Meet Natalie Murphy | Microblading Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie Murphy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think that taking risks is the only way to improve. Life starts outside of your comfort zone! I am always looking for ways to challenge myself inside and outside of my work, so that I can become a better version of myself.

I took a huge risk when I started my business. I had a solid career in hospitality that I spent 15 years creating. I worked for the same company since I was 16 years old, and planned to work for them until I retired. I had a 401k, health insurance, four weeks of paid vacation, and great benefits on travel (which was the best perk).

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospitality industry took a huge hit. I found myself without my reliable career for the first time when I was furloughed in March of 2020. I was completely stressed and over worked, so I was actually happy to have a break!

Once I was forced to slow down and take a breath, I had a lot of time to think. I realized that I didn’t want to go back to my job. I finally had the free time that I always used as an excuse not to try something that I had been passionate about my entire life, eyebrows.

I decided to sign up for a microblading training in August of 2020, when things were still very unpredictable. To start a new career path in the middle of a pandemic, was a huge risk!

I went back to my hospitality job, and built my microblading business during nights and weekends for 10 months.

I knew that 2021 was going to be a big year for me. I took a leap on January 1, 2021 and went skydiving for the first time. I wanted to start my year off right! After that, everything started to fall into place.

I bought my first home and opened my first brow studio in February. There was so much happening at once! It was kind of crazy to purchase two forms of real estate at once, and another big risk, but I knew it would be a good investment.

In March of 2021, I started booking clients months in advance. This is when I knew it was time for me to quit my hospitality job and go full time into the brow game.

I gave two months notice, and my last day was May 7, 2021.

I have now been doing brows full time for the past 5 months, and there is no going back! I love being an entrepreneur, and I continue to take risks all the time.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart is how natural I keep the brows. My goal is to enhance your natural beauty, give you confidence, and save you time. In addition, I am always investing in my practice with trainings and the best quality products

I am most proud of how far I have come in such a short amount of time. I have been extremely dedicated to my business. Within a year, I have been able to develop a steady clientele, open a studio of my own, and quit my full time job.

Was it easy? NO! I was working every single day for months, so that I could build my business, while still maintaining my full time job. I would work until 5:00pm, be at my studio at 5:30pm and stay until 9:00pm or 10:00pm. Then I would work all weekend. I was so dedicated to creating this business, so that I could eventually quit my job.

I overcame the challenges because I knew that all of my hard work would pay off soon enough. I had to hustle in order to create the life I wanted to live.

I want the world to know that you don’t have to be stuck living a life that you are not happy with. Not only do I want to give the gift of brows, I want to inspire everyone to get out there, take that risk, and create the life that they want to live! There is so much out there for you if you get out of your comfort zone and explore.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love to get outside and explore. I have lived in Arizona for the past 4 years, and I love how many things there are to do here.

If I had a friend visit for a week, I would plan an epic itinerary. First we would start by hiking Pinnacle Peak early in the morning. We would then stop at OHSO for brunch with their giant mimosas. Later, we would spend the day partying at a pool and going to dinner at The Mission.

We would spend the next day heading out to the Salt River for an all day float!

I would plan a couple of nights for us to camp at Lake Pleasant with a day spent on the lake in a pontoon boat and tubing.

Next, we would head to Sedona for day of hiking the red rocks and dinner at the Hideaway House.

After that, we could drive a couple more hours up to Page to explore Antelope Canyon and paddle board on Lake Powell.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe a lot of my mindset shift to the book “You are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero.

I never realized how poor my relationship with money was. I was always fine with having just enough to get by. I thought having too much money was a bad thing.

This book made me realize that money is freedom. Freedom was the one thing I craved and did not have with my career at the time. You only have one life and you should live it doing what you love. I became obsessed with finding ways to make more money, so that I could have the freedom to do what I love.

Website: browsbynat.com

Instagram: instagram.com/brows_by_nat

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-murphy-abbba9106

Facebook: facebook.com/browsbynatmurph

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brows-by-nat-scottsdale-2

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk9tJBlmJoAC3oRmM8pcMNQ

Image Credits
Halie Sutton