Meet Nicole Lewis-Keeber MSW LCSW | Business Therapist| Author| Dare to Lead TM Facilitator| Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Lewis-Keeber MSW LCSW and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, what is the most important factor behind your success?
As a therapist that transitioned to a coaching practice, I learned that it would benefit no one if I ignored my clinical training. I started my business offering money mindset coaching, but it became clear to me during my work with clients that they were not struggling with a mindset issue. They were in fact dealing with money trauma as well as trauma’s impact on their business. The most important thing that I did was to ignore the advice to NOT use the word trauma in my work or marketing. My feeling was that we must call a thing a thing or this will not work. So I did.

I have now become the go-to expert on trauma’s impact on entrepreneurship, have written a book based upon my work and have had opportunities to train with Brene’ Brown and work with successful business owners and entrepreneurs.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am the go-to expert on the topic of trauma’s impact on entrepreneurship. I have written a book called How to Love Your Business where I explore the idea that we are in a relationship with our business and how trauma can influence that relationship. I am the founder of Love Your Business School, and the Creator of the Do No Harm Program for Trauma Conscious Entrepreneurs.

My work as a business therapist evolved after combing my 18 years of clinical experience as a therapist and my training as a coach. I have seen many people offering personal development and support around trauma in the coaching industry but very few have the experience and clinical training that I have to hold space for everything that can arise. While I think it is great to have a framework that you have learned to help people, the real skill comes when the client needs something more and you have the expertise to meet them where they are.

It is my assertion that childhood trauma can be the origin story that creates the motivation to start a business or become entrepreneurial. After all, trauma can create some of the major skillsets needed to be entrepreneurial, unfortunately, it can also make it unsustainable. How do I know this? Because I did it to myself I let my own childhood trauma take over my own business and it almost ruined it.

What I have learned is that starting a business is a high dive into personal development whether you like it or not, and that it will bring up all of your shit. We don’t drop our baggage at the door when we start a business it all comes with us and can impact our processes, products and profits. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. The first stops would of course be a tour of Amish country, we would stop at farm stands, drink homemade root beer, eat homemade baked goods and enjoy the countryside. We would then go to Mount Hope Estates Winery to sample all of the amazing wines that they have.

We would hang out in Lancaster City for the day, go to the central market the oldest indoor farm market still operating and then have lunch at Cest La Vie ‘ and do a pub crawl around the city.

Lancaster is beautiful and it is very close to some other amazing spots. We would take a day trip to Philly and go to Reading Terminal Market, South Street, to the Art Museum and have dinner at Tulula’s Garden.

A day trip the Spring Lake NJ would also be a delight.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shoutout to some very important people. My husband Jason Keeber for encouraging me to make the transition from therapist to coach and to start a business. To my friend and mentor Patrice Dunckley who has been with me every step of the way. To Tara McMullen who gave me the confidence to pivot my business from money mindset to the current work, I do now.

Website: https://nicole.lewis-keeber.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.lewiskeeber/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolelewiskeeber/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolelewiskeebercoaching

Other: TikTok – The Business Therapist https://www.tiktok.com/@thebusinesstherapist?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc