How content builds trust for front-facing founders with Natalie Barbu

Akua: What does it mean to be a creator and CEO in your business? Well, in today’s episode, we are going to find out. Natalie Barb, who is a content creator and founder, and CEO of Rella, which is a content management platform, joins us on the show to talk with us about her transition of being a creator to now being a CEO in her business.

She also shares with us how preparation is key when showing up consistently on social media and how to lean into more brand partnerships as a business owner. One thing I loved so much about this conversation is how Natalie does. Such a great job of showcasing how creativity and strategy can coexist beautifully in your business.

So let’s get into the episode. Welcome to Unbreakable Business, the podcast where we uncover the untold stories behind entrepreneurship. This isn’t about polished success stories. It’s about the sleepless nights unexpected roblox and unshakeable grit that builds businesses that last. Every week. We sit down with entrepreneurs who face.

All sharing raw, honest conversations about challenges, growth, and the moments that made them unbreakable. Whether you’re just starting out or chasing your next breakthrough, this podcast is your reminder that you have the strength to keep going. Hello? Hello, Natalie. How are we doing? Hi, how are you? I’m, I’m doing great.

Good. I’m doing well. Excited to have you on the show today because I’m really excited just to learn more about your story and Rella, because you guys are an upcoming tool that I think a lot more business owners need to be learning about. It’s kind of funny because right before you and I connected, we had our meeting with the HoneyBook team had hired somebody to help me with my social media, uh, ’cause I was like, you know, I don’t have the bandwidth.

And she actually sent me Rella and she’s like, just sign up for this. I was like, okay.

Natalie: I love that. Wait, I’m so glad that it’s being spread.

Akua: Yeah. So she was like, I really wanna use Rella. And that’s what she’s using now to like for her business. And I, I love it. It’s really great. Like everything, all of my social media needs are all in one place.

We’re able to give notes to each other. A, it just really streamlines the process. So I’m really excited just for us to learn more about you as the CEO and the founder and your journey and what prompted you and honestly how you’re balancing being a creator, and then also to being a CEO. So, what exactly prompted you to start Ella?

What led to that whole journey?

Natalie: Yeah, so my background was in content creation. So I had started in content creation in 2011, so a very long time ago. I was 15 at the time and I was just posting YouTube videos for fun, never thinking it could become a career. And then eight years later, it did become a career for me.

So I was actually able to quit the job I was working at, do full-time social media, just as a content creator myself. And I also started helping other brands with their social media. So I started an agency where I. I was doing others, I was working on social media for other brands. I was working with creators one-on-one, helping them kind of elevate their business.

And I started getting super frustrated with all the tools I was using from the creator end and from the social media agency side where I just could not find something that I genuinely enjoyed using or wanted to recommend. And I just felt like everything was pieced together and I was still using spreadsheets and different project management tools.

I just thought it was pretty backwards the way that we were working, um, with social media content. And so I wanted to start something that was gonna make that process a lot easier. And that’s kind of where the idea came. So it came from me being a creator, but also me starting that agency and working with clients and just working on all different aspects of the social media content creation industry.

So once I had the idea for Rella, I kind of started. It kind of snowballed where I found co-founders I, so we started developing it. We started building it, but the journey’s definitely come with a lot of pivots, a lot of changes, ups and downs. But that was like the initial idea was just, I was so annoyed with having to use all of those different tools.

Akua: I know, and that’s what I love about it because like when you think about it, it’s like, why didn’t anybody come up with this sooner? Because, yeah, it is, it’s, everything’s in one place where you have your content calendar. You can schedule, you can give feedback if you have teams that you’re working with.

And as somebody, like you said, like as somebody who was a content creator to now being an agency owner, like that experience where you’re like, okay, I see these gaps, like I’m gonna now. You know, essentially just take that initiative and be like, I’m gonna figure this out and I’m gonna build something that’s gonna serve a lot of business owners.

And Rella is clearly growing. Like I’ve started to hear people using it and just love it. And so I love that. And so for you, you, you said that there was a lot of pivots and shifts and what have been a couple of lessons that you have learned now going from a content creator to an agency owner to now A CEO and developing this product?

Like what, what are some of the major lessons that you’ve learned?

Natalie: There are so many lessons, but I would say definitely one of the biggest ones is to narrow your focus. Because in the beginning I had the content creation background as like an influencer, and then I also had the agency background, and I thought that we could be everything for everyone.

So in my head I was like, oh, we can help creators with brand deals and we can also help social media managers with clients, and we can also help talent managers that are working with these creators. And we could help the brands that are, you know, running a social media. Count, and we just tried to be everything for everyone.

And it really came with a lot of confusion. Not only externally, like the marketing side of things and like how are we portraying ourselves online? How are we talking about ourselves when we’re meeting potential customers? So it left everyone confused on the outside, but then even internally we were like.

What are we building? Like why do we have so many different touch points? Why do we have so many different use cases and why are some sections of the app like not used by certain demographics of our users? And it just became way too wide because we thought, oh well, like maybe this will like grow the company if we can add another demographic of users.

And just not by not narrowing our focus, we really got lost in, in who we were and it just like wasn’t great.

