Awakened Convos: Nathalie Nicole Chats on How She Transforms Brands, Bodies & Bank Accounts

Nathalie Nicole Smith is simply a woman that decided to go for it. She is the CEO of PlushRx where she currently has two locations; one in Washington D.C. and the other in Houston, Texas. She is a Success Coach with Total Life Changes, which is a direct sales business that sells CBD products. Smith also founded a non-profit called, “Women Who Boss”, where she assists women to be free spiritually, physically, and financially.

I recently interviewed Ms. Nathalie where she chatted on how she transforms brands, bodies, and bank accounts. Check out the interview below:

The Empress Dee: Can you tell us a little bit yourself and what it is that you do?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: My name Nathalie Nicole Smith, I am a woman that decided to go for it. I am the CEO of PlushRx. We have 2 locations, one in Washington D.C. and the other in Houston, TX. I am a success coach with Total Life Changes, which is a direct sales business, and we sell CBD products at our locations. Then last but not least, I have a non-profit called, “Women Who Boss” and that business helps position women to be free, spiritual, physically, and financially.

The Empress Dee: That is beautiful. Can you tell more about PlushRx?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: Yes, I started PlushRx when I was 19, I was in college and I really needed some money. I saw that the hair industry was a big deal, so I made a decision to start selling hair. My first gig was with Martin Lawrence and the cool thing about that part was that I got my EIN that same day and I thought from then on that it was really cool. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I was still in college, I was doing the hair thing and I was helping a lot people do some cool things.

I was building relationships, then I graduated from college and I had built all of these relationships, people knew that I was in that industry, so what I did was I sold my car and I went to Aveda Institute to study esthetics and I opened up my first beauty lounge which is in the heart of D.C., Plush Beauty Box. Two years later at 21, I recognized that there were so many women that were hurting, they were not living on purpose, it was just so much.

I felt like I needed to help them. So then I said God, what do you want me to do with them? It was overwhelming, for the first time I was finding out that women were getting cancer and I was wondering how they were getting cancer at such a young age, so fast forward, I then decided that I needed to have a health business attached and now I am helping over 75, 000 people across the world with my organization and I use Plush as my platform to be able to help them in that process.

The Empress Dee: Wow, that is amazing. Thank you so much for your service, I really do appreciate it (Nathalie thanks her) You also help people start their brand, to get their businesses and branding together, so tell me what inspired you to get into that?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: I think that I built my brand purely by being consistent. A lot of people ask me how to build a brand…the famous question, how do I build a brand. A lot of people spend a lot of money on brand building when they do not realize that their name holds weight. I will say it again, people do not realize that their name holds weight. They do not realize that they honestly have everything in their power with their name, so I realized that people were using their Instagram names as something else, they were ashamed of who they were, their real identity as a person, they were using their brand name.

For example, you have your brand right and you could either use your name or you could go by Purposely Awakened, so even though I have PlushRx…they do not know me as that, they know me as Nathalie Nicole and these are the byproducts that I have. So, after seeing so many people mess up in that area and to me, they are really wasting time, because if Oprah wants to interview you, she is interviewing Nathalie Nicole Smith, she is not interviewing the business. So that is kind of where it all started for me and I was just really excited and very thankful to be able to awaken that at a very young age. After having Plush, everyone came to my store, there was no Instagram back then and being able to have book signings and some people show up, I did not have a million followers, but something was working for me. So that is when I began to lay out the blueprint on how to build your brand.

The Empress Dee: Speaking of building your brand, where would you say you got most of your branding expertise and wisdom from?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: I have a degree from Howard University. I majored in P.R. and Business. I told myself that I did not want to be in P.R., but I wanted to apply what I had learned in college to represent myself. The way that I represent myself is very important to me, how I look, how I feel…I have a busy schedule, so I take care of myself and that is important. I can do a lot of different things to make money but that does not matter, when you truly love and respect yourself and believe that you are a sign to people, your brand will hold its weight because you are the person that is attracting the people. So, when I got into alignment with God and felt more confident about myself, that is when a lot of things changed.

The Empress Dee: Absolutely, that makes so much sense. You also have the Women Who Boss Podcast. What inspired that?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: One of my role models is Oprah Winfrey. I think that she is so dope. When I started the Podcast, one person that really inspired me was Oprah Winfrey…when she brought the network, and she has Super Soul Sunday, I thought man she is super dope and in network marketing, the field that I am in, we get paid to share our story. So all I really wanted to do was to help people share their story. So that is where it begun for me, helping people to share their story and to help people understand the dynamics of who they are. The more that you ask people questions, the more that they are one with who they are.

The more I do interviews, the more it drives me, this is who I am, and I love it here. So that it was what got me into the Podcast. I am a pretty big influence…thank the Lord Jesus, so I did not have to struggle with getting interviews from people, so we actually had some stuff in the vault that we have not fully launched yet, but I am excited about it.

The Empress Dee: I am so excited to hear about it, hopefully we will be able to follow up and get some information on that. So, speaking of sharing stories, I wanted to ask, how do you manage keeping your private life separate from the life that you share with your followers because I have a couple of friends that are interested in getting into the realm of being an influencer but they are concerned about the amount of disclosure that is required in order to be in that spotlight.

