Latest / Scene Projects Sports Network / Nicole Hage on College Golf, Business Ventures, and Style Driver's Journey

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Nicole Hage on College Golf, Business Ventures, and Style Driver's Journey · Scene Projects Sports Network

• 0:13
  Welcome into the Scene Project Sports Network.
• 0:16
  I am your host, Bubba Starts, and with me today from Style Driver, Nicole Hage.
• 0:20
  Nicole, welcome to the show.
• 0:22
  Thank you for having me.
• 0:24
  Yeah.
• 0:24
  I'm really excited about this because not only do we touch on a sport that I love, immensely,
• 0:30
  but we get to talk marketing and business growth and all kinds of fun stuff.
• 0:34
  So a great crossover for me.
• 0:36
  Love it.
• 0:37
  Same.
• 0:37
  Those are my passions, golf and business.
• 0:41
  Well, before we get into the business side of it, I I always like to start off with a little
• 0:46
  bit of your backstory and, you know, your history in golf, and then we'll kinda pick up
• 0:50
  the conversation from there.
• 1:06
  Career competing in tournaments.
• 1:08
  By age 10, I was, like, full on playing tournaments, traveling the world, went to Japan
• 1:14
  to represent team USA in a tournament.
• 1:19
  So, yeah, started that junior golf, AJGA.
• 1:23
  Was fortunate enough to earn a full scholarship at Auburn and played all four years there.
• 1:27
  I was an all American.
• 1:29
  And, you know, my only focus, obviously, leading up to that time was to get on the LPGA
• 1:35
  tour.
• 1:35
  And, once I graduated, I went to q school and got through and then played the next six years
• 1:41
  on tour and then, made my transition into, what I like to call, like, part two of my career
• 1:47
  life and with the real world.
• 1:50
  And it's just been a fun journey ever since, just kinda learning and developing different
• 1:55
  skills, finding out what I'm been passionate about and, where my strengths are.
• 2:02
  And it's just been it's been really nice because, obviously, I love golf, but I don't
• 2:07
  wanna compete anymore.
• 2:09
  I like getting a paycheck every two weeks.
• 2:11
  But I'm still obviously very involved in the golf world and the golf space, and this has
• 2:16
  just been a great way to combine my strengths, which have been relationships and, sales with
• 2:23
  what I love the most and which is golf.
• 2:27
  So when you were going to school at Auburn, did you have, you know, a a business kind of mind
• 2:32
  and degree, or were you there as purely an athlete and I'm taking whatever gets me through
• 2:37
  this to the LPGA?
• 2:39
  I was in a a huge rush, which I regret now, to get into the real world and, start playing on
• 2:45
  tour.
• 2:46
  I mean, I went to my first LPGA event when I was seven with my dad, and, he said I looked at
• 2:52
  him, I said, I wanna do this when I'm older.
• 2:54
  And that was my only focus.
• 2:56
  You know, junior golf, just all the steps of of the, you know, ticking the boxes.
• 3:00
  And, yeah.
• 3:02
  So I was I was in a rush in the sense I loved my four years at Auburn.
• 3:06
  I would trade anything to go back and do four more years.
• 3:10
  I wish I enjoyed it more, but when you're a 17 year old starting college, like, you know
• 3:15
  everything and, you know, you're smarter than everybody else.
• 3:19
  So I was just there to to obviously play and work hard, but, like, prepare myself for
• 3:25
  school.
• 3:25
  So, no, at that point, there was never one moment up in my life that I was like, I'm not
• 3:31
  gonna be playing golf.
• 3:32
  I'm gonna be needing to think of business.
• 3:35
  Honestly, that never even occurred or that thought crossed my mind until I was about 27,
• 3:42
  during my fifth year on tour when I was just like, I don't think I wanna do this anymore.
• 3:47
  And now what do I do?
• 3:49
  And I was just I was I was lost.
• 3:51
  I was so lost because, I mean, literally, since I was seven, like, morning, noon, and night
• 3:57
  every single day, all I was working towards and focused on was being, like, Julie Angster and
• 4:04
  and Nancy Lopez and, like, my idols, and playing golf until I was I thought I was gonna
• 4:09
  play golf truly until I was 50. Like,
• 4:11
  Like, I I there was no nothing ever crossed my mind that it that was not gonna be what I was
• 4:17
  going to do my whole life, so I I didn't need to think about anything else.
• 4:22
  Yeah.
• 4:23
  And I know I told you that we weren't gonna dig into your athletic career a whole lot with me,
• 4:27
  but, I'm really interested in in some of the the human elements of this.
• 4:31
  Obviously, the on course accolades, those are great.
• 4:34
  But talk about the challenges of being a, a student athlete who is very invested in that
• 4:41
  athlete side.
• 4:42
  Right?
• 4:42
  And it's not easy to try and balance the two when you're really only going to class because
• 4:47
  you have to to maintain your eligibility.
• 4:49
  Right?
• 4:50
  But but your focus is always on golf, and you're you're working towards this dream.
• 4:55
  What were some of the challenges during those four years that you kinda had to overcome to
• 5:00
  even get to the point where you could go out and to compete at Q School?
• 5:06
  I remember my first class was history my freshman year, and, I sat through the whole
• 5:12
  class and didn't realize that we were already five chapters in.
• 5:16
  So that kinda just started everything.
• 5:19
  I mean, I went to a really small Christian school.
• 5:22
  Like, we we literally had 31 people in my class.
• 5:25
  So I was used to, like, these really small, like, very sheltered, let's just say, very
• 5:29
  sheltered school.
• 5:31
  And so, like, I was expecting, like, alright.
• 5:34
  We you know, we're gonna gonna, like, tell each other what our names are and our favorite
• 5:38
  hobbies and what we're doing here.
• 5:39
  And, like, I don't know what happened, but before I knew it, the hour was up, and I was
• 5:45
  already five chapters behind.
• 5:48
  So it was definitely an adjustment for me.
• 5:51
  And then, obviously, golf travels the most out of any collegiate sport.
• 5:56
  And at the time, we would leave on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, compete.
• 6:01
  I'd go to class Monday, Tuesday, half Wednesday, travel, and, like, you would do that
• 6:05
  in the fall, like, four four weeks in a row, and then and then in the springtime.
• 6:10
  So it was really hard.
• 6:12
  I the benefits that student athletes had with tutors.
• 6:32
  And, I kinda had to negotiate my way through school because I was just not a great test
• 6:37
  taker for whatever reason.
• 6:39
  And they knew my professors knew that I knew the information.
• 6:43
  I just a b c d e.
• 6:45
  Like, I just doesn't work for me.
• 6:48
  So but I was really good at writing, and I love I loved writing papers.
• 6:53
  So they would let me write about, you know, whatever the topic was and use that instead of
• 7:01
  me having to test a lot of times just because they knew that I knew what they knew I was
• 7:06
  putting the effort in, but I just things were not connecting on the testing side.
• 7:10
  So it was definitely difficult for me.
• 7:12
  I mean, we we would kinda hold our breaths, when it was when it was time for, like, grades
• 7:19
  to come out and and hope, but I I passed.
• 7:22
  I graduated.
• 7:23
  I have that diploma, but I definitely am that person sometimes that has that dream that,
• 7:28
  like, I get the call and they're like, you got we made a mistake.
• 7:31
  You gotta come back, which I would gladly do.
• 7:34
  I mean, I would go back to Auburn in an instant.
• 7:38
  Yeah.
• 7:39
  Well and like you mentioned, that that golf is such a different it's not like football where
• 7:44
  they have one game a week and the season is very short.
• 7:47
  You're going out and you're playing entire weekends.
• 7:50
  You're getting practice rounds in.
• 7:52
  It's very demanding, not to mention the the the hours that you're spending, in the practice
• 7:58
  facilities, both, you know, out on the course or in the weight room or in in recovery and
• 8:03
  doing all of this.
• 8:04
  So so much of your time is being taken up by the sport that you're playing.
• 8:09
  It doesn't leave a lot of room for the academic side.
• 8:12
  And if you're not by nature a a very astute student, right, Yeah.
• 8:17
  It it can be very challenging.
• 8:18
  So I I love that, you know, later on in your life now that that at least there's the I don't
• 8:25
  wanna say regret, but there is that if I could go back that I would.
• 8:29
  And, obviously, your street smarts and your p your your people nature, right, serves you very
• 8:34
  well in your sales and kind of the job that you have now.
• 8:38
  Yeah.
• 8:38
  It definitely did.
• 8:40
  And I'm I'm so grateful for my four years at Auburn.
• 8:43
  Like I said, best four years of my life.
• 8:46
  I tell everyone you need to go to college.
• 8:49
  It's so important.
• 8:50
  It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
• 8:52
  Yes.
• 8:52
  You can go when you're older, but, like, you don't wanna be that old person in class.
• 8:55
  Like, you wanna it's a time to grow.
• 8:57
  It's a time to learn about yourself.
• 8:59
  I mean, I was very fortunate.
• 9:01
  I had, I have amazing parents, and they did a lot for me.
• 9:06
  And I remember that first few weeks were was rough.
• 9:10
  I remember going to the bank and crying because I didn't know how to take money out of the
• 9:14
  bank.
• 9:15
  And, like, they're like, did your parents not tell you this?
• 9:17
  I was like, no.
• 9:18
  They did.
• 9:18
  I just wasn't listening because I thought they were gonna stay here with me, like, and do all
• 9:22
  this for me.
• 9:23
  I didn't know how to do laundry, so I would have to drop my laundry off.
• 9:26
  I didn't know how to cook.
• 9:27
  I lived off of Jimmy John turkey Tom my first semester because that's, like, all I would eat
• 9:33
  because I'm I'm I'm very picky with eating, and, like, everywhere else was in a chain.
• 9:38
  It was, like, local stuff in Auburn at the time.
• 9:40
  And so I was like, I'm not going there.
• 9:42
  Like, I don't know what this is.
• 9:43
  So I'd have half a turkey Tom at lunch and the other half at dinner, and, like, that was my
• 9:48
  meal.
• 9:49
  My best meals were on the road with the team.
• 9:51
  And, yeah, it just I I grew up, and and you need that time.
• 9:58
  You know, I I I wanted to turn pro right out of high school.
• 10:03
  And, like, would it have probably been better for my golf career at the time?
• 10:08
  Yes.