Akua: I love that because essentially like what you said just a second ago of if we add these things, that’s gonna help us grow. And I think that’s a reminder of like, you don’t have to do more in order to grow, you need to be a lot more strategic.

Mm-hmm. And that’s something that I’m just reminding myself as a business owner because I think instinctively, when we are so excited about what it is that we’re offering, we literally are like, I’m gonna do this and that. And you have so many different ideas. But at the end of the day, if. It’s not gonna help you grow and grow strategically where it’s sustainable to where like your business is here for tomorrow.

It’s not gonna be impactful. And so I love that you shared that of like you’re not going to be everything for everybody, and that is such a business basic, but it’s so true that it’s something that you always consistently have to be at the forefront as you’re adding new features, as the product is evolving.

And I think that’s whether you’re a service based business or whatever, it’s that you do, I think that’s something that you have to con consistently remind yourself like, okay, like. How can I continuously evolve, but how can I evolve in a way that’s gonna be sustainable and it’s gonna be very beneficial to my target audience.

So I really love that you shared that, and I think that’s just such a good, good reminder for business owners. And so for you now, you have, like I said, you’ve had this interesting journey of like, it like being a content creator and agency owner, and now you are CEO of this product. And so how do you balance, because being a creator itself is a full-time job and I I’m, you’re still doing it.

So how are you, I hate to say the word balanced, but how are you managing both? Being a creator and then being a full-time business owner. And I ask this because I know that’s something that a lot of us as business owners struggle with, right? Like I don’t view myself as a creator. I view myself as a business owner, but honestly, to be a business owner, you kind of need to be a little bit of a creator.

A million from that. Yes. Especially for that marketing piece. How have you really found that balance and been able to manage the two?

Natalie: Yeah, I think so many founders now and business owners need to kind of. Become creators in their own right because it is such a great way to market your business. Because I do think nowadays consumers are making a lot of purchases based on their.

Emotions in a good way. Like where like they feel connected to the company. They feel like they’re a part of the company in some way. They feel like they know the founding team or the people that work there. So it’s a lot more about tapping into that connection piece of it, I would say. Which is why you have to show up online like.

A generic advertisement doesn’t really work anymore. Like if you just kind of put a, a graphic up on Instagram, that’s gonna get like 10 likes, you know, versus if the founder comes on and talks to the camera as if it’s a FaceTime, that’s actually gonna get a lot more views, it’s gonna get a lot more engagement and it’s also gonna actually convert.

So I do think founders have such an advantage if they do get in front of the camera or become creators themselves. And for me, the way that I balance it is. I do put my business first, like my business is number one. I work mainly on rella. However, I view my personal brand as a top of funnel. So when I’m working on my personal brand, it still is working on Rella because a lot of people come to Rella from my personal brand.

And so I think a lot of creators need to, or a lot of founders need to start thinking that way, where if you’re film filming a couple tiktoks and reels, it might not feel like work because we’re so ingrained to think that work is sitting in front of a computer and answering emails all day. But. Actually work can also look like you’re going out and filming a fun reel or a trend, and that’s actually gonna drive, like drive people to your business.

So I do still think of content creation, even from my personal brand side of things as Rella work as well. And then another thing is I love to. Focus, or I love to post about behind the scenes about Rella. Mm-hmm. So I’m really taking my personal brand and my, you know, my personal accounts just along the journey with me so it doesn’t feel like I have to carve out hours of my day to sit down and film this video.

I can just film kind of like as I’m working and then edit it later. Kind of two mindsets is you have to view it as you’re working on your business, even if it is your personal brand. And then also just try to integrate content with what you’re already doing. You don’t need hours and hours and hours to set aside to to film something anymore.

You can kind of just take people along your day and people really engage with that content.

Akua: Yeah, I, I think that’s such great advice, and I love what you, because when we were looking into you, I mean like your personal brand, it’s like everything, like you move to London, like your YouTube, like you’re really taking people in your everyday journey.

And so I feel like sometimes as business owners, we. Separate the two, and it’s like, no, like your personal life is also your business and vice versa, if that makes sense. Mm-hmm. And I think that’s just such a great reminder of like how your personal brand comes along the journey with you. And you’re using that strategically as a top of funnel to head into Rella because it’s true.

We buy from people that we know and like, and that relatability piece where we, and I think now more than ever, as. Especially, you know, I’ve said this before where like our client customer journey is getting a lot longer. People are being a lot more intentional with where they spend their money, especially if brands don’t align with their values.

And also too, like when they’re looking to make purchases, they’re doing much more of a deeper dive. So the more that you can show up and be that face, and not only just like share of course the business aspect, but other things that you have going on because you, as a human being, you’re multifaceted, you’re complex, and so like you’re really showing with, you’ve done.

So well of really showing all the different sides. Do you think because you started off as a creator first, that really has helped in terms of really building that content and with Rella and so for, I’m asking you two questions in one, my bad. So there’s that first question and then that second question is for business owners who are like, I’m a business owner first, and then like, that’s where I started and not a creator.

What advice do you have to kinda find more balance in that?

