Ep. 90 - Nick Uzoni - Authentic Leadership Matters

What happens when you leave the security of corporate America to build something of your own? For Nick Uzzoni, this journey began with a leap of faith—moving from Michigan to Dallas with no job leads, sleeping on a stranger's floor, and slowly building a life from scratch. That early resilience now powers his work as a small business owner specializing in web design and digital marketing.

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Transcript

Nick Uzzoni's Journey to Dallas

Speaker 2 0:06

Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast . We are a community of leaders with a network in over 350 cities around the world , dedicated to optimizing our personal , professional and spiritual lives to have impact . This show is where we have a chance to listen and engage with leaders who are living this out . We love talking with leaders , so if you have any questions , comments or suggestions to make this show even better , please let us know . I'm your host , lisa Peters , and our guest today is Nick Uzzoni . Nick has thrived in situations where he can directly provide value . From working in various capacities in corporate America to taking the great leap into small business ownership , nick has always tried to put himself in a position to serve others . Putting faith at the forefront of business leadership is not easy , but Nick considers this necessary to living out an authentic life both at and away from his desk . Welcome to the show , nick .

Speaker 1 0:56

Lisa , thanks for having me , I'm looking forward to it . It should be fun .

Speaker 2 0:59

Well , you didn't say a lot in your bio and so I looked you up so I'm excited to hear a little bit more about you , sort of your professional journey . But what we really love hearing , because we want to hear about that is a pivotal moment that maybe moved you along your journey , so share with us .

Speaker 1 1:18

Pivotal moment . I grew up just outside of Detroit , michigan . I lived there . I was born in 88 . So I'm dating myself a bit .

Speaker 1 1:30

I decided to leave home , take the big , scary leap , not only leave mommy and daddy's nest , but also just say , hey , I'm taking the big leap and moving to Dallas , texas , where I am now just about 50 miles north of Dallas . I came down here with zero leads on a job . My youngest brother was going to university . He was a freshman in university at that time so I couldn't really crash on his dorm room couch . I don't think he really wanted me to do that . Anyway , I got in contact with an individual who was referred over to me by somebody else to say like hey , I don't know you , you don't know me , I'm just kind of looking for a place to crash for a couple of months .

Speaker 1 2:15

I'm pretty pragmatic . I knew how much money I had in my bank account , my savings account , and if I was pragmatic enough and budgeted enough , I knew how long I could survive and eat and pay a little bit of rent . So off I went , hit the road , arrived in Dallas , ended up staying with this guy , who's super gracious , he had a room to spare . I think it was 400 bucks a month or something . I paid for a few months . First couple of nights slept on the floor . I didn't have a mattress , didn't have anything , literally , you know . Eventually got my mattress and , you know , started building my life here .

Speaker 1 2:53

But it was great . I mean , it was a huge . My parents afforded me so many wonderful opportunities which allowed me to kind of take a big leap . But it was good for me in my early twenties to get out from under that safety umbrella to say , okay , here I go , let me get out of here and I don't know anybody and I've got to make something for myself . And one thing after another , after another , after another , month , day after day , month after month , year after year . Now you know , here I am definitely haven't made it . I never look at anything as you've made it , you can stop working . But this is where I am now . But it was a little bit scary of a leap . I look back now at like , oh my god , what were you thinking ? That was great . Here we are .

Speaker 2 3:40

So before I ask you , what do you do so you can tell our viewers ? I'm just going to make the comment that you were born in 88 . I'd already graduated high school , so let's date myself there , and I really love that . You , you know , you picked up and moved from Michigan to Dallas with zero leads . I'm just going to acknowledge how scary that is . And when you're young , I , because I'm clearly older , it's clearly older it gets so hard to change and I'm doing a study right now on change because as I get older I have to learn to maintain that ability . And in your bio you talk about an insatiable drive to succeed and I could just see that . I mean you were young and you just moved with a passion to move . So the question I want to ask you is what do you do in Dallas now ?