• 10:08
  It would have been just because I was I was a really good junior golfer and, like but I'm so
• 10:14
  glad that my parents were like, no.
• 10:15
  You're gonna go to college.
• 10:17
  You're gonna get your degree.
• 10:18
  You're you're gonna do this the right way.
• 10:21
  And, again, no regrets.
• 10:24
  I would do it.
• 10:25
  I always joke when I see coach Llewellyn and and Kim Hall.
• 10:29
  Like, please take me back.
• 10:30
  I'll dye my hair blonde.
• 10:31
  We'll change my name.
• 10:32
  Like, let, like, let me do it again.
• 10:35
  Because I definitely was in this hurry to, like, get on tour and, like, I don't need to
• 10:41
  you know, I don't need this stuff.
• 10:42
  Like, I just I wanna play golf.
• 10:43
  And, like, the thing is golf is always gonna be there.
• 10:46
  The tour is always gonna be there.
• 10:49
  You just can't have that experience in college at that time of your life.
• 10:53
  And, you know, I my coach on the weekends would call the courses, and I wasn't allowed to
• 10:59
  practice on Saturday.
• 11:00
  She wanted me to go to the football games.
• 11:02
  Like, I was just so business.
• 11:04
  I you know, my nickname was grandmama.
• 11:07
  I didn't go to parties.
• 11:08
  I didn't like, I I just I was there to get ready for the LPGA, and that was it.
• 11:14
  And that was my only focus while I was there.
• 11:16
  And so the I mean, I guess, I don't have regrets, but I I wish I did just enjoy things
• 11:21
  and, like, slow down since life goes so fast.
• 11:24
  And, obviously, hindsight now being 41, a lot is a lot you you learn, you grow.
• 11:33
  But, again, best four years of my life, everyone needs to do it.
• 11:37
  And especially if you're an athlete and just enjoy that moment and enjoy that time and,
• 11:44
  enjoy, you know, your coach and your teammates, you're just you're never gonna have that that
• 11:48
  kind of experience ever again.
• 11:50
  Yeah.
• 11:51
  I think there's some great lessons in there for our younger listeners and watchers for sure
• 11:56
  that, enjoy that time.
• 11:58
  Enjoy it.
• 12:00
  Appreciate it for what it is because eventually you're gonna be grown up.
• 12:03
  And, you know, I just turned 40 this year myself and reflecting on a lot of my twenties.
• 12:09
  Now I didn't go to school for very long.
• 12:12
  I I got to SDSU, South Dakota State University, and I realized I moved to the wrong state side
• 12:18
  of South Dakota and winter hit, and it was, like, October.
• 12:21
  I didn't have a car.
• 12:22
  I'm like, why I'm walking to class?
• 12:24
  The wind's blowing 90 miles an hour.
• 12:26
  It's 30 below zero.
• 12:27
  Like, I'm not in for this.
• 12:29
  And I and I took off for my vagabond years on the West Coast hitchhiking up and down, you
• 12:34
  know, the one zero one with my guitar on my back, a slightly different path than playing
• 12:39
  SEC golf and experiencing that.
• 12:42
  But I was in a hurry.
• 12:43
  I I I was trying to get somewhere.
• 12:44
  I was trying to do I was really just running away from something.
• 12:48
  I wasn't even running to anything necessarily, but I I missed out on a lot of moments that if
• 12:54
  I would have slowed down and and appreciated where I was in my life, I think that I it would
• 12:59
  have been a lot better for me.
• 13:01
  That's why I'm very adamant with my children now of, like, look.
• 13:04
  Enjoy these moments.
• 13:05
  Enjoy being, you know, a now a now a teenager.
• 13:07
  My son just turned 14 this week, and my last my youngest daughter is is hitting double digits
• 13:14
  this year as well.
• 13:16
  And I'm very focused on being in the moment now.
• 13:18
  Right?
• 13:19
  And in this time and in being a dad and appreciating those moments and trying to impart
• 13:23
  that.
• 13:23
  So I I appreciate you diving into that and the reflective nature of just kinda being our age
• 13:29
  now and looking back and going, yes.
• 13:32
  And, obviously, it served you.
• 13:33
  Right?
• 13:33
  I I that's why it's hard to say that it would ever be a regret because Yeah.
• 13:36
  You got to go live your dream.
• 13:38
  Right?
• 13:38
  Like, you worked your ass off.
• 13:39
  You played at at the highest level of collegiate golf that you could, prepared
• 13:44
  yourself for the LPGA.
• 13:46
  You made the tour, and and were on tour until you didn't wanna be on tour.
• 13:50
  You probably could have continued your career.
• 13:53
  And and I'm interested now in that that that shift.
• 13:56
  Right?
• 13:57
  You know, you you mentioned you were probably 27 when this happened.
• 14:00
  I think that's a very interesting time for for everyone, right, as we're approaching 30 and,
• 14:06
  like, oh, you better get your life together kind of thing.
• 14:09
  Can you talk about it?
• 14:10
  And I and I think I know because we've talked to a couple of of different you know, around
• 14:14
  the PGA, we talk about it, but you lived it.
• 14:17
  Talk about that experience of playing and not having that guaranteed paycheck, playing for
• 14:22
  purses out there on the tour and the stress that that can cause, especially for a young a
• 14:28
  young person.
