Nicole Slater is an L.A. based social media & branding consultant who specialises in the entertainment industry.  Her background includes TV and radio work as well as being the marketing and promotions manager for the legendary House of Blues.  She now runs her own consultation company and works with a variety of high calibre clients.  This episode gave us the opportunity to ask Nicole numerous questions in the attempt to get some clarity around the ever-changing landscape of social media and online marketing.

What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a similar career?

1) Read as much as possible. Read online blogs & articles and listen to podcasts. The more you know, the better. SocialMediaExaminer.com is a good starting point for learning the basics in social media.

2) Have confidence. It's great when you are book smart, but if you can't sell your services, you are useless. At first I started doing people's social media for free. It was so I could get practice and learn the craft. Then I got tired of being broke and decided to start charging. If you can have confidence that your services are valuable and portray that, you are on your way to a successful business.

What is the core belief that drives what you do?

Independence. Being able to be in control of your time, where you go, who you talk to, there is nothing else like it. I worked in a lot of jobs where I had a boss breathing down my neck, I had meetings about meetings, I was slowly going insane. There is nothing like the freedom of owning your own business.

With that said, it’s a lot of pressure. However, the fact that I have direct control over that pressure and can ease it by working harder and building my business, is priceless. Also, if you don't like someone you're working with, you can end the relationship. It's very rare that I let go of clients, but having the ability to do so is wonderful. When you're in a normal job, you can't fire your boss!

How have you learned from failure in the course of your career?

The biggest lesson I've learned is you have to feed the machine. You have to work on all areas of your life or else the machine will break down. I could have amazing meetings and book a client, but if my fridge is empty and my house is a mess, the machine will break down. You have to take care of your body, create balance and create a healthy working environment.