Kevin O'Connell
My 2021 Goal: Mental Health - My Story of ...

Because the last several months have been some of the most difficult for me. I truly would describe it as surviving instead of thriving.

My main goal for 2021 isn’t to train for some brand new Ironman race or achieve some lofty professional or financial goal. While I have set some fitness and financial goals for myself, they are the top of the priority list.

To get it out there in the open my main goal and top priority next to being a husband and father: my mental health.

Right before the holidays I was officially diagnosed with depression with a side of anxiety and mounting, overwhelming life stressors.

Just how bad was it?

My 2021 Goal: Mental Health - My Story of Depression and Anxiety 
Kevin O'Connell, small business, Entrepreneurship, life advice
Kevin O'Connell
Goodbye 2020: My Year of Changes, Transitions, ...

As we take time to reflect on this past year, with all its ups and downs, we want to thank you for continuing to support us and for showing up for your community. Because of you, we were able to fund our first ever scholarship program, and we awarded four Black Creative Students scholarships to students from all over the country. This year, we were also able to publish 26 new blog posts, had 10,400 page views, added and featured 4 new contributing editors, hired and on-boarded a super creative new social media, Greer Blount, and offered our first writing internship to Maggie Barbour who created and published 10 posts in less than 12 weeks.

It's been an eventful year for out team, and to close it all off, TNM founder Kevin O'Connell is sharing his thoughts on 2020, dealing with change and transitions as a new dad and entrepreneur, and finding new approaches for 2021. Keep reading for Kevin’s end-of-the-year message!

Goodbye 2020: My Year of Changes, Transitions, and Identity
Entrepreneurship, Jaylene Perez, Kevin O'Connell, Maggie Barbour, small business, career advice
Maggie Barbour
Best Tools and Resources for New Freelancers

Working freelance may sound glamorous at first, but those who've been doing it for a while know it takes hard work. Getting your business off the ground isn't easy and sometimes it means juggling various projects all at once, but it also has it's benefits - I mean you are your own boss after all!


This week, writing intern Maggie Barbour asks The Niche Movement's Editor-in-Chief Jaylene Perez and founder Kevin O'Connell, both of whom have experience in freelancing, what it really takes to make it work.

Read on for Jaylene and Kevin's best practices when it comes to finding clients, marketing your services, settings rates, and more!

Best Tools and Resources for New Freelancers
career advice, Maggie Barbour, Kevin O'Connell
Maggie Barbour
Top Skills Every Creative Needs

For all those in pursuit of professional development, this week we're taking a look at which skills you'll want to brush up on depending on your specific industry. Whether you're a freelancer, marketer, entrepreneur, or work in another creative role, you'll want to read up on what will make you and your work really shine.

Tap below for the full post!

Top Skills Every Creative Needs
Maggie Barbour, Greer Blount
Maggie Barbour
How to Job Search During a Pandemic

Job searching is a tough task on its own, and job searching during a pandemic... well we know it's not easy. You'll have to be flexible, know how to network and market yourself, and really hone in on what it is your looking for as you search for the right fit.

To find out what can help you land your dream job, keep reading!

How to Job Search During a Pandemic

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How to Transition from the Military to Corporate Life | Veterans Panel Fireside Chat

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How to Transition from the Military to Corporate Life | Veterans Panel Fireside Chat

What is it like to transition from the military and into a career? Four veterans from the Army, Air Force, and Marines share their journey, their struggles, accomplishments and their advice to find a job they love. This is part of The Niche Movement fireside chat tour where we sat down and interviewed for veterans who found their niche. The Niche Movement Fireside Chat Tour brings together a diverse population of career-ready millennials, from college students to more experienced professionals for monthly events and on-going digital discussions about finding your niche--and a company where you can grow--in the new job market.

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How to Land a Job at HBO | Fireside Chat with Mary Johnson

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On September 27, 2017 our founder Kevin O'Connell sat down and interviewed Mary Johnson, Associate Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at HBO (#HBOinspires) to find out how she landed a job she loves, how one actually lands a job at HBO, and what exactly corporate social responsibility is.

Mary has been with HBO since 2012 after graduating from Rutgers University. We interviewed Mary to hear about the inspiring work she has done with HBO including working with Chris Gethard around mental health awareness, supporting the American Black Film festival, and other philanthropic initiatives tied to HBO programming.

Mary hails from the Jersey Shore and loves going to the beach any chance she can get. She has worked at HBO for five years in the Corporate Social Responsibility / Corporate Affairs Department. In her spare time, Mary enjoys performing improv and sketch comedy at The People’s Improv Theater in NYC. She also claimed to closely identify with Cookie Monster.

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How to Become an NYC Social Influencer | Fireside Chat with Founder of Don’t Sit Home

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On June 14th, 2017, we sat down with the solopreneur and founder of Don't Sit Home, Amanda Morrison, for our sixth fireside chat part of our NicheCon series. 

We talked about the importance of social media as a branding tool for business, past job experiences, maintaining connections, networking and much more. In this chat, Kevin interviews Amanda on her journey from a stable day job running copyright law at Associate Press to the responsibilities of being her own boss managing Don't Sit Home. 

Amanda was able to take this leap of faith in her professional career because of the passion she has for what she does. The road to thriving in her business was paved with lots of adversity, but she held her professional knowledge dear and was able to establish a solid foundation to her business today.

Don't Sit Home® is a social media management and event planning service that embodies the mission of a total experience. Amanda has been driving this side hustle for a number of years and decided to make it her full time job in May 2014. Her ultimate goal is to inspire anyone and everyone to go out and live their passions in a unique way. This is a much watch (or listen) to anyone in eventing planning, travel, social media, or trying to take a side hustle to full-time. 

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Fireside Chat - Stacy Campesi of SLC Coaching 6.6.17

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Fireside Chat - Stacy Campesi of SLC Coaching 6.6.17

On Tuesday June 6th, 2017, we sat down with Stacy Campesi a good friend of TNM and founder of SLC Coaching. 

On Tuesday June 6th, 2017, we sat down with Stacy Campesi a good friend of TNM and founder of SLC Coaching. 

We talked about how to get out of "career rock bottom?"  Better yet, how do you make time for yourself once you are thriving. In this fireside chat, Kevin interviews Stacy on her own professional journey and career transition all the way to what red flags to look for while interviewing.

We talked about how to get out of "career rock bottom?"  Better yet, how do you make time for yourself once you are thriving. In this fireside chat, Kevin interviews Stacy on her own professional journey and career transition all the way to what red flags to look for while interviewing.

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Fireside Chat - Trevor Lynn CMO of Social Tables D.C.'s Hottest Startups 4.18.17

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Fireside Chat - Trevor Lynn CMO of Social Tables D.C.'s Hottest Startups 4.18.17

Recorded on April 18th, 2017 at WeWork White House, our third Niche Con Fireside Chat guest was Trevor Lynn, a 26-year-old CMO of Social Tables. If you’re like Trevor Lynn, CMO of Social Tables, you’ve got a real hunger for the work and dedication it takes for a startup to live or die. As one of the first 10 employees for this web-based software in the hospitality and events industry, Trevor’s been on the serious roller coaster that can be working at a startup - your coworkers are your family, you’re failing together, hitting brick walls together but then finding new paths together with no process, no guidance, and hardly any resources.