This month sees three powerhouse female entrepreneurs unite to celebrate 18 other incredible women in an empowered act of collaboration, as they came together to publish a book, which celebrates voices that need to be heard, in a bid to inspire others that anything is possible, even when faced with huge challenges.
Essex-based Nicki James, a personal brand strategist and champion for female entrepreneurs, and Dani Wallace, an internationally acclaimed speaker coach for entrepreneurs and celebrities, are the co-founders of business mastermind programme ‘Rock Star Level Up’ – supporting women in business ready to up level their brand. They joined forces with Authors&Co, led by award-winning entrepreneur Abigail Horne to publish ‘It Starts With Me – An anthology of the magic that happens when women reclaim their strength and their stories’.
Showcasing many women who felt they’d had “a book inside them for years”, the team provided the outlet to share these stories, in many cases from women who had previously felt they’d had their voices muted, due to; abuse, controlling relationships, or their own self-sabotage, and they are now celebrating having become global bestselling authors.
Only a few hours after the eagerly anticipated book’s release – it flew to number one on the Amazon book charts overtaking Robin Sharma’s popular book ‘The 5am Club’ and Simon Sinek’s global bestseller ‘Start with Why’ in the Business & Finance category, it also took the top spot in over eight other categories including; Business Biographies & Primers, Business Biographies & Memoirs, Personal Transformation, Inspirational, Spirituality, Business Finance & Reference, International Business & Finance and Creativity & Genius – and a further 15 Hottest New Release Categories.
‘It Starts With Me’ is a collection of eighteen inspirational stories. Each woman selected to contribute to this book has embraced their beginnings, are fully focused on where they are going and are beacons of light for their industries during what has been a tough year for all.
Dani and Nicki first met in 2019, drawn together in the online entrepreneurial space and recognising in each other the drive to bring business owners to the forefront of their brands collaboration became a no brainier. They have now further spread the power of collaboration with the creation of this book, and hope to spread it even further with the ripple effect of its wider readership.
Dani Wallace has overcome homelessness, domestic violence, and years of self-sabotage to become a six-figure business owner, best-selling author, and motivational speaker, working with women from all backgrounds; from small business start-ups to celebrities such as Atomic Kitten Natasha Hamilton. She is the fearless leader of the ‘I Am The Queen Bee Movement’ https://www.iamthequeenbee.co.uk/, and delivers her message that we can #FlyAnyway to women globally.
Nicki James suffered similarly chaotic and difficult formative years, growing up with an alcoholic father, and learned from a very early age that it was safer to be ‘seen but not heard’. Despite educational and career success, she was made redundant four times in under four years, something a less resilient person would perhaps have struggled with, however Nicki stepped into the entrepreneurial space instead launching her branding company ‘Just Brand You’ https://justbrandyour.co.uk in 2017, which today is a multi-six figure business.
Both Dani and Nicki work with business owners to make them “magnetic for their perfect audiences”. In 2020, Dani and Nicki decided to bring together their powerhouse expertise to create and launch ‘Rockstar Level Up’. It is following the success of that programme, that ‘It Starts With Me’ was developed and brought to life, commemorating the phenomenal journeys the 2020 ‘Rockstars’ have been on.
The Queen Bee, Dani said: “When a queen meets a fellow queen to discuss their mutual slay, magic occurs, and that is exactly what happened when I connected with Nicki – we decided to bring together our powerhouse expertise for this incredible project and it has proven to be life-changing for all involved. After such as tough year, we were passionate about creating an online business mastermind programme, aptly titled the ‘The Rock Star Level Up’ to help entrepreneurs who were ready to turn the dial up on their brand from the inside out and step up into the levels of success and visibility their businesses deserve.”
Nicki said: “Every contributor whose story you read has embraced where they have come from and, in turn, are fully focused on where they are going – they know that their success starts with them. Allowing themselves to be visible in ways they never thought possible, the women in this book are beacons of light for their industries and for the people they serve. These incredible women have harnessed the power of their stories to create incredible lives and businesses, so the legacy continues with new waves of talented, brave, strong women turning up the dial, allowing themselves to be heard and taking up their rightful space in the business world.”
Nicki continues: “We are delighted that this book has become a best seller and hope that it helps readers across the world to also rise up.” Nicki and Dani will continue their business mastermind programme ‘Rock Star Level Up’ in 2021 as they both say they’re passionate about “creating the ripples that turn in to waves that turn into tsunamis of women in business rising up!”
The book has been published by the award-winning team at Authors & Co, who work to showcase and celebrate empowering stories of women. Founder Abigail Horne said: “At Authors & Co we work with entrepreneurs who want to make an impact through leaving their legacy and the audience we serve are those with inquiring minds, keen to drink in information, and learn from others’ experiences. Our authors always lead their readers to reflect on their own lives and if aligned, make use of the teachings to move forward themselves”. Authors & Co has already changed the lives of many women and female entrepreneurs from around the world, having helped almost 200 women globally to become best-selling authors, whilst reaching millions of readers worldwide.
‘IT STARTS WITH ME: An Anthology Of The Magic That Happens When Women Reclaim Their Strength & Their Stories is available to purchase on Amazon – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Starts-Me-Anthology-
