We Are Power Podcast
The We Are Power podcast is the podcast for your career and your life. A weekly podcast with listeners in over 60 countries worldwide where you'll hear personal life stories, top-notch industry advice, and key leadership insight from amazing role models. The podcast not only aids your personal and professional development but also delves deep into conversations around Gender Equality and Social Mobility. Each week the We Are Power Podcast will bring you a new interview from a leader within the 100,000-strong We Are Power community, hosted by Simone Roche MBE.
We Are Power Podcast
Wigs, Wins & Resilience: Nicola Wood’s Bold Business Battle
In this inspiring episode of the We Are PoWEr Podcast, we chat with Nicola Wood, founder of the Wonderful Wig Company. Nicola shares her incredible story of building a successful business while battling cancer, highlighting the personal and financial challenges she faced along the way.
From overcoming obstacles in entrepreneurship to expanding her reach through franchising and advocacy, Nicola talks about her resilience and dedication to making a difference. She discusses the impact of receiving awards, the importance of community, and how her TEDx Talk has shaped her future plans.
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Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast. If this is your first time here, the we Are Power podcast is the podcast for you, your career and your life. We release an episode every single Monday with listeners in over 60 countries worldwide, where you'll hear personal life stories, top-notch industry advice and key leadership insight from amazing role models. As we Are Power is the umbrella brand to Northern Power Women Awards, which celebrates hundreds of female role models and advocates every year. This is where you can hear stories from all of our awards alumni and stay up to date with everything. Mpw Awards and we Are Power Never imitated, never replicated singularly wonderful, everybody's wonder girl. Well, today I am joined by Nicola Ward, who is the Chief Exec and founder of the wonderful Wig Company and a 2024 Northern Power Women Awards winner. Nicola, great to see you again. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm very well, thank you. Thank you for having me. Nice to see you again.
Speaker 1:And it was great to see you. It was only last month, wasn't it, when we were up in the Toon up in Newcastle with the fabulous Kim McGuinness talking about all things Newcastle, social value and everything else. So it was an amazing event, Great North East energy.
Speaker 2:So tell us about where the wonderful wig company came from, because it's obviously very personal yeah, so I've been a hairdresser all of my life and so I was working as a hairdresser, had a nice, um, suburban business, um. I had to go out to Sunderland and it I was quite happy, plodding along and um, and then, when I was 36, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and so off the back of that, I really did realize and saw firsthand every single day, the impact of a woman having no hair and what it did for her confidence, how she held her hat, how she held herself. I just saw the sparkle gone in all of these women's eyes every day for months and months and months, and and just had a bit of an epiphany that actually I've spent my life making people feel wonderful with hair. How can I make people without hair feel wonderful too? And that was it really. Um, that was how we, we that was where the fire in my belly came from uh, to set up that business. And you are well, you're well now.
Speaker 1:I am, and and at what point did you start that business? Because you're dealing with the, the, the, the attack on your body, the, the mental pressure, and you've you've observed what is going on around you with these amazing women that are going through sort of the same, similar and dissimilar situation to yourself, but and you had that spark to do it, but at what point in that?
Speaker 2:did you start? Did that become action?
Speaker 2:yeah yeah, like literally the minute I got home, I felt as is. It was somebody who was I'm very driven, I'm very high energy, do, do, do. I'm an action taker, but I like it that way. You know, this has been me all of my life. I operate at a certain level and with cancer, that was absolutely taken away from us in a moment. You know the ability to actually think what I could do next, the ability to be able to function on a daily basis. So all of these choices are taken away from you and actually your ability to think of what, what future have I got, you know, and what is my legacy. All of these questions are running through your head really quickly and I think, um, when I had this epiphany and it happened in the hospital, I just couldn't wait to get home and start research because it took my mind off cancer. It saved me, it absolutely saved me.
Speaker 2:Having that epiphany, I never really thought for one minute more oh, poor me, I've got cancer, or what can I do today? Because I had this purpose. I couldn't cut hair, I couldn't be in my own business, but I could research, and when I was well, I could research, and when I was well, I could be on the internet and, and when I was even more well, I could do a bit of traveling and explore what was out there. So it just it saved my, I, it, I felt like it saved my, my mental health, my anxiety around cancer, everything.
Speaker 1:And what was the big challenge in that time? Because you're, you're, you're dealing with that your health and breast cancer and setting up a business the two really big, big things, big, life changing things. Setting up a business is no mean feat. What were those challenges along the way and how did you get through them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say the first year, you know, whilst I was in convalescence, if you want to call it that sort of in and out of treatment and hospitals, that whole year it was the research element of the business, it was the growing, my knowledge, it was attaining that ability. So, from a financial perspective, there was no pressure, you know. However, there was a lot With cancer. I would say most of me, most of the actual pressures from cancer come from not from the cancer, it's from being able to be present with your little boy, who my little boy was six and I wanted to just be normal for him. And paying the mortgage when suddenly, like, the salon was without its main breadwinner, all of those things tend to stress you out more. So those were the challenges.
