A creative, resourceful, heart-felt leader.

I’ve been on my own, supporting myself without a safety net or a silver spoon, since age 17.  I was gifted in school, so I was able to matriculate faster than my peers.  But I’ve had to earn everything in life that I’ve achieved and I’ve overcome a lot of challenges and adversity to be successful.   Over my career, I have founded, grown, turned around, or scaled  17 different businesses, ranging from $1.5 million to $435 million in annual revenue and from healthcare to retail to consumer products to eCommerce.   

All of that boils down into two key principles - creativity and resourcefulness.  

I’ve had to learn how to develop opportunities and programs and be very resourceful.  I have a special skill in bringing order out of chaos.  I’m not afraid of ambiguity or complex problems that don’t have an obvious solution.  That’s where I thrive, actually.  My secret weapon is a blank sheet of paper.  I’ll use it to start drawing boxes and circles, and before you know it, there will be 15 minutes and an action plan that’s efficient and effective.  It’s a skill set that I’ve developed over a long period of time and a lot learning experiences.  At the end of the day, quality and relationships are the things I’ve learned to focus on.  

If you nail both quality and culture in any business, the revenue follows.  Do you want creativity and resourcefulness to help you drive the revenue forward in your business?

-Colette

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In 2018, Colette was recognized by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal as one of the 16 most influential businesswomen of the year.

Education

Dr. Colette Nichols received a BA in Political Science and Finance from Westmont College, a Masters in Organization and Management and a PhD in Organization and Management from Capella University. Her dissertation on eBusiness Projects in the US and Project Success explores how you can ensure a project’s success, inspired by the statistic that over 50% of projects fail in the United States. 

Career

For the past 20 years, Dr. Nichols has worked in management roles with various organizations. Most recently, she was the COO and CFO for Antelope Valley Hospital, where she created a vision and a master site and facility plan that was used to build the roadmap for a new $800 MM state-of-the-art hospital. Furthermore, she developed strategic partnerships, created a combination of funding sources for the new hospital, and achieved major turnaround. 

In 2018, Colette was recognized by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal as one of the 16 most influential businesswomen in Los Angeles County.  

Philanthropy

In 2019, Colette founded The Empower Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on building hope and empowering communities. The foundation funds charities that are making a positive difference in three major community challenges - homelessness, vulnerable children, and health.