10 May, 2019

Tomorrow’s Another Day

By |2021-08-19T20:33:33-04:00May 10th, 2019|Categories: Public Health & Social Work|Tags: , |0 Comments

During the summer of 2010, I was in the throes of my first job after graduating from my graduate program.

I was running out of money and couldn’t afford my apartment any longer due to my roommate moving out. I ended up moving out and placing my belongings in storage.

When you’re unemployed, running out of money, trying to find a job in a profession that you’ve only studied and didn’t have real experience in, and living in a stressful place like New York City, you’re tired, to say the least.

The best part about that time is having friends who opened their homes to me and invited me over to eat. On this summer day, the friend I was staying with invited me to join her and some of our grad school classmates for a day at the beach.

A beach in New York? Yes. Though I can’t remember which beach we tried to go to. “Tried” is the operative word, as we tried getting there by car and ended up getting stuck in traffic for hours before turning back around.

As my friend and I were getting ready to leave, I remember how excited I was. I needed a break from applying to positions where I never got a response back and getting “thanks, but no thanks” emails from recruiters.

I want to feel normal, even if it is for a day, I thought.

When you don’t have a permanent home to feel safe in, to cook for yourself in, to have your belongings surrounding you, or to have your mail delivered to, it’s pretty difficult to care about anything else. I could have easily asked my family to book a flight for me so that I could go home to Atlanta, but I was too stubborn for that. I have a Masters degree now, I thought, and I need to find a way to make this work.

Flash forward to December of that year. After a summer of struggle, I managed to land a job as a clinical case manager and had been on the job since August. I also moved into my first apartment without roommates at the start of December. Toward the middle of the month, my agency held its annual holiday party for clients.

During the party, I was standing with a few of my coworkers as we watched our clients eat and enjoy themselves and their families. I spotted several of my clients, many of whom tend to be in crisis mode when I would have regular appointments with them.

But on this day, they were fine. In fact, I met with one of my clients the next day. When I asked her if she enjoyed the holiday party, she said:

“I loved it! I love coming to the holiday party every year because when I’m there, I feel normal. Even if it’s just for a day.”

(more…)
31 May, 2017

10 Lessons Learned in My First Year of Full Time Consulting

By |2021-08-19T19:34:35-04:00May 31st, 2017|Categories: Consulting|Tags: , |4 Comments

One year ago today, I resigned from my day job. Working full time while building a business had taken its toll. I had been there 3 months shy of 6 years. I had given my employer a 60-day notice in order to assist with finding my replacement.

I don’t remember much of what happened that day, but I do remember when 5pm rolled around. I punched out for the last time, hugged a few co-workers, and walked out the door. As I walked out of the building, my eyes welled up with tears. It had less to do with “WTH am I thinking?” and more to do with the fact that honored my passion. On New Years Day 2016, I stood on the observation deck of One World Trade Center, overlooking the city skyline. I told myself that 2016 was the year, and May 31st would be the day I’d leave my job to go into my consulting business full time.

Yes, it was cheesy, and when I left the observatory deck, I felt at peace. I had given myself a deadline several times before, and each time I wasn’t ready. This time, I was. I didn’t know how it was going to happen. I just knew it was going to. I had submitted proposals to several organizations for consulting gigs, and was either turned down or didn’t receive a response. Not too long after making my intention, two of those organizations who turned me down had changed their minds and offered me contracts. A few other organizations reached out to me, including an executive director of a local organization, who specifically wanted to work with me because we went to the same grad school.

Everything fell into place, and the past year has been an eye-opener. Here are 10 lessons I’ve learned in my first year of full time consulting:

It’s uncomfortable (but always remember your WHY)

If I had to choose one word to describe my first year in full-time consulting, it would be “discomfort”. When I was building my business on the side while working full time, I had a rhythm. I had only so much time to do client work, create content for my blog and newsletter, and market myself.

However, like building physical strength means pushing yourself by picking up heavier weights, discomfort has allowed me to grow in many areas of my business. After a while, you begin to see progress. Tasks that would take me hours to complete are easier to do, and things I didn’t think I needed when starting my business, I now have a system for.

Even though I knew I could return to the 9-5 world, I held on to my WHY. There’s a quote from Frederick Nietzsche that says,

“He who has a why can endure any how.” 

