Corporate Natalie:
Making content, meeting amazing people amazing creators, like you Ross and then -
Ross Pomerantz (Corporate Bro):
Stop.
Corporate Natalie:
just able to, you know, just grow from there and do all these exciting brand deals
Ross:
We got that right? We got that. Just edit that in. Boost the sound on it.
*Beyond Quota Intro*
Ross:
We have Corporate Natalie. The woman, the myth, the legend. Who is just on an absolute meteoric rise into social media stardom. I don't want to out her too much. But I do have to call out the fact that she is a mere 24 years old and that's not like a call out. I know that sounds like a call out but I think like the way you carry yourself people like really look up to you. They ride or die for you. And of course, I'm joined by Pouyan. My co-host. My real anchor, if you will. Founder/CEO of Scratchpad which if you use Salesforce and haven't downloaded Scratchpad, you should probably just throw yourself off the building, or just go download it. It's kind of the choice is yours.
Corporate Natalie:
Well, thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting. Yes, despite my old kind of haggard appearance, I am 24. So not a ton of work experience. But I have become kind of the sort of a female face of work from home and corporate America. So people think I have like all this advice on like, climbing the corporate ladder or navigating it and I'm like, I don't really know I just kind of make jokes.
Pouyan Salehi:
Yeah, but you know corporate so well.
Corporate Natalie:
I worked at a big four firm, which I'm not going to specify but that was my job right out of college which was kind of the immediate entry, slap-in-the-face of this is the reality of corporate-life you're gonna get on a plane every Sunday night fly to your client site, work for 80-90 hours a week and get compensated very little for that. So enjoy.
Ross:
When you say big for for a lot of the plebs out there because we harness the audience of plebs. What is the big four?
Corporate Natalie:
Oh, wow. Okay, the Big Four kind of consulting audit form.
Ross:
So it's just a consulting firm.
Corporate Natalie:
Yes, I think there's a lot of like apps - there's a lot of [social media] accounts that exploit these these firms like crazy management consultants, stuff like that.
Ross:
So I want to hear about how you got I mean, you've told the story a million times but I want to hear about how you got started like what was the intent? Was their intent?
Corporate:
So it was never the intention. I think I've done comedy since like high school, I did improv comedy. I did a little improv and college and then I just kind of took to TikTok. It was an easy an app to use. Downloaded it, I was totally addicted as like a user let alone a creator. Then I started making videos myself. Made one kind of day in the life video of like, they're all these girls who are like 85 pounds who do a day in my life a drink my matcha tea, I workout for four hours, and then I start work. And it's so unrelatable and so I made kind of a reverse trend of that of like I roll out of bed 8:01, one minute late for my zoom, camera-off, barely have time to brush my teeth, kind of just exploiting that kind of cycle that we were all in in 2020 and probably still now that I'm still trapped in. Then from there just totally grew and I've just been making content meeting amazing people amazing creators, like you Ross, and then -
Ross:
Stop.
Corporate Natalie:
Just able to you know just grow from there and do all these exciting like brand deals -
Ross:
We got that right? We got that? We picked that up. Alright just edit that in. Add some reverb, maybe some echo? Anyway, sorry to cut you off.
Corporate Natalie:
Exxactly and then from there it's just grown. I mean, we talk about this all the time, but like the creator economy is so booming.
Ross:
And of course you're similar to me juggling another life and another job a real job if you will, as we like to call it. So talk about that because I think you may be quicker to get out of that job than that I have been I'm I mean 32 and I'm still basically working a full time job.
Corporate Natalie:
Well I think being an active participant in corporate America is pretty vital to being corporate Natalie and making that content staying on the forefront of zoom nuances and all of that so I would feel a bit like I would be lying a bit if I wasn't actually working a full time job. I think it's a risk, I'm very risk averse to just completely leave and try to join this like creator world where you're living literally like brand deal to brand deal. What if that goes bad one month and you can't pay rent? It's just things that kind of scare me a bit of making the full time jump to doing that, but I think it's hard. It's really hard to balance. I say I have my nine to five and then my five to nine. Do I have a boyfriend? No. Do I have things in my personal life? Absolutely not.
Ross:
Just so you guys know. She's single. And we are not dating. Okay, we are not dating despite what the world wants.
Corporate Natalie:
That's major tea for the listeners of this podcast. They'll freak out.
Ross:
They might just turn it off right now. Stare at the world because their world has exploded right before them.
Corporate Natalie:
I sent Ross a DM someone like I posted some thing and they were like, wait you aren't together? This is like finding out Mr. Santa and Mrs. Claus aren't together. This is like earth shattering, I'm freaking out.
Ross:
They're together, but they're separated, okay? How intentional are you with like the videos and the content and what you say how you say?
