Natalie Browning: The Right Time to go Full Time

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In 2017, Natalie Browning started making metal jewelry on the floor of her parent’s garage. What started as a creative outlet bloomed into the full-time business she never thought she’d have.

Inspired by her beach town on the East Coast, every piece of jewelry at Of Great Value is intentionally created to remind people of their true worth – a concept I absolutely love!

In this conversation, you’ll hear how Natalie built a name for herself in her local community and online, her pricing tips for creatives, and how leaving her stable job in the school system was the catalyst for a much more rewarding and financially successful career.

If you’re struggling with the decision to go full-time in your creative business, this interview will light a fire under you! Press play or keep reading below.

From Stability to Entrepreneurship

Natalie’s story began when she dropped out of college. Feeling lost and searching for a purpose, she ordered a jewelry-making kit on Amazon and stamped words of encouragement on each piece as a reminder to herself to keep going.

While Natalie eventually went back to college (through online classes this time), she also ran an Etsy shop on the side. “I never imagined I could pursue a creative career full-time.”

Although she loved her side hustle, leaving her day job as a school counsellor to pursue jewelry-making felt like a major risk. Until the pandemic hit – and she realized her stable career wasn’t so stable after all.

Choosing a Creative Career

When her school was shut down, Natalie realized the thought of becoming a full-time jewelry maker no longer scared her the way it once did. If anything, it brought her peace.

The Of Great Value website launched in March 2020. At the time, Natalie was nowhere near making a full-time income. “I jumped in headfirst and didn’t expect to have to go back. Which was maybe naive, but I was so confident that this was where the Lord wanted me.”

By the end of that first year, not only had she replaced her school counselling salary – she’d doubled it.

How Undercharging Impacts Your Industry

One of the biggest challenges that first year was navigating profit margins. Natalie knew her profits weren’t enough to generate a sustainable full-time income but at the same time, she was hesitant to raise her prices.

“I wanted my pieces to be accessible to every kind of person, but I also wanted there to be opportunities for me to grow my business, to have some money I could put back into it.”

After branching into wholesale, Natalie realized that undercharging wasn’t just a disservice to herself but to other jewellers as well – it drove the entire market down. So she went with a slow-build approach, gradually increasing her prices as the business grew

Building a Lifestyle Brand

Of Great Value launched right around the time that permanent jewelry (pieces that are welded together instead of secured with a clasp) became popular. Natalie was the first jewelry maker to offer the service in the local area, and the business quickly took off.

A booth at the weekly farmer’s market allowed Natalie to build a name for herself with both locals and tourists passing through her beach town.

Her online sales were growing too – especially after she had a friend take lifestyle photos for the brand, showcasing her jewelry at the beach, in the ocean, and on surfers. “It brought the brand to life and helped people understand it.”

Working with Friends and Family

As Of Great Value started to take off, Natalie recruited a friend to run the farmer’s market booth while she did permanent jewelry at a local boutique.

It was a great system that allowed the business to be in two places at once…until one day her friend accidentally left everything at the market overnight and Natalie lost 90% of her hand-crafted inventory.

Her takeaway? “When someone is working for you, even if you love them and they’re a friend, no matter who they are…there needs to be an official contract.”

Although it wasn’t a fun situation at the time, it was also a learning experience: Natalie realized she didn’t want to spread herself so thin that she couldn’t be in-person with her customers.

Handling Finances in a Creative Business

Like any product business, Natalie’s sales can be unpredictable from month to month. She’s learned not to expect anything – and to be generous with what she has. “Being able to give back is more exciting to me than a successful pop-up.”

Since starting Of Great Value, her biggest struggle has been making sense of the financial side. “I’ve always loved the artistic parts, but the parts that are more numbers-focused are hard for me.”

If that sounds like you, check out The Blueprint Model, my finance course for creative entrepreneurs – and your blueprint to a more profitable, sustainable business!

The Restorative Power of Rest and Relationships

Being able to make her own schedule has been the greatest gift for Natalie because it allows her to be there for friends and family when they need her. That means her schedule often looks different from week to week – but she’s okay with that.

One of the lessons she’s learned since starting Of Great Value is knowing when to take a break. “I create better when I’m not burnt out. I want to create quality, beautiful things that people love, and in order to do that I have to rest.”

As for how she balances being a friend, wife, and business owner, she says the trick is to allow yourself to fail in the eyes of others sometimes. “Some days I forget to post on Instagram and that’s okay.”

Trust the Timing

When Natalie looks back at the last seven years of her business, she sometimes wonders what would have happened if she’d taken the leap into full-time earlier – if she might be further ahead by now.

That’s when she reminds herself that everything that’s happened over the past few years has been intentional. “There’s a plan for the timing and the growth and everything under the sun, so lean into it.”

More from this Episode

To hear the full story and more about Natalie, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

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Natalie Browning

In 2017, Natalie Browning started making metal jewelry on the floor of her parent’s garage. What started as a creative outlet bloomed into the full-time business she never thought she’d have.

Inspired by her beach town on the East Coast, every piece of handcrafted jewelry at Of Great Value is intentionally created to remind people of their own one-of-a-kind worth.

CONNECT WITH NATALIE:

Website | Instagram

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