Digital Social Hour
Why Networking Events Are the Key to Success| Natalie Dawson DSH #1289
Wed, 02 Apr 2025
🌟 Why are networking events the ultimate game-changer for success? 🌟 Tune in now to the Digital Social Hour Podcast with Sean Kelly to discover how attending events like 10X Growth Con can transform your career and life! In this episode, Natalie Dawson, co-founder of Cardone Ventures, shares her incredible journey from attending a life-changing networking event to partnering with Grant Cardone and building a multimillion-dollar empire. 💼🚀 Natalie opens up about the power of showing up, being present, and investing in yourself to stand out in a crowd of thousands. From overcoming public speaking fears to mastering confidence, this episode is packed with valuable insights for anyone looking to level up. 🙌💡 Whether you're an entrepreneur, a professional, or someone seeking inspiration, this conversation dives into the secrets of building meaningful partnerships, taking bold steps, and creating a lasting impact. Don’t miss out! Watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🚀✨ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:25 - Natalie Dawson 01:50 - Partnering with Grant Cardone 04:11 - Overcoming Public Speaking Fear 07:09 - Natalie's Current Projects 09:58 - Donald Trump's Attention to Detail 14:35 - Paying for Access to Opportunities 16:40 - Getting Backstage at Events 18:05 - Natalie and Brandon's Partnership with Grant Cardone 20:35 - Preparing to Meet Grant Cardone 24:44 - Natalie and Brandon's Relationship Dynamics 26:59 - Age Gap Relationship Stigma 30:15 - Micromanagement in Business 33:53 - Handling Negativity Effectively 34:36 - Coping with Negativity 37:15 - Defining Your Goals 41:40 - Listening to the Right Voices 42:40 - Attracting the Right People 45:14 - Keys to a Successful Marriage 48:12 - Staying Positive on Social Media 51:10 - Understanding the Red Pill Movement 56:32 - Closing RemarksAPPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: jenna@digitalsocialhour.com GUEST: Natalie Dawson https://www.instagram.com/nataliedawson SPONSORS: RXSUGAR: https://rxsugar.com/ LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ #Networking #DigitalSocialHour #SeanKelly #Podcast #NatalieDawson #CardoneVentures #10XGrowthCon #SuccessTips #Entrepreneurship #NetworkingEvents #BusinessGrowth #10xincome #businessautomation #changemanagement #10xrule #grantcardone
Chapter 1: Who is Natalie Dawson and what is her connection to Grant Cardone?
Okay, guys, Natalie Dawson here today, co-founder of Cardone Ventures here in Vegas for 10X Growth Con, right?
Sure am.
You about to speak?
We'll see. We never released the list at a time.
He keeps it as a surprise.
It is a surprise. We got some big ones. Controversial people, some interesting people. It's going to be good.
That's cool. Have you been to the last few 10X Growth Cons?
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Chapter 2: How did attending 10X Growth Con change Natalie's life?
I have. So when we partnered with Grant Cardone because my husband and I went to a growth con in 2019. So he got me tickets for Christmas because I was like, this Grant Cardone guy is going to change our life and I think we should be business partners with him. And I forced him to read a bunch of Grant's books.
and decided for Christmas that year, he bought me GrowthCon diamond front row, GrowthCon tickets. Wow. Went to the event, 35,000 people in arena. Those four days changed my life. And we went up to Grant afterwards and said, are you interested in adding another billion to your net worth?
What an offer.
Looked a little funny. People make that offer to him all the time. Like people just bullshit their way through all sorts of, you know, I'm going to 10X this. I'm going to do this for you. And he doesn't take the bait very often. And he didn't take our bait initially either, but we invested in his funds and we showed up as competent people around him.
And three months later, we had a joint business called Cardo Ventures. Wow.
We've been running that for the last six years. Within three months. That's impressive. So you convinced him.
We did.
Yeah. I told him when he just came on, he changed my life. I went to his second ever growth con. No way. And that was my first conference ever. Which one was it? It was the one in Vegas at the Luxor, I think. Okay. Or no, it might've been Mandalay. Mandalay, yeah. Yeah. But I stayed at the Luxor. Dang. And I was just like, oh my gosh, I need to step it up.
Amazing.
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Chapter 3: What strategies does Natalie use to overcome public speaking fears?
Yeah.
