When your career leads you to travel the world, make a ton of money, rub shoulders with celebrities, and win awards, what do you do? Quit of course! At least that’s what Necole Kane of XO Necole, formerly Necole Bitchie, did. And though the initial result was a terrifying drop in funds and a drastic change in lifestyle, she didn’t regret the decision at all. Now, she’s once again at the top of her game, but this time, she’s helping others get there too.
Necole’s life wasn’t always filled with jet setting escapades and celebrity-filled events. It was the opposite in fact. After losing both her parents and her grandparents as a young adult, she spent most of her youth sleeping on other people’s couches.
Still, she was drawn to the entertainment industry and was determined to build a career in that field. Moving to New York City, she began to send out resume after resume, reaching out to every entertainer and celebrity brand she could think of. But, although she was brought in for interviews, she never ended up landing the job.
After a while, her savings dwindled, and she was forced to return home to live with her aunt. The rejection was disheartening, but couldn’t crush Necole’s unwavering determination. She decided to stop waiting for a door to open and to create her own instead. She started Necole Bitchie, a character and a blog that gave readers an inside look into celebrity news and gossip.
Unfortunately, developing this blog and building a following did not happen overnight. While Necole knew that she was working, her aunt did not quite understand and told Necole that she had to leave. Necole considers this moment of “tough love” to have been one of the most defining and motivating moments in her life. It forced her to really have to fend for herself and put her all into the website and character she was developing.
Her character has been referenced in VH1’s show Single Ladies and in a Nicki Minaj song. It seemed like she was on top of the world, working with Russell Simmons, Fuse TV, and she was even offered reality show deals and movie roles, but there was something missing.
Even though her life as Necole Bitchie was filled with excitement and financial security, she realized that it was time to leave. In July of 2015, she said goodbye to Necole Bitchie in search of a more purposeful, fulfilling career.
Stepping away from celebrity gossip, she developed XO Necole, a place where women could go to share their stories and feel inspired.
“If [women] woke up and were feeling down, they could go to XONecole.com and know that there was gonna be a story on there that would give them hope and give them that extra ummph!” she says of her new website.
In spite of her past success and her passion for this project, XONecole has not been easy. Necole has watched her funds fluctuate, leaving her to wonder if it had all been worth it. Once, she even called her aunt asking if she could return home if this new project failed.
With the reassurance of her aunt that everything would be okay if this project did not take off, she dove back and in and put everything she had into creating a place where women could feel happy, strong, and supported. Now, Necole Kane has replaced Necole Bitchie as a business woman, sister, friend, travel enthusiast, and a overall passionate, empowering, inspiring woman.
“It’s never too late to press the reset button and to start working towards the life you’ve always dreamed of,” she says, “[If you’re feeling stuck], do a little self-evaluation and take inventory. What is that’s making you feel stuck. What things in your life are tying you down to your current situation? Are they material things? Once you’re able to take inventory of all the things that are tying you down, it’s time to put an action plan together.”
She now travels for a very different reason (to attend women-empowerment conferences) and hosts events with a very different purpose (to bring women of all walks of life together). To manage it all while updating and promoting XONecole.com, she uses Hobnob to manage the grunt work of the invitations and scheduling. That way, she can focus on the details and create events that are more powerful. And, with Hobnob’s easy-to-use RSVP feature, she can find a little time for herself while the app does the busy work!
She encourages us all to picture our lives without monetary boundaries. If money were no issue, where would we like to be in the next six months? In the next twelve? Picture your life as a book, one that has a happy ending. When we flip to that last page, what is the happy ending that we picture? Working towards that goal will leave us feeling free and unstuck. All we have to do is break down the action steps to get there.
Necole is filling her audience with hope, excitement, and motivation at XONecole.com, and leaving us with takeaways to enrich our lives with each visit. We’re eagerly anticipating adventures with this amazing woman, blogger-extraordinaire, and Hobnob user.
Visit XONecole.com and Necole\’s personal blog HelloNecole.com now and be sure to watch her YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on this lifestyle experts tips.