Ep 22: Community Over Competition — Making Your Business Stronger Than Ever with Natalie Franke

With half of small businesses closing down within their first five years, the odds are stacked against us. But you have an unlikely ally — your competition. Today we speak with Natalie Franke, the HoneyBook Head of Community and co-founder of the Rising Tide Society. As a pioneering voice of the Community over Competition movement, she helps foster creative communities and support networks for small businesses. We open our conversation with Natalie by talking about her journey into photography and how her love for being behind a camera complimented her college studies into visual neuroscience. After chatting about why there is no such thing as wasted time, Natalie opens up about the pressures of hustling and the lonely road of being an entrepreneur. As she explains, this inspired her to found the Rising Tide Society, a community dedicated to putting people before competition. We discuss the many benefits of connecting with your business community and Natalie shares some of the challenges that she faced when starting her movement.