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In this episode of The Business Owner’s Journey, host Nick Berry continues the 12 Days of Business mini-series by welcoming back Romi Wallach and Nicole Mastrangelo, co-founders of Daily Drip Media. Together, they explore how empathy in business fosters authentic customer connections, the superpower of listening, and the importance of community in brand building. Romi and Nicole share actionable insights from their journey, including how understanding customers beyond generic demographics and letting audience feedback guide strategy can accelerate growth. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this episode offers a fresh perspective on customer-centric strategies and emotional connection in business.
Romi and Nicole emphasize the importance of digging deeper than surface-level customer data. They share how truly understanding customer needs and motivations leads to authentic engagement and long-term loyalty. By prioritizing empathy and curiosity, business owners can foster connections that go beyond transactions.
Listening actively and thoughtfully is more than a skill—it’s a superpower. The co-founders explain how actively engaging with customer feedback provides invaluable insights that drive product development, marketing strategies, and community-building efforts.
Empathy isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the foundation of meaningful customer relationships. Romi and Nicole delve into how putting themselves in their customers’ shoes has allowed Daily Drip Media to stand out by addressing real challenges and delivering impactful solutions.
Flexibility is key to growth. The duo shares how they’ve pivoted based on audience feedback, letting their community guide content creation and programming. This approach has fostered deeper trust and connection with their audience.
Romi and Nicole advocate for focusing on niche markets to foster strong community ties. By building depth in relationships and engagement rather than spreading resources thin, Daily Drip Media has achieved significant organic growth and built a loyal following.
This episode is part of the 12 Days of Business mini-series.
Romi and Nicole's previous appearance on The Business Owner’s Journey: The Daily Drip Formula for Building a Community of Businesswomen
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The Business Owner's Journey Podcast host: Nick Berry
Production Company: FCG
Nick Berry (00:00)
The Business Owner's Journey. I'm Nick Berry and I've got real business owners telling their real stories, sharing their real lessons and strategies so you don't have to figure it all out on your
Nick Berry (00:16)
this special mini series, the 12 Days of Business. 12 days, 12 episodes with 12 of my previous guests from season one.
And today I'm going to share with you a segment from my episode with Romi Wallach and Nicole Mastrangelo, the co-founders of Daily Drip Media. Daily Drip Media is their thought leadership and community platform for South Florida business women.
When Romi and Nicole joined previously, they came on, they told their story, shared a lot of great information. It's a very fun interview to listen to.
The thing that I noticed about them in that interview was how much listening they do and how well they've used that to develop a clear and thorough understanding of who their clients are and the problem that the Daily Drip solves for those clients. That's what's helped Romi and Nicole pivot Daily Drip from what they originally thought it was going to be to
what it's become now, which is a success story. They understand the challenges, the thought processes and how each of those things presents at various stages of their customer or clients journey. That's the thing that they demonstrated that I think is much more rare than what it should be. Most of the time when you ask someone for their ideal client profile or
to describe their audience or their market, you get the stock demographics, psychographic, geographic information, you know, the shit that's in their social profile. You know, they're this old and they drive this and they've got this much disposable income and they want to like look better naked or something, solve one of those problems.
What you'll hear Romi and Nicole say is, this is what my client feels, or this is what was on their mind, or this was the challenge at the moment. If you ask them about what does that look like earlier, or what does their client look like earlier or later in their journey, it still revolves around, this is how they feel then. And then later on, this is how they feel about it. This is what's on their mind.
all of the discussion about who Romi and Nicole work with, who makes up the daily drip is through the eyes and the minds of those customers. If that's not how you talk about trying to reach your customers or connect with them, then you're losing the plot.
most likely you're answering in the context of things the way that you think about them. That's where that like generic profile type information comes from. Yes, that stuff does have some benefit. It does have some use, but it's not the material information. That's not what makes your best customers, your best customers.