Corporate Natalie:
I don't make content to get likes and affirmation from strangers. I don't really care about that. I care about having something sustainable and profitable that I can do and teach others and consult with brands and teach people how to build a brand on social media. I think that's exciting to me. So the strategy, there definitely is a strategy. I think when you're doing these ads, and these brand deals, those obviously, drop in engagement, your followers hate when you're promoting products, they I mean, you've experienced this firsthand. So you do have to if you're doing 10 brand deals, you have to do 70 Organic posts to offset kind of, you don't want everything to be an ad, right. So that becomes a little stressful of wow, I have five brand deals this week. Okay, I better get on every single TikTok trend ever and make sure that I have organic content. And so that's time consuming as well.
Pouyan:
You know, we've talked to a lot of folks that are in sales. And hearing their stories of how they got into sales, most of the thread is like I didn't know what else to do. You know, it was rarely that's the path that I want to go down. It was either just found my way there, there was nothing else. I just didn't know what else like somebody just told me about it. And I'm curious from your perspective, I mean, you kind of talked about it by ending up at one of the big four. But how deliberate were you about the path you even wanted to go down before content creation came in? Like did you have any idea that this would even be a part of what you're doing?
Corporate Natalie:
No, I had no idea. And I have friends that say like, you know, my dream is to be famous or my dream is to be an influencer or something and it's like, okay, then, you know, hop on TikTok, and make some content. Like that was never my dream ever.
Pouyan:
I'm curious for you. Like, what was that moment? You kind of touched on it when you said you know, you downloaded TikTok and started using it. But was there something else around that that got you started in this? It said, you know, let me actually start. Let me try creating my own content.
Corporate Natalie:
I've always been looking for ways to express myself creatively. Dare I say. But I think more so the itch that I was trying to scratch was entrepreneurship. My whole life, I started a jewelry business in college that I was shipping across the country to girls all over I've done. I always was the kid with like, 17 lemonade stands, my neighbors are like we are being waterboarded with lemonade. We don't want any more, you know, like, I'm always just, I had that kind of, I want to start a business-side. And so I think that's what's made me so serious about the content creation path now.
Pouyan:
From TikTok to Instagram to YouTube now, you know, even audio platforms that Callin are picking up so I'm curious to hear from you as a creator, like, do you think, do you think it's just picking up and you're gonna we're gonna start seeing a lot more creators coming in? Or do you kind of feel like there's so much noise out there already now that it's, it's just gonna be too much?
Corporate Natalie:
It's totally on the up, on the rise. There's so much potential for people to become individual creators and also just become an active participant in a creator economy. For example, brands are hiring people to run their TikTok account. Startups are hiring people to help them with their social media strategy. So maybe if you're not the creator yourself, you're able to contribute and respond to comments and be logged into those social accounts and engaging with followers and people that way. So I think - and I also think an important part of it is like, it's the era the side hustle. I think everyone is trying to do so many things. Our age group is like, well, there's we have an age gap, but just like people always want to do so many different things.
Pouyan:
Thanks for calling that out by the way.
Ross:
Not me.
Corporate Natalie:
By the way, guys, Ross is 32 years old.
Ross:
*Puke noise*
Corporate Natalie:
But just people want to do so many different things. And there's this drive for like, what am I passionate about? What do I want to do? And people are obsessed with finding that and doing many things.
Ross:
TikTok has truly democratized the ability to become a content creator if you want to be. It actually is fascinating because like you said Nat, so many people are like, I want to do this. Like it's no longer like, hey Ross, how do I be in the video? Meet us at the office at 7am on Saturday. Ooh, yeah. I'm gonna have to pass, I'm going out Friday night so... okay, great than you don't want to do this truly. Like now there is never been less excuses.
Corporate Natalie:
And I think also, as much as we talk about, you know, how easy it is, which it is it's accessible for sure. I think the other side of being a creator or being a content creator is that it is a lot of work and it is hard. And I think a lot of people are like, oh, this person is just doing like a TikTok dance, whatever, outside of our humor or whatever we do. Like those people are millionaires and they're just dancing in their room once a day, you know, and it's like, and that's also they're also trying really hard. They're building a business out of it. Like, I think that's also kind of, there's still a little stigma of like, you're a full time content creator? It's like, yeah, you have no idea how this world works and how hard I work to do it.
Pouyan:
You touched on this earlier as is how many repetitions you get in like how fast you're actually creating things and putting it out there and not overthinking it. Now, there's certainly a balance between isn't it interesting? Is there a certain level of quality to it doesn't have any substance to it? But how do you think about that in the work that you do?
