 Today we're excited to welcome someone who tripled her income by transitioning into the freelance economy. Natalie's a fat joins us to talk about walking away from a high-paying job to launch her own social media consulting company in New York City. This is School of Hustle, the show where we find advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way. I'm Shannon, the VP of social here at GoDaddy, and I live and breathe at the Hustle of Business. Today we're filming from the Hustle of Adal at the WeWork Time Square in New York City. Everybody, let's give Natalie a big warm welcome. Thank you so much for being here today. Thanks so much for having me. This is so exciting. I'm fascinated by your story. You were in a high-paying role as a writer and you decided to walk away from Adal and start your own business. What was that role and how did you know that you wanted to walk away? You know, I think walking away sometimes is the hardest part and people get really scared, you know, to leave a high-paying job with benefits and a salary. But I think sometimes when you see that the opportunity is actually bigger to do your own thing, it can actually be easier to walk away than it is to stay. That's exactly what happened. And what was it that motivated you to do that? So, like any good entrepreneur, I recognized a demand for services, for social media consulting. This is about 10 years ago when social media went from an option to a priority. And a lot of brands were knocking on my door and saying, hey, can you help us out with social media? Can you run a magazine for us? Can you help us run our blog? And so I think, you know, like any good entrepreneur, I recognized the demand and provided a supply. So I read about how you let your boss know that you would be leaving. And I believe that your boss was your first client. Yep. Is that true? It's all true. I say that I made him an offer that would have been very difficult to refuse. I asked him if he was interested in cutting my salary in half and having me in two days a week instead of five. And I also informed him that I was sitting in a lot of meetings that weren't relevant to the job at hand. If he was able to let me come in two days a week, I could still get all the same work done and save him a lot of money. That's great. That's so great. How did you go about getting clients thereafter? So we get clients three ways at my company. The first is social media, no surprise. A lot of brands are reaching out to me on Instagram and Facebook asking to do projects with them. The second way is I have an agent who's terrific. And then the third way, like any other business, is word of mouth. So doing a great job for one client will often have them recommend me to somebody else. Tell me about your business. What's it called? What does the team look like? Where do you sit? So we actually have a WeWork. So I feel right at home here. Really? Yep, absolutely. We have a WeWork in downtown Tribeca, New York. And we have a few employees who help me out with everything from content creation to social media consulting, meeting with our clients, doing strategy. And so that's kind of the bulk of the work. You can create everything from YouTube videos to daily tweets, Instagram stories that you see on your feed. And what is the favorite aspect for you in terms of owning your own business? You know, one of my favorite parts of my job is being able to set my own rates and give myself a raise when I feel I've earned one. Take a yoga class on my lunch break when I need the break. I think having the autonomy and also being able to set my own prices and not participate in the wage gap is one of the best parts of my job. I would imagine in New York there's a lot of competitions around you, especially in a space as hot as social media. So how do you think about differentiating your business and your employees and your services and staying ahead of that curve? You know, I think when you create compelling content and hopefully are striving for that quality over quantity approach, you stand out from your competitors, right? My goal was never to build a 200% business and get every client that we approach and that approaches us. We're selective. We want to work with brands who we think are doing interesting things and who we can help. That's interesting. So it's not a model of just take whatever business you can get, but be selective. What are some of the criteria that you look for when you pick your clients? So one of the things I make sure anytime I work with a brand is that they're a good fit for my personal brand. And usually that comes down to having a few of the same values. So we work with brands that are very progressive in not just their belief system but also the content that they create. We like working with brands that let us be autonomous and create things that we think are going to do well rather than sort of dictating the approach to us. And then we also like working with brands that are supportive of women-owned business, small business, two things that we certainly are. What is your process when you're going into like the room to pitch for business? You know, I try not to think about what my competitors are doing. I try to really focus on what we're bringing to the table. And oftentimes I think it's really interesting to brands that we're not this huge unapproachable agency that you're going to have to call 40 times before someone picks up. It's a small team. I'm very involved in every single client that we sign. I think sometimes that can be used to an advantage versus some of those bigger brands. How do you stay balanced? I know that you mentioned earlier that you do go to yoga at lunch, for example. But then you have that real responsibility of being a business owner, a manager, a mentor, you're out pitching, you're wearing many hats. And how do you make sure that you leave time for those important pieces that balance your life at like yoga? I think, you know, my motto, like many of the peers I have, is work hard, play hard. I work extremely hard. I've been working at my own company for the last 10 years. I also love to travel and see the world. And I think oftentimes it's what makes me so good at my job that I let myself take a break when I feel I've earned one. And of course, I think we're all guilty of not doing that enough. I'm certainly guilty of it, but I do my best to take the time off. I have to ask you, what trend in social are you most excited about right now? Yeah, it's a great question. I think one of my favorite trends right now is live video. And I like it because I think, A, it gives the consumers a chance to participate in a video that otherwise they feel a little bit, you know, displaced from. Anytime you do live video, your consumers can ask questions. They can provide feedback in real time. And I also think it separates sort of the amateurs from the pros, right? If you're able to really create content in real time, speak in a way that is compelling and arresting and do it in a live video format, I think you're really going to be setting yourself apart from your competitors. And how do you think about mitigating the risk with live? Because it's live. It's live. There's no going back. Well, I think that's one of the best things about the internet, right? Yeah. It's all happening in real time and there's not a lot of