Good Neighbor Podcast: Rochester
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Rochester
Good Neighbor Podcast: Rochester
EP#112: Faux Cute with Nicole Roche
Have you ever found yourself rummaging through your jewelry box, looking for that perfect pair of earrings to complete your look and lift your spirits? Our guest Nicole Roach, the creative force behind Faux Cute, knows exactly how transformative a simple accessory can be. On the latest episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, I, Lisa Swiftney, sit down with Nicole to explore her captivating journey from quarantine chaos to entrepreneurial success. Nicole's passion for crafting handmade, lightweight earrings isn't just about fashion—it's a heartfelt mission to empower women with confidence and beauty, one pair of earrings at a time.
Nicole isn't just an artist; she's a one-woman powerhouse managing all facets of her business, from design to dispatch. She gives us a candid look at the hustle required behind the scenes of Faux Cute, debunking myths and shedding light on the reality of small business ownership. But it's not all work—Nicole also shares cherished moments from her personal life, like treasured times spent with her husband, their beloved dogs, and visits to her family up north. Her story is a beautiful blend of creativity, dedication, and the pursuit of balance, offering an intimate perspective on what it means to turn a passion into a thriving business that touches lives. Join us for this inspiring conversation that's sure to leave you eager to accessorize not just your outfit, but your whole day with a dash of joy.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lisa Swiftney.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone and welcome to episode number 112 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we have with us Good Neighbor Nicole Roach and she is with Faux Cute. Hi, nicole, how are you doing today? Hi, I'm great. Thank you for asking. Thank you for being a guest today. We appreciate that Absolutely. Let's start by telling our listeners about your business. What do you do?
Speaker 3:Okay, so I design and create lightweight earrings. Our mission is to make women feel empowered and beautiful and confident. And it's crazy, but just throwing on a simple earring can really do that. It can totally transform your look, make you feel amazing, and that we're all about making women feel amazing.
Speaker 2:So yes, and we like to be amazing. Right, tell our listeners about your journey. How or why did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:Okay, great question. So I actually started this during the craziness of quarantine. I was looking for something to kind of escape what was going on in the world, right? So I've always been an earring person. Even since elementary school I was known for my earrings. So I was like you know what? I bet you I can just make my own earrings right. So I impulsively made a decision to buy a Cricut machine, buy materials, watch YouTube videos, because we had the time right. So I'm like I'm going to develop a skill during this downtime and it just took off and I became so passionate about it that you know, four years later I'm still doing it.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is amazing. Yeah, so tell us about any myths or misconceptions you hear about in your industry.
Speaker 3:Sure. So I think there is definitely a misconception because we are you know the term is a small business, right? So I think a lot of people may not realize it is so much work behind the scenes, you know, they may just see us see a product that we're selling or offering and not realize how much work actually goes into it. At the end of the day, you know, I am not only the designer but I'm the accountant, I'm the inventory tracker, I'm the social media person, I do the marketing and the advertising and I do the packing of all the orders and mailing all the orders out. And you know, at the end of the day, we do all that because we really are passionate about what we do, right? So I think, just that small business term sometimes people think it's like it's just this little hobby business, you know, but that's not always the case. So I think that's the only kind of myth or misconception I would say, you know, for a small business owner.
Speaker 2:And I totally agree with you because, being a small business owner, a lot of people don't realize. You know you have the cost of your inventory, so you are the CEO, the CFO, the COO, the salesperson, everything accompanied into your business. Yes, I totally agree with you.
Speaker 3:Yes, you wear all the hats. I can't even tell you how long I spend photographing an item to be put on my website and I'm sure people just see the photograph and you know no big deal. But I'm like, I spend so much, I'm so tedious about the photography of the item, so even that little simple thing takes quite a bit of time.
Speaker 2:Right, and they get to create the graphics and put it out and make it look pretty Exactly. So true, I understand. Yeah, what do you like to do for fun when you're not working on your business?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I am married to my husband, who is, like literally the hardest worker in the world, so he's not home much, so when he is home, I love to spend time with him. We do have two little dogs that we are obsessed with. They're 16 and 17 years old and yeah, they're the best.
