We were lucky to catch up with Natasia Harris recently and have shared our conversation below.
Natasia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Today, I am happy being a creative. Many days I am happy if we’re being honest, but life has definitely handed me a good amount of days, even weeks, where I have wondered if I chose the right path. I have woken up some days, and I asked myself “Do I even want to be Canna Bae Tae anymore?” because facing rejection gets tough. Sending pitches each day, creating, posting, and engaging each day, and not always getting the feedback you desire can be defeating at times. It wears you down, and sometimes it makes you want to quit and just try the conventional route. I have submitted countless job applications, turned down a few job offers, and I’ve even quit a job after working for a month and a half. Why? Well, there is a handful of reasons. The main one is, I LOVE my freedom and the ability to live without the responsibilities tied to a 9-5. The second one is directly connected to my desire for freedom, as it’s the opportunity to pursue my dreams knowing that I won’t have to let someone down by not being able to show up. When you’re a creative and a freelancer, your job opportunities are sometimes spur of the moment. Therefore, having a set work schedule would really throw that off as well as interfere with my role at said job. The last reason is definitely the fact that I have never dreamt of working a regular job. I have always had this grandiose vision of my life and the things I wanted to create. By the grace of God, those things have always flowed in my direction; even with the numerous bumps in the road. I often shift back into a space of faith and confidence when I remember something one of my closest friends told me. “If you get a regular job, you’ll basically be giving up on your dream because your dream is the vision God gave you; not a 9-5. You tried the 9-5 and were miserable. Don’t allow the desire for comfort make you give up on your purpose”
Natasia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My transition into the cannabis industry is quite interesting; if you ask me. Initially, I was in sports broadcasting covering games with The Crush Sports Talk. Then I shifted to the music industry, where I worked for an independent record label for a little over a year. That’s where I got my toes wet. Though I had been a cannabis consumer since January of 2017, it wasn’t until I spent time around more consumers that I genuinely grew comfortable with my life as a “productive pot head”. Fast forward to July 2020, it was evident that I wanted to dive headfirst into the industry. I had no idea where to start besides content creation, as I had a knack for it in previous industries. Plus I noticed others doing it in cannabis prior to changing my social media identity from TasiaAmberly to Canna Bae Tae. So, that’s where it all started. I would go to the smoke shop once a week and just buy products I hadn’t ever tried. Then I would create videos using them and take pictures with them. Eventually, brands began sending me products and that snowballed into a business. I went from creating content for exposure and selling a little merch online; such as handmade rolling trays and smokers lip balms to selling content and becoming a student of cannabis at the Cannabis Coaching Institute. I can’t lie. When I went to college and majored in Public Relations, it wasn’t because I thought being a publicist would be cool. I did it because I knew it would give me the freedom to work in any industry I chose. Did I ever think it would be cannabis? Hell no! I used to be one of the DARE kids who feared cannabis and believed the demonizations of this beautiful plant. But, I’m so glad that my journey has brought me here. In each piece of my life, every little thing that happened and every position I have worked in has prepared me for this. When people see me, I don’t necessarily want them to see Canna Bae Tae; even though that does excite me. I want them to see a beautiful and powerful woman who has her peace, her prosperity, and her plant medicine. I want them to view me as an engaging educator and an advocate who showcases cannabis in a positive light; removing stigmas. I want people to truly see the beauty and divinity within this God given plant when they see me. Because my mission, my work, it’s far bigger than me. I’m simply here to sew the seeds of wellness through the use of cannabis by showcasing my experiences and educating others along the way. Hopefully, I’m doing a great job!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I often tell people that “Cannabis saved my life”. When I began consuming, I was at rock bottom. I was extremely depressed, anxious, and inflamed. My entire state of being was so jacked up from my diet to my sleep schedule to my spiritual routine. I was simply lost and consumed by the grief of losing my dad and “aunt” within a 6month time span. Church didn’t take the pain away. Therapy didn’t grant me the peace I was searching for. The medication I was prescribed diminished my light. All in all, I had a host of coping mechanisms but none of them actually quieted the intrusive thoughts; allowing me to process what I was really dealing with internally. Cannabis did. When I started smoking, it was like a moment of relief. I finally had an appetite again. The insomnia was gone, and most importantly that heavy weigh in my chest and constant thumping of my heart finally calmed. Don’t get me wrong, cannabis definitely didn’t just come into my life and make it to where everything was okay. But, it did provide a space where I could regulate my body in enough ways to actually deal with the things life had thrown at me. Let’s be real, no person functions properly if they aren’t eating or sleeping well. Not to mention, the medication I was prescribed practically made me forget to drink water so I was often dehydrated as well. By consuming, those 3 things were eliminated. Thus giving me the space to handle the other issues in my life in a productive manner. It definitely took me some time to navigate this process, but I believe I’m capable of helping others skip some of the trial and error I faced when introducing cannabis to my life. So, the goal is honestly to help people become “Productive Potheads”. I want to show others how to properly use cannabis to achieve their wellness needs. I feel that proper education will lead to less demonization. Thus, strengthening the support system for cannabis here in the southeast.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Initially, I had a decent following on social media, but when I changed niches I lost tons of followers. There was a point where I would be gaining 100 followers in a day but also losing 115. It was sickening and honestly, discouraging at times. The way that I combatted this was by funneling my followers from TikTok to instagram. My Tiktok account was already canna-based so to speak, so when I would get on TikTok live I would drive my audience to my Instagram channel. Outside of that, I also connected with as many creators in my niche as I could. I would join the facebook groups. I followed all of the cannabis shout out pages. I was even going through the following lists of cannabis and smoking brands and following other microinfluencers that they followed. I knew that the more I put myself near my goal audience. The more they would follow me and get the chance to see who I am and what I do. Lastly, I can honestly say that just being me really helped. The more time I spent comparing myself to other creators like me; the less I believed in myself. So, I took the advice of my friend Saint and I stopped watching other people’s content within my niche for a while. I began finding inspiration within the world around me rather than the world within my phone. In doing that, my creative juices flowed and I began to find the fun in creating again. When you find the fun, you find your tribe. I say that because 9/10 the people who were unfollowing me during my growth journey were people who aligned with the version of me I was masking as. They didn’t align with happy peaceful me. They aligned with the facade I had created while searching for my place in this world. Keep in mind, there’s nothing wrong with that because that version of me was seemingly great also. I just wasn’t comfortable as her. Now, I embrace all of me and I think that has allowed me to connect with the right people.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @imcannabaetae
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasia-harris-835962196/
- Twitter: @cannabaetae
- Youtube: @CannaBaeTV
- TikTok: @cannabaetaelive @imcannabaetae
Image Credits
Jim Malucci @jimmyrockandroll @itsthreesixty Jarvis Scott @scottyshotfirst