On Her Time is Pinch’s ongoing series celebrating women who lead with grounded confidence, ambition without apology, and a deep care for themselves and the people around them. These are the women navigating full, multifaceted lives with intention - defining success on their own terms, in their own time.
This month, we’re honored to feature Nicole Delahanty: entrepreneur, mother, leader, and the powerhouse behind FACE FOUNDRIÉ Chicagoland. Her path is one of reinvention and resilience, shaped by clarity, courage, and a devotion to building something meaningful.
From Finance to Skincare: A Career Built on Grit and Precision
Nicole’s story begins at 21, when she moved from Canada to the U.S. for a specialized role in finance. She arrived with no contacts, no safety net, and not even a credit history, but with enough drive to build a 25-year career in risk management and investments. She eventually became a Partner at a firm later acquired by a Fortune 100 company.
The transaction offered the chance to retire early. Instead, it became an opening.
“I was far too young and too ambitious to retire,” she shares.
So she pivoted into a world that looked completely different from corporate finance but, in truth, played to her strengths. She became FACE FOUNDRIÉ’s first franchisee, opening the Bucktown location at the height of COVID. Strategy, resilience, emotional intelligence, and a commitment to exceptional client experiences became the foundation for what followed: five thriving Chicagoland locations and a team of 70 incredible people.
A leap, yes, but also a culmination.
A Week in the Life: Leadership That Evolves With the Business
In the beginning, Nicole was everywhere. Construction sites. Inventory rooms. Interviews. Hiring. Operations. Marketing. When you’re introducing an emerging concept to a new market, nothing is too small and everything is essential.
Today, the rhythm looks different.
“My focus now is coaching our leadership team, long-term planning, reviewing performance across our stores, and ensuring the systems and culture we built keep supporting our growth.”
Her work is less about doing everything and more about empowering the right people to do the right things. It’s the quiet confidence of sustainable entrepreneurship - an evolution earned through years of saying yes to the messy middle.
Balancing Ambition, Motherhood, and Everything in Between
Balance, for Nicole, isn’t a destination. It’s something that shifts as life shifts.
During her first year building the business, her six-year-old daughter asked why she had walked away from “a salary with health care and a 401(k)” for something that required nonstop work and came with enormous risk. The question was grounding.
“It reminded us both what it really means to build something meaningful through hard work and sacrifice.”
Her purpose has always been the same: build strong teams, help people grow, and win together. As the business matured and a strong leadership team took shape, she reclaimed the ability to be fully present, wherever she is.
Her daughter, now eleven, remains her compass. “She has an uncanny sense of what’s true, what matters, and how to approach the hard stuff with grace and honesty.”
The Pivot That Redefined What Was Possible
Selling the investment firm brought success, and unexpected emotional fallout. Without the familiar scaffolding of her career, Nicole found herself navigating postpartum challenges and the disorientation of joining a large corporate environment. The combination sparked a period of internal struggle.
“I slid into a depressive state feeling adrift without purpose.”
Through therapy, yoga, teaching, and slowly returning to herself, she rebuilt her sense of identity from the inside out. That clarity prepared her for the opportunity that changed everything: becoming FACE FOUNDRIÉ’s first franchisee.
By the time she stepped into this new chapter, she was grounded. She trusted herself. And she was ready to build something entirely her own.
That pivotal moment didn’t simply alter her career path. It reframed what she believed she could create.
Self-Care as a Foundation, Not a Luxury
Though outwardly confident and energetic, Nicole is a lifelong introvert who has learned that her well-being determines her capacity to lead. Her rituals are simple and steady: stretching, yoga, a Sober Curious lifestyle, time alone, and a skincare routine that lets her go makeup-free with ease.
“Self-care isn’t indulgence for me… It’s the foundation that allows me to show up fully for my business, my team, and my daughter.”
Working in skincare has only deepened her belief that when women care for themselves consistently and intentionally, it’s not vanity. It’s self-respect. And self-respect fuels everything else.
Why Nicole Represents On Her Time
Nicole embodies the spirit of On Her Time: ambition with intention, confidence rooted in self-awareness, and a willingness to evolve as life expands. Her story is proof that reinvention is always possible, and that caring for yourself is not a detour from success but a prerequisite for it.
Follow the Series
On Her Time highlights women shaping their lives with clarity, courage, and care. Stay tuned for the next feature.
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