Speaker 3:And then my parents also live up north, so any chance we get to go up north and visit them be by the water. I love to be by the water so it's like my tranquility so and then we get to visit with family and stuff to family and friends. To us is the whole world, so that is what you do.
Speaker 2:That is great. Yeah, so that is what you do. That is great, yeah. So can you describe one hardship or life challenge that you rose above and can now say because of that challenge that you're better for it and or stronger?
Speaker 3:sure you know, a few years ago I all of a sudden developed anxiety, and it was anxiety something I never really knew about. You know, I had a lot of friends and family runs in my family and they would talk to me about it and I really could not relate because I had no clue what it really was. I just knew they struggled with it and then, just one day, out of the blue, I had a full blown anxiety attack at my family reunion.
Speaker 3:So great timing and I didn't know what it was. To be honest, I thought I was having a heart attack or whatever. So now I kind of struggle on and off with anxiety. But I think what it's made me realize is that you know, you never know what people are going through. So they may look completely okay on the outside, but maybe inside struggling a little bit. So it makes you be a lot more empathetic and just being kinder in general to people, because you really truly never know. You know behind closed doors, internally, what they're struggling with. So, and also what I realized is nothing is permanent. So, and also what I realized is nothing is permanent. So when I, you know, when I get in an anxious state or you know, kind of not kind of feeling like I want to crawl out of my skin, I just think to myself like nothing is permanent, this is only temporary. So really you can get through anything right, because nothing is permanent.
Speaker 2:So those are really, really great thoughts. Yeah, Thank you for sharing that and being kind. You know, I think a lot of people need to be more empathetic and understanding and just be kind to people. I don't know what happened to some of the people in our society. I know, Just to you know, walk by and smile.
Speaker 3:You might smile at somebody and change their whole day, their whole entire, just a small compliment to somebody, their faces light up and unfortunately it's kind of rare these days. So it is more uncommon now. When somebody is so kind to you, you're kind of like whoa taking a back, you know, but it's such a nice thing. So if we can just be more kind and generally, you know, generally speaking, I think the world would be a much better place. Not to sound corny, but I really, I really like that Spread kindness.
Speaker 2:That's our mantra for today. Yes, I love it. What is the one thing you wish our listeners knew about your business?
Speaker 3:our listeners knew about your business. So I would say we just truly love our customers. I sometimes just design and create, even you know I'll, you know I'll think to myself you know what, oh my gosh, dorothy is going to love these earrings, like she's a repeat customer, right. So I kind of get get to know my customers through their purchasing and also have become friends with so many of them, which is nice because it's these are strangers I would have never known otherwise. So we've actually established kind of like this little community, this little earring community, where everybody just kind of like loves on each other and post their earrings and we also are able to give back to, you know, local nonprofits. So we try to pick nonprofits here and there to to give back to, and thankfully we are able because of our customers. So that's super important to us too.
Speaker 3:And also, just we're always trying to get better, you know, have better quality, and you know we do all these little mundane things to our earrings just so that our customers can enjoy them longer and they last longer. So we just love. We love doing what we do for everybody else to see the joy on their faces when they get their products or they post about it. It's my heart. Every time I get an order I still get butterflies Like I can't believe these people are spending their hard earned money on something I created is beyond me. It is mind blowing still four years later. But I that I love it because it gives me such a good feeling too, you know Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, our listeners are now intrigued. How can they learn more? So how do they contact you or shop for your product?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so. We now have a website it is just fauxcutecom, so you can go directly there and purchase and we do ship. If you are local, I do offer pickup. If you want to avoid the shipping fee, you can do pickup instead. And we also run a VIP Facebook group it's just called Faux Cute by Nicole, and on there we release our latest collections that are coming out. We do giveaways and offer discounts, we give you discount codes and stuff, so it's a really fun group to be a part of offer discounts.
Speaker 2:We give you discount codes and stuff, so it's a really fun group to be a part of. That is amazing, nicole. Thank you so much for being a guest today on our Good Neighbor podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me. That was so fun.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast Rochester. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPRochestercom. That's GNPRochestercom, or call 248-988-9640.