We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Phee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Natalie, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents gave me all the confidence in the world growing up and at 26, they are still my biggest cheerleaders. I have had a fun career so far beginning with teaching 3rd grade to working in sales the last few years. Anything I’ve ever been interested in, they’ve said, “You can do anything you set your mind to.” When I wanted to start my Western Instagram as a creative outlet and side hustle, they said, “You’ll inspire people with your confidence.” They taught me that there is a seat at any table I choose to be at if I work hard, have integrity, and do it all for God. They always call me “fearless.” They are the ones who made me this way!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My social media presence is on the Western side of Instagram. I was raised mostly in Texas, graduated from The University of Alabama, and now live in Tennessee. I also lived near Seattle, WA two separate times so as much as I am a Southern girl who enjoys Country Western lifestyle, my time on the West Coast definitely gave me a taste for finer things as well! I don’t feel the need to hide that. Often people say you need to choose: city or country, heels or boots, speakeasies or honky tonks. Yet, I’m definitely both! I’ll ride horseback all day as a trail guide and meet my friends for an espresso martini at night because that’s just me!
My goal with social media is to inspire confidence and community in other women by being transparent in what I have to say. I discuss faith, struggles, successes, self esteem, and show more than just perfectly posed photoshoots. I even started a hashtag (#waytooprettyforfilters) because I don’t use face filters on my IG stories. This has nothing to do with beauty and everything to do with being comfortable in the skin God gave me. When I show people that I’m okay being my authentic self, it welcomes them to do the same.
Beyond all of this, my social media is of course all about the West. I show cowgirl style and get to work with incredible brands like Turquoise and Teepees, Justin Boots, Cavender’s, etc. There’s nothing better for my creative side than to hang up my day job and show off these Western brands in hopes to drive business for them. Because of my love for agriculture, I even have a partnership with a beef jerky brand called Brave Experience. I feel so blessed to work with these various brands who represent different aspects of Western life from women’s fashion to the food American ranchers produce for us.
At the end of the day, when people find my Instagram I hope they feel inspired to be true to themselves, feel a little less alone, and learn a thing or two about Western life and style!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
It will sound cliché, but just begin. I’m a firm believer that no one needs a ton of followers. We need community. We need connection. People and even brands are over surface level relationships. I think there is a craving right now for something meaningful and that’s why smaller influencers like myself are landing big brand partnerships. Big or small following, brands can see who connects with their audience who does not. It’s very obvious!
I made a point from the start to make a brand new Instagram page beginning with zero followers. I did this so I knew that every person following me actually wanted to, rather than when people casually transition their personal page into an influencing page so they can have followers from the start. To me, this is disingenuous and doesn’t create a community. I wanted to build a community of women who love all things Western like I do, who believe in the importance of faith, and who are for the girls! From there, it’s blossomed due to being true to myself. If I had portrayed myself any differently online, I would have attracted the wrong audience and would not have the community that I do today. And yes, I have become real life friends with some of these Western girls! A handful of them will be there on my wedding day next summer. To me, that’s a huge deal!
The only regret I have is that I didn’t start sooner. So if you’re someone interested in social media, I’m here to invite you. There’s a seat at the table right next to me!
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think a common misconception about being a content creator is that it’s easy. “It’s just taking pictures,” they say.
There’s a lot that goes into creating content for a brand: pitching myself to a brand, negotiating deliverables and price, executing on the content, and generating posts that are meaningful and engaging for my followers. The last thing I want to have happen is for people to scroll right past the post I worked hard on and more importantly past the brand’s product that I’m aiming to promote. I work in sales/business at my 9-5, so that may be why this part of social media I take very seriously; driving revenue for the brands I work with. I’m positive they appreciate this about me. There is no better feeling than posting content for a brand and receiving a message that says, “When can you ship back the _____? Someone already purchased it from the link you shared!” Or, “You went above and beyond what we agreed on!” This is the impression I always hope to leave on brands. It’s good for their business and helps give influencers as a whole a solid reputation when I do my part really well.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: girlouttatexas
Image Credits
Jaime Burrow (For the main photo I uploaded)