Choppy seas? Not a chance: It’s always smooth sailing for Nyda Bittmann-Neville
Nyda Bittmann-Neville is a powerhouse of business savvy.
Grace and poise define her. Professional becomes her. Composed and collected — always.
The owner of TNB Consulting Group, a marketing, branding and communications consulting firm, Bittmann-Neville helps businesses and businesspeople create, shape and leverage their own image. So naturally, she’s a master of her own.
“Everyone has a image. It is that graphic representation of a person, place or thing,” Bittmann-Neville said. “We have the ability to control how we are going to manage that presentation. I cannot manage how you are going to react to it, but I can manage how I am going to present myself to the world.”
From Florida originally, but now based in Waynesville, Bittmann-Neville is an accomplished businesswoman, positioning herself as an expert strategist in the field of marketing and branding. She coaches clients from all sectors and backgrounds, from major international firms to new start-ups, plus sidelines as a professional speaker who’s paid to give talks to big audiences.
Bittmann-Neville has been a champion of women in business. She believes women entering the business world in America today are no longer encumbered by biases and barriers that held back generations of women before them.
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“The lines are becoming more and more blurred,” she said.
“Because women have been persistent in seeking their passion and their desire to be in business, we continue to lessen any obstacles or barriers. Women certainly are eager, enthusiastic and risk takers in opening up businesses. And women are moving into major leadership roles in the business world — our community is definitely a reflection of that. ”
The biggest hurdle for women in business is confidence.
“If you lack confidence, that comes out in the way you communicate,” Bittmann-Neville said. “Women face unique challenges when they lack confidence. But when women feel confident in their knowledge, and the way they position themselves, and the way they communicate that becomes less of an issue.”
And, of course, Bittmann-Neville’s an expert at helping women develop confidence by honing their own brand and image — a tailored version of the consulting work she does for major institutions.
“It has to be a total package. How do you feel about yourself? How have you created your brand?” she said.
She preaches the “three C’s” of communication — clear, concise and compelling — which she believes are paramount in the business world. It’s second nature for Bittmann-Neville, who always seems to know the right thing to say, how to say it and when to say it.
“But it is a trainable trait,” she said.
Public speaking also comes naturally to Bittmann-Neville, a gift she discovered in high school when invited to give a talk before an audience of 2,000.
“Mom said, ‘Go out there and be yourself and have fun,’” she recalled.
It’s advice she still follows today before taking the stage at speaking engagements.
When Bittmann-Neville moved to Waynesville from Florida four years ago, one of her first stops was the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, where she promptly plugged into business networking channels.
“I became part of the community quite quickly. That is one of the beautiful things about Waynesville and Haywood County. If you want to get involved, you can. It is very open-armed,” Bittmann-Neville said.
The Haywood County business community embraced Bittmann-Neville as quickly as she embraced it. Her expertise has been tapped for several high-level initiatives of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, including a major rebranding campaign and launch of a new economic development commission.
She was also integral in the development of the chamber’s Women in Business program, which brings women in business together for quarterly motivational talks and professional luncheons. It was being launched just as Bittmann-Neville moved here, and the timing was serendipitous. She championed the program, serving as its chair for three years.
“The mission for Women in Business under the chamber is we want to continue to cultivate the younger generations so they can continue to move into leadership roles within our community,” Bittmann-Neville said. “We have a lot of avenues that women can participate in to gain leadership skills, communication skills, presentation skills, that can help them to position themselves.”
As a spinoff of Women in Business, a mentor program was created called Partners in Leadership — pairing younger businesswomen with experienced ones. A dozen women have gone through the nine-month mentor program to date.
“We’ve had a number of those young women move into leadership roles in their companies,” Bittmann-Neville said.
Bittmann-Neville has lent her talents to numerous organizations in the community. Beyond her service on the chamber board of directors, she serves on the boards of the Haywood Community College Foundation, the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre and the Fund for Haywood County.
Despite her hefty plate of civic engagement, she keeps a robust schedule consulting for clients and on the national speaking circuit.
She and her husband, who is in banking, didn’t intend to leave Florida until they retired. But the second home they’d built here beckoned.
“We had the opportunity to leave Florida sooner than we expected. We looked at each other and said ‘yes,’” Bittmann-Neville said, gesturing at the long-range mountain views out the windows of her home office as justification.
Before starting TNB Consulting Group, Bittmann-Neville was working as a senior marketing strategist for Barnett Bank.
“Going into business for yourself is always a leap of faith,” Bittmann-Neville said. “I love what I do and I am excited about it every day.”