Speaker 1 4:29

Sure , quite a few things , which is fun , kind of my two primary things that I do . I'm a business owner small business owner . I started my business in we'll kind of call it the wake of the 2020 COVID pandemic . I kept my corporate America job , but I was working from home , didn't have to commute anymore , so it was up early in the morning , 4.30 AM at the desk before starting my nine to five starting my job , which is all web design , website design , digital marketing targeting small businesses . I'm a small business owner . I know a lot of other small business owners . My parents were small business owners .

Speaker 1 5:10

So , for me . That's , whether I like it or not . It's kind of inbred or embed inside of me . It's in my blood , so to speak . So I love partnering with the small business owner on the digital front Because , again , a lot of these business owners out there they're running a business .

Speaker 1 5:29

They don't have time to worry about things , website , digital marketing . They're like yo man , I'm a dumpster rental company or I'm a restaurant

Starting a Small Business During COVID

Speaker 1 5:40

or I've got my own personal brand or I'm a coffee shop . I don't have time to worry about all this other business . I have my business , my goals I'm trying to accomplish . So that's what I do . That is the primary for me . I love it . It is fantastic .

Speaker 1 5:57

I love sticking close to the business owner . I love working directly with them . I don't win your business and then throw you into a black box somewhere and you never talk to me and I've outsourced your project . You're going to get me when you work with me . I love , I just love it . I love seeing the impact that can be made and kind of again going with the successes and the failures with the small business owner , which is super fantastic . And then as well , I'm also part owner of a software development company . Got involved with that as well . Back , we'll call it like late 2020 . Work with a couple different clients out on that side just developing mobile apps , software solutions , and that's the company I'm part owner of as well .

Speaker 2 6:41

Yeah , I love that you still had to work corporate America , cause I remember transitioning to when I became a small business owner , I still had to work like , and it was work all day and then come home and work at night on the dream right , until you can sort of make that transition to to being small business owner a hundred percent . Uh , I appreciate that . And what a great your family like your family small business owners to see them succeed . And then you know , you know what it takes .

Speaker 1 7:10

Sure yeah .

Speaker 2 7:11

So awesome . So we want to talk about your best principle of success and if you have a story to illustrate that .

Speaker 1 7:20

You mentioned it at the beginning authenticity . To me , being authentic with people , is like a pillar in my life . Again , small business owner . Small business owner , I want you to see exactly who I am as a person , who I am as a business owner , and I don't want you to look at that in two different lights , because integrity is super important to me serving the customer , serving the client and delivering everything that I do with excellence .

Speaker 1 7:53

Now , I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing pretty much everything in my life , and that also means that if you and I have , let's say , a problem in business or even a personal problem , we'll kind of flip it the other way .

Speaker 1 8:08

That doesn't mean that it should affect both .

Speaker 1 8:10

So I feel that if I have any strength that I'm good at , it's kind of removing a lot of that outside noise , just to be able to get to the core , the root of the problem from the business point of view , to say , hey , listen , whatever we're navigating through right now , you've got problems in your business , or we've got problems in our working relationship together , whatever that looks like , that's fine .

Speaker 1 8:31

Let's put all that aside , let's identify the issue that we're trying to overcome and let's go with that full steam . That's , to me like the most authentic way that I can approach somebody , whether it be in a personal

The Value of Authenticity in Business

Speaker 1 8:45

relationship or , like we're talking about today , in a business relationship . I don't want you to shake my hand and we do a deal together and then you're driving home thinking like , okay , who am I getting with this person ? Is this going to flip overnight ? It's kind of like a what you see is what you get with me . I try to make that all good . I'm not perfect , so there are some things you'll find out about me . Maybe you don't like , but I'd like to be super upfront with that and give people that authentic experience when they work with me .

Speaker 2 9:17

Well , what I definitely hear is just communication skills . You know , we have to be willing to ask the hard question of both sides . Like you know what the problem is , to ask the hard question of of both sides . Like you know , uh , what the problem is , because it could be with you , it could be with them , but just opening that door to have that conversation , um , makes a , you know , a good leader . Uh , and it's hard , and it's you that have made the mistake , you know , sure I'm a data driven .