Speaker 2:And then, of course, once I'd done the research and I wanted to actually build this business physically, then it was where the hell do I get the money? Because cancer absolutely makes you skinned and I didn't have a contingency plan at 36 for having a year off work, you know, or being a teen when I wasn't there. So one of the biggest challenges was definitely finance, um, but I was adamant that I was doing it and my husband knows me really quite well, and when I say I'm going to do something, I generally do, and when I want something, I tend to get my own way, especially with him. So yeah, we, he, he, let me remodel our house and we took a loan from my wonderful father-in-law and loaned me some money to do it yeah, and we talked.
Speaker 1:It's interesting you talk about finance because we had Ginnan Adamu on the podcast just before Christmas and again she's just finished her radiation. So big high five to our ganan for breast cancer Just literally a few weeks ago and she talked about that, the unspoken issues around cancer, which is that finance bit, and she, fortunately. She says I had insurance to help cover, but again self-employed. How am I going to do this? How am I going to look after my little boy? But this is not one of the things that is spoken about is it?
Speaker 2:I didn't realise really the life I was living until it was kind of almost taken away from us, and that was, you know, I live in a nice house, I drive a nice car, all of these things, don't? You can't just give your car back because you can't afford the payments anymore, can you? You can't? Just, they actually can't afford that for the next year, um, all of, and I didn't have insurance. I didn't have insurance. So, yeah, top tip get some insurance. Um, um, I didn't. I mean, I've got life insurance, but I didn't have that um specialist insurance for being off work with cancer. So I wish I'd had. It would have taken away a lot of the problems, a lot of problems. And then I think, just that pressure that we're putting ourselves or in I certainly do to still be the perfect mommy who does the school run every day, or who looks nice when she goes to stay in threes, or can still be a good friend, or still be a good um leader, I think that that's that kind of pressure that I put on myself.
Speaker 1:Yeah and you have with the wonderful wig company and the advocacy, because that comes as well. You, you're out there being an advocate for her loss, but you've reached over 15 000 people and counting right yeah, that's 15 000 people like in person in seven years.
Speaker 2:What's next? Yeah, so we last year we opened our first franchise because I would like to have more UK. I want everybody to be able to have the service that they deserve when they lose their hair and the support that they deserve and quite often it's it is better delivered in person. What we do? Of course we can. We can do a lot of stuff online and we did so throughout Covid. You know everything was online. We can do that. We can do all kinds online, but actually holding somebody's real hand, and when they're going through the toughest time, is so important. So we want to do more of the real hand holding and that would mean getting a bigger reach across the uk. That means having more physical sites across the uk. Um, which is what we we're planning to do and we talked about.
Speaker 1:You are an advocate, you are a total advocate. Out there and talk to me about the. You spoke about this, didn't you? Tedx Warrington? You've had probably just short of 40,000 people view that TED Talk. How scary was that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was scary. That was really, really out of my comfort zone entirely and it's so, so much hard work. But the most incredible thing of accomplishment, the most incredible feeling when you've nailed your script, when you know it and you know it inside out and you can see it backwards. And I really did prepare. It was very scary and I put the hours in and that is what led to being able to deliver a good talk. I want to say, and also I think that's what's next it's me using my voice to reach a bigger audience, and the TEDx allowed me to do that. Obviously, I've got a book coming out and that will allow me, hopefully, to reach people further afield as well.
Speaker 1:And we'll talk about the book in a minute, but we have WhatsApp groups across the we Are Power, northern Power Women community for our finalists from last year and a few weeks ago we were putting a shout out for this year's 2025 finalists. We were putting a shout out for this year's 2025 finalists and one of your fellow commended winners or winners from last year, alexandra Knight. She's just had a TEDx talk published and there was sharing notes. But there are the top tips. What would you say, alexandra? I think you've just given one in the menu which is prepare, prepare, prepare.
Speaker 1:But Alex has just got a TED Talk out there and they are scary and the fact that you get up there without notes and you memorize it. But it does give you that reach and a voice. I was back in the day TEDx licensee for TEDx white all women and I love the passion of giving people in the stage and I love to talk and I love to chat and I love to have conversations like this, but the thought of standing up there in a TEDx environment is is terrifying. What advice would you give out there for someone who wants to do that but maybe are feeling a bit of the fear?