Romi and Nicole are answering in the context of their customer's point of view, specifically related to the problem that the Daily Drip solves for that customers. So listen to how they talk about their clients and customers in this segment and listen to that point of view and what they're saying is on the minds of their customers. Like that is the goal. If you truly want to reach your customers and clients and you truly want to connect with them, then you truly need to understand them.
And you need to understand them and be able to like kind of put on that hat or switch into that mode and see things through their eyes, think about things the way that they're thinking about them and really relate to them. I mean, it's being empathetic,
But that is the goal if you truly want to be able to connect your business or your brand to your customers or clients.
Remember, make sure that you're following or subscribed so you get the entire 12 Days of Business series. If you prefer, you can get them through email.
And if you do that, you'll also get the episode pages, the exclusive guest profiles, all of the resources that we're sharing for the episodes and that we're only sending out through email. So if you want to get those, go to nickberry.info slash 12 days. That's the number 12 days. Okay. Now let's get to the show and Romi and Nicole.
Romi (04:20)
it's been identifying and paying attention to what people want and what they're looking for. Even within the programming, it doesn't look like what we had from the very beginning because as we've gone along, it's paying attention to what are they showing up for? And at one point it was maybe they were looking for more learning, but that became not as...
important to a lot of them as the connecting and coming together and having this community. So I think to mine and Nicole's credit when it comes to how we've gotten here, it's that we're very much paying attention to the people that are involved, what they want, what they're asking for, what they want more of, and always staying true to the mission though. Like it doesn't involve massive overhauls.
But it's, know, the community membership was born from recognizing there was a whole group of people that weren't ready to be thought leaders. Like they're not quite ready for that role, but they want more than just to consume, you know? And so how do we create that? And then how do we make sure that they're, the thought leaders like love to engage with these members? Like they take real pride in being able to like be mentors to a lot of them. They're connecting offline. It's, it's pretty awesome. It's fucking amazing actually.
Nicole Mastrangelo (05:39)
I
think Romi said it, that the feedback loop is so strong and it's a daily, it's a daily part of what we do. Like our conversations, we are in constant contact. We've got no shortage of tools, right? We've got every platform, email, the chats that are going on, everything. And we are, we are listening.
Romi (05:56)
You
Nicole Mastrangelo (06:05)
That's for sure. We are listening, we are watching, we're observing. And yeah, we've gone 180 degrees from where we started because we were listening. This community is very much theirs. We're just the facilitators. We're just, our job is just to make sure it is the place they want it to be. But they're really in charge here. And it took us by surprise. Like when we started, first of all, we never intended to incorporate this.
Romi (06:32)
We didn't think this was, this wasn't a business.
Nicole Mastrangelo (06:32)
This was never going to be a formal thing.
This was just marketing clients. She was going to get her clients and we were like, this is great. We can build a community and maybe get some clients out of it. And then it was like, this is a real thing. And I remember vividly being so fixated on building the audience because I thought visibility and marketing was going to be the thing that everyone was going to want. I remember being so blindsided by the whole authentic connection and community aspect of it.
Nick Berry (06:34)
It's some hobby you got.
Romi (06:39)
I'm
Nicole Mastrangelo (07:01)
that like being featured was like a cherry on top. Like that was just like a bonus of what they were getting. Yet I thought that was the reason people were coming. And so it quickly made me realize that those features, those feature opportunities, those opportunities to have the mic really were just vehicles for connection. And that the connection was what everyone was drawn to, this ability to find their people.
Romi (07:05)
Yeah.
thought leaders are fiercely protective of one another and of what the team has become. you know, I say that kind of laughing kind of like, not but the other side of it and they have been instrumental is that they also help like, you know, we have one of our thought leaders Ciara who and her voice is always in our heads. It's like, if you guys would like it, if you guys want it, if you would want to do it, so do we like
Nicole Mastrangelo (07:34)
God.