• 14:29
  Yeah.
• 14:30
  You know, I was very fortunate.
• 14:31
  I had wonderful sponsors.
• 14:33
  I mean, I think even till today, they still would have sponsored me, some of them, but I I
• 14:37
  developed great relationships with them and and provided, you know, what they were looking for,
• 14:43
  someone to entertain their clients, someone to, you know, host clinics, someone to kind of
• 14:49
  represent their brands in a way that they wanted.
• 14:51
  And, so I was fortunate where I really didn't have worry about money so much, but it's still
• 14:56
  in the back of your mind.
• 14:57
  And I just mentally could knock it out of my own way.
• 15:02
  For me, it was it there was nothing to do with effort, talent, resources.
• 15:08
  It was truly a mental issue that I just could not get out of my own way and just there was,
• 15:15
  like, Nicole and then, like, Nicole the golfer, and Nicole the golfer, like, just sabotaged
• 15:20
  things all the time because of unrealistic expectations.
• 15:23
  And, like, I talked to friends now that, like, when we played on tour, and they're like, I
• 15:27
  would be such a different golfer now that I have perspective.
• 15:32
  And I think that's the other piece of, like, why going to college and having, like, some
• 15:36
  normalcy growing up is so important because it gives you this perspective on life that, like
• 15:42
  again, I lived in this very sheltered bubble with my parents just giving me their all and
• 15:49
  providing me every resource, every opportunity possible, and it was just focus on your golf.
• 15:53
  Focus on your golf.
• 15:54
  Focus on your golf.
• 15:55
  Don't think about anything else.
• 15:56
  Don't talk about anything else.
• 15:58
  Like, it's just golf, golf, golf.
• 16:00
  And my self worth became golf and this number and these scores.
• 16:06
  And if I played bad golf, I was a bad person.
• 16:10
  And I was so much more than that.
• 16:12
  I was a daughter.
• 16:13
  I was a sister, a friend.
• 16:14
  Like, there's so much more to you, but, like, my whole identity was so wrapped into golf.
• 16:20
  And I have a terrible memory, but I I do remember so clearly.
• 16:25
  Like, I was living in Jupiter at the time because all the pros were up there.
• 16:28
  We you know, that's where we practice.
• 16:31
  And I just remember waking up, and I didn't wanna practice.
• 16:34
  And I had never one time in twenty one years had that feeling.
• 16:40
  So I was like, ugh.
• 16:41
  That's not good.
• 16:42
  Like, I just knew.
• 16:43
  And I'm someone that's very honest, probably too honest, and just a realist.
• 16:50
  And I I I was five and a half years into my career and just realized, like, it's not
• 16:56
  happening.
• 16:57
  Well, I'm not seeing where I should be and where everybody else thinks I should be in my
• 17:03
  career because, you know, I had amazing mentors that were hall of famers, and they're like I'd
• 17:10
  play with them in practice because I just I wanted to learn.
• 17:12
  I wanted to get better.
• 17:13
  I wanted to hear what they had to say, like, to help me.
• 17:15
  And they're just like, we don't understand.
• 17:17
  Like, you should be a top 15 player in the world.
• 17:20
  Like, no questions asked with, like, your ball striking and just everything.
• 17:26
  And so I just realized that I'm like, you know, I'm 27.
• 17:30
  I could keep doing this for years because I had great sponsors, but, like, do I really wanna
• 17:34
  be, like, in my mid thirties or my mid forties and, like, then starting a career after golf?
• 17:41
  And, I mean, again, I had no clue what I wanted to do.
• 17:44
  I had no clue what to do, But I was like, do I wanna figure that out even when I'm older?
• 17:49
  You know?
• 17:50
  And the answer was no.
• 17:52
  And that was a journey trying to figure out what to do because, again, since basically the
• 17:58
  age of three and age of seven, like, I played golf every single day of my life.
• 18:03
  I was focused on getting on tour.
• 18:05
  Like, there was no conversation of part two.
• 18:11
  Like, what you do after.
• 18:12
  Like, that just was not even in the equation.
• 18:15
  So, I mean, it literally was like this new idea at 27 of, like, what what am I gonna do with my
• 18:22
  whole rest of my life?
• 18:24
  Like, I've already had this whole life and career.
• 18:26
  Like, what do I do now?
• 18:27
  And, like, that was brutal because, I I mean, I just I had no clue.
• 18:31
  I knew, though, that I loved golf, but I just didn't wanna play it anymore.
• 18:36
  And then I knew that I was really good at relationships and, and with people.
• 18:44
  And so I was like, I mean, there's gotta be something out there that I can kind of figure
• 18:48
  out what to do next.
• 18:50
  And, yeah, I I it just it took a while.
• 18:54
  It took a while to kinda get here, but, you know, definitely, eyes were opened.
• 18:58
  Everything was so new.
• 18:59
  I mean, I remember my first job, and I I feel terrible for my first boss.
• 19:04
  But, like, I was a coordinator at a country club doing member, events.
• 19:08
  And I just remember one day, she's like, are you, like, from another planet?
• 19:12
  Like, how do you not know how to write an email?
• 19:14
  Like, how do you not know how to do, like, a deck?
• 19:17
  Like, I didn't even know what a deck was.