Speaker 1 9:42

I kind of cut my teeth as a corporate America professional in data analytics and as a business analyst and I guess more information to me is always good and that's not just spreadsheet information , that's people to people information . The more data , the more information you give to me , the more we can solve the problem , whatever that is .

Speaker 2 10:02

Yeah , good , all right . Well , I'm excited to hear a little bit about failures . I think we all know , because you're a small business owner , where you have come from your journey . We learn more sadly from our failures and mistakes than our own successes and not sadly , it's just it's hard when you're in them . So I'm wondering if you have a

Learning from Failure: Asking for Help

Speaker 2 10:20

failing or mistake that you can share with us and what you learned from it .

Speaker 1 10:23

Oh for sure , Taking on too much and thinking that I can do it all . I pretty much just tell my wife this . Now I'm not fully transparent about this with everybody , but I guess I'm being now . Just , I don't know . I've always had this very uncomfortable feeling , not looking knowledgeable in a room or in a group of people and I don't know for me . Sometimes it makes me feel that I'm stupid or inferior to somebody . If I don't know and I don't again , I'm never trying to fake an answer you know to kind of you know BS my way through it . I don't do that . So it kind of puts me in this weird spot of like okay , I'm not going to just fumble my way through an answer to make it look like I know something , but I'm also feeling very stupid at this point .

Speaker 1 11:11

So that was probably my biggest thing and it did affect a couple of clients of mine of going all in on something Again , wanting to serve the client 100% . That was my goal here . I had no ulterior motive . But getting to that point of thinking like man knowing inside I need some help , I need to bring somebody else on board to help me do this right . But refusing to do that and refusing to engage in that way with the client , to be like , hey , you know what , like I'm not the sole expert and you wanted me to be the sole expert on this , but I've got somebody else who I can bring a teammate or team member , whatever I want you know to bring alongside to kind of help get over this hurdle we're having right now . And I didn't do that .

Speaker 1 12:01

Ultimately that's that lost me that customer which could have been a good long-term client of mine , and I was disappointed about that . But it was a good realization and maybe the slap in the face that I needed was like , listen , you're getting into a world where you don't know everything and if you're going to approach small business in a way to where you think you know everything , it's going to be a horrible realization that you don't . So that's . I always lean on that when I gear more toward like no , no , no , I can do it , I can do it . I have to remind myself you can't do it all , so surround yourself with at least one or two people who can do it with you . And I've done a much better job with that as of late , for sure .

Speaker 2 12:43

Yeah , I think listeners can resonate with that comment . I know I can . There has been many nights where I can do it all and I'm up late and I'm up , I am doing it all and at one point you know and I'm like even website design , oh , I can do it . You know , there's easy . It's like but should I Just letting go of ? I'm the client ? In that case , I'm my own client and learning to let go . But when you lose a client , that always hurts and yeah , did anyone ever ? So I know that you're recognizing it like oh , I need help . Did anyone ever tell it ? Did anyone say it to you ? Did anyone ever recognize ? I know that you're recognizing it like oh , I need help . Did anyone ever tell it ? Did anyone say it ? Say it to you , did anyone ever ?

Speaker 1 13:28

recognize it and say , hey , you know maybe never directly , because I never give , I never liked to give that that oh yeah , that perception that like no , I can't do it . You know , for maybe , maybe that is like one part of my life that I become a little inauthentic . To where ? Because I always approach it like , hey , if I don't know how to do it , like , I'll learn about it , I got you , I'm a hard worker , don't worry about it , I'm going to take care of it .

Speaker 1 13:55

Then you fumble your way 50 yards down the field and you think like , oh my God , like I should have gotten help 50 yards ago , you know , so nobody really directly has ever said that I'm big . You know , big on podcast and consuming content , on a leadership standpoint . And maybe in that season or point in my life that seemed to be , all the information that was resonating with me is like hey , like , if you want to be successful in something , sometimes you do need a teammate or you need a team of people who are going to help you . And so never directly , more so indirectly , because maybe my brain was telling me hey , listen to this , you have a big problem coming here if you don't listen to this .