Natalie: Yeah, I definitely think it’s been an advantage for me because I don’t really have to second guess what I’m filming or I don’t, I don’t overthink it like I’m so used to filming my life and that it’s so natural to me. Like it’s not something that I need to like switch on and off.

I’m just, I’ve been doing it for 14 years, so it comes incredibly natural. But that means that if you start now in a year, two years, like it will feel that way for you too. You know, you will start to, it’s not gonna be a switch on, switch off thing, you’ll just, it’ll come naturally. So practice the content creation muscle if you’re not used to it already.

And for founders that you know are just starting out, how do they get in that mode? I definitely think it comes with practice. Like you have to intentionally film every single day, every other day. Put content out there, even if it’s not perfect. I think perfectionism really kills a lot of amazing content that you just never know how it’s gonna, how it’s gonna do.

Like we’ve on Umbrella’s channel, for example, some of our videos that we spent the least amount of time on have done the best and driven like so many sales and like increased our revenue. So you just never know. I think that it’s worth posting and I do think with social media. Nothing is gonna necessarily have that much weight in a negative way.

Of course, obviously like couldn’t stay true to your brand and your voice and everything like that. But if you post something and it doesn’t do well. That’s fine. It’s not really a big deal. You can just post something else tomorrow. So it’s not like there’s that much of an investment of like, oh, well I have to make sure this is perfect, because if not, something bad is gonna happen because you’re not wasting money.

If it’s not perfect, you’re, you maybe wasted an hour, you know? But whatever. It’s trial and error. It’s AB testing, so. You just have to start filming and stop thinking as much and, and, and upload the content.

Akua: Yeah, I think, you know, I always say that to your point when you said AB testing, it’s data, it’s information.

You’re getting information of what your audience truly likes and what they don’t like. And so really leveraging that, it’s just information. So you can’t take it personal. You have to really detach. And I think a lot of business owners are, you know, social media is, I think harder now more than ever to grow and really see that engagement.

And so I, for me personally, as I’ve been posting, I don’t even look at. I still look at numbers, but it’s something I’m not getting so hung up on anymore. I truly view it now as if I’m helping one person today if like I did a post, it’s doing decent for my, I have a small audience, and two people followed me and I said, wow, that’s great.

That is information that somebody likes what I just shared. From this specific post. So that’s information of like, okay, maybe I should lean more into that. You know? And I think the more that you go, the easier it is, like you said, because then you’re not taking it so personal where that perfectionism just is out the window.

Like now you’re just experimenting and social media is supposed to be fun. Like that’s just what it, that’s such a good reminder. And so I’m so curious to know what your systems kind of look like, because I think. A lot of business owners feel social media takes a lot of time. It’s always, it’s exhausting.

It takes a lot of time. But for you as a creator who essentially you’re like, this is just second nature to me and I just feel my life all the time, how do you find that system, um, to where you’re able to produce content that’s sustainable to you, you’re able to keep up with?

Natalie: Yeah, for my personal brand, I tend to do a lot of like weekly planning.

I think if I plan too ahead for my personal brand, I never get it done or something changes or have another idea, so I usually kind of feel more in the moment slash on a weekly basis for that. With Rella, we do plan everything pretty much a month ahead of time with some empty slots so that if there is like trends or anything that we wanna jump on, we can do that.

We plan everything on Rella. I know it’s, it’s probably like we’re biased, but. But I do all of my personal brand stuff on Rella. Any brand deals that I do, I do on Rella for my content creation. And then on re’s end, we plan everything on there. And like that’s just, it works for us because we can see everything in one place.

So I can see all the platforms we’re uploading, I can see what stage they’re in. Like if it’s still in the idea stage, that means that. We don’t have anything on there. Like we don’t even have like the script, nothing. It’s just in the idea stage. If it’s in progress, there’s a script, but it hasn’t been filmed yet.

I can move it to what needs to be filmed. I can write all of our scripts or our notes, like anything that needs to get done, our tasks. So it’s just one great, like centralized spot where I have everything. Yeah. And that usually helps. And I’ll have like one day of the week where I usually try to film one to two days a month.

Honestly, for, for Rella, where I film all of the content like. On a two week basis. So I’ll film, you know, tomorrow is one of the days where I’m actually filming a lot of content. I’ll get two weeks of content done tomorrow. So that takes a couple of hours, but then it’s done for two weeks. It’s done and then it’s

Akua: done.

Natalie: Mm-hmm. Exactly. Then the rest of the week I’ll spend time editing it, so I don’t necessarily edit right away, but I at least have like the filming. Done. Yeah. It’s just really having everything centralized in one spot, knowing what stage things are in, and then setting like a dedicated time on your calendar of when you’re actually gonna film and edit It has been super important.

’cause if you keep pushing it off, it just never gets done. It never gets done. Mm-hmm. You can’t just be like, okay, what am I, what am I gonna post today? That might work. One day, two days, but like for a whole month where you should be posting if you’re a business, I think at least four to five times a week.

If you are like a, a, a business that’s selling something to someone, I think you need a plan and you need a strategy and you need to do it ahead of time.