Nathalie Nicole Smith: Well, you have to kiss that goodbye. You can set boundaries and respect yourself as far as what you want to openly talk about but at the end of the day, people find things out, people put things together. So for me, just walking with God and it is crazy that you asked me that question because a few days before this interview, I was robbed at gunpoint and I do not mind saying that in this interview. Because at the end of the day, you can go back and say why did this happen to me, but you signed up for that life…not to be robbed but for your life to be out there. So, I do not know what will happen, but I trust God that there is a bigger purpose in my life and that is why I am here. Everything is coming full circle for me and just think to yourself, how does Beyonce keep her life private…you pick and choose, you have a tight circle. You have a team and you set boundaries, there are certain things that are off limits. So, that is what I would suggest for anybody that building influence on-line, just know what your limits are. I do not compromise for money, there are just certain things that I am not doing. If someone said hey, I will come to your house to do an interview…no, that is not something that I am going to do. So having a life that you are proud of and moving in excellence at all times.

The Empress Dee: That is definitely understood and is everything okay, are you okay? (Nathalie confirms that she is doing fine). What is one of the most challenging aspects of being a success coach, motivator, and author?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: I think that it is people pleasing because you do not want to disappoint people. I had to let go of my assistant…like it is so much. You need help in your life so that you are operating on all cylinders and for me, when you know your gifts, you have to really protect them. That is one of the biggest challenges that I think that I have had, staying humble and grounded, not allowing people to change you.

The Empress Dee: Absolutely, I definitely agree with that. Do you feel the need to always be motivated because you have so many things, as we have discussed that you are doing, so do you feel the need to always be motivated and on the days that you are not motivated, if there are any, what does that transition look like to get you back into that mindset?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: I got to be honest with you and you will probably think that I am lying. Sometimes I think that something is wrong with me because I am not a mad person. Everyday is a really good day and even when I got robbed, I was still able to laugh that day. I was upset and I cried at first, but I had a big event that was coming up, so I had to keep going. I think a lot about gratitude, you have to be grateful for where you are. You have to have a routine, when you have a routine, it is hard to be depressed, it is hard to be sad. I wake up every day and I spend time with God, I meditate…I go workout every day. I have a daily routine and it works very well for me.

The Empress Dee: That is really good advice. So can you give me 2 characteristics that are required for women who are in the same profession as you?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: Keep God first and then you have to be confident. There are a million people that are doing the same thing that you are but if you are not confident with who you are as person then you are going to be overshadowed because you are going to be trying to follow other people’s footsteps. You are not the boss of your life, God is. When you start reading your own press that is when you have an issue. I stay humble every day, whether you know me or if you talk to someone else, I am the same Nathalie all the time. That is something that I am proud of…being a grateful, thankful person and that is it.

You also have to be consistent. If you are looking to build your brand, if you are looking to build your influence, to build relationships, then you have to be consistent. People do not want to hang out with inconsistent people. I am sure that my publicist researched you, but I do not want to be connected to anything that is dead. So, I am really big on consistency. If you are a new business but you are not consistent, I do not want to do anything with you. Someone who is new and just starting off, but they do not have a lot of followers, I will still work with them because I know that I started off in the same place.

The Empress Dee: What would you say are some of the greatest benefits of having these multifaceted business arenas that you work in?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: I think that my main focus has been TLC (Total Life Changes) I have made about $4 million with this company. I enjoy it…I love it. God is good. I practice the W.I.N. formula (What’s Important Now) when I was building my business, I focused on the things that make sense for me. I do not focus on ego, just on what feels good and what makes sense. What do I need to do to be able to live my purpose? So that is my secret on what I do…a lot of people need validation from others, and I do not need that. I validate myself and with my different businesses, I had to focus on not doing too much that did not make sense.

So, if I am working my businesses and I believe in it, then everything is going to make sense. If I write a book and no one is reading it, then that means that I need to chill out on this book stuff and focus on the things that make sense.

The Empress Dee: That is great because I know people that have certain brands, and they are so attached to certain products or certain things that are not necessarily taking off…so I definitely understand that.

With you being an influencer, when people see you and your brand, what would you like them to associate you with in terms of character, image, and business?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: Really just freedom…I am really free. I do a lot of things that I want, I am happy, I am blessed…I am successful, I love God, I am just really free, spiritually, financially, emotionally…I am just a really free person. So when they look at me, they can look at me as someone who is free, that is going for it and to be inspired.

The Empress Dee: That is beautiful. Do you have any upcoming events that we should know about, any products that you are releasing because you have a lot of things going on?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: Yes, that is another thing, when you have a lot of things going on and when you are on Instagram and stuff like that, you give the people what they need to know. The projects that matter the most are these 1,000 Black millionaire movements that we have going on with a marketing company, showing people how to diversify their income regardless of where they are. Let’s say that they have a business and they do not know how it is going to work for them, we are exposing more people to it because it changed my life and it changed so many other people’s lives. I have a new store that is opening up in the Galleria in Houston…I am excited about that. I also have my membership program for Women Who Boss that is going to be available and I am excited about that too.

So, that is going to be a resource center, a playground for women. Say you have a business and people want to pay you for shout outs, I just let them join the business and they get shouted out like that because we support our members and that is pretty much what I have going on right now.

The Empress Dee: That is awesome, I absolutely love it. Well I am so excited for you and all of your ventures (Nathalie thanks The Empress Dee). Thank you so much for allowing us to interview you. Can you please let everyone know where we can find you?

Nathalie Nicole Smith: @nathalienicole on Instagram and that is my domain for my website, www.nathalienicole.com you can find the link in my bio and everything is there. I am so honored and grateful, thank you for the opportunity. Feel free to reach out to me, whatever you need. If I can support you in any way, I would love to do that.

The Empress Dee: Thank you so much and maybe in the next couple of months, we can get another interview and check back in with you to see how things are going.

Nathalie Nicole Smith: Oh yes, for sure.

The Empress Dee: Awesome, well you have a wonderful day and thank you so much.