Running my own business is bigger than creating my own schedule and doing what I want. My WHY was built on the foundation that there aren’t many people doing what I’m doing. My WHY was to ensure that nonprofits, community groups, and agencies are doing right by the women and girls of color they serve. Fine tuning my services down to design thinking, evaluation, strategic planning, and speaking has allowed me to develop a niche within the Reproductive Justice community that I’m becoming know for. On top of that, another WHY has been to show other social workers that there’s more than one way to be a social worker. This applies to any profession. You don’t have to build a career and identity around what your profession expects. You can create a career on your terms, and when you know your WHY, it’s easier to persevere.

It’s a HUGE mindset shift 

I’ve felt like giving up at least once a week. I’m a one-woman show, and when you’re used to having someone dictate how your day goes, you begin to miss it. Also,  I suddenly had more time than ever, and it became overwhelming.

Outside of making money, strengthening my systems, and getting clearer on who I want to work with, I’ve learned that transitioning from employee to entrepreneur is just as much of a mental game as it is a physical one. You think you’ll be anxious to turn in that resignation letter, but that’s the easy part. One of the biggest benefits that an employer provides is structure. You know when to get up, how long you have to get ready for work, how long your commute will take, what meetings and deadlines you’ll have throughout the day, when your staff supervision is, and how long you have for a lunch break. When working for yourself, you have to build a structure that keeps you motivated and on purpose.

I started out creating a structure that mimicked a 9-5. I created a 9am-5pm work schedule, and one day I realized that it’s ok to not work from 9 to 5. While I do have office hours, I like working in the hours where I feel most creative (and if I have any client meetings, lead calls, or site visits to make).

Your people will always look out for you

(more…)

15 Jun, 2016

“My Name is…, and I Represent…”

By |2021-08-19T18:54:49-04:00June 15th, 2016|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: |0 Comments

Blog Post

 

Does you voice matter less when you’re not part of an organization?

This became part of my consciousness back in 2012 when I attended the Strong Families Summit. I was invited to assist with Strong Families’ social media team to highlight the goals of the Initiative, the participants’ general feedback, and how the Initiative can move forward.

As attendees introduced themselves, they shared the basics (name, organization, preferred gender pronouns, and their intention for being present at the Summit), and as they shared the name of their organization, there were a few attendees that said:

“My name is [insert name], and I’m representing myself”   or

“I’m [insert name], and I work with [insert name of organization], but I’m speaking on behalf of myself”.

Of course, in discussions around issues pertaining to sexual health and reproductive justice, or any topic that may be controversial, it’s important to raise our own voices. It’s also important to be mindful that what we say may have an impact on whatever group or organization we’re representing.

When I was part of an organization as a front line social worker and direct service provider, my actions and interactions with clients either had a positive or negative effect not only my clients’ impression of me but also that of my organization. Now, as someone who runs her own business, I’ve been able to reflect on the fact that I’m fortunate enough to be representing myself apart from an agency or organization. I’m able to flow in and out of multiple spaces and can be a social worker, program designer, speaker, or program evaluator at any given time, and I can be known for one aspect or all aspects of what I do.

Knowing this, I’m also mindful in how I represent my business in person, through email, or on social media, can impact who wants to work with me as a client. We definitely see this in today’s political climate, sports, and entertainment industries where people quickly lose their endorsements and support.

But back to the original question:

(more…)

6 Aug, 2014

Am I On The Right Track?: Evaluating Nicole Clark Consulting

By |2021-08-19T18:16:49-04:00August 6th, 2014|Categories: Consulting|Tags: , |0 Comments

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I started this blog in 2011 as a way for me to share my thoughts and feelings on feminism, women and girls of color, and various aspects of reproductive justice. What I expected was an increase of clarity on my position. What I got instead was the ability to position myself as a thought leader, connect with like-minded individuals and with people who want to know more about my position, the challenge of staying up-to-date on the constant happenings within the reproductive justice movement, and to make a difference in my own way.

Last year, I reflected on how my activism has been the foundation for my roles as a social worker and as a program evaluator, and this has been my main focus for Nicole Clark Consulting. This year, I chose to delve more deeply into finding creative ways to help individuals, communities, and organizations create or improve their communities, programs and services in order to make a lasting impact.

