you know like.
Adrienne Garland (00:31:07): Grammarly has been my AI tool forever because I can't spell very well like we've been using it secretly not identifying it as AI.
Amy Nubson (00:31:17): yeah.
Adrienne Garland (00:31:17): and you know I was listening to something yesterday and someone said that you know AI has been around for like god knows how many years, like not just 10 years, something like 50 years, right? In in different iterations and and forms, especially when you think of it as like machine intelligence, right? It it has been around for quite some time. So, it's not anything new. It's just that it's it's evolved to this place. And there's no evidence that AI actually delivers ROI, but we're like in a frenzy about it.
Amy Nubson (00:31:54): Well, and there was a proof for a while like social media didn't do ROI, right? But we all still did it, right? Like, you know, so it's one of those things you have to make choices. And again, you have to go back to your numbers and understand what your numbers are telling you. What is where are you going, right? Where are you choosing to be? And and as I've been evolving, I'm starting to recognize and I've been in the business a while like collaboration is key to small business success. We need to reach out and have people connections and collaboration opportunities to get noticed or to get.
Amy Nubson (00:32:41): in front of a different audience maybe or is it so there's going to be I believe the next trend is going to be collaboration because AI is going to replace some of the automation of simple tasks. But we're going to need the human connection element back and that'll be the collaboration.
Adrienne Garland (00:33:04): I love this. I totally agree with you. Collaboration, community, right? Like getting back to the human part of it. Not not completely getting rid of the technology and the automation part of it. But even even in, you know, like the events that I do, uh, so many people do virtual events and they're great and they have their place. I never really liked them and I I did did them myself because I I felt like I sort of had to but I don't really I don't like them. And then you know last week we were all together in person and there is just something that you cannot put your finger on that when when women gather together and and some select men that we love you know magic happens and I do think that that's almost the first step like the community and realizing that we have a lot of things in common. And then where are those points of intersection so that we can like you're saying collaborate? And I think that I mean I would love to talk to you about that more because I think that that's something that women do very naturally and we've almost been I don't know if we've been discouraged from doing that in the business world. But I even love like the name of your company and then some of the other things that you do. You you have collective appended to the end of it. Can you can you just talk about that more?
Amy Nubson (00:34:39): Yeah. So, I used to be NuFire Marketing and one morning I woke up like 2 o'clock in the morning and I went I need to be NuFire Collective. Like it was like that crystal clear. I was like right. And I changed my name the next week. It was it was so clear to me because what it was for me it was an energetic shift of marketing is one transactional, right? I'm helping somebody with transactions and I'm good at marketing, but it's not what I love. I don't like the transactional piece. I like people and I like.
Amy Nubson (00:35:17): figuring out the problems and solving the puzzles and helping the growth go and and my mind just kind of goes beyond that, right? And I was like, how do I explain that? And I was like, collective because that opens the door up to these collaborations that I've been creating and I do have them in other n you know I'm actually in the process of three collaborations. Right some are massive some are really like one event right like.
Adrienne Garland (00:35:54): yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:35:56): but we're coexisting in an event in next summer. Women Getting Visible and NuFire Collective are presenting together in Minneapolis.
Amy Nubson (00:36:11): so we're and I go the beauty is both very val we have value and the same personality. And I'm like, "Oh my god, this will be amazing to do an event together with somebody I know that will show up, do the work, help me out, and we can both work together on this".
Adrienne Garland (00:36:31): So important. So much work.
Amy Nubson (00:36:34): They're so much They're so fulfilling, but they are so much work.
Adrienne Garland (00:36:39): Yes. Yes.
Amy Nubson (00:36:42): And so having somebody there in your back corner is going that's cheering you on where you're like, I'm having a s***** day. You're like, and I can't I just don't want to do this. They're like, You got this, Amy. You know, that's what you need.
Adrienne Garland (00:36:58): Or how about this? I I'll I'll add one little thing to this that I've realized now over this past year. Some of the things that we do that we think we must do when it comes to events, and this probably extends to life, but some of the things that we do that we think we must do, we do not have to do. And nobody cares.
Amy Nubson (00:37:25): Nobody cares or even knows that it goes wrong.
Adrienne Garland (00:37:29): That's right.
Amy Nubson (00:37:30): They really don't. Unless you make a big deal out of it.
Adrienne Garland (00:37:34): Yep. Crush your valve. Release. I mean, I'm even talking I mean, I guess, you know, I guess it depends on how big an event or gathering is, but you know, I'm talking about even name tags. Like, what do we even need? Yeah. Why do we need name tags when we're introducing ourselves to one another? And and we want to get to know that person, not by looking at their name on, you know, on their chest, but who they Let's look deeper than the than the tag on their chest. Let's look into their heart and their soul and who they are as human beings and then maybe you'll remember their name.
