( ENSPIRE She Did That ) Insights From a Serial Entrepreneur on Achieving Success in Consulting, Travel, Wellness, Publishing, and Wine Industries
ENSPIRE Contributor: Paulina
Natalie Pickett is an entrepreneur from Melbourne, Australia who has founded a large variety of businesses. She has founded businesses in consulting, travel, wellness, publishing, and the wine industry, many of which are earning six to seven figures. Natalie’s success is not just limited to business, seeing as she is also an international best-selling author. She has been featured in several news and business publications including The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, and Entrepreneur and Authority magazine. In these publications, she has shared advice on how you can set yourself up to accomplish your goals.
One of the most remarkable things about Natalie is that she has achieved all this success while remaining humble. She is always eager to share her knowledge and experience with others and is a great source of inspiration for those who want to follow in her footsteps. Natalie shares her knowledge to achieve success with thousands of people worldwide through mentorship and public speaking. She works with other entrepreneurs and business strategists to develop marketing and business strategies that will transform their businesses. She’s been able to turn struggling businesses into those that strive rather than survive.
ENSPIRE spoke with Natalie to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of idea creation, and advice for future female entrepreneurs.
Tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur and how you got started in the industries you’ve pursued.
I’m a serial entrepreneur from Melbourne, Australia. My career started in banking, but after taking some time out for travel, I realized it was a better industry for me. Travel is a big part of my life and my career. I’ve traveled a lot and lived in different countries around the world. After learning the ropes as a tour manager in Europe, I returned to Australia at age 28 and established my first business – an inbound travel company bringing visitors from around the world to see Australia.
I’ve always loved business. Even as a young girl, I used to convince my friends at elementary school to play ‘business’ with me. I’d be the head of some corporation, or I’d convince my siblings to play ‘shops’ with me, and I would work out each item’s profit margin. People think that a ‘business mind’ is different from a ‘creative mind.’ But, when you can create something where there was nothing, that’s creative. Moreover, turning an idea into something bigger, such as a business that benefits everyone who buys from you, is undeniably creative.
The impetus to start my first business came from my experience and passion for travel. During my time in Europe, I was fortunate to lead some VIP tours bringing travel agents from Asia. Sydney had just won the bid for the 2000 Olympic Games, and they told me how popular Australia was becoming as a travel destination. Immediately, I became excited about the idea of starting my company.
I started this business from home–long before the ‘start-up’ trend. My ‘office’ was a little study annex off our bedroom. I still remember the excitement when the first bookings came through–and the excitement when you receive sales never goes away. This business quickly expanded beyond the home office and to multiple 7 figures in sales. It hadn’t occurred to me that it was unusual for someone so young–and a woman–to start a business.
Could you highlight some of your favorite projects for us?
Since my first endeavor, I have founded multiple businesses, with 6 and 7-figure success stories. I’ve been fortunate to take my interests and passions into the work that I do by creating different businesses in which I get to share those passions with the world. My businesses are inspired by passion and sharing my three loves: wellness, bubbles (champagne and sparkling wine), and business.
First, in my wellness business–Wellness on Time–I focus on how important wellness is for a happy life. I also draw from my experience as a former fitness instructor. Wellness on Time is an online wellness program to help people easily integrate wellness activities into their day. It encompasses our online program, books, and magazines. The outcome is a niche that I knew would help and benefit people.
Second, my bubbly business — The Bubbles Review–is a passion project! It is an award-winning website and blog, and we also offer champagne and sparkling wine-focused events and tours. The idea came from a few different areas including my love of champagne and sparkling wine.
Last, one of my favorite things to do is to help others succeed through my mentoring, writing, and speaking work. I’ve been a speaker and mentor for over 14 years. Taking my consulting and mentoring business — Natalie Pickett Mentor — to global markets has been a big shift for me recently. By bringing more of what I do online, I get to share my insights to help even more people. It has opened up so many opportunities for me to work with business owners all around the world.
To recapitulate, I like to operate from my core values, one of which is ‘fun.’ It’s easy to forget to make having fun a priority in business. I love being able to share this knowledge. I love to help people transform their businesses and daily life from surviving to thriving!