• 19:19
  And I'm like, I kinda am like an alien from another planet.
• 19:22
  Like, I've never had to do any of this.
• 19:24
  Like, I've just had to book travel and go play golf my whole life.
• 19:28
  Like, yeah, I don't know what I'm doing right now.
• 19:32
  And so, yeah, it it was that first job was, my boot camp, and I'm so grateful for it because
• 19:38
  it, like, really I didn't have attention to detail in the on the business side of thing.
• 19:43
  I had work ethic, which that's how I ended up getting my first job.
• 19:48
  My GM at the time, he was a former athlete, and he's like, you are someone that I want a 100
• 19:54
  of.
• 19:55
  Like, I could teach you how to do a deck and how to do all the business stuff, but I can't
• 19:59
  teach work ethic.
• 20:01
  And that is was probably and still is, like, the most shocking thing being in, like,
• 20:06
  corporate America is, like, on a day where I'm, like, not feeling great or I'm just what I'm
• 20:12
  just off.
• 20:13
  I still know that I'm running a lapse around, like, other people.
• 20:17
  And I'm just like, what are you guys doing?
• 20:18
  So, like, I just remember those first few jobs always going like, what do people do all day
• 20:23
  that they are just struggling to get through this, like, checklist?
• 20:26
  I'm blowing through this and, like, no problem.
• 20:29
  Head down, getting stuff done.
• 20:33
  So, yeah, like, that was really how I got my first job is, like, they they saw value in an
• 20:38
  athlete, especially a professional athlete.
• 20:40
  They know how hard it is and, like, what the sacrifice is and, like, the focus that goes
• 20:45
  into that and that work ethic.
• 20:47
  I'd say, like, that's just something that obviously really helped me get to where I am
• 20:52
  today is is, you know, that focus that was just instilled in me and just from a a young age and
• 20:59
  that eth work ethic.
• 21:01
  Yeah.
• 21:02
  And I think, any, even just a collegiate athlete that employers are are very attracted
• 21:08
  to those individuals because of what you just pointed out.
• 21:10
  Right?
• 21:11
  You know that this person is going to show up.
• 21:13
  They're going to do what they're asked to do.
• 21:16
  They're going to do that work at a high level, and they may not know how to do everything
• 21:20
  Mhmm.
• 21:20
  Right out of the gate because they have dedicated so much time to something else that's
• 21:25
  not the job specifically, but you can teach people that.
• 21:28
  You you can't teach them how to show up for themselves and for the team every single day,
• 21:34
  and that can be very hard for people that, you know, even never played sports.
• 21:38
  Right?
• 21:38
  And I grew up.
• 21:39
  I never played at the collegiate level, but three sport athlete in high school, also very
• 21:44
  dedicated to my music and learning a new instrument.
• 21:46
  And all of those skills that I learned through sport and music, both, I apply to my life daily
• 21:53
  in what I'm doing now running my own business.
• 21:55
  How to work with others being on a team?
• 21:57
  I mean, especially in golf too.
• 21:59
  That was a really unique experience is having teammates and having like, I mean, I'm normally
• 22:05
  like, I wanna kill you.
• 22:06
  Like, I'm going to kill you on the golf course.
• 22:08
  It's like, I don't I don't care what you shoot, but that changes so drastically in college golf
• 22:14
  because you want your teammates to do good.
• 22:18
  In November, we we're celebrating our back to back SEC championships twenty years ago with my
• 22:25
  teammates, and, like, are moments that just live with me.
• 22:30
  I just I remember that moment of us just coming together on the green when we won.
• 22:34
  I mean, I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.
• 22:36
  Like, those are priceless.
• 22:38
  And, like, yeah, it's great to win a golf tournament, but, like, to win on a team for a
• 22:43
  golf tournament, it's just a whole another high of a level that, like, you can't ex you can't
• 22:49
  explain, especially coming from an individual sport.
• 22:52
  So the skills that you learn from playing college athletics and and even just, little
• 22:59
  league and, like, just elementary school athletics on a team, I just think those skills
• 23:05
  obviously help you in business moving forward.
• 23:09
  No doubt.
• 23:10
  And now you are, you know, fourteen years removed from your professional career and,
• 23:16
  working now with Style Driver and and for Style Driver in a relatively new position for you,
• 23:22
  but it seems one that is kind of, you know, not to plug another brand here, but it's tailor
• 23:27
  made for you specifically to really get in there, to use all of these skills and the
• 23:33
  connections that you have in the golf world, your name, and people, I'm sure, still know you
• 23:38
  around the sport and around some of these courses that you're working with, can we start
• 23:43
  off by having you explain a little bit of what Style Driver is as a company?
• 23:48
  And then we'll go into a little bit more of, like, what your role specifically is.
• 23:52
  Yeah.
• 23:52
  So we are a one stop shop.
• 23:54
  So instead of whether it's a company or a charity event or or just anyone, instead of
• 23:59
  having to deal with multiple vendors, a hat person, a shirt person, a swag, cups, the
• 24:05
  tchotchke giveaways, You could just deal with me.
• 24:09
  One person, we do it all, like I said.
• 24:12
  So, Style Driver, it started off mainly us catering to tour events, LPGA, PGA tour with
• 24:20
  the volunteer apparel.