Amy Nubson (00:38:22): Yeah. And I mean even the shift of events is really been really nice to see too is we do want to learn but we also want an opportunity to interact to try things out to experience in person. Right. And seeing that shift in events has really been a nice shift because I've been wanting and trying to get that into existence for a really long time. And I'm like oh it's finally here. But that's what we're looking for is we don't need to be talked at all the time.
Adrienne Garland (00:38:59): No.
Amy Nubson (00:39:00): we want to be involved.
Adrienne Garland (00:39:03): Yes. And we want to talk to the speakers, have an opportunity to ask questions.
Amy Nubson (00:39:08): I just went to an event in Washington DC. My opening hook, I completely forgot to finish. Not one person asked me about it. I was just like, yeah. They're like, "That was amazing". And I'm like, it wasn't until four o'clock that afternoon. I was like, I forgot the hook response. Oh well. Oh well. Nobody seemed to care. I didn't notice. You know.
Amy Nubson (00:39:41): you know, that's the thing is it was me being me on the stage.
Amy Nubson (00:39:46): It was me connecting with the audience. It had nothing to I mean, I always say like you could mess up so much, but as long as you're authentic on the stage and you're excited and you are connecting, who cares?
Adrienne Garland (00:39:59): You know, it's funny that go that goes against a lot of and you know, I don't know like a lot of marketing advice, right? And I'm a marketer.
Amy Nubson (00:40:11): I I know. I get it.
Adrienne Garland (00:40:12): But I I agree. I think it creates some I think it creates almost like a deeper level of trust when you don't create a false sense of urgency. And almost like in your opening where we were talking about listening to people that might not have your best interest in mind and taking you down their path instead of your path. You know, that's created by that false sense of urgency, doing things in a formulaic way that quote unquote works. You know, I I really like recoil at those type of marketing tactics and I I tried them because I said to myself.
Adrienne Garland (00:40:55): you know, it seems like they're being successful, but I do know that it also creates distrust and it it creates anger and it it creates something post you know post marketing tactic that cannot be repaired.
Amy Nubson (00:41:10): It comes with a cost.
Adrienne Garland (00:41:12): It does. It really does.
Amy Nubson (00:41:16): Yeah. And it's it's a it's a fear tactic, right? And I'm I'm a big-hearted person, so I've never like I've never done the fear tactic. I've And people wanted it. I'm like I'm not your person. I'm sorry. I will not do it. I can I know how.
Amy Nubson (00:41:34): but I'm not doing it.
Adrienne Garland (00:41:38): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:41:39): You know, and that's the same thing we need to remember, too, is when we're giving a speech or if we're giving an event, people actually do want you to succeed. Like, they're there cheering you on. They're not waiting for you to fail.
Adrienne Garland (00:41:56): No.
Amy Nubson (00:41:57): So, it's like it's not our intention to be like, "Yeah, let's see". No, they're not doing that.
Adrienne Garland (00:42:04): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:42:05): So, I mean, we can see the bravery and the vulnerability and the effort. And we can cheer that on. And that's what I love about live events is it can be expressed instantaneously which is not what you do typically if you post a video. You know, you have to wait to find that information out.
Amy Nubson (00:42:30): So in person is still important. No matter how much I replace it's going to be important.
Adrienne Garland (00:42:36): It's more important than ever. And you know, it's it's also the recognition that it is it's difficult to arrange our lives and to get out and, you know, commit to going to an event because it is a commitment. The transportation to get there, the the outfit that you're, you know, selecting, the shower that you have to take before you go.
Amy Nubson (00:43:03): you know, like I have to put makeup on.
Adrienne Garland (00:43:07): Exactly. You know, and it it's effort. But I do I do think that the effort is is well worth it.
Adrienne Garland (00:43:17): You know, before my event, I went to a very good friend that holds a a women's entrepreneurship event as well, and it's it's different than mine. She really focuses and I love it. She focuses on sort of like masterminding with the different people that you don't know so that it really like whatever you're listening to and learning it that it really sinks in. And I was, you know, I was so so busy because of my conference and everything and you know I just love her and I'm like, you know, I want to I want to go for myself but also you know to support her and everything and I am I I was so happy that I went because I met incredible people and it just it reinforced for me you know what this is worth it and this is what it feels like as an attendee who's coming to my conference.
Adrienne Garland (00:44:26): so like I know what that feels like and I know the ef that it takes and then the effort then translates into like relationship building and that's a beautiful thing and I I love that you know this idea of the collective it's so important for women and I think it's a new business model that hopefully will emerge and and be something that is profitable and sustainable and viable. So I'm going to keep my eye on you.
Amy Nubson (00:44:59): Thank you.
Adrienne Garland (00:45:00): And what you're doing because I think more women would feel a greater comfort level being in business if they knew that there was somebody else that was maybe not maybe not a co-founder, maybe not a partner, but somebody that's just kind of there with you that you're all rising together.