In the spirit of evaluating my own services, I want to share with you what I feel has gone reasonably well with Nicole Clark Consulting, areas that I’ve been struggling with, and where I see myself headed into 2015:

The 9-to-5 struggle: Along with running Nicole Clark Consulting, I’ve been employed as full-time job social worker for a New York City-based HIV organization since 2010. This has been the biggest struggle since I made the transition from being a casual blogger to developing my business. Anyone who is building a business while working full- or even part-time for an employer can attest to this: It’s hard! Hard due to managing your time between your obligations to your employer while putting in even more hours for your own business, hard because there are times where you’d rather be working on your business while at work, and more. At any given time, my weekly schedule consists on waking up, going to the gym, going directly to my job, leaving at 5pm, going home, and working on my business. Or sometimes I get up early, work on my business before getting ready for work and save the gym for after 5pm. I used to get to work a half hour early or even stay later, but I found that this takes away time from working on my business and for taking time out for self care. I also use part of my weekend and some vacation time to work on my business. Whether it’s drafting my blog post for next week, editing my consulting contract template, or responding to business emails, there’s always something that needs to get done. As difficult as this has been, I’m still amazed at how much I get done for my business and for my employer. And through it all, not only am I grateful that my full-time employment provides me with additional income, I’m also grateful that I’ve found a schedule that works for me for now until it’s time to step into my business full-time. I used to be concerned that sharing that I have a full-time job would make me appear as a fraud entrepreneur. Now I realize more how many people are living this experience, and we will all get to where we need to be in time. (And if you’re having problems with finding time for your business in the midst of working a full-time job, check out these tips from entrepreneur Rosetta Thurman.)

(more…)

13 Nov, 2013

Review: “Subjectified: Nine Young Women Talk About Sex” (2013)

By |2021-08-19T18:26:15-04:00November 13th, 2013|Categories: Miscellaneous|Tags: |0 Comments

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One of the features of my newsletter, Raise Your Voice, is “Nicole Recommends”, where I give a brief review of a product, organization, film/tv show, service, or opportunity that has the potential to raise awareness on health-related and social justice issues that affect women and girls of color.  So when I was asked to review Subjectified, I initially planned to only mention it in my newsletter. However, I thought it would be interesting to share my thoughts on this documentary here on my blog because 1) I have never done an actual review on my blog, and 2) I wanted to get the word out about the project that’s connected to this documentary and I think they can be beneficial.

Subjectified uses story-sharing to give viewers an unfiltered look at the sexual histories of nine young women in the United States. Filmmaker Melissa Tapper Goldman describes Subjectified as “a documentary that presents a real, human picture of women’s diverse sexual experiences from around the United States. When it comes to sex, women are so often seen (on billboards or television), but their voices are rarely heard.” What we tend to see in mainstream media is often in stark contrast to what young women are actually experiencing. Other influences, such as geographic region, religion, politics, and family upbringing can also play a role in how young women take on their sexuality. Tapper Goldman set out to answer the question, “What would real stories of female sexuality sound like?”, and the young women featured in Subjectified are just as diverse and their geographic locations.

They share personal stories on varied parts of sexuality and sex, including childbirth, breastfeeding, abortion, birth control, masturbation, body image, sexually transmitted infections, sex education, and surviving sexual assault. Mariluz (age 19) was raised in the Catholic Church, and confidently talks about how her sex life with her boyfriend is filled with playful touches and comfort. Brittney (age 20) shares stories of her Mormon upbringing, being sexually active, and how she has sometimes had sex when it didn’t feel good to her. Joy (age 23) discloses being molested at age 7 and the guilt she’s felt associated with her sexuality, pressure to have sex, and to feel more like an adult. Alexis (23) shared that she was excused from sex education in school due to her religious upbringing, and how sex became real for her when she discovered that she didn’t have to behave the way that adult film actresses do in pornography. Rebecca (23) is a daughter of a southern pastor, abstinent, and shares what kind of sex life she hopes to have with her future husband. “Moree” (24) learned about sex from her father, and shared how her first sexual partner’s decision to wear a condom prompted her to become more responsible about sex. “Vanessa” (25) shares her experiences of being sexual assaulted, her need to feel loved and accepted by her romantic partners, and how pregnancy has affected her body. Jackie (age 26) tells a story of growing up in abstinence-only education in the Midwest. And Samantha (age 28) was excommunicated from her Evangelical church and discussed her attraction to women, despite being raised to believe that women were subservient to men.

I enjoyed the stories of the young women in Subjectified, but the stories I enjoyed the most were from the young women of color: (more…)

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