• 24:21
  We have our own manufacturer in China, our own line of clothes that I'd like to say same,
• 24:27
  quality as Nike, Adidas, Puma, but we make it really affordable.
• 24:31
  Because when these tournaments are procuring shirts and hats and pullovers for over five,
• 24:39
  six hundred people and they need two two polos, a pullover, and a a hat or two for the week,
• 24:45
  you know, you're not you can't spend 75, $85 on each piece of of clothing, with that.
• 24:52
  So
• 24:53
  we got your purse for the athletes because we spent all our money on volunteer shirts.
• 24:57
  Exactly.
• 24:58
  So but you wanna provide them as a you know, just something nice and decent that they could
• 25:03
  possibly wear again.
• 25:04
  And and, so we started doing that, and then COVID hit.
• 25:08
  And then it was obviously all these rules of, like, gathering together.
• 25:11
  So, like, in pro ams, like, how do we give the gifts out?
• 25:14
  Can you guys help us with that?
• 25:16
  So we created an online gifting suite experience.
• 25:19
  So, we build a private, password protected tournament website, load it up with all the
• 25:27
  different brands of all of, like, the top lifestyle, golf stuff, like, just literally
• 25:32
  everything, that you can imagine in there.
• 25:35
  And then we go to the tournament.
• 25:38
  We bring it to life by bringing these items in so people could touch, feel, and see them.
• 25:43
  They each get a gift card.
• 25:45
  They go online.
• 25:46
  They shop with what they actually want to buy.
• 25:49
  I am a huge advocate, and I always have been about the importance of, like, giving a gift
• 25:54
  that's meaningful.
• 25:55
  If you guys are spending money on gifts, like, make it count.
• 25:58
  You know, I see all these charity events where they're like, I don't even have a big budget,
• 26:02
  but, you know, you're giving them $20 worth of junk that they're leaving in the golf cart.
• 26:07
  One, that's a waste of your time, a waste of the money from the charity, but you're also,
• 26:10
  like, not helping in the sense of, like, marketing for the company.
• 26:14
  So instead of giving a bunch of little tchotchkes that aren't meaningful, do one nice
• 26:19
  gift.
• 26:19
  There's cups out there for $4.
• 26:21
  You know?
• 26:22
  Get your logo on there.
• 26:23
  Everyone could use a good cup kind of thing or a hat or a shirt or something.
• 26:28
  And one that's more meaningful.
• 26:34
  And then also, it's just you're not wasting your time and your money with that kind of
• 26:38
  stuff.
• 26:38
  So, yeah, I just I love what I'm getting to do now because, one, I'm just helping events,
• 26:46
  like, think outside the box and think outside of just the normal, like, let's do this, let's
• 26:50
  do that.
• 26:51
  But we're able to offer so many different brands where, you know, the worst thing you
• 26:57
  could do is, like, let's say, a rangefinder.
• 27:00
  That's normally a really hot gift, but someone probably has played in eight other tournaments,
• 27:04
  and they have now nine rangefinders.
• 27:06
  So, like, give people the ability to pick something that they want.
• 27:09
  So we kinda we do it all.
• 27:10
  We have the gifting suite.
• 27:12
  We do do gifts, like regular gifts.
• 27:14
  Here's your one gift, but we kinda cover it all.
• 27:17
  Yeah.
• 27:18
  I I love the custom kind of, gift picking that that you can offer, and you showed me a video
• 27:25
  when we spoke previously of how it all works with the, you know, bringing in the the screen,
• 27:31
  being able to do it right there on-site or them being able to visit the website later on.
• 27:35
  And the gift card, it just seems like it's a revolutionary idea really, and it allows people
• 27:40
  to do that.
• 27:40
  Because I'll tell you as someone who is obviously, you know, going to trade shows and
• 27:44
  different things like that, I have a bunch of cheap stuff that sits in a drawer or on in on a
• 27:49
  shelf in the closet and doesn't get it.
• 27:51
  To be able to give people the option to get something that, one, they're actually going to
• 27:55
  use, and, two, they're gonna be very proud to wear that now becomes a a marketing tool, you
• 28:01
  know, unbeknownst to the tournament or, you know, the sponsor, whoever it may be that is
• 28:06
  out there, you know, spreading the word about whether it's a foundation or a course or, you
• 28:10
  know, a a company out there in the world.
• 28:13
  Those are powerful pieces of marketing.
• 28:16
  They it really is.
• 28:17
  And, again, like, we haven't reinvented the wheel in the sense, but we just we we make it
• 28:24
  so much easier for you.
• 28:25
  You know?
• 28:25
  Because let's just say you want access to all of these different brands of clothing and golf
• 28:30
  shoes and hats and pickleball gear and, like, just all of this.
• 28:35
  Like, yes.
• 28:36
  Anybody could go.
• 28:37
  I mean, you have to create a business and open a wholesale account, and there's minimums and
• 28:42
  there's other requirements.
• 28:43
  And, like, yes, anybody can do what we're doing, but we've been in the golf industry and
• 28:50
  in this this world for I mean, I think the guys probably have over fifty years of experience
• 28:56
  and relationships in this industry.
• 28:58
  So we have these really strong relationships with these brands where they work really well
• 29:03
  with us.
