Community Over Competition: An Interview With Natalie Franke

Photo credit: Lauren Swann Photography
Natalie Frankie is a businesswoman who has built a living helping other entrepreneurs succeed. The founder of The Rising Tide Society, she heads up a thriving community  of thought-leaders and dream-makers who all support each other in their pursuit to make the world a better place, one product, service, or platform at a time.
A self-confessed left-brain girl in a right-brain world, we caught up with Natalie to find out what makes each side of her mind tick, how you achieve a good work/life balance and what success really means. The answers might surprise you.
Here is the interview…
Hi Natalie, first up can you tell us how the Rising Tide Society began?
In 2015, over a glass of wine and an honest dinner conversation, we started to ask whether there was a better way to run a business. After months of struggling to survive in a cutthroat business environment, we placed our insecurities on the table and the Rising Tide Society was born. Our vision was to break down barriers by getting people in person to build meaningful relationships… our hope was to ensure that no entrepreneur ever had to build a business alone.
We launched twelve coffee-style meetings that quickly grew to one hundred, two hundred, then over three hundred meetings that now span the world.

Photo credit: Lauren Swann Photography
How did you get where you are today, and who/what helped you along the way?
I have gotten to where I am today by learning to fall in love with failure.
I used to think failure was the worst thing that could happen to me as an entrepreneur. Now, I believe that giving up is the true enemy. Failure is an incredible teacher and a valuable advice giver. My mistakes have helped to make me a far better businesswoman, leader, and community builder.
I’ve also had incredible mentors along the way who have taught me a lot about managing a team, growing a community, and overcoming the growing pains of expansion.
What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why?
I look to business masters and thought leaders like Brene Brown, Seth Godin, Shonda Rhimes, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Dan Ariely as a source of inspiration. They have all offered me something different and are great sources of knowledge.

Photo credit: Lauren Swann Photography
How do you achieve a good work/life balance?
I’m not sure there really is such a thing as work/life balance. For me work and life go hand in hand. Perhaps that’s why I’ve never truly understood the concept.
I am passionate about the work I do and it consumes every fiber of my being. My life is intermingled within the day-to-day hustle and often compliments my career as I travel around the world connecting with other creative entrepreneurs.
Finding fulfillment, on a personal and professional level, is going to look different for every single person. I also believe seeking balance will change in each stage of life.
What does your typical day look like?
My meetings have meetings and it isn’t uncommon for me to work 12+ hour days during the week. The hustle is real. Each day, I’m cracking the code to grassroots growth while building, scaling, and empowering a team of world changers. We are actively creating educational resources to support hundreds of local chapters and tens of thousands of community members in the spirit of community over competition. It’s an incredibly rewarding role.

Photo credit: Lauren Swann Photography
Where’s your favorite place to travel?
Oh this is hard—I love epic locations to photograph. Iceland and New Zealand top my two favorite locations because they have natural scenes that take your breath away.
What are your must-haves in your bag?
I’m a tech-crazed business owner, so I can’t leave home without my laptop, phone, and battery pack. As a daily vlogger, you also shouldn’t be surprised to see a camera, microphone, and memory cards scattered throughout the pockets of my backpack. I love being able to take all of my gear with me so that I’m prepared to create content in any given situation.

Photo credit: Abby Grace Photography
What advice do you have for young women who want to become entrepreneurs? Are there specific advantages, disadvantages to being a woman business owner?
The biggest advice that I have for female entrepreneurs is to build a community around your business. No one should build a business alone and it’s crucial to find people who can give you valuable feedback and support when you need it. Find other entrepreneurs in a similar season of growth, meet with them, build relationships, and set out to support one another on the path to success.
Do I think there are disadvantages to being a woman in business?Absolutely.
Do I think that should deter anyone from being an entrepreneur?Absolutely not.
I’m not someone who believes in accepting the status quo and I don’t believe in making excuses. Instead of focussing on disadvantages, I’ve set out on a mission to build a platform of my own that I can use to elevate the voices of other women.
It takes many cracks in a pane of glass to shatter it. We all have our part to play in creating an environment in which women can flourish in business.
With such diverse roles you play in number of businesses, how do you value “success”?
I don’t see success as a destination.
Success is waking up every morning with gratitude for your blessings and pride in the work that you’re doing. Success is holding the hand of the one you love and knowing that you’re building a life together. Success is falling asleep with a full heart after a long day of hustling after your dream.
Success is setting aside your fears and insecurities to live a life full of passion and purpose.Success is the journey.Only you can determine what success looks like in your life.
Finally, what’s next for Rising Tide Society?
We want to continue to empower the creative economy. Our role is to build a stage to elevate the voices of incredible talent that exists within our community. Our hope is to go on the road, city by city, to begin telling these stories.
We have also released a free platform for our community of creatives and small business owners that is growing rapidly every day. You can check it out atthecreativecommunity.com