Speaker 2 14:36

Yeah , I can get that . I never wanted to look bad and you know I just oh , yeah , I got you , I got it , I'm good . Oh , I think I feel myself sweating just thinking of those times where I just should have asked for help , but yeah , you too , because I've started just kind of replaying it in my mind like this is uncomfortable to talk about again . And I love your shirt says no bull .

Speaker 1 15:01

Oh yes , that wasn't intentional .

Speaker 2 15:04

Just when I grabbed the sporting oh God made it intentional , All right . Well , at Leader Impact we want to grow personally , professionally and spiritually , so to increase impact . So we're wondering if

Faith in the Workplace: The Bible Desk

Speaker 2 15:20

you're willing to share an example of how the spiritual makes a practical difference in your life as a leader .

Speaker 1 15:26

Oh for sure it was interesting . I worked a couple of jobs here in the Dallas area and then I picked up a great opportunity with a fantastic company . The company I actually left to go out on my own and that was a difficult decision . That was a fantastic company , global company , kind of had a nice path for me , you know , nice developmental path . It was great , I loved it . It was difficult , it was a big , difficult decision to leave . But when I first got started there and this is before I was in any sort of leadership position I was just an individual contributor getting started at this company in my mid-20s I guess in 2015 .

Speaker 1 16:14

My desk isn't so clean now , I've got so much going on . But then my desk at my office there just a cubicle space , pretty clean , pretty sleek . I had a nice picture of my wife and I and then I have this little Bible I have sitting out . I had it sitting there on the desk , just put it there and thought you never know , you get into a bad day and you might need to go back to some of your foundational roots from a spiritual point of view . And I just had it sitting there and I was probably like two and a half to three weeks into me working there , meeting some people developing some good relationships , which was nice and a guy who worked on the same team as me came up to me and he said , hey , I'll never forget this . He said , hey , you having your Bible on that desk is super impressive to me .

Speaker 1 17:05

And I asked him I'm like well , why he goes . Well , and he's probably about 10 years older than me . He said as you get older , you'll come to find that it becomes more and more difficult to be more public about your Christian faith in your life , especially in the workplace . And he says and I'm just watching you and I watch how you live and I watch how you talk and I watch what the things you do and how you talk I didn't have children at that time .

Speaker 1 17:31

You talk about your wife and I see your Bible there and that shows me the person you are . And that was you kind of hear that thing in church growing up . You know , be careful , you know people are watching . That was my first big encounter of realizing like whoa , like somebody I had no idea was watching me , who's also a Christian as well , was watching me and watching my faith , just over two and a half three weeks time and noticed one little thing he puts a Bible on his desk . What does that mean ? Is that just something that he's putting there , or is he going to live this out in his life ?

Speaker 1 18:06

So that's the foundation for me in the professional space and how that's evolved over time Now leading people , now working directly with clients , to help people understand that authentic self that you get with me .

Speaker 1 18:23

One of those principles is not perfection , but it is a foundation in my Christian faith and that's come to be more and more needing to be more and more evident and practiced , even with some of my clients .

Speaker 1 18:37

A couple of weeks ago I was speaking with a client and she was yeah , I had noticed , you know , just wasn't herself , and I'd asked her I'm like hey , like just wondering , like you doing all right , and she goes no , actually I'm not . My mother was just diagnosed , you know , had a pretty bad medical diagnosis which is scary to hear , and she's like you know , if you don't mind , you know , do you mind remembering my mother in prayer or anything , absolutely for sure ? You know I could say that and be like sure , you know , I'm praying for you , kind of a deal , but then rather being reminding her , letting her know like , hey , I'm remembering your mother because I know that she's sick and I know this is scary and I know that you value her in her life and I want to show you that I value as a client , for sure , but as a person , on a person to person basis , like you're valuable and you're important as well .

Speaker 1 19:28

So that's kind of going to that first instance all the way to now and being like , hey , like it's gotta be something that I put into practice every day , Cause it's who I am as an individual .

Speaker 2 19:42

Yeah , I can say that I've never had a Bible on my desk at work , um , but I I know that I have had um uh quotes or or scripture .

Speaker 1 19:52

Right .

