Tired of hitting someone else's numbers at work, then asking permission just to watch your kid's school play, while the business you're actually trying to build waits for whatever energy you have left?

My Story

I'm Niky. Eighteen years into a leadership career, still in my job, and I noticed the same pattern every time I got promoted: the better I made my employer's business, the more I personally gained nothing extra for it. No bonuses in public service. I did a Masters in Entrepreneurship half-hoping it would hand me the missing link to finally make something of my own work.

It didn't, not straight away. I've chased my own business for years, in fits and starts: reselling designer clothes (still going, still makes money), a handbag line that never got past the manufacturing problem, a protein bar idea that went nowhere. My most serious attempt was a leadership YouTube channel, two long videos a week for nearly a year. It grew to 400 subscribers and converted almost nobody, mostly because people can get leadership training free through their employer. It didn't work as a business. It did make me a lot more confident on camera.

Last October, on a coach's advice, I stopped teaching leadership skills to employees and started teaching business owners how to lead their own businesses instead, using the same tools I already use professionally every day. I'm still in my job. I'm documenting the whole thing in public, mistakes included, instead of waiting until I've got it figured out to start talking about it.

What I Believe

• Evidence over opinions. Test it, don't guess it.
• Progress over perfection, and a messy truth over a polished one.
• Hustle culture is a lie. Focused, protected pockets of time beat grinding around the clock, every time I've actually measured it.
• Freedom is built, not wished for.

What I Do Now

Through Leadership with Niky, I teach employed entrepreneurs how to build a real business before they quit the job paying their bills: what to discover about the skills you already have, how to validate a business idea before you waste six months on it, and how to build and sustain momentum without burning out. From Job to CEO: The Experiment, my free community, is where I track and share the real data as I go, not just the wins.