editing. There's not a lot of doctoring. Yeah. I think that's what's so appealing about it. That's certainly why I've taken an interest in it professionally. Sometimes you do roll the dice though. You're absolutely right. You know, we've seen it all at some of our productions. So just being thoughtful and exercising restraint and judgment. And you know, I think those are the keys to the castle. You've been in business for 10 successful years. But as you think back throughout that entire journey, is there any one particular moment in the last decade that you feel was your made-it moment where you felt like, wow, this really worked? You know, I've been a technology lover my whole life. I grew up on video games and using a PC when I was five. That was my fifth birthday present my parents gave me. I've also always loved the brand Samsung. So I have always talked about the things I loved about the company, the phones, the VR devices, et cetera. And about two years ago, they sent me an email saying, hey, we took notice and we would love to work with you. And I'm really excited. Two and a half years later, I still get to work with them. I feel like that was a moment that I said, you know what? What I'm doing is actually resonating, not just for my followers and community, but with awesome companies that I've aspired to work with. And so that was a kind of a made-it moment if I had one. Now we are going to play a game that we call hustle time. Can I have 60 seconds, team? All right. Favorite pastime music or movies? Music. First place to visit when you retire? Barcelona. Number one guilty pleasure? 18 copies a day. One word you wish you could take away from the English language? Um, pastime. Boosie brunch or morning workout? Morning workout. Football, NFL or soccer? Neither. Aliens, factor fiction? Fact. Beer or wine? Wine. Favorite part of a s'more? The marshmallow. Top quality you look for in an employee? I would say equal parts, hunger and hard work. Camping or glamping? Glamping. Finish this sentence, when I dance, I look like blank. Cool. New York tourists, help with directions or keep your own way? Help. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Patience. The best chocolate in the world comes from blank? Um, Israel. King size or fun size? King. Would you rather fly or talk to animals? What? Fly. Favorite holiday? Um, I like Halloween. Instagram or Twitter? Instagram. Wow. Yay! Oh my gosh! That was really fun. 19. Woo! Yeah? It seems like I'd love to support. Favorite part of your day? When the coffee hits. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten? A friend of mine said that there is no good time to start a business, so just do it. Worst piece of advice? Anybody who told me to stay the course, make sure I had a salary and not to start my business. How do you use your career to inspire others? The thing I try to do when I'm posting to social media is to remind people that you can make a living doing untraditional things. You don't have to sit at a desk eight hours a day in order to make a great living and do something you love. And so a lot of my followers are young, young women, and so I'm trying to sort of show them that making money on the internet is a very possible thing that is actually cool and doesn't have to mean that you're struggling. Ever felt like walking away? Yeah, I think walking away when you feel some level of defeat is healthy, it's just important to remember to walk back to your desk. One thing you still need to learn? Patience. Working on it. What do you want people to learn from you? That's what I said a little bit before, but you know, I like this idea that we are not our parents' generation. We don't have to sit at our desks and take jobs that we hate and work 40 or 50 or more hours a week to make a living. For 40 or 50 years is the same job. Correct. Yeah, I hear you. What's next for you? You know, I just, I love what I do and if I can get away with doing it for the rest of my life, I'd be very happy. I want to continue to inspire and hopefully mobilize people to reconsider the way they work. Who inspires you? My parents. And who challenges you? Also my parents and my partner and my friends, my team, myself. Well, we have one last piece of advice that needs to be had. This advice would be for Noodle. Our favorite pug. My gosh, is he gonna come into the segment? I love him. Can I have one? Oh, I would love to hold him. Oh, Noodle. He'll get situated inside. So sweet. I don't know if you know this, but Noodle is a micro-influencer. He should be macro. Let's get to that. So he's pushing about 50,000 followers on Instagram. Okay. He is constantly tasked with keeping his followers engaged and staying relevant to grow into this macro-level territory, which is what he really wants to do. Okay. What is the key to his longevity in social media and growing that follower base? Well, I will say the first thing is eye contact, prolonged eye contact into the camera, which is not a problem for him currently. He's doing a really good job on that. But I think anybody who's looking to grow their social following and stay engaged, and this is for you, Noodle, should really strive for quality over quantity. I think we are all sort of, you know, feel this pressure to post daily and chronicle our every move. But I say don't. I say if you have value to share, if there's something compelling and arresting you want people to know, post it. Otherwise, you know, don't just add, you know, fuel to the fire. There's a lot of clutter and chaos happening. Share when you feel there's value to be added. Okay, Noodle? No, Noodle, you're on your way to adding tremendous value, becoming that macro influencer. And I'm excited to see this. I'm a follower. I'm going to follow him. And speaking, how can people follow you? Oh, well, my name is my handle on every account, so it's just Natalie's effect. Fantastic. Well, in closing, we like to end on an inspiring quote. Final thought, like a little fortune cookie at the end of a meal. I'm going to read you three quotes and ask you to share the quote that you feel resonates most with you and why. Okay. Okay. Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen. Two, if you don't like where you are, move. You are not a tree. Three, the question isn't who's going to let me. It's who's going to stop me. I'm going to go with don't make excuses. It feels timely. I think we're here in the heart of summer and people are constantly saying, I'll do it in the fall. I'll do it when I get back. Nobody's at their desk. I can't pitch an idea right now. Nobody's serious. But I think that's actually the perfect time to really break out of the noise and do something unexpected and kind of keep people on their toes. So don't make excuses. Just do it. Well, that's great closing words. Thank you. I enjoyed this conversation. Lovely. Thanks for having me. You're welcome. I feel like I get to take noodle for a spin after this, right? I get to take him home. That's what comes with me. I don't want to say goodbye to him. I know he's special. So sweet. I know everyone watching enjoyed this conversation. I know everyone loves noodle too. And every week, we are bringing fabulous entrepreneurs like Natalie to School of Hustle. So follow Go Daddy and Social to have more inspiration just like this coming your way. And we'll see you all soon. Bye.