Akua: Yeah. And let’s talk a little bit more about that prep, because I think that’s where a lot of business owners get really discouraged. And you, you shared a little bit about that because filming to me goes so much smoother when I prep.

So the person who helps me, and this is something that you can do by yourself, you guys. You don’t have to have somebody. I think really doing that research, that prep and like scripts and I like and really figure out, okay, what works best for me Because me personally, I don’t do scripts. I usually wing a lot of my videos.

Like when I’m talking it’s, I just have an outline and I’m like. Okay, I got it. But I think taking that time to really figure out how you prep and how you prep well will really help you be able to film a lot easier. So for you, that whole prep, like you said, like you spend a lot of your time editing, but before that, okay.

Filming and that only takes a couple hours, filming has been pretty quick because of the prep that you did before. What does your prep look like and how have you been able to determine like, okay, how this really works well for me?

Natalie: Yeah, so prep has been very important because if I don’t do that, then I’m just like a fish out of water.

I don’t know what I’m doing and I end up not doing anything. So for us, I’ll usually sit down at the beginning of the month or like end of, end of the month typically. And I will plan out our entire content calendar. And the way I do that is I look at our analytics and I see what has worked. So what’s worked in the past, what are people enjoying?

Uh, now we actually just released our new like AI tool called Ella, where it’s gonna, she analyzes your insights and tells you what works and what doesn’t. And then you can add it to the calendar. But you just go in and, and I look at what works and what doesn’t. And typically for us, for our business.

What’s worked is a lot of use case examples, so like honing in on one specific pain point and filming a video about it. So we have a, we have a couple different, um, styles of videos that we like to film. Some of it is skit style, some of it is sitting down more informational. And then we also like to do trends and showcase the product that way.

So I’ll go through and I’ll just. Brain dump as many ideas as possible in the idea section. And then Natasha, who is on our team, she’s usually the one that if she finds a trend on Instagram or TikTok, she adds it to Rella right away. And just like tags it as a trend. So I know to go back there and be like, okay, like what are the trends that we can implement?

And then I’ll go through and drag it on the calendar so that way I can see like, okay, we have a A, we have a good. We have like four days a week of content, so this looks good so that I don’t just drag it along the calendar if there are any major events or anything that we need to promote. I’ll also add that on the calendar to make sure that I know when to promote it so that like those are placeholders on there, if we have any new features or webinars or anything like that.

And then I’ll go in and I’ll write the script for everything. So I am a big script person because it’s just so much easier for me when I film. To have a script. So I’ll go in, I’ll write the script, Ella. Now our new AI tool can actually do that for you. But I’ll go in, you know, do that, edit it, and then I usually don’t film the same day that I do the calendar.

’cause that takes probably like a good couple hours to really get everything fleshed out. Um, and then once I have the script and, and everything in there, I’ll move everything to the in progress tab, so I know that that’s ready to be filmed. And then I’ll pick a day of the week and then decide to film that, you know, whatever day of the week fits.

My, my calendar. But yeah, it’s usually just, I use AI and I use my own like, like what I think works. Yeah. And that’s pretty much my only process with, um, actually like fleshing out the script and writing it and, and all of that.

Akua: Yeah. But I love that I wanted to hear what your process looks like. And I think that just goes to show as business owners, you have to do what works for you, but you have to actually make the time to start sifting that through.

So like, even for me, for example. I am, which this comes, this kind of flows into the next question I wanna ask you, but because I do, I’m seeing a shift where a lot of business owners are kind of leaning. Like, not influencers, but we’re kind of leaning more into those influencer spaces of like brand partnerships.

Mm-hmm. And so for me, you know, I live in Chicago. I’ve been here about almost three years. And so I have been, there’s so many events in Chicago that I’m loving. So I was talking to Jackie who helps me on social media and I was like, Hey, like I really wanna capture more events. So I, you know, for me, I, I’m always just.

Shooting stuff for my stories, like, you know what I mean? I don’t think much of it, but then I realized, okay, like to actually make a more intentional reel, you have to be very much more intentional about the type of footage that you capture. So now in Rella we have like, okay, I have an event and it’s labeled as an event and she will give me like shot lists that I need to think about to grab while I’m there.

And so, ’cause I was kind of doing it aimlessly, like, you know, just doing so, she’s like, where’s your fit check? I was like, why would I do that? I was like, why? Nobody cares what I’m wearing. You know what I mean? But like it’s just, it adds to those, those types of moments, you know what I mean? Where it shows that relatable, relatability piece, like who you are as a person, as a business owner.

And so now for each event, like we have like a shot list of like, okay, these are the things I naturally get. But she’s like, okay, don’t forget these shots too. That’ll make it easier for me to edit. And so I think, again. That just goes to, I love hearing what your process kind of looks like, and then I’m just sharing a little bit of what mine looks like, because again, it’s like you have to just do what works well for you, but really taking that time to actually like figure that out.

Natalie: Another thing that I’ll do is even if it’s something like a voiceover video or a vlog, a lot of people, and this is what I used to do, is just kind of like film in the moment, the vlog and then like kind of. Piece together, the editing later. Mm-hmm. I started with the voiceover first. So I don’t record the voiceover until I have the clips, but I kind of know if, if I know what my day looks like the next day or I know what I, what story I wanna tell, I’ll actually like draft the voiceover ahead of time.