Amy Nubson (00:45:19): Well, and that's the beauty of we've always had mentors, but these the idea now is to have, you know, collaborators that are at our same level, right? They are, you know, they're not because we always kind of put mentors above us like there's they're they've achieved something, right? Yes. But these are the people all working at the same kind of level we are. And there's something beautiful about that too cuz you feel like it's a give and a take relationship which is when I think things flow freely and and amazing things happen.
Adrienne Garland (00:45:54): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:45:55): And so the collective is that's the whole idea. It's like a circle like the It's supposed to be a receive and take kind of thing because there's moments where we both need we need both. Yeah. You know, we need money, we need to spend money. Like there's always this back and forth.
Adrienne Garland (00:46:17): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:46:17): There was a beautiful book that I've read that I got introduced to really lately. It's an old old book and it's called The Dollar Needs Me.
Adrienne Garland (00:46:30): Oh my gosh.
Amy Nubson (00:46:33): You know, right? And I'm reading it I'm like, okay. Okay, interesting concept. The idea that money needs me. Me. I don't need it. It needs me. Because in order for it to exist, I have to exchange it somehow. I have to use money. When my money comes in, I have to pay it to other people or I have to maybe buying a a money market savings account. I I have to use it. So, it needs me to exist.
Adrienne Garland (00:47:20): Gosh, that's so interesting.
Amy Nubson (00:47:22): isn't it? And I'm like, that was such an interesting shift of going Oh.
Adrienne Garland (00:47:29): we're going to put that book in in the show notes and then maybe we can ask people to write in and and talk about some of the insights that they've gotten from it. I love that. I've never even heard of it.
Amy Nubson (00:47:41): I hadn't either until recently somebody's like, "You should really read this book". And I'm like, "Oh". And I've heard of books similar, but this was kind of brilliant. And I and like I said, it really old. It's like a super easy read because I loved it back then when books just made books not to be coffee.
Adrienne Garland (00:48:01): You know what I what I what I love about that this concept is it it's like a shift in the power dynamics, right? Because we are so and this has everything to do with money mindset, but we're so like caught up in the fact that like money is our value and you know money controls us and we can't live our lives unless we have money. Like no.
Amy Nubson (00:48:30): No, not at all. Our life will continue if we have money or not, right? Yeah. That isn't what sustains us. But we are we are what makes it exist, which is an interesting Yeah. different shift of that value. Our value is, you know, whatever makes us happy. If it's.
Amy Nubson (00:49:10): creating a community, you know, volunteering at the food shelter, if it's, hey, creating jobs for 100 people, whatever that is. You know, for me it's traveling, seeing the world, getting to know people from all over the world. I've been to 47 states because I love getting to know different cultures in the United States, right?
Adrienne Garland (00:49:40): I love that.
Amy Nubson (00:49:41): Yeah. And people are like, "There's not other c cultures". I'm like, "You need to travel more".
Adrienne Garland (00:49:49): Oh my gosh.
Amy Nubson (00:49:50): There's there's different cultures from New York to New Jersey, please.
Amy Nubson (00:50:00): Exactly. I'm like, you just live in a bubble, right? Yeah. I wanted to see more experience more and I made that my success. So that's what drives me and money is just the exchange of making that happen.
Adrienne Garland (00:50:18): So good. Amy, I feel like we could continue to talk and talk and talk because talking about travel, it is also something that I absolutely love and that I get to do as part of some of the other things that I do. But we'll reserve that for part two of this discussion because I definitely want to have you back and and talk about maybe how women are creating these collective businesses and how we are all benefiting from it. So, so I'm going to have you come back in another couple of months and we can discuss that more.
Adrienne Garland (00:51:00): If people want to get in touch with you, if they want to hire you for coaching, for marketing, for just discussing and collaborating, how can they get in touch with you?
Amy Nubson (00:51:14): Yeah, so the best way to get in touch with me, I check out my website of course is nufire.com which is nu is my last name.fire.com or marketing or sorry nufirecollective.com. But otherwise it's just getting sending me an email. It's amynufirecollective.com. This probably the easiest way because I don't know about you but I think robots have taken over my phone and I get 45 voicemails a day. So if please don't call me do not call you may email.
Amy Nubson (00:52:00): Yeah, because I usually I'm like delete, delete, delete. But yeah, that's the best way. I'm constantly checking my email and I love getting on a Zoom call and talking to people and getting to know their story and who they are first. I I really I want to know who you are as a person. Because I don't work with everybody. I work with people that I see their mission and their vision and what they want to accomplish. And that means more to me than where are you at? What's what's your success rate? I could care less.
Adrienne Garland (00:52:51): Yeah.
Amy Nubson (00:52:52): We what I want to do is help something beautiful come into creation.
Adrienne Garland (00:52:58): I love that so much. Well, Amy, thank you so much for spending your afternoon with me. I appreciate you and I appreciate this conversation and I I will talk to you soon.
Amy Nubson (00:53:11): Yes, sounds great. Thank you for having me.
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