Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Ruffin.
Nancy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The short of it is I’m a storyteller who is driven by my passion to help others craft their own stories through personal and professional development. I help individuals tap into their self-awareness and uncover or rediscover every gift, talent, and skill they have, so that whatever they do, whether personally or professionally, contributes to making the world a better place.
As a writer, I understand how storytelling has the power to connect, inspire, and motivate action in others. I’ve been writing since elementary school and my writing has been critical to my own self-healing and personal development. When we can be honest with ourselves about who we are that is when we can fully step into who we have been created to be.
In 2012, after the birth of my first daughter, I became more aware of the kind of woman I wanted to be. As a new mom, I am now responsible for raising a young girl into a woman, I knew if I wanted her to be fearless, ambitious, strong, kind, empathetic, confident, nurturing, supportive, relentless, among many other things then I would have to be the example of those things. That is when the idea for my organization The FIERCE Woman Collective (TFW Collective) began to formulate in my mind. I knew then that I wanted to manifest something where all of these things would come together to create something great.
In April of 2014 with nothing more than an idea and a will to create a platform where women could come together, network, inspire each other, support and learn from each other, The TFW Collective was officially born. I did not know if my idea would be successful, but something stirred inside me and I knew that I had to listen to my inner voice.
I listened to my heart, followed my passion and began planning my first event not knowing if anyone would attend. As with anyone who does something for the first time, I was afraid of failing. I was afraid that I would give it my all and no one would show. But I was wrong. I planned the first event and to my surprise, it sold out. What I had set out to do was really happening and it was exciting.
Fast forward to present day, through The TFW Collective we have curated over 3 dozen empowerment events, facilitated numerous workshops, connected hundreds of women, honored 20 women over five years at our annual FIERCE Woman awards ceremony, partnered with a local school to raise funds for a new computer lab, worked with its 4th grade class for three consecutive years to promote literacy by helping them self publish their own poetry anthology, and hosted our annual teen girls summit for the past three years. With all we’ve done in such a short amount of time, we are committed to doing more, helping more, inspiring more.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As with starting anything from the ground up, there will always be challenges. The number one challenge for me has been funding. As a non for profit, much of our funding comes from donations. There have been times where I’ve had to cover the costs for some of our workshops and the services we provide out of my own pocket. Building a strong team is also challenging. It can be hard to find people who will commit to the vision and mission of the organization. In the five years since we started, I just recently found someone who loves the organization as much as I do. Our program coordinator, Jessica Martinez, has been such an incredible addition to the team. She is self-motivated, passionate, a natural leader and I trust her to make the best decisions for the organization.
My advice for other women just starting their journey is to not lose yourself while chasing your dream. It’s easy to believe that we must work non stop all the time, but the truth is being able to pace yourself, setting boundaries, and making sure you’re physically/mentally/spiritually taking care of yourself is critical to the success of your business. If you’re not ok, your business won’t be either.
Also, learn to say no. Trying to please everyone will make you miserable. One quote I constantly remind myself of is something Warren Buffet said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is those really successful people say no to almost everything.”
We’d love to hear more about TFW Collective (The Fierce Woman Collective).
I am the self-proclaimed Latina Oprah. I was even interviewed by a major magazine and the title of the article was Meet Nancy Ruffin, The Self Proclaimed Latina Oprah. Some call me the purpose professional because of my award-winning book, Live On Purpose, others call me a goal-setting guru because of my highly successful manifestation and strategic visioning workshops, but regardless of what I’m called or what I’m known for, I am committed to working with individuals on the brink of change and reinvention.
My dedication to inspiring individuals to achieve their goals, fulfill their dreams, and live their best lives is what drives most of my work. I’m also a community activist and social justice advocate, and a firm believer in the West African concept of sankofa. Sankofa is an Akan term that literally means, “to go back and get it.” Loosely interpreted, sankofa’s principle is simple, as we rise and excel it is our responsibility to reach back and help others.
What I’m most proud of is seeing the many people who have accomplished many of their goals/dreams as a result of the work they did with us. Helping others succeed will always be what I’m most proud of.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
Every job is your job. When you’re starting out, it is so important to learn as much as you can (even if it isn’t in your job description). The more you know the more marketable you become. You have to be willing to do what others aren’t. That is what will get you noticed and what will set you apart. Many of the skills I use in the consulting business I learned and nurtured in my 9 to 5 jobs.
Also, no matter how successful you become to treat the cleaning person with the same respect you would give to the CEO. Every member of the team plays a critical role and we should treat everyone as such. You never know when the person you least expect will be in a position to help you in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iamnancyruffin.com
- Email: nancy@thefiercewoman.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamnancyruffin
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/iamnancyruffin
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/iamnancyruffin
- Other: www.thefiercewoman.org
Image Credit:
Marcus Isaac Photography, Angie Velasquez Photography
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