So then the next day when I go to film the vlog or whatever it is I’m filming, I already have an idea of like, oh, I can’t forget to do that. Or This is the story, this is the angle I’m filming this vlog for, so I need to like get these shots. It has helped so much. So much because like before, I would just aimlessly film and then I’d piece it together and be like, well, this doesn’t really make sense.

Doesn’t look good. Yes,

Akua: yes. Yeah, that’s such a good point. And I, I love that. I think, again, it just really hones in of like filming and stuff can actually be fun because now to me it’s starting to, I used to view it as a chore, but now to me, because I’m more prepared, I feel more confident going to get stuff.

Like, it doesn’t give me, you know, I think a lot of us, you know, you know, when you’re first starting out, you’re like getting anxious, like. Oh my God, I have to like film in front of people and this and that and, but the more you’re prepared, you look more confident going in and nobody cares. Nobody’s watching you.

Like we always just can sometimes just get into our head. So I think if the more you prep, the better it’ll be for you. And then like you can start generating that habit to where like, okay, like I, now I know what type of shots I need to get, what my audience likes to see. And so I think it just shows how important that prep is and to make that a priority as you’re building out your content.

I think a lot of us as business owners, we’re leaning into more streams of revenue, right? Like we have our business. But I’m also seeing, like one of my friends, she’s an incredible business owner and she blew up like she was all about teams and operations and leadership. Like that’s what her business is in.

She blew up and has now become a. Running influencer, like a fitness influencer. And it’s just so crazy to see her journey within that where she just has now shifted into a literally a full-time influencer and is having these brand partnerships. But I do know that there are business owners that are, look, I still wanna run my business, but I also wanna lean more into these brand partnerships.

And they, you know, not necessarily be an influencer, but. Do influencer like things, and so what are your thoughts? Are you seeing that shift kind of in the industry and for business owners that are wanting to lean more into that blunt brand partnership space, what are some tips that you have?

Natalie: Oh yeah. I see so many people that have businesses and they honestly become influencers in their own right.

They start working with brands. Us at Rella, the influencers we work with, they’re all business owners, like all of them, because that’s who we’re attracting, you know? That’s who our customer is, and so. We wanna attract other business owners to start using our product. So we work with other entrepreneurs and founders and everything like that, which is super cool.

And then on my side of things, I get to work with super cool brands because I’m also an entrepreneur, but I’m also a creator. Mm-hmm. I think that the best way to do it is yes, by having, you know, a focus. Like you don’t need to be too niche. ’cause I do struggle with that. That’s where I struggle in my personal brand is, is being too niche because I love talking about so many different apps.

Effects of my life. But I think you need to have a mission or a message or something that you wanna get across so that even if you’re filming, you know, a day in your life on the weekend when maybe you’re not working, you still have that mission that it’s gonna show through the video. So if you wanna inspire other people or other women to start businesses and you wanna show your like day off, it could be how you relax so that you can.

Prep for your business for the week. You know, you have an angle. So there always has to be an angle. There always has to be a story that you’re telling because if you’re just filming mindlessly, no one cares. Like no one knows you yet. You’re not an influencer yet, you’re not a celebrity yet. No one, no one cares about like you’re doing laundry.

But if you are making an angle about like, oh, this is how I recharge, now you have a story, now you’re adding value. Now people wanna see more and learn more about you. So. That’s something that I always have to remind myself because it’s really easy to stray and kind of, even like when we started rello, we kind of tried to be everything for everyone.

It’s easy to do that in your personal brand, which I fall into all the time. So it’s something, it’s like a muscle that you have to go back to being like, wait, what’s my mission? What’s my story? What’s the angle? And like, how does this relate to it? And then from there, I do think that you’ll see growth from the influencer side of things and from, you know, it still adds to your business.

Akua: Yeah. How have you essentially like found some of these partnerships? I think that’s something that business owners still are trying to figure out and what that looks like. Do you have advice for people that are like, okay, I, this is something I would really love to start with. I’m already posting about products that I just love, and how can business owners get on some of these brands, right?

Whether it’s like a product like HoneyBook or Rella where like, okay, like I use these and it really makes an impact and I know my audience would be. It would be so valuable for, for me, for them to learn about this and how well it’s impacted my business. How can business owners go to essentially being more visible to these brands and seeking them out?

Natalie: Yeah, I think now that I’m on the other side of things as well, where I’m finding influencers for Rella, I can give like much better advice with how are these brands finding influencers, so. One, reach out to the ones that you like. Like I do think we get, we get a lot of inbound being like, Hey, I love your product.

I’d love to work with you guys. And I always take a look at their accounts. I always see if they’re a good fit. I mean, it makes our lives easier. ’cause then we don’t have to search for influencers if it’s a good fit. So reach out to brands. I think a lot of people think that that’s like. Doesn’t work, but get creative with how you reach out.