They're like, we just sat down. Like our coffee's still hot. What do you mean we can go to the bathroom? It was mortifying. And for four years, I couldn't speak in front of groups. If it was more than two or three people, like the words could not come out of my mouth. It was a very scarring experience for me.
Dang, what got you through that? How'd you get over that hurdle?
going to GrowthCon.
Really?
I sat there and watched Elena Cardone. I was like, I am so freaking inspired by what she's able to do. Her kids can write their own speech in front of 35,000 people. And Natalie is just too self-important to not figure out this fear, this mumbling that would happen in my head that would come out of my mouth. What am I even doing? So I hired a public speaking coach after that.
I took our own 10X stages. Again, at the time, we weren't partners with them. And I just started actually making speeches. Every day I'd make speech, whether it was a toast at dinner or I would just make up reasons to give talks. So reps.
Same. Yeah. Public speaking is actually the number one fear in the world.
It's horrendous.
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Chapter 4: Why is paying for access to opportunities important?
Well done. You got a plan. You executed.
You have to have a plan before you show up. If you don't have a plan before you show up, what the frick are you doing?
I'm the same way. When I see the speaker lineup, I have a plan for every single speaker.
Yeah. If you had the chance to meet them, what would you say? What's interesting? What research can you do?
It's already prepared for me for each single person. And I leverage existing connections. So if I see them go on a podcast of someone I'm friends with, I'll bring up their name, establish reputation, and then I'll provide value to them.
Because the worst thing that you can do to somebody in Grant's position or anybody who's powerful is be like, oh, you know what? What advice would you give to be successful? You've written books on this. I watched every single YouTube video that Grant and Elena had put out, which was in the thousands before we were partners with them. I stopped hanging out with my friends. I read every book.
Because I wanted to be business partners. I knew that if they were real, which went to the event to actually figure that out, if this whole thing was real that we saw on Instagram and on YouTube, like these are the people in our lives that we are missing. We can help them. They can help us. And this could be the greatest business partnership that we could ever create.
And so I just went to town taking notes, watching everything, reading everything so that you don't ask the dumb questions. What would you say to your young self? If you were 20 years old, what would you tell yourself?
I hate that one.
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Chapter 5: What is the significance of having a plan at networking events?
Oh, you're getting married too? No. My anniversary is the 10th. Oh, nice. October 10th. Nice. Yeah. We wanted a fall wedding on the East Coast. Flowers and everything. Can't wait.
Best decision ever.
Yeah.
They tell you it's a ball and chain. It's the greatest thing ever.
Got a lot of people trying to talk me out of it. Well, there's this... Have you heard of the red pill movement? No. Okay. So you isolate yourself pretty well on social media. Yeah. You're very targeted with what you consume.
Yeah. If it's not positive and it's not business stuff, I'm not.
Well done. Not a lot of people operate that way on social media. They call it doom scrolling. They're just seeing all sorts of content. I see deaths on my Instagram, like people dying. I see like half-naked girls.
It's very turbulent. It sucks. No, it desensitizes you. I'm freaking confused. What am I doing right now? Am I watching somebody die? Am I watching this half-naked girl? Am I going and building this business? Am I going and helping people? Like I'm freaking confused.
it sucks yeah but for me i have to study viral content so i have to scroll you know or else i'll not get as many views i'll not have interesting guests i'm constantly looking for cool people to have on why this video is going viral so i'm studying the algorithm but yeah stuff like that will pop up it's super disturbing i'd like to be able to figure out how you can like do this without having this like interruption
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Chapter 6: How did Natalie and Brandon build a partnership with Grant Cardone?
No, I'm with you. There's no long-term data on it yet because it's a newer trend, I guess, but... Red pill. Red pill movement.
What is the red pill? You like take a red pill?
I guess it's like, have you seen The Matrix?
No.
Oh, you haven't seen The Matrix? No, no. Why? It's a classic.
I'll add it.
There's a famous scene where it's like, take the red pill and leave The Matrix or take the blue pill and stay as NPC, like, you know. Oh.
Oh, so marriage is the matrix. Basically, yeah. And like we don't want to do the matrix. We want to like escape the matrix. Live life as men. Haven't men been able to like screw whoever they wanted and just like have fake marriages for a long time? Hasn't that been for a very long time? Like since the Donna time?
Yeah. It's been a thing for a bit.
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