Romi (07:58)
Each one of them have actually contributed in some really meaningful way of how invested they are in the mission themselves. Like they consider this as much theirs as it is ours. And I think that's why, like they have such pride in being daily thought leaders. the... Right.
Nicole Mastrangelo (08:14)
Because they see their input mobilized, right? So it's
like, have this idea or I thought this could be better this way and nobody mobilizes faster than Romi and I. Like we will make something happen in 48 hours. I dare you. Like we will make it happen. Like Romi and I don't mess around. And especially when they're right. Like they're right. That was an astute observation or that would make this better.
Romi (08:24)
No. No, it's...
Yeah.
No.
Nicole Mastrangelo (08:40)
We don't sleep on it, we're mobilized, we go and we do it. And then for that person to see, wow, my idea wasn't only just heard, like I said it five minutes ago and look, there it is, there it goes, my God. And it's like, that's where the ownership gets built even more. That sense of pride is like, you know, I'm affecting something here. I have an impact here and we want them to feel that way.
Romi (08:52)
Right.
Nick Berry (09:05)
Yeah, I mean, it feels great to be a part of a team like that or a group like that, right? for anybody. So what's in the future? Like where, where are you taking this?
Nicole Mastrangelo (09:12)
you know, when people talk growth, they always automatically think more, like more people, more customers, more, more, more. Whereas I think growth more with the people we have. Like the fact that we are the size we are monetizing at the rate we are is a testament to that kind of mindset where it's like, could we serve these people even better? Could we do more for them? And Romi and I have kind of
Nick Berry (09:26)
Mm-hmm.
Nicole Mastrangelo (09:40)
gone that route in saying, do we go deep with this group? And so she and I, joke about what the next venture might be. And very rarely these days does growth sound like or look like a new market. It almost always looks like something else we do with this community, with these people and in this market.
Romi (09:54)
correct.
Nicole Mastrangelo (10:02)
And I think our lifetime value of our members and clients is probably shockingly high considering the size of the community and the age of the community. But we've just, we've gone deeper with them.
Romi (10:16)
We identified very early on that the way we were going to grow was by pouring into the thought leaders. Like that was very much the focus. Like how can we provide as much as we can support, value, education, resources, you name it, because the more we can support them, the better output that's coming from them. That's how we grow. That's how, like those are the people that they're watching. And we've taken the same approach with the community.
Community member that comes in has a call with me. We onboard I learn about them. Why did they join? Who are they looking to me? What are they up to? What are their goals? Whatever and we leave that communication open So that the members have access to make sure that they're getting as much as they possibly can out of this community It matters to us It's not like great. Thanks for your membership see you never it's like I want to know if something's amiss we want to make sure that
they're getting that this is what they came for. And the people that aren't there for that, that's a separate issue. But the ones that came for the reasons that we are doing all of this, I just, we want to show up for them as much as possible.
Nick Berry (11:27)
How long do your thought leaders typically stay with you?
Nicole Mastrangelo (11:31)
we have people that are OGs. In fact, what we had to do cause we don't want to put time limits on it. We don't want to say you're a thought leader for a year and then you can't be anymore. We want anyone who is willing to take on that responsibility to stay for as long as they want. But that's where we had to elevate the responsibility and make it a truly meaningful leadership position, a very unique.
Romi (11:33)
geez.
Nick Berry (11:33)
Yeah.
Romi (11:50)
you
Nicole Mastrangelo (11:56)
type of position in the community and one that these types of business owners and CEOs and people who are very in demand with their schedule are willing to make time on the calendar for. And it's been the kind of thing where like it's the right thing for the right season. And then when life or business takes you into a new season, now we have this revolving door effect. before we had the community membership,
there was nowhere to go after. If you weren't gonna be a thought leader, it was like, I'm nothing now. Like I'm a subscriber, like see who knows when, right? But now it's like you have an off ramp and an on ramp in the community membership because community members can apply to be thought leaders and thought leaders can exit and go into the community membership and they're still a part of something. And it's this all together.