Whether it’s through the contact us form on their website, whether I always recommend going to LinkedIn, finding the person that’s either works with influencer partnerships, social media, marketing, anything along those lines. Finding their email and emailing them. ’cause like not a lot of people are doing that, so you’ll stand out or even DMing them.

Like we get people through all of those different channels and so we’re always receptive to that. But the biggest way that we’ve found creators that we work with is. Through our story mentions, so people that talk about us organically and we see their name again and again and again, and we’re like, wait, this girl, like she posts about us all the time.

She’s clearly a power user. This would be such an organic campaign because she already uses us. So we’ve done campaigns before where we first reach, like we, we found influencers online. We reached out to them to do a campaign and then, you know, they heard about Rella for the first time through us reaching out to them, which is really common ’cause we were, you know, a new business.

It didn’t do as well though, as when we worked with the creators that have talked about us in the past. Um, because obviously then their, their audience is already kind of like conditioned to for you. And so brands look for that. You know, brands wanna see like, do you actually use our product or. Are you just like gonna post a generic story that everyone’s gonna skip and it’s gonna get low engagement?

Mm-hmm. So I do think that if you really wanna work with brands, start talking about what you use on a day-to-day basis. So brands know that you are power users of their product and, and then actually reach out to them if you wanna work with them.

Akua: Yes. Love that. And this just came into my head because as you said, as somebody who is now on the other side looking for influencers, when you, is there like a DM or an email that you’ve gotten, like have you seen any common trends between like when you found these influencers that have pitched you like via DM or email or whatever, where you’re like, oh yes, like this is, this is a damn good pitch.

Like what is, like, what are some of the things that you have seen where you’re like. Oh yeah, like I wanna work with this person. I wanna reach out.

Natalie: Definitely hyperlinks. You would be surprised by how many people don’t actually link their accounts. They’ll just put like the AT for example, they’re like, oh, I’m at Natalie Bar.

And I’m like, well now you’re making me do work. By going and looking on Instagram and searching for your name, don’t make the person do work. Like hyperlink everything. Share why you are a good fit. Like for example, if someone comes up to us and says. I’m a social media manager and I post about, you know, productivity and, and software that I’ve, that me and my clients love using.

So I think it’d be a good fit. That’s an automatic, like green flag to me. ’cause I’m like, oh great, this is already like my, you know. Someone that I wanna, uh, work with. ’cause that fits into what we’re trying to promote, versus if you are, you know, solely a beauty focused creator and then you’re reaching out to us, it’s kind of like, well, I don’t see where we fit in here.

So make sure that the brand knows where they fit. Like even if you’re not necessarily that maybe your lifestyle creator, you should talk about like. I have my own business and I actually posted behind the scenes of it. So Rella would be a good fit for this type of video. Do make the brand, do as little work as possible and envision, like make it easy for them to envision working with you.

So have the links ready, have the idea ready, don’t. If you can think of like, well, what questions would they wanna know before they decide to work with me? Kind of put that in the first email already. I don’t think you necessarily need to put your rates right away, but I do think that anything besides your rates, like include that if you have good stats, if you have good analytics, like brands are gonna ask for those already, so just shorten the communication time and send it to them right away.

Akua: Yes. I love that. Those are such key things and can really make all the difference when you’re pitching, like you even said, sending links, like those are such small things that people can forget but can really change the trajectory of like your success with pitching and trying to get in contact with a lot of these brands.

And I love that you shared, you know, remembering make the brand, do as little work as possible. So any information that you can give upfront that’s gonna be clear and where they understand fully, where they fit would be amazing. ’cause what I see is like one of my friends, I make fun of her all the time. I literally call her in.

Influencer lately, ’cause she’s been on the show. Um, and she’s a business owner, but she shares her Amazon fines, all of these different things in her day to day and people love it. So I literally make fun of her for that, but I’m like, no, really like, get your money, right. Like, you know what I mean? And you know, but it’s so funny.

But, and I think when. We as business owners, we kind of put ourselves in a box and it’s like, no. If these are things that are using in your day to day that are helping you become a better business owner, though it’s more on the personal side, then talk about it. And again, to your point, show the brain of like, this is how you, this is how it really fits into my life, though I’m a business owner, right?

Because like, again, it’s so easy where our brains can easily separate things, but it’s like, no, these are how things come together beautifully. And that’s your job as, um, as a business owner, somebody that’s trying to find more of these partnerships. Um, really creating, like you said, that vision and laying it out clearly.

So then the brand is like, you mean like, oh yeah. Like I can see it like, let’s go with this and like hop on a call or whatever the next steps are. So, um Right. I love, I love that you shared that.

Natalie: Yeah. And another little thing that brands or that, you know, brands notice that maybe a creator doesn’t, which is small, but on your Instagram bio, please add your email.

It is so frustrating when I’m going on Instagram on my computer and the email is not in the bio because I don’t like to do business during through dms. Like, we’re not gonna DM you to do a brand deal. And then a lot of people have just the email button, but that only shows up on your phone. And when I’m searching for influencers, I’m on my computer.

So make it easy and put your email in your bio because there are so many creators that I genuinely skipped over because I’m like, I don’t. I don’t know how to contact you and um, you know, so I’m just gonna skip so. You’re, you can be missing out on a lot of opportunity if the email’s not in your bio.

Akua: Yes.

I think again, like any quick, quick ways that people can get ahold of you so that you guys can move forward essentially, I think is, is so important. ’cause I think about myself too, of like whenever I’m looking for services and I go on somebody’s website and they have a form and. And I, I fill out the form, but if so of them, if they don’t have the email listed, because sometimes the form is not like you don’t have the options that I need.

If they don’t have their email listed, I don’t even email them. I stop. Same. And I, you know, and I think that’s the same thing, like even on your Instagram, if you’re wanting to get more brand partnerships, like have your email in there so it’s easier for people to contact you. I love that. I think those, those things are so.

So helpful. What does the future look like for you with Rella, you as a creator? Like what are you really, really excited about?

Natalie: Yeah, I love creating content and I’ve always created, I’ve created content for 14 years, so I always say if I haven’t disliked it or hated it or wanted to quit in the past 14 years, I feel like I’m never gonna want to because it’s just been such a big part of my life and it’s such a fun, creative outlet.

So I think I’ll be creating content. For many, many more years. It’s gonna change the capacity of how I create content probably, or the topics I speak on. But I think it’s like the best creative outlet, and I really see like so many upsides because it opens so many doors. So I do think I will be. Creating content for as long as I can and as long as people will will watch, even if no one’s watching, I’ll probably still be creating content just ’cause it’s fun for me.

In terms of my business, I mean, we really wanna be the leading tool for social media teams and for all businesses because every business needs a social media presence. So we wanna power all of those businesses to get in front of people and get in front of their audience. So. We’re just really working on like continuing to build Rella and we’ve such a good community that it makes our job easy because they are very quick to give us feedback and we are very quick to implement that feedback.

So it’s a great relationship because they trust us to implement it, and we trust them to tell us, you know, what they want and what they wanna see next and give us honest feedback. So I think. Uh, having both of that, like that combination makes us in a, like, in a really good position because we can just continue to build what’s the next wave of social media teams and businesses need.

And so yeah, we’re just continuing to build and, and listening to our audience and growing that community.

Akua: Yeah. One thing I, you just said, and I really want to like hone in on, because you said, I don’t care if people don’t even watch like you do care, but you’re like, even if people don’t watch, I’m still gonna create because I love it.

And I think that’s something that business owners need to remember because we, it’s so easy for us to care what people think and we’re always afraid that we’re gonna be cringe, especially when we kind of head into different waters that we’re maybe not used to. And so. I really just wanna ask quick before I ask you the final question of how do you deal with haters?

How do you deal with people? ’cause you like even said, like even with when you are getting feedback, how do you deal with feedback essentially as a whole, as a creator and also too as a business owner? And I think that’s something that, ’cause some people can be mean, so we negate those, but like essentially.

I think a lot of us are afraid of what people are gonna think. And I think that also holds us back. And I can tell for you, you’ve been like, look, I’ve been over that hump. Like I don’t really care. Like this is what I’m, I’m gonna do, this is what I enjoy and I’m gonna continue to pour into that. So for you, how have you really dealt with that?

Essentially?

Natalie: Yeah, I think there’s a difference between hate and feedback. Like hate. Yes. We don’t pay attention to, like you said, feedback. That’s obviously different for hate. Like of course it affects me in the sense of like, when I’m reading it, I don’t like what I’m reading. I don’t feel good when I’m reading it.

I will do everything though to block it out, so like I will literally block people if they’re being mean. Like I, I do not care. Like I, I don’t know why there’s like a. Controversial opinion of like people deleting comments, like, I will delete comments and I will block you. Like that’s just like, I don’t wanna see that.

So, and I don’t want that to like snowball into more hate, because usually when one person says something negative, then it gives ammunition for everyone else that’s seeing that comment to be like, you know what? Yeah, let me, let me dog pile onto that. Mm-hmm. So I think that like, I eliminated it as as much as I can, but it doesn’t affect me to the point where I’m gonna stop posting.

So I think like, of course it’s like not nice to hear and it sucks, but once I read it a few, like I’m not dwelling on it for hours. I’m not letting it impact my posting because I’ve seen the upside of posting that. It’s like nothing someone says can make me. Stop because of how much opportunity there is and how much I enjoy this and, and everything that comes with social media.

So like the good outweighs the bad by a lot. So I think like, just thinking about that, like if you let people’s opinions stop you, like you could be missing out on like so much, like the worst that happens is that someone’s talking bad about you and that sucks. The best that happens is like the. So many possibilities, so many opportunities that it’s just like you can’t even let that person, or those people like affect your life because that’s what it’s doing.

Like it could literally impact your entire life if you decided to stop doing this. So. That’s kinda how I think about it. And then with feedback, feedback is so helpful. Like for us, we actually love feedback because we wanna hear all of the things that people dislike. So if someone says, I hate the product, that’s actually a good thing that, because then we have room to improve.

So we wanna hear, why do you hate it? What do you not like about it? How can we improve it? Versus if someone’s just saying, I love it. I love it, I love it. There’s not really a chance for us to improve, so we always ask for feedback and we always wanna hear that. And I think you can tell the way someone is sharing it if it’s actually constructive and if it’s not.

