The age of the female is upon us, and women are becoming the modern-day superheroes of our time. The playing field is finally starting to level out for us, making it easier for women to transform into well-respected business leaders who are more successful than ever. Girl bosses are popping up everywhere. According to Forbes, women-owned businesses have grown 58% since 2007. If you are a woman, the pride that is felt around this modern-day paradigm shift is overwhelming and thrilling all at the same time.
In celebration of #BossDay, we wanted to put the spotlight on THuS Marketing’s very own girl boss, Nona Phinn. She brings an inspiring and unique story of how she came to start her own marketing firm. Originally setting out to conquer the fashion marketing world, she finished her degree in New York City, ready to start a new position in the fashion industry after graduating. But as the saying goes, life is what happens while we are making plans. Personal circumstances brought Nona back to the Northern Virginia area.
Nona’s outgoing, personable style makes her likeability factor a 12 out of 10. She has an uncanny ability to make people feel very comfortable while maintaining her confidence and poise all at the same time. Being a highly intelligent, driven individual who can think on her toes, she never misses a beat. Non-profits have always been the organizations to take notice and an interest in her work. Because of this, life has guided her into marketing for nonprofits.
One trend she has always been rewarded for is being able to deliver a personal touch with all of her work. Upon returning home, her position at the American Counseling Association (ACA) really was the first experience to bring this to light. As a marketing assistant, she was assigned to a project, marketing their first Hawaiian-based ACA conference all the way from the east coast. Nona decided to reach out to counseling associations located in Asia, thinking because of their proximity to Hawaii, they would be likely to engage in the event.
This move ended up being a game-changer as she was able to grow ACA’s membership by 40 people in one month, earning her a plane ticket to Hawaii. Her decision to make email pen pals with those folks who were thousands of miles away created this opportunity for special recognition. That really was the event that inspired Nona to always focus on the personal touch behind every business she did marketing for.
As she continued to make positive strides in her professional life, Nona couldn’t help but notice this dissatisfaction that lingered in the background. She always felt this nudging that where she was currently, was not where she was meant to stay. This propelled her to continue searching for that perfect job. After moving around from various non-profits, she couldn’t help but notice her soul and heart still hungered for more.
Having a marketing contract on the side with a previous employer opened up the door for her to begin running her own marketing firm. It was never something she had originally intended for. In fact, she had repelled the idea when colleagues brought it up. But God had bigger plans, as He usually does.
Her continuous success and reward stemming from marketing with a personal touch led her to establish THuS Marketing: The human side of marketing, in January of 2018. She knew that this relationship-based approach would be one that allowed her to stand out from other firms. Nona notes that she is more satisfied (and busy) than ever before with her professional life. Her fulfillment in life is at its best because she is able to do her marketing and mom life on her own terms, in her own time.
When looking at her role models for leadership and success, Nona points to God, her pastor, and Oprah. Talk about a trifecta of ideal influence. Nona states, “People who are able to listen well and predict people’s needs and then tend to them are the best leaders. The best business owners are those who are about more than the bottom line.”
Listening is a key factor to successful relationships and THuS is all about great relationships first, quality marketing second. This concept has created rapid, organic growth for THuS, most of which originated from Nona’s previous business relationships prior to launching her own firm. This speaks to Nona’s impeccable business marketing strategies and success. But don’t ever give Nona credit for her success, because she will immediately redirect the credit to God. #blessed
When asked about her 3-5 year vision for the firm, she makes it clear that she never expected it to take off the way it has. She had initially intended it to be a one-woman show with two major contracts as her bread and butter. But we all know that whenever you have a leader that possesses such class and heart begin something of their own, it’s usually very difficult to stifle the growth of their organizations.
At the rate THuS is growing after being in business for almost two years, she predicts that we will eventually be living and growing into our own office space, taking on more clients, building a team of experts who are providing the human side of marketing to each and every contract. She is at the pinnacle of her success but has only just begun. Nona Phinn is the epitome of a modern-day girl boss.