Romi (12:30)
Right.
you
Nick Berry (12:46)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. you've mentioned the, the right thing at the right season. think that's a couple of times that it's come up. what are the signs or the thoughts that somebody's having that let you, if they said this, you know, we're what you're looking for right now.
Nicole Mastrangelo (13:01)
the community membership is ideal for someone in transition. And I think globally, like we're just a society in transition right now. People are leaving their jobs, they're leaving their industries, they're leaving their marriages, they're starting businesses. There's just a lot of change in transition and that's a hard road, that's a hard season. And I think...
people who are in transition, they're in growth mode, they're in a redirection, a pivot, the community membership is great because it's a place to unload all that, to maybe connect and find what your next stepping stone is or what that new direction just might be. I think thought leadership is ideal for the person who's come out the other side of that. They've gone through the fog, it's lifted, they've learned a lot from it.
They wanna share and support other people on that process. And I think that doesn't mean that the thought leaders have it all figured out and they themselves aren't in transition and there's not challenges and things like that. But it's a great opportunity for people who have that wisdom of having been through that to share it with other people who are trying to find their way.
Romi (13:58)
Mm-mm.
The only thing I would add is that I definitely, I definitely notice and I've actually, there's been a few in a short period of time, very few, where I've said to Nicole, I'm like, this one's gonna be a thought leader. Like this one needs to be a thought leader. And it's because I have conversations and I don't even know if it's always something so specific, but there is, you can tell that this person is ready.
Nicole Mastrangelo (14:12)
Okay.
Nick Berry (14:12)
Yeah,
yeah, I've got it.
Romi (14:39)
by watching some of what they're already doing from like a content space. Like I see how they're showing up. I see how they're talking and knowing and getting to know them and what their goals are. It's like, this would be a great space for you to be around other women like yourself and then getting the support to just continue sharing what you've already been sharing and let us help you, you know, just amplify that and even maybe refine it and connect you.
Nicole Mastrangelo (15:05)
I'm going to try to define what you said because it is something. It's not one thing. It's everything, but it's something. It's this. It's like some people go through that period of change or transition or self discovery or pivot, whatever you want to call it. They go through it and it's enough for them to just go through it. Come to these exciting.
Romi (15:09)
It's a something. It's something.
Nicole Mastrangelo (15:27)
new moments in life, new chapters and go on their way. And then there's other people who go through that and they're so called to share that story. Like, it's like sitting inside them on their heart. just, need to get it out of them for whatever reason. They just want to share the story, whether it's the validation, whether it's the impact and knowing like someone heard it and someone said, me too, or it helps someone or something.
And it's like, you can tell when you talk to people, the ones that have that calling in them. And then the ones that are just like, so happy to gain everything that they're gaining from the events, the community, the content, all the things. And they're just like so excited and they're the ones that come to you and like, I did it. I figured it out. I'm launched. Or I quit and I'm starting my own thing. I did, I went and took that job or I left him. You know, it's like you crazy things.
Romi (16:01)
Yeah.
Whatever.
Nicole Mastrangelo (16:23)
And that's really what they need. But then there's the ones that are like, I have to talk about this now. I know there's other people like me or I gotta just get this out of myself. And that's how you can usually tell a thought leader from a community member or a subscriber.
Romi (16:35)
Yeah.
Nick Berry is an accomplished entrepreneur and CEO, whose track record includes founding and leading numerous companies since 2002.
He is also a mentor and coach to other entrepreneurs and business owners who are looking for a trusted (and proven) advisor.
Among peers, colleagues, staff, and clients, Nick has been referred to as both 'The Business Guy' as well as 'The Anti-Guru', due to his pragmatic approach and principled leadership.
He shares his insights and lessons learned, along with those of his expert guests,
on his podcast, 'The Business Owner's Journey'.