Speaker 2:um, pick the right place and the right team. Obviously there's very there are so many different ones you can go for, but pitch to the right people and then build your resilience. Because, for all of the right reasons, you know, I want to say probably 100 script revisions and every time you think you've got it, you get more critique that it could be better, or let's change this, or have you thought about that? And actually I'm pretty resilient, but actually at moments I was like maybe I just can't do this, maybe like I just haven't got it in us. So just be prepared that it is a challenge like no other, but you'll have no better feeling after. And actually you know you have my message, which is so niche reach that many people worldwide. How many platforms give you that? Yeah, and also the. You know the, the network that you build, the people that you're on that, that path with. They really get it. And we've built such a lovely network as well. Go for it, do it, do it for it.
Speaker 1:Love that, go for it. Prepare, go for it, do it. No particular order. Now in 2023,. You were the winner of the Most Inspiring Businesswoman at the Best Businesswoman Awards and obviously, as I mentioned earlier, you were our Disruptor for winner of the most inspiring business woman at the best business women awards and obviously, as I mentioned earlier, you were our disruptor for good award at the 2024 northern power and awards. What part of awards got to play in raising profile, building communities? You've just said incredibly important.
Speaker 2:Incredibly important. I'd never, ever, I mean I'd been in business for I'd never, ever, I mean I'd been in business for 16 years prior to building the wig company. I'd never even given an award, a thought, nobody had ever entered this for an award. And then, obviously, doing this and winning a couple of really very, very prestigious award, it absolutely catapults your, your brand. It absolutely puts you in front of the network that has came off the back of we are power is. It's uncomparable to not to happen, to being part of that. You know it's a. You've suddenly got this huge team of people who, just because you're affiliated with the award and because they've seen work, it's putting you in front of people who would never, ever know. Nicola from Sunderland who does wigs. You know, now I meet people from all over the country and they know who I am and what I do, um, and so that's pretty incredible.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the book, and I'm so very, very grateful and honored that you asked me to to write some words for your book. Tell me, um, what, what the book is about and when it's out.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So the book will be released on World Cancer Day, which is the 4th of february 25, and it is a book of. It's a book of stories, antidotes, um lessons. It's a book about my journey with cancer, which, in the grand scheme of things, is, you know, not that interesting to anybody who's not me, I guess. But what I found was I get a lot of um release from writing. You know, I mean, I was certainly not a novelist, but I journal all the time. I'm constantly writing. I've always got a notebook like right by my side and I get a lot of relief from that.
Speaker 2:And I was writing more and more and more as I was going through cancer and for a couple of years after things changed, you know, but I was still it kept coming up in everything I was writing kept coming out how I was feeling. And then I met thousands and thousands of people going through cancer. We all talked about the same things, even though my little story is very different from the next person's and experiences are different. We have similar outlooks, we have a similar humor, we have a similar script that we talk about. We'd speak a foreign language, like cancer is a foreign language until you've got it and I just thought, and then I met lots of people come to us and they don't have anyone. They haven't got anybody to hold their to us and they don't have anyone. They haven't got anybody to hold their hand through this. They haven't got anybody who'll come with them. And seeing somebody who was coming for a wig fitting, they haven't got somebody to tell them whether they look nice in it or not. And I just thought how sad is that. And once you find out that you're not alone in anything, it's less scary. So I just thought, oh, I wonder if we could write, I wonder if a few of us could get a collection of like how everybody's different but we're all the same and just kind of like a bit like a club, and I always we used to refer to Hunter as the club that I never asked to join, and so, yeah, I went.
Speaker 2:So basically it's a book of perspective and probably almost 50 perspectives and that's of people in treatment, the brother of somebody in treatment, doctors, nurses, children, mums, daughters their short stories and perspectives on their cancer path, and we've just compiled that and it is the highs and the lows and everything in between. It's not about, it's not a book to try and make everybody come out of that book feeling positive. You know it's it's got some positive in it but it's also got some know some dink sadness in it. Because that is the reality of cancer. And I just wanted a book that you could read if you had cancer. You could read if your mum had cancer so that you could get a better understanding of how she was feeling. You could read if you, you could buy it for your best friend if she was diagnosed and just kind of, yeah, a book to have.
Speaker 1:Have everybody have a bit more understanding of what it's really like it's like you say, it's a hug in a book and, and even more importantly, a big, huge northern hug in a book. Yeah, yeah, nothing better, nicola. You are full of passion and purpose and impatience to make change, but what would you say is your superpower?
Speaker 2:I have the ability to make people feel that.
Speaker 1:It's priceless, totally priceless. Nicola, you are so much more than wigs. You are so much more than the qualifications. You are so much more than the qualifications. You are so much more than the profile. You are especially you. You are just an amazing human who is passionate about giving back, paying forward and giving that virtual hug. Thank you so much for joining me today and thank you for being awesome. Thank you, pavel. Subscribe on YouTube, apple, apple, amazon, music, spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave us a review or follow us on socials. We are power underscore net on insta, tiktok and twitter, or we are power on linkedin, facebook and we are underscore power on youtube.
