Jive PR + Digital CEO Dishes The Dirt On Entrepreneurship, Being Vulnerable & Power vs Force

Meet Lindsay Nahmiache. As a mother, a businesswoman and a fearless leader, Lindsay is the definition of a girl boss who’s career story reads like the kind of narrative we love to promote on our platform.

Located in Los Angeles, Lindsay divides her time between Vancouver and LA as she operates Jive PR and Digital, which just celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2019. Jive is a full-service Public Relations, Digital, and Social Media agency that services over 40 clients in industries that range from Entertainment, Food and Beverage, Tech, Lifestyle and Non-Profit, all with Lindsay at the helm of the company of 15 employees and counting.

Throughout her career so far, Lindsay has picked up some notable accolades including Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40, one of Canada’s most powerful women by the Financial Post and Enterprising Women Magazines “100 Enterprising Women of the Year.” She is an adviser for the University of British Columbia on course curriculum for Digital Communications, a mentor for FWE (Forum for Women Entrepreneurs), and co-founder of the not-for-profit Projecting Change Film Festival.

Recently, Lindsay was invited to become an ambassador for the UN for female entrepreneurship. As Jive continues to grow, Lindsay shows no signs of slowing down. From business growth, balancing motherhood and work, her inspiring career journey and some outrageous stories along the way, she gave us the lowdown on entrepreneurship, why being vulnerable is part of her mantra, and why it’s important to note the difference between power and force.

First of all, congrats on your 10th business anniversary this past summer! How does it make you feel looking back on a decade of success with your company?

Old! Jokes aside, with the small business failure rate being so high it feels rewarding to have achieved 10 years and expanded into two countries. At the same time, I still have so many more ideas for how I want to grow and develop the business. I hope we never lose the agility and innovation of a startup but am glad we have the heritage and backing of an established company to grow from.

Where did Jive PR + Digital begin and how did the company come about?

Jive began in my living room on a laptop. It started off as a way to pay the bills and then quickly expanded into a business that needed to hire employees and get office space. It was a quick growth and when I look back on it, I’m glad I was as naive as I was when I started. Sometimes not knowing what to be fearful of allows you to take greater risks.

As a CEO, mother, and businesswomen dividing her time between two countries for work, do you often get asked the typical “how do you balance it all?” questions that men don’t seem to be asked? 

I’ve given up the traditional concept of ‘balance.’ If I based my success on achieving it, then I’d feel defeated everyday. Instead, what I do is create a realistic goal week to week that revolves around certain non-negotiables (ex I commit to having dinner with my son and putting him to bed 5x a week and being in the office with my team one full day a week vs out at meetings etc)… then whatever else has to give in order to accommodate that I don’t stress about. Some weeks I get time for business planning, other weeks I don’t. Some weeks I get to exercise 3x, some weeks I don’t. So rather than ‘how do you balance it all?’ I say, ‘how did I commit to my top 3 priorities of this week?’

What are some of the industries you work with, with your clients?

We excel in building consumer brands. We spealize in health & wellness and the entertainment industry. From organic skincare to red carpet premieres, no day is ever the same at Jive.

Aside from Jive, you are also the co-founder of the not-for-profit Projecting Change Film Festival. Can you tell us about this event and why you started it? 

This was a non-profit I started 11 years ago that was a film festival meets TED Talk style event on social and sustainable initiatives. I started it because I believe entertainment is able to inspire action through the emotions it triggers. The event was sold-out every year but sadly it is no longer operational as when we expanded into Los Angeles, Jive required more of my attention. 

PR can be a cutthroat industry, as many know. Do you have any interesting or shocking stories you can share with us from over the years? 

Haha, one day I’ll write a tell-all book that I’ll release upon my death. The stories are too good to go with me, but until then, it’s under NDA [non disclosure agreement]. 

Regarding it being a cutthroat industry, I think PR has gotten a bad rap based on a few sensationalized stories. For the most part, I’ve collaborated with an incredibly open, transparent and supportive group of PR professionals over the years. I know that is not the tabloid answer people want to hear but I am a firm believer that you get back what you give, be a good human and you’ll attract good humans to you. 

For someone looking to work with a PR company to help get their brand/project/message out into the world, what advice would you give them up front? 

Ask for a list of recent stories that the firm has placed for clients in the publications you want to be featured in. Everyone can talk a big game but results are what actually matter. 

What is the secret to launching a great campaign that reaches lots of people and has the desired impact? 

Don’t make the campaign about what your business does, make it about what your business can do for the people you want to target. For example, you don’t sell the best mattress on the market, you sell “the most restful sleep that helps optimize their performance during the day”. Create and own an emotional advantage that competitors will have a hard time replicating.

You help mentor other women in business through FWE (Forum for Women Entrepreneurs). What are some of the biggest struggles you see among mentees that you help them with?

Success is a mindset. If you don’t work on your mental health, clarity and confidence then the path to achieving your goals will be full of unnecessary hardship. I have a lot of mentees that think they need to focus on the next big goal, when in reality if they spent a fraction of the time they spend on goals on their mindset they would be much better off for long term success. The stronger the foundation, the bigger the building can be. 

As the CEO of your own company you have to be seen as a fearless leader at all times, it seems. But how do you balance the assertive qualities with vulnerability and authenticity?

I think being vulnerable makes you more powerful. It’s scary at first but when you actually try it, you feel more empowered. People respect you for being real and not hiding behind a facade of everything always being amazing. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean breaking down into a crying, insecure heap on a regular basis, but rather, being someone who is confident enough to share the realities of what being a leader is really like, vs the rockstar portrayal that entrepreneurship sometimes gets. 

Finally, what makes you a powerful woman? 

Knowing the difference between ‘power’ vs ‘force’… power is subtle yet strong and force is aggressive.

Learn more from Lindsay and her PR expertise in the video below: