In 2007, Natalie Hodson was a senior at The College of Idaho, majoring in history and competing on the College’s track and cross-country teams.
In 2020, Natalie Hodson runs her own business, produces one of the top business podcasts in the world, and teaches people how to take control of themselves and their lives.
On Thursday, Hodson will be honored as a member of the 2020 Idaho Business Review “Accomplished Under 40” class.
“I have the most unique job ever and I still don’t have an elevator pitch,” Hodson said with a laugh. “If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I’d be doing this, I would have thought you would have been crazy.”
The Accomplished Under 40 show airs on Thursday at 4 p.m. (Mountain time). People can purchase tickets to watch the show here. It’s a pre-produced show that includes a 15-minute interview with Hodson. She was nominated for the honor and ultimately selected by a committee to be recognized. Honorees were considered based on several categories, including leadership, community support, and professional accomplishments.
Hodson says the story of her business success started as a blog that she mostly was doing for herself as a stay-at-home mom to keep herself accountable after the birth of her son. It started to generate a following so she started to research ways to monetize it and taught herself internet marketing methods. Over time, it became her primary source of income and shifted from a blog to writing e-books about training programs and cooking.
“Natalie, you’ve got to focus on taking action,” she said of a conversation she had with herself. “Any action, even if it is imperfect, is what creates momentum.”
She noticed the momentum in an unlikely place – in a guest column about a health condition she had after the birth of her son. The condition was fixable and she knew if she struggled with it, other women did too, and she could help them. That led to the e-book “Abs, Core, & Pelvic Floor,” which generated $1 million in sales in just four months.
With that, she was off and running. She started primarily in the fitness world but the business evolved toward mental strength. She’s now the president of NAH, Inc., which is the parent company of Peak Business Academy, which employs twelve people around the Boise valley. The group works remotely and Hodson likened the team to a kite. The kite, without its string, floats away. Likewise, a string without a kite just lies on the ground.
The kite and string are soaring in harmony right now as Hodson and her team are finding success with the podcast, her writing, and her public speaking. When she is asked advice about how she did it, she harkens back to the moment it clicked for her. She says that once she understood this about herself, she was able to move forward.
“Identity is the story you tell yourself about yourself,” she said of that moment. “Just because I failed doesn’t mean I’m a failure. Very similar language but a massive difference in how it impacts you. Just because you screwed up doesn’t mean you are a screw-up.”
To learn more about Hodson, her podcast, her blogs and her e-books, visit nataliehodson.com.
The College of Idaho has a 129-year-old legacy of excellence. The C of I is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition and history of producing successful graduates, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.