• 29:04
  They offer us a a much better offering than most can get, but then we extend that to our
• 29:09
  client too.
• 29:10
  And, it's it's just widening, you know, how many peep like, how many brands instead of just
• 29:16
  like, okay.
• 29:17
  Well, we only do this brand or we only do that brand because it is a lot of work to open these
• 29:22
  wholesale accounts and do that.
• 29:23
  I mean, we literally have partnered with over a 150 different brands that are out there across
• 29:29
  all different categories on top of having our own manufacturer in China where we have our own
• 29:35
  line of stuff that's great quality but super, super affordable for for anybody.
• 29:40
  It doesn't need to be a volunteer for a golf tournament.
• 29:43
  It could be we've got construction companies that are buying t shirts for their employees
• 29:47
  that are out in the field dying.
• 29:51
  We've got car dealerships that are buying hat and and uniform apparel.
• 29:56
  We've got charity events that are buying, you know, the swags and the giveaway stuff, and
• 30:00
  then we've got corporate events that attend tons of conferences, and they do need the
• 30:03
  little tchotchke giveaway stuff that are costing, you know, a dollar each or something
• 30:08
  like that that's really affordable, but it's it's getting their name and their their brand
• 30:12
  out there.
• 30:13
  So, again and it I think it's just so nice to only have to deal with one person, instead of,
• 30:20
  oh, I have to reach out to this person and that person.
• 30:22
  Like, it just that's when more errors can happen and, like, it just gets messy, and then
• 30:27
  it's just it's harder instead of just dealing with one person and here are all your tracking
• 30:31
  numbers.
• 30:31
  Here's where we are with everything.
• 30:34
  And then it's just like I I always joke.
• 30:36
  I'm like, just throw at me whatever you whatever whatever weird item you're looking
• 30:40
  for.
• 30:41
  Like, I'm gonna be able to find it kinda thing.
• 30:44
  Instead of you having to search especially in corporate America, I feel like a lot of that
• 30:49
  responsibility for swag and giveaway and gifts falls on, like, HR or head of marketing or
• 30:56
  secretary or, like, they have full time jobs.
• 30:59
  So, like, they don't have hours to procure and negotiate and find pricing and, like, it takes
• 31:05
  a long time to do all those things and come up with the what's the newest hottest item in, you
• 31:10
  know, to be giving away right now?
• 31:12
  Like, we take that away.
• 31:14
  I you tell me your budget.
• 31:16
  You tell me what you're looking for.
• 31:17
  You you give me a little info about the the client that you're trying to wow, and I come up
• 31:22
  with, you know, sometimes 10 to 50 or a 100 different items to present to you to just take
• 31:30
  we're saving people time and hours
• 31:32
  of Right.
• 31:33
  Committee meetings and things like that too.
• 31:35
  Yeah.
• 31:35
  Well and and it's something that you just pointed out there too is that sometimes this
• 31:38
  job is falling on someone with another full time job that may have no idea what they're
• 31:44
  doing in this space.
• 31:45
  And the the time consuming nature, is it that is it hard?
• 31:49
  Right?
• 31:49
  Is it laborious in the aspect of, like, do you know, is it difficult to do?
• 31:55
  No.
• 31:55
  It's not that difficult.
• 31:56
  But if you don't know what you're doing and you don't know where to look and you don't know,
• 31:59
  you're talking about hours and hours and hours on top of it.
• 32:02
  And even just to bring it back to, like, the golf world, a tournament director has a million
• 32:07
  other things to think about other than, like, what brand and color of shirt are we gonna put
• 32:12
  on the volunteers.
• 32:14
  Right?
• 32:14
  And then on top of that, the gifts for the pro am and for your sponsors and all the things
• 32:19
  that we're doing.
• 32:19
  You're just solving that massive problem of, like, we're gonna save you a hundred hours of
• 32:25
  doing all of this, and you're going to get a better product at the end of the day.
• 32:29
  Couple committees that you don't need now to make these decisions because, you know, again,
• 32:34
  we are the committee.
• 32:35
  We're bringing this all to you.
• 32:37
  Here you go.
• 32:39
  Tied up in a nice bow.
• 32:40
  All you gotta do is just go this one, that one, this one.
• 32:43
  Boom.
• 32:43
  And we're done.
• 32:44
  And then we take care of the rest, and we deliver.
• 32:47
  So that's really how the company started.
• 32:51
  Yeah, Nicole.
• 32:52
  And you touched on it a little bit that Style Driver was mainly based in the golf world and
• 32:57
  really just serving, you know, tournaments and, you know, events of that nature.
• 33:01
  But now you are really brought in to to widen that scope of who you can serve because what
• 33:07
  you're doing can be applied to so many things outside of just the golf world, whether it's,
• 33:12
  you know, corporate events or, you know, maybe it's a a charity, something that a company is
• 33:17
  putting on.
• 33:18
  Talk to me a little bit about this expansion now and really beginning in in this phase of of
• 33:23
  just joining the company of your outreach.
• 33:25
  I I know you said you're spending a ton of time just kinda cold outreach right now and
• 33:30
  introducing yourself to as many people as you can to grow that side of it.
• 33:34
  Yeah.
