You're selling the thing. They're buying the difference.
I've spent 25+ years watching people make decisions: what catches their attention, what earns their trust, what makes them hesitate, and ultimately, what makes them say yes.
And here's what I know:
Your expertise is the thing you bring to the table. Your services, your process, your credentials, your framework — they're all part of what makes you good at what you do.
But they're not what your client is ultimately buying.
They're buying the difference your expertise can make in their life, their business, or their next chapter. That's the part I care about making visible.
Because being exceptionally good at what you do doesn't automatically mean people can see the value in it, or understand why you're the person who can get them where they want to go.
You're selling the thing. They're buying the difference.
That's the lens I bring to everything I do at SmartCat Marketing.
That’s exactly the gap I was trained to close, and have been for 25 years.
Testimonial
I couldn’t figure out why my audience didn’t understand what I was offering. Working with Nicole completely shifted how I explain what I do. Now people are signing up for my programs, and it feels so good to finally be recognized for the work I actually do.”
— Jeannine Riant, Fully Align Studio
I didn't set out to be an entrepreneur
In 2014, I got packaged out. The office I worked in was closing, and like a lot of people, I suddenly had a decision to make: What the hell am I going to do now?
I'd had a good corporate career. I liked the lifestyle. I was good at sales. I had a strong network.
But there was one thing I'd never been particularly good at:
Drinking the corporate Kool-Aid.
I never believed in selling the widget of the month simply because head office wanted more widgets sold. I believed people deserved options that actually worked for them.
Fortunately, an entrepreneur friend named Ravi saw something in me that I hadn't quite seen in myself yet. He told me to start my own business.
So I did.
My original plan? Start SmartCat until I found another job. That plan didn't last long.
I had clients almost immediately. Years of networking had paid off, and my sales training meant I wasn't afraid of finding the next client. I knew how to have conversations, build relationships, and ask for the business.
Eleven years later, I'm still here.
Then I discovered I wasn't as alone in my thinking as I thought.
When 2020 gave all of us an unexpected pause, I took a hard look at my business.
Where were my clients coming from? What was working? Why were people choosing me?
I already had a pretty strong belief system about marketing and sales. Then, while working with my web designer, she said something that stopped me: "You must have read Donald Miller's book."
What book?
I'd never heard of Donald Miller or StoryBrand. She was surprised because, as she put it, I was already talking his talk. My reaction was basically, “Well... it's sales talk.”
Turns out, I'd spent years arriving at many of the same conclusions through experience that Miller had put into a framework. So I became StoryBrand certified in 2022. Not because I needed someone else to tell me what I believed. I wanted a framework to anchor it. Give it language. Make it teachable.
And it was one of the best decisions I made for my business. The certification and the community taught me a lot. But the most important thing was realizing that the core of my thinking hadn't changed.
In fact, I'd already started creating my own language for it.
What you can expect when we work together
I'll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.
That's been my philosophy since I started SmartCat in 2015.
I'll challenge assumptions, ask the questions that need asking, and tell you when I think something isn't going to work and why.
Because you didn't hire me to agree with you.
You hired me to help you get somewhere.
My team and I will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. We are experienced in what we do, we know what works, and we deliver what we promise.
25+ years of experience. And plenty of stories.
I've spent more than two decades working where sales, marketing, and buyer behaviour intersect. Along the way, I've built the skills, experience, and perspective that I now bring to every business I work with.
25+ years
Sales and marketing experience, connecting buyers to sellers and helping businesses turn attention into action.
11 years
Building SmartCat Marketing and helping small businesses clarify their message, strengthen their marketing, and make it easier for the right clients to say yes.
230+ websites
Built, rebuilt, strategized and supported over the years—with the messaging always coming before the pretty.
StoryBrand Certified
I spent four years immersed in the StoryBrand community, learning, teaching, and refining a framework that gave language to many of the buyer-first principles I'd already developed through experience.
Google-certified SEO strategist
Because getting found matters. But being found by the right people matters more.
Hundreds of founders and small businesses
Across industries, stages of business, and levels of marketing sophistication.
"Nicole helped me structure my message so it actually made sense to my potential clients. Since launching, I’m generating better-fit leads, seeing increased traffic, and my website is now turning that interest into real clients.”
— Lisette Jones, ThinkSmart Training & Consulting
There's more to me than marketing
SmartCat may be my business, but it isn't my entire personality.
I'm a people person, a lifelong learner, an unapologetic question-asker, and someone who has never been particularly good at pretending to be interested in things that don't make sense.
I love a good conversation, a great story, clever ideas, and people who are willing to challenge the status quo rather than follow the herd simply because that's the way it's always been done.
And yes, there is usually a cat somewhere nearby.
A few things you should know about me
- I'm a connector. I've spent years building relationships and genuinely enjoy putting the right people together.
- I'm curious by nature. If something doesn't make sense, I'm going down the rabbit hole until I figure it out.
- I'm direct. You already know this.
- I'm a little allergic to corporate speak. Life is too short for “leveraging synergies.”
- I believe business should work for the person who owns it. Not the other way around.
- I like smart people with a sense of humour. Bonus points if you can laugh at yourself.
- I'm still learning. I don't think becoming an expert means you stop being curious.
Awards
6 Time Woman of Influence Nominee
"I believe in supporting women and helping them achieve success."
I am incredibly proud and honoured that I have been nominated 6 years in a row as a Woman of Influence by my amazing peers and wonderful clients. Woman of Influence Nominee 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023*
Halifax Community Votes
2023 Recipient of Platinum in Digital Marketing
2024 Recipient of Platinum in Digital Marketing
2025 Recipient of Silver in Digital Marketing and Marketing & Advertising
Celebrating 10 Years in Business
