Natalie Boyatt of bevee On How To Grow Your Business or Brand By Writing A Book
Find groups on social media that are your target market and get involved, become and active contributor so that marketing your book to them is welcome and supported.
As a part of our series about “How You Can Grow Your Business or Brand By Writing A Book”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Natalie Boyatt.
Natalie Boyatt is the founder and CEO of bevee and the author of Pivot and Persevere: Product Creation from Dollar One. She spent six years in the pharmaceutical sales industry suffering through office delivery after office delivery juggling cheap and unreliable cardboard drink carriers full of beverages. Frustrated by not having a better solution, she created bevee, a 12-drink capacity, foldable, reusable drink carrier. After nearly seven years in development, bevee is now available on Amazon. Her book, detailing her journey bringing her product to market, was released in Fall 2024.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about what motivated you to become an expert in the particular area that you are writing about?
Hello! I’ve been a creator my entire life. I attribute my father for teaching me how to have a problem/solution brain, but in 2010, I found myself a single-mom with a 2-year-old. And I realized that being a creative didn’t always pay the bills. So finally in 2015 I kicked and screamed my way into Corporate America, specifically the pharmaceutical sales industry. Two months on the job, a ten-drink order at Starbucks for one of my offices would change the course of my life forever. So, I set out on an 8-year journey on how you go from idea to creating a physical product from dollar one. In 2023, during my “rock bottom” moment, I realized I was supposed to write the granular guidebook on product creation, complete with my good, bad and especially uglies as well as all my costs. This intent is to save others time and money and give them the courage to chase their dreams.
Can you share a pivotal story that shaped the course of your career?
We launched my first product last year and we were struggling to get it to sell. It was a product no one knew existed and no one knew they needed. In my rock bottom moment of wanting to quit and tired of the frustration my journey was taking so long, I was hit with the epiphany I was supposed to write the granular guidebook on my journey. The next day I wrote out 18 chapter titles and two days later I received an email from Amazon Corporate wanting to help me launch on their storefront. Four months later we launched and three weeks after launching, Amazon influencers organically found bevee and to date we’ve been viewed over 20 million times and it just keeps getting better and better. I am a Cinderella story.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Are you working on any new writing projects?
We are in the process of launching our smaller 6-cup drink carrier which we believe will be our first best selling product. We’re negotiating a deal with one of the countries largest retailers and our PR effort has yielded upcoming national recognition to over 40 Million subscribers. I actually started writing my memoir the day I officially ended my marriage in 2010 and have been writing it the last 14 years. I’m just putting the ending on paper. I like to say I had to lose myself in order to find myself. I’m very proud of this work.
Thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. Can you please tell us a bit about your book? Can you please share a specific passage or story that illustrates the main theme of your book?
Pivot & Persevere is part step-by-step and part inspirational as well! I find that entrepreneurs love to brag about their accomplishments, so I struggled over the years to find a “do this, then that” roadmap. So I found myself going down dirt roads, dead ends, people that said they could help me but couldn’t. So I wanted to lay the process out in a way that’s easy to understand (half the time I either didn’t know what I was doing or I didn’t understand). My book is full of all my mistakes, hindsight and things I would have done different if I’d only known. The part I’m the most proud of are all my cost breakdowns that begin and end each chapter. This is something that takes a lot of courage and I would have so appreciated this information when starting this journey.
You are a successful author and thought leader. Which three character traits do you feel were most instrumental to your success when launching your book? Can you please share a story or example for each?
-Hustle: Everything is figure-out-able is one of my go-to sayings. I knew I had something of value to say and I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me from getting out this message. My team was skeptical of my launching a book, so I took on the expense myself. I found freelance editor, book designer/typesetter and a copywriter and figured out how to launch on Amazon, both with the paperback and eBook. I went a recorded the audio for Audible as a local recording studio and am in the process of uploading.
-Vulnerability: It was not easy to reflect on the past 8 years and talk about all the mistakes. I lost $35,000 on what would have been a failed Kickstarter campaign. My customers were not on Kickstarter, don’t even know what Kickstarter is. But, I thought that was how you launched a new product. Talking about my rock bottom moment was even harder. Laying in bed with a pillow over my head as I boohoo cried praying for something to change or somehow get me out of the situation. I believed I somehow had gotten all of this wrong and had ruined mine and my daughter’s life.
-Stewardship: I believe so many people want to do something different with their life, but they either don’t know what or the thought of it is too daunting. I know the feeling, I used to wake up sad every day knowing I was not living the life I was supposed to be living. For me, the word HOW is the most dangerous word to entrepreneurs. Sure, you need to have a rough plan of how you are going to begin your journey but the minute you start asking things like How am I going to do this? How am I going to get the money? How am I going to quit my job? How am I going to be able to provide for my family? This version of HOW is fear’s best friend and that is when you will quit or never start. I want this book to speak to these people. I believe everyone should live with best life.
In my work, I have found that writing a book can be a great way to grow a brand. Can you share some stories or examples from your own experience about how you helped your own business or brand grow by writing a book? What was the “before and after picture?” What were things like before, and how did things change after the book?
I’m just launching the book, so I’m in the early days of how it will impact my business. But I can attest to the fact that since I do desire to be an expert in product creation, the attention I have received and the brand has receive has increased. I fully expect this to increase as we get closer and closer to the launch of my bevee 6-drink.
If a friend came to you and said “I’m considering writing a book but I’m on the fence if it is worth the effort and expense” what would you answer? Can you explain how writing a book in particular, and thought leadership in general, can create lucrative opportunities and help a business or brand grow?
This is an interesting one for me to answer as my passion is writing. The first thing I would suggest is to decide if you enjoy writing. If you don’t, odds are you will procrastinate or not finish and it will become a chore that is distracting and take away from the business. If you do enjoy writing or want to give it a shot, ask yourself if you have something to say and identify the goals associated with writing the book. If they align with your brand or business, they can definitely work in tandem to promote each other and solidify you as an expert in your field.
What are the things that you wish you knew about promoting a book before you started? What did you learn the hard way? Can you share some stories about that which other aspiring writers can learn from?
I’m too early in my launch to give good insights but look forward to learning from others!
Based on your experience, which promotional elements would you recommend to an author to cover on their own and when would you recommend engaging an expert?
There are a lot of things an author can do on their own such as growing their social media, especially LinkedIn. Start with weekly posting and move to daily posting to help get the word out and build your audience. Just make sure it is relative to your brand and subject matter. An author can also offer to send copies of the book to individuals willing to write a review or involve you in conferences that speak on your subject matter. If your book is on Amazon, find 20 people in your circle willing to buy the book and leave a review on Amazon. I have found engaging in a PR firm to release a press release can be beneficial for securing podcasts and bloggers. And there are companies that you can submit your manuscript to for reviews.
Wonderful. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your own experience and success, what are the “five things an author needs to know to successfully promote and market a book?” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
Write a really good book that actually has something to say.
Find ways to expand the reach of the book, such as a webinar.
Find groups on social media that are your target market and get involved, become and active contributor so that marketing your book to them is welcome and supported.
If you are self-publishing, get it on Amazon and Audible and then get some 5-star reviews any way you can.
Find at least two people that are experts in your field and ask them to read/write a review for your back cover. It is instant credibility.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)
For sure Sarah Blakely. She is who I aspire to be. She’s a badass in business and life in general. She’s motivating, philanthropic and freaking fun! I definitely want to be her when I grow up!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.instagram.com/bevee/
https://www.facebook.com/beveecarrier/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/beveecarrier/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieboyatt/
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent. We wish you continued success with your book promotion and growing your brand.
