Female Founders: Nicole Pane of The Social Media Butterfly On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadice
Words of affirmations are huge for me. I will look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I am a badass almost 100x a day. Try it… IT WORKS! If you are reading this right now… YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY A BADASS!
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Pane, Founder & CEO of The Social Butterfly Media.
Nicole Pane is the CEO and Founder of The Social Butterfly, a New Jersey-based Social Media Marketing & Photography Company. The Social Media Butterfly’s goal is to help clients elevate their online presence through high-quality content creation and professional photography. She helps her clients feel comfortable, confident and beautiful behind the camera and had made it her goal to make others feel like their best self when working with her.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Prior to starting The Social Butterfly, I have always had an immense passion for Photography and Marketing. After attending Towson University’s School of Business with a major in Marketing, I knew from the start that I wanted to be my own boss. I had a passion for ambition and desire so from there, I started my own marketing company: The Social Butterfly Media.
Fast forward two years after launching, I am fully booked with clients who I support in marketing and photography. Every month, I find myself continuing to grow with new business. My business creates engaging content for multiple companies, helping them elevate their online presence and boost their sales through professional photography, videography and branding.
While also doubling as a full time photographer, I am given the opportunity to help people feel comfortable, confident and absolutely beautiful! It is my goal in life to leave a positive impact on others and have them feeling better than when I met them. Through my talents, I am able to help people feel seen and special through the lens of my camera.
Throughout my childhood, I always carried some sort of camera in hand — making sure I documented every moment in my life and the lives around me. Life is too precious to forget every special moment and let them slip away! I am beyond grateful to have created a business where I get to do this for a living. Seriously, it’s a freaking dream!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
The most interesting success throughout leading my company was seeing my restaurant client officially published in Industry Magazine with my photos. Another incredible story was driving down the highway and seeing my photos published on a billboard for an awesome realtor and mortgage lender! It’s a beyond exciting feeling to help my clients stand out amongst their competitors through professional and high-quality photos.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
During the first few months working in marketing, I took every single job I was offered at any price range. I remember taking on a client who sold Lubricant and was constantly taking marketing photos of nude couples with a bottle of lube and wasn’t even being paid close to a quarter of what I’m making now. I would always think to myself, “what the heck am I doing!?”.
A few weeks into this campaign, I broke the news to my client that I believed I was worth more than what they were charging and so I fired them. I strongly believe in knowing your worth and to select clients that you feel passionate about. Don’t accept clients that don’t align with your vision and don’t say yes to cheap clients! Lesson learned!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There is something that I am forever grateful for and that is, MENTORS. Mentors are so important to have when you first begin a new chapter in your life, especially one as big as starting your own business.
I have many inspirational people surrounding me that have led me to success including photography experts to business gurus to family and friends that have stuck by my side along my journey. I am forever grateful for everyone that led me to this exact moment.
Public figures such as Gary Vaynerchuk pushed me to get out of my comfort zone. My parents encouraged me to be confident in myself and with that, I’ll attract new clients. My close friends in the photography and entertainment industry have believed in me since day one and gave me a chance by trusting in me to work with their clients and that forced me to learn quickly and grow as an individual.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?
Women are often looked down upon in the business industry. At times, we can feel scared to fail amongst the many men around us. We can look for the safer route and/or lack the confidence needed to stand alone as a female entrepreneur, or we can prove that we are badass.
Women are often the caretakers of a home and so, society has made us believe we are incapable of starting a business because we need to focus on nurturing our families. But, why can’t we do both? Why can’t women chase after their passions and desires and accomplish their wildest dreams? The truth is we can.
A big factor also has to do with MONEY. Women, myself included, sometimes feel inferior to men when dealing with money because we are often taken advantage of or ridiculed. I have been taken advantage of many times throughout my career and I have learned two words that have stood out to me and brought me confidence: STAY FIRM. These two words helped me overcome those fears and stand up for myself and for my business.
Words of affirmations are huge for me. I will look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I am a badass almost 100x a day. Try it… IT WORKS! If you are reading this right now… YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY A BADASS!
Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?
To help women feel seen and heard. To encourage them for wanting more out of life and going after what they were put on this earth to do!
Help women feel seen, be heard and encourage them for wanting more out of life and going after what they feel they were put on this Earth to do. As a society, we need to support one another and help each other overcome any obstacle, no matter what.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Women should chase after their goals and dreams! If you want to start families and achieve a passion in life — do it. Women are also known to be extremely compassionate and nurturing because it’s in our blood; we will put our entire heart into what we feel passionate for, including building a successful business.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
The biggest myth comes down to the thought that when you quit your 9–5 to start your own business, you’ll have more free time on your hands. That is absolutely not the case. The reality? You will work 24/7 to succeed in your dream business, which cannot compare to any other feeling. When you are truly passionate about the business you start, you will enjoy every second of the journey.
It may be corny but it’s true: When you do what you love, you’ll never “work” a day in your life.
Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?
I believe being strong, social and passionate will take you a long way. When you decide to go against the norm to take a risk, you may be brought down by others and even rejected multiple times — but no matter what, stand up for yourself and continue to work extremely hard.
The past two years I have spent building relationships and putting myself out there in hopes of meeting new clients, building new relationships and branding myself as an expert in the industry. My passion for Marketing & Photography gave me the desire to work harder and harder each day to create the life of freedom that I always dreamed of having.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster of emotions.
2. INVEST IN YOURSELF!
3. It is okay to decline clients that won’t pay you what you’re worth.
4. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
5. Be firm.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
As a Photographer, I have been able to show people their true beauty and to become their number one cheerleader. I have such a passion and love for making people feel truly amazing about themselves and I am able to channel that through my work as a photographer.
I have dealt with friends and family members that have experienced horrible moments due to mental health and that is something I take to heart. I get to make people feel whole again through the work that I do and it is seriously the most rewarding thing on earth. I wouldn’t change what I do for anything.
One day, I hope to use my success to give back to Mental Health Programs and do what I can to help as many people as possible fight the terrible illnesses out there. Everyone deserves to be happy and I hope with my role in this world, I am able to impact them and touch their hearts any way I can.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My movement would be to help support those suffering with mental illness. I believe everyone deserves to feel loved, to know they are never truly alone and that whatever they are currently going through WILL GET BETTER. I believe everyone was put on this Earth with an assignment from God and my mission is to serve others by making them happier, feel loved and to always be a shoulder for them to lean on. Through Photography, I am able to help individuals love themselves again by showing them their true beauty inside and out.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
WILL SMITH! I have always loved Will Smith’s outlook on life.
A few years ago, Will Smith had shared a video on skydiving and fear and explained how the two correlates to everyday life. He speaks of the fact that when we take the first leap out of an airplane, we immediately are faced with immense fear, but when soaring through the sky — you feel more alive than ever before.
Within that split second as you fall into the air, you are faced with the most blissful experience of your life: ZERO FEAR. You realize that the point of maximum danger is the point of minimum fear. “IT’S BLISS!”
Will goes on to ask, “What was there to be afraid of? Why were you scared in your bed the night before? What do you need that fear for? God placed the best things in life on the other side of terror. On the opposite side of terror are the best things in life. LIFE HAPPENS on the OTHER SIDE OF FEAR.”
Moral of the story: Get out of your comfort zone and LIVE. Live the life you were meant to live. If you are reading this @WillSmith… yes, I will go out to dinner with you.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Nicole Pane of The Social Media Butterfly On The Five Things You Need To Thrive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.