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

Staying Connected While Working From Home

Staying Connected While Working From Home

Here at the Niche Movement, we realize that what works the best for one person might, and probably does not, work the best for the next person. So, we are all for finding the best possible solution! That being said, many young people, are finding that it is most effective for both their quality of life and quality of work to work from home. It may seem hard for one who works from home to truly be a part of the company, which is definitely a valid concern. I, as a freshman in college can vouch for the fact that millennials have inevitably become used to building and maintaining relationships through technology. The steps below, paired with many young people's pre existing can easily work together to create the ideal work from home relationship. With a little extra effort, proper utilization of the available resources will lead to the desired work-life balance.

Tell Us Your Story: Brandi Bernoskie

Tell Us Your Story: Brandi Bernoskie

Here at TNM, we have a large community of people who are inspired by our words, tips, and real world advice. Last month we featured three of our contributing editors who help us generate content. This month we are featuring some members of our greater community who are equally as inspiring through the Tell Us Your Story: Young Professional Series here on our blog. These people have found their Niche, and want to share their story with you.

Our first feature is Brandi Bernoskie who grew from a freelance coder to a small business owner, and has many passions all aimed toward making the world a better place.

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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.

Why Every Weekend Should Be A 3 Day Weekend

Why Every Weekend Should Be A 3 Day Weekend

For my part, the 32-hour week seems to get even better the longer I practice it. My energy level has skyrocketed, and my focus and creativity have never been sharper. I might even enjoy the wait until retirement. In my own office, I’ve completed validated the evidence, and have seen impressive results in overall productivity and work quality.

The Perfect Day… 10 Years From Now

The Perfect Day… 10 Years From Now

Completing this blog post was harder than ever. I had to revisit it at least three times because it was tough to think about the future. Who will still be in my life and who may not. It was difficult to imagine what our world looks like technologically. And last, I realized I don’t think I want my days to look too much different from the way they are already. I strive to work on myself to create a bit more self discipline and accountability, financial security, and continue to fine-tune my narrative to bring more awareness of the impact that I can make with my professional work. I challenge of all you to try this exercise. You don’t have to publish it but I would tuck it away and revisit it every few years and let me know what happens 10 years from now.