Corporate Natalie:
Totally, I preach this all the time. It's quantity over quality, at least with TikTok, for sure. It's how much can you get out there, five of them will bust one of them will go absolutely viral. And I say this to brands as well. And with Scratchpad it's exciting. I say this to Ross every single Monday morning. I'm like, please fill more videos. Make yourself useful right now. But I think that strategy is difficult with like bigger companies trying to get on TikTok. Because there's so many like legal reviews and compliance reviews. And you can't just like film something and throw it up. That's why like, I think was Scratchpad it's so exciting that like, there's so much you can kind of we can kind of do what we want film content, post things, and you're just kind of just getting into it. And that's exciting. But I think when bigger companies are like, help with our strategy, it's like, okay, you have a seven day legal review cycle. I don't know how - the trend is dead. Like, you need to be so fast with this.
Ross:
And so Nat really quick. You mentioned to me at some point, you live with SDRs, or you lived with SDRs?
Corporate Natalie:
Yes, yes.
Ross:
What do you hear? You know, like, what is that like? Are you still living with them? Like, you've been exposed to that sales world. You've probably heard the complaints?
Corporate Natalie:
Yes. So my best friend who I live with now, was an SDR. She's now a teacher, because that's how scarred the sales world made her. She just went full flip. But I would see totally like just the way the metrics for success in the way that like her calls are versus my calls where I'm talking to, like 55 year old partners at the firm I'm working for versus like, literally her screaming, begging someone to stay on the line. I'm like, wait, what's going on? Like, it's just such a different world that I was so not - even seeing your content - I'm like, this is crazy that this exists. And it's just so I mean, I feel like everyone does it. Like you go to a bar in San Francisco and 70% of the people are gonna be in sales. Like it's just how it works.
Ross:
Just how it works. I'm sure there's plenty of inspiration from them crying, you know. If you want to move down the sales route, if you ever tempted. I'm sure Pouyan would let you get on the phones for Scratchpad.
Corporate Natalie:
Oh, totally. I think the other back to the kind of pitching yourself and having the confidence thing. I think it scares me when young people are trying to be creators and trying to be in this space, obviously, you know, I think being like an adult facing this is definitely important. Because if you're like a 15 year old making content doing this, and also you don't know, like, when you're talking about selling your business, selling your things, I see these really young creators starting their own businesses, and it's like, there's gonna be rejection. How do you face that you also don't know how to build a business at 15. I don't know how to build a business. And it's just, I think that's the same with I don't know, just I think that's an interesting point to make of, you're not always going to know everything and be right. And you have to be strong enough to face like the hate and the rejection through it all. And so when I see these, like 14 year olds doing dances, I'm like, Oh my God, this is scary. I'm scared for you.
Ross:
Well, that's an interesting, honestly, segue. It's something we've talked about a lot is, you know, we talk about managers and agents and these people who want to like rep us and help us with things. Because so many creators have absolutely no business acumen at all, like none. And, you know, you manage 98% of your business. You do a lot of the negotiations, like you're handling contracts, like you're super thorough, which is an amazing asset to have in this world. And naturally, you know, you've been exposed being in consulting and stuff. But I think like that is such a huge advantage that you have that I have is that exposure to this world where the 15 year old is gonna get taken advantage of, they're gonna end up giving like 30% of their earnings to someone who's like, let me get you this deal that was already in your DMs.
Corporate Natalie:
Exactly. And I just, I probably should outsource a little bit of what I do because I'm exhausted and overworked. But like, I refuse to know exactly how to negotiate pitch myself do all that I refuse to give any of that credit to someone else to just take 20% of it. Like I just don't understand.
Ross:
I think it's also been okay saying no, as well. Like there's going to be brands that come through that like in theory, you want to like make them happy and like, I struggle with I want I don't like letting people down. I don't want to say no, I'm like, How do I make this work. But in like the last year and a half, I've kind of gotten to the point where it's like, and you're super good at this, like, you've definitely taught me to be better at this, like, No, this is this is it, motherfucker. Take it or leave it. Like, this is what I want for me to do this otherwise, like, I'm just not going to do that, because I've got other stuff. And I have like, I do that now much more with like my speaking stuff. But even with brands, you're like, oh, this will be like, cool, but it's not really like on brand, and people are gonna be like, What the fuck, and in your gut, it feels wrong, but you want to make it work. And I've had to work on being able to be like, Nah, like, you just, it's just not worth it.
Corporate Natalie:
It's not worth it. Because you'll lose followers, you'll lose engagement. And if you're not going to, why would I give that ad space or that space you could be giving a talk at to... That doesn't make sense.
Pouyan:
If I'm a salesperson right now, and I've got some ideas, I am creative. And I'm thinking, gosh, I want to get started, like what else would you suggest for somebody to get started in this? Like, how important is it to start thinking about the business side of things versus just starting to create some content? Or how do you think about that? What else would you share?
