Life & Work with Nicole Hunley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Hunley.

Hi Nicole, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Ever since I was a child, I found that I loved entertaining others and seeing their faces light up. Where I found my true passion was at Disney.

While studying musical theatre in college, I was asked to go to a Disneyland audition with friends… and the rest was history. Over the next 6 years, I worked in both Disneyland in California and Hong Kong Disneyland where I met thousands upon thousands of sweet children. Getting to chat with, dance, and hug these littles was the most rewarding experience I had ever been blessed to have. Seeing the pure joy and excitement spill from their precious faces was priceless.

There is an unconditional love there between a child and those they look up to and admire that should be highly respected and reciprocated. What an honor it was to experience such warmth. After leaving Disney, I worked in event/experiential marketing and as much as I loved the “events” aspect, it wasn’t quite the same as bringing joy to children. I quickly realized I could combine the two and create a Princess Party experience for children in Nashville that could be beyond what is traditionally expected.

One that is intentional in not only creating a fun, creative, and high-quality experience in look and show but also one that focuses on sharing what truly makes memory moments…the true love of a princess. Therefore, I went back to school to get a degree in Entrepreneurship from MTSU. In July of 2016, A FairyTaled Event Princess Parties was launched. A dream come true!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Ha… not exactly. One thing they teach you in business school is that starting a business is usually 3x’s more money than you think it will be to start, most don’t make a profit for a few years and many fail within the first few years. Those who are still around hang on by clawing their way through and pivoting when necessary. I found this to be completely accurate.

Passion is key when taking on such a rollercoaster adventure. When I started FairyTaled, my vision was that it could be a job I could do part-time from home allowing me to be at home when my husband and I began to have children. Boy was I wrong! The first few years had me putting in 40-60 hours a week. As a new business owner, you have to literally learn everything from scratch by reading books, and articles, watching YouTube videos, and so on.

Things like setting up a website, branding, logos, pricing, what accounting software to use, how to do payroll and what services to use, marketing tactics and material creation, setting up client contracts and invoicing systems, creating training material and performer contracts, casting and scheduling, not to mention how to style all the wigs, and figuring out taxes and insurances, lol. This list goes on and on. So it was a bumpy start and for many years, I dumped my income straight back into the business investing in new costumes, props, advertisements, and more.

We eventually found our rhythm, with wig styling, costume, and supply prep, and administrative work Monday-Fridays and parties Saturdays and Sundays. It was a nice flow for a while. Then when Covid hit, we had to quickly rethink and recreate the entire business to go virtual. That was a massive undertaking, but we are so grateful to have been able to adapt and make it through. It even gave us the opportunity to entertain children not only throughout the United States but internationally as well.

After all this, I have learned that most things will take you longer to accomplish than expected, you will have fires that pop up regularly that were not in your daily/weekly plan ( zippers breaking, sick performers, website malfunctions, etc.). But all in all, at the end of the day, I am doing what I love. It is making a difference in the lives of children and families throughout Nashville and in the lives of our incredible performers. Through it all, I can set my hours.

If I need to take a day off, I can work in the late evenings or cram for a week and take a week off. I have flexibility and control over my time and that is wonderful. 7 years later, we are still not where we want to be growth-wise, but we are growing more each year and it works for my family.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As an owner of a princess party company that aims to provide a unique, thoughtful, and high-quality experience, I wear many hats during the week. From administrative tasks including handling booking requests, scheduling, invoice and contract creations, communication with clients, marketing, accounting, payroll, supply assessments and reorders, costume maintenance and repairs, costume and wig cleaning, wig stylist, event supply preparations, hiring, training and event supply/costume transporting and more. It never gets boring!

We specialize in giving a magical experience that is intentional and heart-felt with an obvious attention to detail; putting our very best into each event throughout each step of the process. On average, we invest approximately 6 hours into each event before we even show up to the party. Once the enchanting event begins, the children can step into the storybook with their favorite characters, as we theme each event to the character attending. We have created custom character-themed games with coinciding props, interactive storytelling adventures/singalongs, and dance lessons for each princess that fit into their storyline.

What I am most proud of is being able to find amazing performers who truly have kind and loving princess hearts. We not only seek out lovely and talented girls who are responsible and professional, but ones who get the “why we do what we do” and who love these little’s dearly. To check all of those boxes is challenging for one individual, let alone a whole cast. I feel beyond blessed to have a cast that truly cares and works hard to invest the training time needed and give their all every time. Every time we receive a glowing review, I know these girls brought to life a beautiful memory for a family that will be cherished for years to come.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I believe that luck can only get you so far. Hard work and rational assessment of risk versus reward have to play the main role. When it comes to luck, however, I was fortunate to have a family investor early on which helped with the original expenses. Building a wardrobe of 30-plus characters, along with all their underdressings, wigs, and props, was quite an undertaking. The rest of our journey happened organically with heart, creativity, and hard work and continues to grow each day.

As for bad luck, nothing is perfect and we have had our fair share of challenges that we have had to take on and overcome. But that is part of life and we make the best choices we can at the moment. Then we learn what to do differently next time. For example, we now wear flats to all of our events… ha, we learned.

Pricing:

• Our party packages start at $374 and go up with adding additional characters or time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fairytaled.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afairytaledevent/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFairyTaledEvent

Image Credits
Mandy Liz Branding Photography, Kim Vetter Photography, and Kat Henderson Photography