Nicole Aguirre

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Womeneur Spotlight” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”image” parallax_style=”vcpb-default” bg_image_new=”id^3684|url^https://www.womeneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/womeneur-spotlight-nicole-aguirre-of-worn_650_650_90_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1.jpg|caption^null|alt^null|title^womeneur-spotlight-nicole-aguirre-of-worn_650_650_90_ffffffgrayopac-7_s_c1|description^null” css=”.vc_custom_1465355174956{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1465355068876{margin-bottom: -2px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]

NICOLE AGUIRRE

OF WORN[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” border_width=”5″ accent_color=”#e3672b” css=”.vc_custom_1460496937176{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Website: 

Social Media: [dt_social_icons animation=”none” alignment=”default”][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”twitter” link=http://twitter.com/worncreative” /][dt_social_icon target_blank=”true” icon=”instagram” link=”http://instagram.com/worncreative” /][/dt_social_icons][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”3683″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The number of female leaders across creative industries are growing every day. More and more companies are recognizing this growth and are on a mission to provide products and services for women but more importantly we are seeing women as the LEADERS of these companies. Womeneurs like Nicole Aguirre,CEO of , a digital agency that empowers women to lead has created a space to empower women leaders. Nicole leads a team of fearless women producing digital content for brands across fashion, food, entertainment, and hospitality. Worn’s clients include

Nicole is a well-rounded female entrepreneur, speaking four languages, including Korean, and is passionate about empowering the next generation of female leaders. Nicole has been very confident in terms of building a career of her choosing and not following the standard corporate lifestyle after college to be her reality. Her career began as a phototgrapher in the photo department of Vanity Fair and throughout her career she has been seen as and developed her personal brand as an advocate for female entrepreneurship.

Learn more about Nicole’s journey, her work at Worn, and how she plans to continue to inspire and develop the greatness of female entrepreneurs!

What inspired your journey into business?
Both of my parents are entrepreneurs so I guess it runs in the family. I was most inspired by the desire NOT to get a “job” and keep doing the things I love, writing, photography, design. I found the way to do that through building Worn. I’ve also been inspired by freedom. It might sound cheesy but, you can’t overestimate the value of having the freedom to work when and where you want, on what you want, and with who you want. Yes, it comes with much more risk, but I think it’s worth it.

Last, I’m inspired by other women entrepreneurs who have built incredible companies and who are lifting other women up with them. One example of that is Tory Burch.

What steps did you take to start your business?
When I was 22, I started a photography and fashion print magazine in DC called Worn Magazine. I didn’t know how to publish a magazine or work with printers, but I figured it out and I published it for four years in print. Then in 2013, I turned the company it into a creative agency called Worn. I moved the agency from D.C. to New York in 2014.

What are your biggest fears?
Running out of money because that equals going out of business. My motto is DROOM. Don’t. Run. Out. Of. Money. If you keep that in mind, you’ll make calculated decisions and not waste company money on things you don’t need.

What do you do to stay motivated when you feel like giving up?
I think about what it would be like to have a 9-5 desk job I don’t like, a boss who I have to ask permission to take days off, someone watching what I do all the time or micromanaging me, and that’s enough to make me want to fight for what I’m building now because I thrive on the freedom of being my own boss.

Then I think about Michelle Freeman, an incredible woman and business owner several times over. She’s one of 12 women owners in the NBA, she holds her own in several male dominated industries and she’s overcome personal tragedy. If she can do all that, I can get over whatever business crisis I’m having. Thinking of her gives me perspective.

What are your weaknesses in business and how have you worked past them? 
I didn’t go to business school and therefore never took accounting classes. This is something that was absolutely a weakness early on. In the first year I overcame it by setting monthly meetings with now fiance Peter, who is also an entrepreneur to help me review our books. Later on, I hired a bookkeeper and a financial advisor. I also read Suze Orman’s Women and Money and now I feel totally in control of our finances.

What’s been most rewarding?
It’s been so rewarding to grow our speaker series F*it. It’s about female leaders about telling real life stories of the challenges they’ve had growing companies and teams throughout their careers. I’ve seen the impact that F*it has had on the hundreds of women in the audience who need to hear that it’s ok to mess up, or not know how to do something, and that even the most successful women out there feel like imposters sometimes.

Who were you before you started your business?
In college 🙂 I started the company at 22 right after graduating from George Washington University so I technically have never had a real job.

If you had to do it again, what (if anything) would you do differently?
No I wouldn’t. I never had a plan and because of that I exceeded my own expectations by leaps and bounds. I’ve done everything my way up until now and I’m happy with how it’s turned out so far. I’m happy about the good times, the scary times, and even the really crappy times. Those times made me tough. I love the quote, “Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s having the ability to solve them.”

What’s one good software or application you cannot live without?
Airtable, Basecamp, Uberconference

What’s your secret to cultivating a relationship between you and your customers?
Our secret is our mission, which is to empower women to lead. We pick clients based on whether they’re on a mission and whether we’re a good fit for each other. Having a mission to filter who we work with is a very powerful thing. It eliminates the decisions that many other agencies have to make about whether to work with a certain client or not. We have a laser beam focus on working with female lead companies, teams or campaigns.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?
I see us tripling in size and publishing several books on female entrepreneurs.

What are 3 tips you can share with budding and current entrepreneurs/business owners?
1. DROOM. Don’t run out of money.
2. Be the kind of person people want to work for.
3. Don’t listen to what you “should” do. Instead, do what makes sense for you.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]