Corporate Natalie:
A couple things. So I think like Ross said, if you go into this being like, I'm going to be famous, I'm gonna be monetize, it's gonna be my full time, whatever, if you go into it, you will fail. So like, you have to start building yourself as a presence. So let's, let's say like you've built yourself as 10,000 followers on Tiktok, or something. So you're kind of in what we would call like a micro influencer space, I started getting brand deals at like 10,000 followers, which I think is crazy, because I look back at that. And I'm like, so many videos got like zero views, like, really, you want to work with me, whatever. But I think once you start getting talked to whatever reached out to, I think there's also some an element of it that I'm so unaware of, of pitching yourself and being like, I want to do a deal for you kind of those outbound leads, whereas I just take what comes to me and weed through them. And I'm still just like, completely on the defense, where if you were like really serious about it, and you're doing fashion, or whatever you're doing and posting your stuff, you should do that outreach to brands. That same stuff that you do stalk them on LinkedIn, find who the person is -
Pouyan:
You can hire your own SDR?
Ross:
You could!
Corporate Natalie:
Yeah and do that outreach. And I think finding out when it becomes that side, hustle, and when it's like, wow, it's really becoming a lot. What can you outsource? What are the things that aren't your core competencies?
Ross:
Like, that's, that's it, like, I would say, create some parameters for yourself. Like, it's so much... the reason I have enjoyed, like, the Corporate Bro stuff, and you know, it's a little bit harder now. And there's a double edged sword, here's like, I knew my niche. I was gonna talk about sales stuff. I was going to take whatever the general public was talking about, and I was going to salesify it. I was gonna use the South Park formula, right? Like, let's just put in the sales-voice of whatever outrageous things are happening in the world. And if you create some parameters for yourself, like, now you get to work within the confines of some assignment. It's not like go write a paper. On anything. Pick anything, go write a paper, what the fuck do I do? You know, so it's like, that repetition and consistency of like, operating within those parameters. Like, that's how you're going to create a brand. Like I, even if you're not trying to be a content creator, if you're trying to be a public figure, if you want to, like, go give talks, or you want to be someone who posts on Twitter, like, you just need to create those brand parameters for yourself. And then as Nat says, volume of content. Just like stay within those and trust that process and continue to tweak, but like, the business stuff can come later. To me, it's just like, fine, whatever your brand voice is.
Pouyan:
For anyone that's listening, and wants to actually dig into this further, there's a really good book called Positioning. It's really interesting because I think it was written in the early 80s. So all of their examples are about how the world has just become so noisy from a marketing perspective. And it's really television that started to pick up and they're still using examples like facsimile transmission, email hasn't even kicked in. But the core principles are spot on in terms of what you're talking about here. In terms of like, how do you find a position? And how do you how does that stick in other people's minds and what happens the second you start veering away from that. And it's something that we actually did very early on at Scratchpad is trying to figure out like what that position might be to then know what how else you can order the products that you build to fill it in. So that's what I was wondering Natalie with you like how much of it was deliberate where you maybe saw a gap around you know, somebody speaking about general just the shit that happens a corporate world right like some of the stuff you do is just so spot on to the point where I've watched it and I'm like, oh shit, I do that on a zoom call. Can you hear me? Can you hear me am I on mute? You know you do such a fantastic job of it. So that's that's what I was wondering like, how deliberate that was, in terms of you identifying and saying that's what I want to do, or was that just more natural? Where you're like, yeah, I just kind of want to talk about this stuff.
Corporate Natalie:
Um, I think it was just, I found that that was so just funny to me from like, just a comedy perspective when we were starting this whole work from home nightmare. And so I think I just exploited it. And then honestly, like my followers and people in the comments will say like, oh my god, can you do this and it's like, there's constant inspiration being like, presented to me. Again, being an active member of corporate America, I see more things happening that are just funny. And so that's, that's where I'm able to get kind of the vision and continue to make kind of different content. I also think when you see trends, and my brain just works in this way, like, I see, just like, I hear a sound that's trending and I'm just able to like, think of what I would write what the text overlay would be. And that's like one thing that I do for other creators that is another pillar of my business is like I give a weekly trend report of like, these five sounds are trending. Here's what your text overlays should be that that relates to your niche of motherhood, politics, whatever they're doing.
Ross:
Humans are simple creatures. We like funny shit. We like entertaining shit.
Pouyan:
In some way simple and in some ways, insanely complex I think as we've all figured out having to work on teams. This was great. Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives with us.
Corporate Natalie:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm honored and all the kind words from both of you. This was really this really hyped me up for the rest of my day. Thank you for that.
Ross:
Well, I'm sure we'll work together in the future but for anybody else out there whether you are a brand looking to lock in your social strategy or you know you want Nat to make some content for you, where can they best find you?
Corporate Natalie:
So I think if you want to follow my social media follow at @CorporateNatalie on TikTok and Instagram and the email link in my bio, if you're interested in more of the consulting brand strategy side of it, myself and my team will get back to you on that.