• 33:34
  I mean, I've been hunting like crazy, which I I love because, again, this sales side of me is
• 33:40
  feeds that competitor that still lives in me.
• 33:43
  But, yeah, I'm having to start a whole new book of business.
• 33:45
  You know, things that I've done in the past, there's a little tiny bit of overlap with some
• 33:50
  connections, but I really am starting from scratch, reaching out to oil and gas companies,
• 33:57
  car dealerships, construction companies.
• 34:00
  Obviously, my network of friends have been amazing with introducing me to people that
• 34:04
  know, like, hey.
• 34:05
  So and so is always buying stuff for for clients as thank yous or, oh, this company,
• 34:11
  they buy tons of hats and T shirts to give away for for this.
• 34:16
  And, oh, my friend works at a charity event.
• 34:18
  So, I mean, we have so many different categories that this applies to, but, like, we
• 34:23
  also I also have friends that are just some golf sickos that have trips coming up, and
• 34:28
  they've loaded up on golf balls and golf a new golf bag, new travel bag, shoes, swag, gear,
• 34:34
  like, just everything for their golf trips.
• 34:37
  So we also just cater to just that golf sicko that wants to just load up on a ton of gear.
• 34:43
  So it just it it's it's so hard to explain because we literally can cover every category
• 34:50
  and and cater to so many, like, not even just corporate or charity, but, like, individuals as
• 34:55
  well.
• 34:56
  Yeah.
• 34:57
  Really exciting.
• 34:58
  And you'd shared about a trip that, you know, they were taking a trip overseas and wanted all
• 35:03
  custom gear, all custom polos for every day of the week and the balls and all the everything
• 35:09
  around it.
• 35:09
  And I think that's in in this world that we live in now where, we have access to literally
• 35:16
  everything.
• 35:17
  Right?
• 35:17
  We can buy anything we want to online.
• 35:19
  It's about standing out.
• 35:21
  And what better way to do that than having your own shirt that really says you in every way.
• 35:28
  Yeah.
• 35:28
  And representing your brand.
• 35:30
  I mean, even if you are going on that golf trip, but you work for a company and you own a
• 35:34
  company and you're proud of your company, you know, you wanna have that logo on your chest.
• 35:38
  And with the discounts that we extend to our clients, we do embroidery all in house also in
• 35:44
  our warehouse in Bradenton, Florida.
• 35:47
  We're able to, like, really help people save a lot of money, not just, you know, by skimping
• 35:53
  out on the quality.
• 35:54
  They're still getting high quality, or they're getting access to brands that are very
• 35:58
  expensive, but getting those discounts, really generous discounts, and then also being able to
• 36:04
  do the embroidery piece, which typically comes with minimums, typically comes with, you know,
• 36:09
  a wholesale account with some of these bigger brands.
• 36:13
  Or if you do have a shirt and you run over to the local place, they're gonna charge you at
• 36:17
  least 20 to $25 to put one logo on, and then you gotta get the DT, DST in a digitized
• 36:24
  version.
• 36:24
  Like, there's just so many layers to it that we make it so much easier for them and more
• 36:29
  streamlined.
• 36:30
  Our minimum for pretty much everything is one.
• 36:33
  So even if it's just like, I just want this one pair of golf shoes or I just need I just need
• 36:38
  this shirt for my client with this logo on it.
• 36:40
  Like, we can do that.
• 36:41
  So, again, we're we're here to cater, help, make make life a lot easier for our clients,
• 36:48
  and, and help them get some time back.
• 36:52
  Yeah.
• 36:53
  Absolutely incredible.
• 36:54
  And and I'm really grateful that we got to spend some time together today talking a little
• 36:59
  golf, talking a little business.
• 37:01
  I I hope that we get a chance to do a lot more of that maybe on a golf course together one
• 37:06
  day, and you can kick my butt all over the course, and get that competitive juice out that
• 37:11
  way.
• 37:12
  I'm terrible at golf, so maybe you can teach me a thing or two.
• 37:15
  I think I could teach you something.
• 37:18
  Well, Nicole, it's been absolutely great, spending a few minutes with you today.
• 37:22
  Anything we didn't touch on before I let you go?
• 37:26
  No.
• 37:26
  I mean, please reach out to me on LinkedIn.
• 37:29
  I'm very active on LinkedIn, and responsive.
• 37:34
  Even if it's just a question, like, there's no dumb questions.
• 37:37
  We probably could help you.
• 37:39
  And, again, we can work with any budget.
• 37:41
  So it's not even like, oh, they're really fancy.
• 37:44
  Like, I I can work with any budget.
• 37:48
  Connect with me.
• 37:49
  Happy to take a peek at things and also just share more about what we do here at Style
• 37:54
  Driver.
• 37:55
  Yep.
• 37:56
  It's some really cool stuff, and and I think that the company is going to grow,
• 38:00
  considerably, with you kinda heading up and and really spearheading this initiative to grow the
• 38:06
  company outside of just the world of golf.
• 38:09
  So everyone go follow and connect with Nicole.
• 38:12
  Hage is h a g e, Nicole, n I c o l e.
• 38:17
  And, you can find Style Driver online at styledriver.com.
• 38:21
  Nicole, thank you so much for being on with me today, and thank you for being part of the
• 38:25
  scene.
• 38:26
  Thank you for having me.