Speaker 2 19:53

And , and I , I think I do it because I'm trying . I'm trying to be that person and I know that I am not perfect . And so I , when people see that I , I , I want people to know I'm trying to be perfect and I never will be . But that Bible's there Sometimes . I think it's there for me to look at it every day and go , okay , I have to be that person . I have to work hard to be that , to be a better person , to be some , you to be that , to be a better person , to be some you know , to serve people . Yes , those values , and I even think when I wear a cross and I just look in the mirror and I go , I need to be that person .

Speaker 2 20:32

Remember Lisa , put that judgment aside , put you know . So I appreciate that . That's a good story . Thank you for sharing . At Leader Impact , we are dedicated to leaders making a lasting impact . So you're quite young , but as you continue to move through this journey of life , of work , of everything , have you considered what you want your faith legacy to be when you leave this world ?

Speaker 1 20:56

First , my birthday is on Sunday , I think . Yes , I'll be 37 . So I'm getting close to 40 . Not there yet , but yes , the faith legacy .

Building a Legacy Through Family

Speaker 1 21:10

My wife and I talk about the legacy word all the time because I feel it's used so much it's like loses its importance .

Speaker 1 21:19

Yeah , the big . What's most important to me is that when you talk about kind of leaving a legacy as a whole and then you kind of compartmentalize it and you look at the portion of that like okay , like what's your faith legacy , is that somebody that from a business point of view if I'm just talking about like in the business world and tying in my faith and working with people , that you , anytime you worked with me as a partner or you were a client of mine or some sort of collaboration , whatever you want to call it that when we worked together , that you , that you , that you saw Christ through the work , that the work that we did together . And I try to make that principle be evident in everything in my life . And again , we've identified it a few times I'm the furthest thing from perfection here . It is just not always going to be the best perfection day for me and I try to start my day with this prayer is that , anybody who I come in contact with , that they see Christ through me , whether it be in small things , how I respond to you , how we deal with a major problem together , how we deal with a small problem together , whether it's in the workplace or at my kid's school .

Speaker 1 22:42

I'm a recreational soccer coach as well , so whether I'm coaching your kids , no matter where it is , that that's what people see . That when they see Nick , they see somebody that , yes , loves his family , he works hard , he will do whatever he can for the client , but , most importantly , that they look and they see something that's different in me and that if they start to pry into that or look deeper into that , that , they find the foundation at the core of that is Christ . It's not just good morals , it's not just a solid , strong upbringing or foundation those are all great , but that it's a foundation and a basis in my life that's built around Christ and that has to be the driver and fuel for everything that I do , whether we do business or personal life or sport or anything else together . That that's the driver and fuel here .

Speaker 2 23:36

Yeah , I was just reading a book about leadership and what I get from you is that just the deep love for your family , your wife , your children , and leadership starts at home . If you are treating your family and your wife with disrespect , you probably might be taking that to work , or opposite . You know . So , hearing you talk about your family , knowing that you love your clients too , you know it is a legacy to take on . Thanks for sharing . My last question for you is what brings you the greatest joy ?

Speaker 1 24:19

Knowing that it sounds a little cliche , knowing that I was able to make a positive impact in whatever that a true , tangible positive impact and before , just you know , giving the cliche line and being like , oh great , I've heard this 50 times . It kind of it goes again across the board with things I'm working on . Like I said I do , I'm a recreational soccer coach . Like seeing seeing those families being like , hey , like my kid wants to come back . Not because Nick's the best soccer coach in the world I think I'm okay , I'm not as great as I probably think I am but they come back because they say like , hey , the , the life lessons that you've instilled in my kid , he , he's at a young age , he's attaching onto those and he wants to come back and keep , you know , kind of keep doing the soccer thing with you . For him he doesn't see it as anything else . But you know , seeing like that positive impact over time on the professional front it's I have . I've been fortunate enough to have clients that have stuck with me for a number of years now , since the start , who took a chance on me and said , you know , this guy , nick , reached out to me to build this website and he says he's maybe built one other website in the past . And OK , I'm going to start with this dude who's just starting his business in 2020 , in the midst of everything else going on , being able to work with those people and hearing them say like , hey , man , you've played a significant part in my business and that's helped grow my business and help grow the things that I want to do . And then , of course , on the family side , which is , for me , unashamedly the most important thing to me I'm still seeing this play out . I haven't kind of seen it be realized yet in my life is ultimately that I want to be able to see .

