2024 Volume 8: feat. Natalie Borton Designs

On entrepreneurship, collaboration, and personal style

You’ve heard the hashtag, #womensupportingwomen right? Well sometimes it’s easier said in a hashtag than lived out in real life. In a culture that values putting “me” first and doing whatever it takes to get ahead, it’s incredibly rare to meet people who actually want to help you, who actually want to support you, and aren’t worried about what’s in it for them. Natalie Borton is one of those women.

When I started my business, I knew that I’m far more of a relationship first person than product or profit first (even though product and profit are important too!). It may seem counterproductive for building a successful business, but it’s the only way I know how to do it. As Brené Brown has said, you don’t have one set of values for your personal life and one for your work like - it’s just one set of values that guide your whole life.

Meeting women who share this value has been one of the biggest blessings of my entrepreneurial journey, and I’m so excited to share a bit about Natalie and her brand Natalie Borton Designs.

I met Natalie on Instagram - it could have been 2019 (give or take a year) and started following her because I really enjoyed her styling content, her authentic voice, and like me, she also had a jewelry company. Little did I know that Natalie was about to do a pivot and start a consulting company, where AA was her first client. In 2021, I was in the midst of a brand refresh and she was incredibly helpful with strategy - generously sharing ideas that had worked well for her business. Fast forward a few years and another business later for Natalie, she was inspired to bring back her jewelry brand, Natalie Borton Designs, but this time with a focus on collaborating with other small businesses.

Now it’s August, 2023. After a couple of difficult, life altering events in Natalie’s life, I told her she should come to Kenya with me on my next trip. (Tanzania had saved me from a difficult time in my life so I always think East Africa is the answer!) Well as fate would have it, she DID come with me to Kenya in February to work on a couple of collaborative designs we were/are working on. There’s nothing like traveling to really get to know someone and I’m so grateful for that time we (and Conni!) got to spend together. And now she’s even working with one of my partners in Nairobi to produce her fabulous hairpins!

Us in Kenya and CA. These pics make me smile!

Natalie has so much to offer - from business to style to life…so I had to ask her to answer a few questions for you!

What's your biggest challenge right now with NBD?

Finance and accounting has been a huge strain and my biggest challenge up until now. I’ve managed to get us this far, but I’m thankful to say that we just hired a new team member to take care of that, and I’m incredibly relieved to have it handled!

How did you know when it was the right time to hire someone and what was the right area to hire for?

I made my first hire in my third year of business. I was feeling stretched thin and knew the ins and outs of my business intimately enough to have a clear idea of what I was ready to outsource to someone else. Julia came on to assist with jewelry making, which was taking a ton of my time as the business continued to scale. Over the years, she has taken over all in-house jewelry making and I’ve recently started adding customer service and office management to her role at the company. Before I hired her, I really considered what parts of the business felt essential for me to do, and what parts I wouldn’t mind letting go of and training someone else to do. It was scary to expand the team and suddenly be paying someone to do work I was previously doing, but our business BOOMED after I made that first hire. I think this is because the timing was right and it freed me up to focus more on design and marketing. Fast forward to this year and I felt that same “stretched” feeling, but in the finance department. I’m a big believer in running a lean company and waiting to hire until you really need to, and it was clear to me that the time was right to add someone to the mix who could take the lead on all of our finance and accounting. Niki joined the team officially last month and I feel a huge weight off my shoulders now! Ultimately, every business is different and every founder has different strengths. My biggest tip for anyone considering expanding their team is to be super clear on what work you’re eager to hand off to someone else and wait until you get that stretched feeling. Also, focus on hiring the right kind of person — 

people who are eager to learn, a good fit with company culture, and passionate about the company you’re building and the products you’re creating — not necessarily the person who looks best on paper. 

What are you currently learning?

Right now I’m learning to let myself dream big. While I’m a creative person, I’m also very practical and with that can come small thinking, only pursuing things I’m confident I can accomplish. Still learning to stretch myself in this area!

What are you celebrating?

This week I’m celebrating 13 years of marriage! Brian and I met 15 years ago when we were 22 and it’s been a treat to be married to my best friend all these years. Without him, I definitely never would’ve had the confidence or courage to become an entrepreneur. He’s my biggest encourager in business and despite having a demanding job himself, he’s an active and preset parent alongside me and I really don’t think Natalie Borton Designs would exist without him!

Favorite AA product?

Besides our collaborative designs, I’d definitely say the Sling Bag! My favorite colors are Gardenia and Olive.

Favorite style tip?

Forget about dressing in a “flattering” way. That line of thinking really used to hold me back. When I finally let go of it, I felt like I discovered a new part of myself. I not only a developed new level of body confidence and self-acceptance, but also a new level of my personal style. In a nutshell: the coolest way to dress is to dress like YOU!

If you missed our first collaborative design, The Basket Tote, you can sign up for back in stock notifications here. We aren’t taking any more orders, but it’s possible a couple extras might find their way into the shipment in June. ;)