Which industry has been the most rewarding to work in for you?
I love all the industries that I work in and contribute to. I get to travel the world, drink champagne, stay in amazing places, take time for wellness activities, and work with amazing business owners. I’ve met people from around the world and helped them achieve their dreams. I feel like I am living my dream life and it’s all very rewarding!
As a mentor and public speaker, what have you found have been the most important traits or skills for entrepreneurs to have?
Foremost, to be successful you need grit, passion, and faith in the value of what you are doing. People think that going into business will give them the freedom to do whatever they want, but if you’re not careful, the business can take over your life. There are always a lot of tests and measurements, and not everything turns to gold straight away. Consistent and persistent action is needed, even when things haven’t gone to plan.
Being persistent differs from just working hard. Energy is one of our most important resources, and if you need to take time to rest and restore your energy, make sure to do so. Take time to get clear, get in alignment, and follow the path from a place of clarity. When things don’t go to plan, you need to be agile and open to the current operating environment.
Celebrate the highs and enjoy the journey! In fact, that is the sweet spot even more than the end goal. In all my businesses, I align to follow the joy. When you enjoy what you do every day, and are bringing value to others, that is when you are living the dream!
Could you share with us a bit about your writing process for your international best-selling book?
I’ve written for many years, mainly in a professional capacity by writing award-winning submissions for different businesses. The process is similar to writing a book or chapter in a book by setting out the key points that you want to make. This entails building how you want these points to flow in the chapters and, consequently, building the story in each chapter around those key elements.
It’s also important to consider that different people have different methods or preferences for writing. Some might start from a ‘brain dump’ and write. However, some creators write without a plan. Conversely, I think building the story around a plan (much like scaffolding), helps the story to have a flow.
In addition, by leveraging my publishing success as an Amazon international best-selling author six times, I gained the opportunity to work with others who have a common goal to share their knowledge and experience. Becoming published is a great way to increase your authority in your area of expertise and expand your profile exponentially. My upcoming books are both co-author books, and these collaborations are so rewarding. The reader gets to experience a range of stories, each with its unique voice and experience, and I get to work with amazing co-authors from all over the world!
What did you write about and how did the idea come about?
My own experiences inspired my next two books and want to share those with others.
The next book is ‘Learning through Pain–25 holistic strategies for healing chronic pain’, which will be published in June 2023. I’m a former fitness instructor and I enjoy leading an active life. When ill or injured, I seek activities for recovery with less ongoing therapy and work towards achieving greater ease of movement. Finding ways to reduce stress and enhance your body movement can bring health benefits and greater life enjoyment.
After experiencing chronic pain several times in my life, I understand how debilitating and challenging pain can be. The most recent experience was after a hiking accident when a compound fracture in my ankle required two surgeries and took years to recover. This inspired me to embark on creating this important collaborative book, so I could share my experiences.
Parallelling this work is another book coming in July 2023 ‘Turning Passion into Profit’, which is inspired by my entrepreneurial business success. I wanted to share the behind-the-scenes stories of following your passion to create amazing businesses. I’m also bringing in co-authors from around the world to share their stories in this one.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve had to face as an entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?
Having been an entrepreneur for almost 30 years, I’ve certainly had my share of so-called ‘failures’ as well as triumphs. After closing my first 7 figure business during the 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis, I made sure that my future businesses were resilient. As much as this ‘crash’ was a crisis, it was also the opportunity to create the life I wanted. I had let my business take over my personal needs. I am thankful for the lessons learned, and I used that experience not only in my businesses but also as a business mentor. Therefore, I am helping clients create resilient businesses that support their needs and desires.
In summary, it’s important to acknowledge powerful and independent women, even if Women’s History Month has already passed. Natalie Pickett is a woman paving the way for others, showing that it’s possible to find great success in any field as long as you’re willing to put in the work. Through her mentorship and public speaking, Natalie continues to empower entrepreneurs and makes their businesses to the next level. As we honor the contributions of women throughout history, let’s also look at the future of female entrepreneurship.
To learn more about Natalie’s work and connect with her for advice and mentorship, please visit her website.
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