River City Six – Natalie Hadley
Meet Natalie Hadley, vice president of Outlook Business Solutions.
Tell us a little about your business.
Outlook Business Solutions helps business owners outsource customer care, marketing, and other tasks by matching their needs with the skills of professionals who happen to be visually impaired.
How did you get started in the business?
I joined Outlook Nebraska, a sister company to Outlook Business Solutions, in August 2018. I was promoted to my current position in July 2019. Prior to that, I spent 25 years in marketing in the financial services sector.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?
Getting people who knew me as a writer to recognize that I have grown beyond that to become a knowledgeable marketing professional.
Tell us a little about your family.
My daughter Georgia is married to Taylor Korensky, founder of Appsky. They have a two-year-old daughter named Rowan. My son Rain has cognitive, developmental, and physical disabilities and lives at Hands of Heartland in Bellevue. My son Noah is a senior at Gretna High School and will be going to UNL in the fall to study history.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life?
My son Rain was shaken by a daycare provider when he was three months old. I didn’t expect to be the parent of a child with special needs; it’s not really a path most people would choose if they had the choice, but I’ve met many caring, amazing people as a result. It made me stronger and better able to face adversity.
What is your favorite thing to do on a day off?
Fixing up and decorating my 80-year-old farmhouse.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know?
I love working with my house plants. My living room is so full of them, I don’t have a TV.
Who inspires you?
Other parents of kids with special needs, especially cognitive or developmental disabilities. They are warrior caregivers. They walk this fine line between hope and reality.
What is your favorite quote or the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My stepfather once told me that in any situation, you can choose to act or react, but if you react, you have given control of the situation to the other person. I have been biased toward action ever since.
If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be?
Resilient.
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
“I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty.
What is your greatest talent that you don’t utilize in your daily work life?
I’m good at seeing variations in colors. I rock at those crazy puzzles where you have to put the colors in order from one shade to another.
What local nonprofit organization(s) are you passionate about or involved with, and are there any special reasons why?
Outlook Nebraska and Outlook Enrichment, of course! Also, Project Harmony because my son was a victim of child abuse, and the American Cancer Society because I lost my mom to brain cancer in 2008.
What is your favorite book or the last good book you read?
Fiction would be Alice in Wonderland and nonfiction is Multipliers by Liz Wiseman.
What is your favorite TV show?
Stranger Things.
If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be?
Margaret Atwood.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so?
Phone: (531) 365-5347; Email: nhadley@outlookbiz.co; Website: OutlookBiz.Co.