Natalie Riley | The Business Bombshell Take Over

Natalie Riley: Serial Entrepreneur, International Speaker, Business Coach, Promotional Model, Brand Ambassador & TV Personality

1. Give us a brief background of what you do?

Well known as the business bombshell, starting my entrepreneurial journey at age 18, I quickly became a managing partner of Mega 3D Signs where I partnered with global brands such as The Voice, Google, Audi, Coach, Dior, DropBox and McDonald’s, as well as celebrities like Slim Dusty, Delta Goodrem, Pia Muehlenbeck, Georgia Love and Fredrick Elkland.

My success grew into international speaking where I have shared stages with Huge Hilton, Patrice Motsepe, Ndaba Mandela, Mark Bouris, Ryan Serhant, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Christie Brinkley, Gene Simmons, John Travolta, George Ross, DR, Nido Qubein, Bethenny Frankel, Anthony Loli, Steve Wozniak, Bret Michael, Vanilla Ice and Gary Vee.

I then became the CEO and Co-Founder of Uni Bypass. Uni Bypass educates high school students on how to build or buy businesses with the highest success rates, as well as educates parents on the benefits of Uni By Pass creating passive wealth for their children at the start of their career and educates the dangers of sending their children to university.

What is most important to me though, are my philanthropic endeavours with youth entrepreneurs and kids with cancer.

Natalie Riley - JT Foxx Event - Woman Entrepreneur.jpg

Natalie Riley on Stage - Woman Entrepreneur 2.jpg

Natalie Riley on Stage - Woman Entrepreneur.jpg

2. What are the key factors that got you to where you are today?

Passion, persistence, purpose and power.

Passion is something no one can take away from you; you either have it or you don’t. Passion is that fire in your belly; the reason why you wake up earlier and stay awake later. Passion drives you to great lengths in your life and your business.

Persistence is the key to follow up and follow through. Persistence is the self-discipline to do whatever it takes and to continue doing it - even when you’re sick, unmotivated or knocked down - which leads me to purpose.

Purpose is your reason WHY. If your WHY is not big enough, you will not bring some real teeth into the game of business.

Power. Never underestimate your power! Your power to say NO. Yes, you heard right. You will have a lot of opportunities thrown your way, however, it is the ability to know which opportunities are right for you. The difference between successful people and extremely successful people is that extremely successful people say no to almost everything. The power to stand up for your values and your beliefs. There are a lot of people who will test you and it is up to you to make a powerful impact. You have the power to disrupt the normal, you have the power to change lives and to change the world; the only person who can stop you is you.

Natalie Riley - Mark Bouris - Woman Entrepreneur.jpg

3. What is the key thing you want people to know about you?

Besides my charity endeavours, speaking all over the world with the most successful celebrities, millionaires and billionaires, what I would like to be known for most is the millions of lives Uni Bypass has had the honour to change. Uni Bypass changes today’s education system so that our youth can end up wealthier, healthier and happier.

Children are the future and the more educated they are, the more likely we are able to generate world peace.

4. What has been some of your greatest successes / achievements?

1. Mega 3D Signs collaborating with some of Hollywood’s greatest films - Great Gatsby, World War Z, Windsor, Aliens, Wolverine, Peter Rabbit and God of Egypt

2. International Speaking – next to Huge Hilton, Patrice Motsepe, Ndaba Mandela, Mark Bouris, Ryan Serhant, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, Christie Brinkley, Gene Simmons, John Travolta, George Ross, Nido Qubein, Bethenny Frankel, Anthony Loli, Steve Wozniak, Bret Michael, Vanilla Ice, Gary Vee and John Travolta.

3. Sponsoring and collaborating with several charities, including Pink Ribbon (Breast Cancer Awareness), White Ribbon (Domestic Violence Awareness), Conquer NF (Neurofibromatosis) The Exodus foundation ( homeless) and Make a Wish Foundation (kids with Cancer)

5. What has been the hardest part of being an entrepreneur?

I have come to realise that everything in life is hard. Business is hard. As entrepreneurs we are faced with difficult decisions every day that will impact the rest of our lives.

Eating a healthy diet is hard, it requires a lot of discipline. However, suffering from a diet related disease is harder. Waking up early is hard, however, missed opportunities and a life of regret are also hard.

My point is: everything in life is hard. You need to weigh your options and choose your hard.

6. How important is it to have a business coach & what significant role in change has your coach played in your business journey?

For me coaching is the equivalent of a GPS vs a road map to reach success. Use a road map and you may encounter road works, closed roads, traffic or get lost a dozen of times. Whilst a GPS shows you how to avoid any delays and directly takes you where you want to go in the fastest time possible.

Coaching is the life blood in any business.

I have 5 coaches myself and I haven’t made a bad business decision since I started listening to and implementing what I have learnt from my coaches. The reason why I started coaching was because the most successful people in the world have coaches - athletes, singers and actors, they all have coaches. It would be very dangerous to start up a business or buy a business without consulting with your coach first.

Natalie Riley with JT Foxx, Millionaire Underdog and Serial Entrepreneur, and Patrice Motespe, South Africa's first black billionaire and serial entrepreneur.

Natalie Riley and Apple Co founder, Steve Wozniak.

7. What is your favourite quote and explain why?

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful!”

— Eric Thomas

This is my favourite quote because it really is the difference between businesses that fail and businesses that succeed.

8. What is your key to success?

The honest answer is, I didn’t wish for success. Nor did I think it would magically happen for me. I did whatever it took and I never uttered the word ‘I can’t.’

It all started when I was faced with the big decision most 18-year olds are confronted with; What are you going to do after school? Are you going to university? College? Apprenticeship? A full time job? Internship?