This week on Mompreneurs, Natalie Manuel Lee gets candid about being a television producer, journalist and mom to three-year-old MaeJones Lee. She sat down to chat with Mompreneurs host Nancy Redd about the challenges of entrepreneurship, the power of vulnerability and how motherhood changed her perspective as an interviewer.

Lee is in the business of storytelling. Her interview series, Now With Natalie, invites guests like singer Kelly Rowland, actress Letitia Wright and others to get candid about life and share their personal journeys. Lee found her calling in this medium after a period of uncertainty. “I went through this deep depression, this dark period in my life, where I felt like my identity was so wrapped in the job that I was doing,” she said. “I felt this yearning to start having these meaningful conversations about what we go through as individuals and entrepreneurs within ourselves.”

Lee did not embark on this journey with a specific goal in mind. Rather, she was guided by her desire for a deeper purpose. “For me, I was just walking into something,” she said. “I was just doing what I felt like I needed to do.”

This September, Now With Natalie will release its third season, featuring new guests and new conversations. After nearly a decade in the business and the birth of her daughter, Lee’s brand is going strong. “I knew that it worked because I was good at it,” she said. “I knew that this was something like a ‘big break’ because I was fulfilled.”

Entrepreneurship is about moving forward despite every challenge.

Lee learned firsthand that “entrepreneurship is not for the weak.” She navigated a lot of no’s to get to where she is today. Resilience is key, she stresses. “Entrepreneurship is tricky and it’s sticky and it’s not for everybody. You have to have tough skin and know that whatever it is you’re called to do, you just have to keep walking.” She added, “Whatever’s for you will not pass you by. You just gotta keep moving forward.”

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‘Motherhood opens up your lens to so many different things.’

With the arrival of MaeJones, Lee put motherhood first. “I believe that for me, in order to be a successful entrepreneur, I have to first be a good wife and a good mother,” she said.

She cherished the months she spent at home to “reset, regroup,” and give her new baby girl her undivided attention. “When I took time off with MaeJones — one, it was necessary for my mental health, but two, it was purposeful. A lot of times we can get so wrapped up in feeling like we’re not doing what we need to be doing as far as work, but that time was just as imperative as me going out and filming a show, if not more important.”

As an interviewer, motherhood added a new dimension to Lee’s perspective. “Motherhood opens up your lens to so many different things. Your perspective, your empathy, your compassion shifts,” she explained. “It’s made me a better journalist, it’s made me a better conversationalist.”

A large part of Lee’s purpose is believing in the power of vulnerability.

Lee’s ability to connect with her guests on Now With Natalie is clear in every episode. The conversations get deep as they discuss everything from marriage and faith, to addiction and public controversies. “We can serve through our vulnerability, through our transparency. Someone’s road map can be someone else’s survival guide,” Lee said. “I think a lot of times we underestimate sharing our journeys with one another. We underestimate exposing the darkness that has brought us to the light.”

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Give yourself time and grace for the seed to evolve into your dream.

Lee has been able to stay focused on her path through resilience and believing in her power. Success didn’t happen overnight. “My advice would be to just take the first step,” she said. “Allow yourself some grace and some time for whatever that seed is to evolve into your dream. Harvest takes time. When you plant those seeds, you have to water them. Continue to water them so that when the day of your harvest is to come, you will look back and say, ‘I put in the work.’”

“Don’t abort the process,” she added. “I think a lot of times we’re so focused on that one thing — that dream, that goal — but don’t realize that the process that we’re going through is going to help us to sustain that dream.”

Every week, we celebrate beautiful Black entrepreneurs who are simultaneously amazing business moguls and awesome moms. We listen to their life stories and inspiring advice. Catch new episodes of Mompreneurs every Monday on MADAMENOIRE’s YouTube channel. Or listen to the podcast online at Urban1Podcasts.com.

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