Nikki Csek loves it when someone doesn't believe she can do something.

"Because that gives me the opportunity to simply go out and do it," said the CEO of Kelowna-and-Kamloops-based NowMedia Group.

"As a woman in a male-dominated business world, I've often been ignored and dismissed. I just use it as fuel, fuel to propel me forward and succeed. Absolutely, I've had to fight for my place in the business world since 1999."

For the past 22 years, Csek has headed up the marketing firm that's morphed with the times from Welcome to Kelowna to Dot Com Media to NowMedia Group.

NowMedia is a six-division powerhouse, which includes digital marketing agency Csek Creative, the KelownaNow and NowCities online news platforms, d6 Print Studio, 16 Flights Publications, Level Up Events and IVA Productions.

Csek and her two-decade success story has caught the eye of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards presented by Women of Influence, the premier national awards program celebrating inspiring females.

Csek's been nominated for a fourth consecutive year and hopes to become a finalist in the marquee Excellence category and ultimately take home the trophy from the November gala.

If she does, she'll be keeping good company.

Last year's Excellence winner was Mandy Farmer, the Victoria-based CEO of the Accent Inns and Hotel Zed chains.

"I love people and I love helping businesses," said Csek, who was the seventh woman president in the 115-year history of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce in 2019.

"I'm so proud of the sheer volume of work we've done in this community for the betterment of business."

What else drives this woman entrepreneur?

"I also like setting super-ridiculous goals. It serves as my fun," she said.

"And you know what? More often than not, we meet those super-ridiculous goals."

It hasn't been all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, though.

In 2010 the fun ran out, Csek was done and wanted to quit.

Instead, her husband, Jim, the chief operating officer of NowMedia Group, convinced her to take a month-long vacation to think about it.

She didn't even think about it for the first three weeks of that road trip along the Pacific through Washington state, Oregon and California.

In the final week of the odyssey, Jim, who's also a chartered professional accountant, came up with a plan.

He would deal with all the business financials and headaches so Nikki could simply hang out with and help businesses and have fun.

It worked.

The past 11 years has been warp speed.

"After the 2008-09 financial and real estate crash we were well positioned because we were a diversified marketing firm," she remembered.

"The three other full-service firms in the city were too dependent on real estate and went out of business. All of a sudden there was a void in the market place and lots of demand. We seized on it and it propelled us forward. It became a case of after pushing the snowball up the hill for so many years, it finally gained momentum and we were off."

This profile on Nikki Csek is the cover story from the latest Level Up magazine.

If you'd like to receive a copy of the magazine, free of charge, simply email me at smacnaull@nowmediagroup.ca with your address and we'll mail a copy to you.