Speaker 1 26:13

I've got three boys and I make it a point I never called them little boys . I always call them young men or little men . I tell them , I said when you turn two in my house , you're no longer a baby , you're immediately a young man , and some people are like that . You know why do you do that ? Because I want my boys to grow up and see themselves as young men and young men of integrity and young men of a strong Christian foundation as well . To know that when they leave my house , that they're doing life even way better than I did , that they're treating the people they work well , that they work with . They treat them well . If they have employees , they have a business , that they treat those people well . They have families , wives and children . They have to treat them well . And that anybody that they come in contact with that they are showing Christ through them , because maybe at one point in their life they saw their

Connection and Final Thoughts

Speaker 1 27:10

dad do it .

Speaker 1 27:10

Maybe I hope they see it more than one time , but that's what I'm hoping . If I look as almost like a chain effect in my life , that's to me what defines a true , valuable legacy is that it's not just measured over five or 10 years , that as an old man my goal is to live , to be 100 . We'll see that as a 100-year-old man on my deathbed I can look and see any accomplishments I had and assumedly my family would be around me at that time as an old , dying man , but I could look and be like , okay , the work I did here was good and it was worth it , and it was tiresome but it was worth it because I see the positive fruits of my labor being , you know , kind of manifesting themselves generations down the line . That's super important to me .

Speaker 2 28:04

Yeah , great legacy and great joy it brings you . I am at the other end . So my kids have moved out , so I'm an empty nester and I never called mine little men or little women , I don't remember . But they watched us as parents , you know , and now they are great humans . So to you , nick , raise your little men . They're going to be awesome young men one day , just listening to you and just listening to you . I'll end it there . I'm watching my own children and it is a joy , a joy to see them grow . Yeah , and it wasn't as hard when they left because they were so happy to move on with their lives , right , I mean , you left at a young age . You have picked up from Michigan and went to Dallas . I'm sure it is apparent it's very hard . We got FaceTime , we got messaging . I'm talking to them all the time , so right .

Speaker 1 29:04

Oh yeah , every day . You know , there's always an interaction with my parents and , like you said , my parents were sad to see me go . But they saw like , okay , he's grounded , he has a good foundation . We got to let him go . Yes , kind of a deal . I haven't done that yet . As a parent , I know that'll be difficult , but that's what I want for my kids to look . As they're ready to go , I tell them . I said mom and dad want you always to live here close to us , but if you find an opportunity and you've made good decisions in your life they're young now . I can talk to them only so much about it . I said well , we'll never hold you back . Take off and fly and do what you need to do and we'll be there to support you and you can always come back if you need to as well . But we're trying to prepare ourselves already for it and we know it'll be here soon , you know .

Speaker 2 29:54

Yeah , so we'll talk in 10 , 15 years .

Speaker 1 29:56

We'll see how you All right yes , we'll put it on the calendar .

Speaker 2 29:59

Yeah , you'll be great , Nick . I just want to thank you for the past half hour . It is a pleasure to talk to you . Listen , learn more about you . If anyone wants to connect with you , either as a web designer or a leadership in consulting , how can they find you or connect with you ?

Speaker 1 30:17

I try to keep it easy . I tell everyone to email at me just M-E like me at nicholasuzonicom , and is that N-I-C-H , n-i-c-h-o-l-a-s-u-z-o-n-icom ? Me at nicholasuzonicom ? Or if you go to my website , nicholasuzonicom , try to keep it easy . You probably have never met another Nicholas Uzzoni in the world . If you do reach out just to let me know , I'd love to connect with him . If you have no interest in doing business with me , but yeah me at nicholasyuzonicom or you can just find my website at nicholasyuzonicom .

Speaker 2 30:56

Perfect . Thank you , nick , for joining us and uh uh , just yeah it , it has been a pleasure , thank you .

Speaker 1 31:04

Most certainly Pleasure's all mine . Thanks , Lisa All right ?

Speaker 2 31:07

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