We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Narvie Madison. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Narvie below.

Hi Narvie, thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

Prior to social media marketing, I handled insurance claims for 3 major Insurance companies. I went into the world of claims extremely niave and optimistic. 90% of customers you encounter are extremely upset to be involved in an insurance claim. I was the point of contact and the main receiver of any frustration these customers were experiencing. These experiences absolutely prepared me to handle intense pressure and criticism that comes with creating and building a business on social media. You learn to compartmentalize and just get your job done. I’m extremely passionate about the content Im creating on social media, therefore it’s easier to take the negatives that come with it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began actively marketing for outdoor, health/fitness and other small-business brands in 2020. I began on Instagram, where I’ve grown two accounts Narviesunflower (115k followers) and vanlifepiggy (14K followers). In 2021 I began posting on Tiktok regularly and have grown to almost 200K followers (@pumbasunflower ). I offer a unique experience for my viewers because of my style and overall vibe. I’m sharing a part of my life with others and able to partner with brands to educate my audience on products I’m using or trying out for the first time.

I am really proud that my marketing style has evolved over the past couple of years. I love learning about different techniques and incorporating them into content I create or marketing campaigns that I’m involved.

In addition to marketing for other brands, I enjoy writing, video editing/creating, photography, modeling, voice-overs and painting.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I took a class at UC Denver for marketing. Prior to this class, I was anti-social media. I was not very comfortable with sharing myself online. I remember my professor stating it was the future and important to have a presence if you’re going to have any success in business. This is when I learned about personal branding. I took what I learned and have implemented this knowledge to grow my Instagram and Tiktok accounts. I was rock climbing, ice climbing, and kayaking. A lot of people enjoyed seeing me do this and my account grew. At the time, you didn’t see a lot of people that looked like me, doing what I loved doing. I also have a pet pig that travels with me in our camper van.

My recommendation to anyone out there trying to grow their audience is to be thier authentic self and document.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve had to unlearn how I handle conflict. Most of my life, I thought it was important to get my points across and try to convince others of my perspective. Clearly this is not sustainable and I’m very happy I’ve learned to let things go. Life is so much more peaceful when you don’t try to force situations. I’m learning not everything or everyone will be for me and thats absolutely OK.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Narviesunflower
• Linkedin: Narvie Madison

Image Credits
Main photo shot @shoofly.farm (Instagram)