Like if someone’s like, I hate this. Like, I hope you guys burn. It’s like, okay, that’s like not productive. They’re probably like angry about something, you know? You’re like,

Akua: whoa. Yeah. Yeah. It’s

Natalie: like, I’m not gonna listen to that. But if, if someone’s like, you know, I really wanted to like this, but like. I just like couldn’t get past X, Y, Z.

Then it’s like, oh, okay. Like that’s actually something we can work with. Um, so I think you just have to look at it as like, from a lens of improvement. And then if it is hate, don’t look at it at all. Like, ignore it because that’s not productive. Yeah. And yeah, so that’s kind of how I, I juggle it.

Akua: Yeah. No, I love that.

I love that you, you shared both sides. I think number one, feedback is a gift. That’s how I always view it. And so if somebody’s giving you that information, it’s becoming, it’s, it is because they care. They care about the, your product. Mm-hmm. They care about the vision. And you as a business owner, like they see it and they’re like, okay, I love this product.

I wanna continue to use it and in order for me to continue to use it, it needs to succeed. So I’m gonna help that, like, help the people, help it to succeed. Right. And so, and I love what you said too, even with like people who just have negative things to say, I think that’s so important. ’cause I. I have not had a lot, but I’ve absolutely had people say not nice things to me, which I was just so, like, what?

Like, you know, when your first one comes, you’re just like, what happened? But like, to your point, like, I, I blocked and I moved on because at the end of the day, like, you don’t know me. I don’t know you. And so like, I just viewed it as like. Projection, you know? Exactly. You know, and so I think to your point of like, yeah, like there’s no point to it.

And like at the end of the day, like you could be missing out on amazing opportunities that could be truly be life changing for you if you, if you care what other people think of you. And so I love that you shared that because it’s something that you’ve obviously, that happens consistently, you’ve been creating for such a long time.

So you definitely have had your, your share of those and it’s gonna come up the more that you lean into. And I think that just speaks to that, to me, it was a sign that I’m growing as a business owner. Like I’m growing. And so like. I just gotta keep going, if anything. And so using that in a, in a way to, to fuel you.

Natalie: Yeah, I think your first hate or feedback or comments like that, it’s like a rite of passage. It’s like you’ve made it, when you get that, that’s what

Akua: everybody said. They’re like, you made it. I said, made it where? I’m confused. How’d you even find me? Like, you know what I mean? Like, but it’s so true. Like all of my friends said that everybody did.

They’re like, oh my God, you’re famous now. I was like, I guess like, we’ll go with it. But it was so, so funny and I, I, again, to your point, laughed it off and I was like, right. We just keep going. Like, you just have to brush it off, like you can’t take it. Personal and really honoring yourself even if you have to take a break.

Like if you just need a second to collect your thoughts process, regulate your emotions, whatever it is, take that time to do it and, but just make sure you come back to it and don’t allow what other people to say to hinder you from what’s meant for you. So I love that you shared that, Natalie. I’ve really enjoyed this conversation.

It’s been so fun to learn more about Rella. I’m excited to see you guys, um, continue to grow ’cause it is such an impla like for me it’s been so impactful to where like, it’s just nice to have all of my social media marketing needs in one place. And so I’m like, I’m excited that more business owners get to hear about it.

And so every question that we love to end with is, what does having an unbreakable business mean to you?

Natalie: Ooh, that’s a great question. Uh, I think having an unbreakable business for us is being able to change because we’ve definitely gone through changes. We’ve definitely, I mean, we have gone through a lot of pivots.

I’ve gone through a lot of pivots in my personal life that if you can’t adjust, if you can’t pivot, if you can’t change, don’t let that like need for change. Break your business. You know, like a lot of times people think, oh my God, like we need to pivot. That means that we’re not doing something right.

That means we’re failures. No fail. Like you need to be able to know when it’s time to move on from something, when it’s time to shift something, when it’s time to change or pivot. And that’s actually how you have an unbreakable business. So don’t be afraid of change. Don’t be afraid to pivot. And if something’s not working, it doesn’t mean you failed.

It just means that you need to adjust and everyone has to do that in their life.

Akua: Yes. Oh my gosh. I love that. That’s such a good reminder. And I feel like now too, in this day and age, with the rise of AI and everything, like we’re just, there’s so many changes happening. And so like, to your point, like don’t be afraid of change.

Like, I think it’s, it’s, it can be exactly what you need to move forward. And if not, it’s just information. It’s just prepared you for the next season to move, right. If something doesn’t work out. And so I absolutely love that. Natalie, thank you so much for joining us on the show. I really enjoyed this conversation.

And so for people that wanna connect with you, where can they find you?

Natalie: Thanks so much. Yeah, you can find me at Natalie Barbo or you can find [email protected] or Rella social on social media.

Akua: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Natalie, for this fun conversation and for everybody listening. Until next time,

thanks for tuning into Unbreakable Business. If you love today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who needs a little extra inspiration. Remember, no matter what life throws your way, you have the power to keep going and your business can be unbreakable too.

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