The Art of Letting Go to Grow: Releasing the Overwhelm

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh there was a time people counting me.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Put their mocking me. I'm wanting sun out and I
got to know to know what that says. But what
I believe that God's not bad. I don't need you
to bother me.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
I know who I help. I'm created me and my
better reflect what my eyes there to see.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
All the witness disposas unless as ability you know.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
W las se pa shu shad again me there is
no time really stand.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
For the outside doll and the betterin tho that boy
is the inst list still isself paid.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Themiscis say all these simple modad bye something not take
your mind the lake you'll buy your pleas thin one blowing.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
This play head bleave of die all.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Wait thenes's nine I stru refle.

Speaker 5 (01:57):
Sh Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to another segment of the.

Speaker 6 (02:08):
Seek Elevation experience with your truly attorney Alakisha. I am
an attorney, but I may not be yours, so I'm
not giving you legal advice. If you ever do hear
me discuss legal gems, which I do pretty often, I'm
just giving you gems so that you can shine and
wear those diamonds and dig deeper with the information that

(02:30):
I give you. But here on the Seek Elevation experience,
this is where real issues, real people, and real conversations
takes in a stage because we all know that change
doesn't happen in silence, so we are not quiet here.
I have the goal of shaking things up and you know,

(02:54):
just using all of our minds, all of our information,
all of our experiences to create something new. So whether
it's from sports to entertainment to business and community, we
elevate voices right here that needs to be heard.

Speaker 7 (03:12):
But we don't just talk.

Speaker 6 (03:14):
I know, it's a podcast and that's what people do
sometime on shows is just talk.

Speaker 7 (03:19):
We don't just talk here.

Speaker 6 (03:21):
We are actually empowering, inspiring, and we're challenging the status quo.
And sometimes I do that by delivering to you one
on one, I'm just speaking to you. And then oftentimes
I do that by identifying amazing individuals that I know
can level you up in your mind and also for

(03:44):
us all to connect. So whoever I bring to the stage,
it's not just to bring to the stage ever, it's
to learn, it's to collaborate, it's to engage, but it's
also to connect because I want us to build a
can community. It is in community of like minded individuals

(04:05):
where we see miraculous things happen. So that's the seek
elevation experience. That's going to be the effect of Seek elevation.
That is the effect, I should say. But today, what
are we talking about the art of letting go, releasing
the overwhelm. What I want us to get clarity on
today is, you know, let's talk about getting our stuff together.

Speaker 7 (04:30):
Whatever that may mean for you. If you just feel like.

Speaker 6 (04:34):
You're an overwhelmed chaos, we're going to talk about why
that probably is the case, especially if you are a
small business owner, if you're an entrepreneur, yes, but also
if you are an entertainer, if you are an athlete,
you are an entrepreneur. You're running a business. So all
of this is together, and that overwhelm it can be

(04:58):
reduced or eliminated. So that's what we're talking about today.
The person that I brought on, the amazing woman that
I brought on, is someone who has helped many others
for over two decades and she is currently killing it
with her expanded vision. I'll let her talk more about that,
but let's go ahead. Let's just dive into the overview

(05:22):
of today because I want us to be real, right,
let we're gonna be real. We're always real here we said,
real people, real issues, real conversations, So we're gonna keep
it real. We use this word success and success is
not about doing everything yourself. One of the things that

(05:44):
you know hurts my heart a lot is you hear
individuals talk about entrepreneurships.

Speaker 7 (05:50):
That's pushed a lot, and I get it. You want
to own your own and there's different levels of entrepreneurship.
I get it. But what is really talked about is
what that entaeils.

Speaker 6 (06:02):
We jump in and we take, you know, whatever is
given to us by other entrepreneurs, not to call names
that it's wrong, but like the Gary V's all but
that's exciting, right, They get us pumped. But as you
listen to all of those individuals who may pump you
up in entrepreneurship, please remember that there's levels to that

(06:25):
so that we're not experiencing burnout and overwhelm success.

Speaker 7 (06:31):
That's why we do it. It's not about doing it ourselves.

Speaker 6 (06:33):
So if we're building a business, if we're leading a vision,
if we're trying to just scale in our impact, the
real breakthrough comes from when you learn to let go,
and in this segment, we're gonna talk about how to
do that. We're talking about some strategic support, because support

(06:56):
isn't a luxury, it's a launch pad. And when we
stop clinging to control and listen, I'm telling you I
already know. I'm someone that's speaking to you who understands
there's a lot of things we just want to control
because we feel like if we don't, it will not
get done the way we want it to get done.

(07:19):
But we have to start using the right systems, the
right people, and that's when we'll see elevation truly begins.

Speaker 7 (07:26):
I had to do that. I don't just speak things
and preach things. I live things.

Speaker 6 (07:32):
And I'm telling you I understand that thing about control
and getting it the way we want it. When I
started letting go of the things that did not allow
me to show up as my best in the other
areas that I needed to show up, it was overwhelmed.
When I started doing. When I started letting it go,

(07:54):
it was the elevation. It started running so smoothly. So
our guest knows firsthand. By helping others rise to the
next level through clarity, structure and smart support, but also
as an entrepreneur of course herself. And let me just
go ahead and give the introduction so I can bring

(08:16):
her on stage. We have Miss Kimberly Finnel, and Miss
Kimberly is a visionary force behind the scenes. Like I
just said, when we start seeing people to have things
run well and we're just looking at them and we're like,
you're killing it. You are smashing it, a lot of

(08:37):
times those people have forces behind them to allow that
to be the case. And Kimberly is one of those
visionary forces behind the scenes and through her company, Entertainment
Business Support EBS Administrative Services, which is a certified minority
woman owned firm. It is a certified which means you

(08:58):
have to go through all these and balances to even
be certified, so it is a.

Speaker 7 (09:03):
Legit on her stuff company.

Speaker 6 (09:09):
And what Kimberly does in her company, in her firm
is she focuses on redefining what it means to provide
administrative support what it means.

Speaker 7 (09:19):
So this is where she focuses on delivering.

Speaker 6 (09:23):
Strategy that meets services and support that becomes transformation. And
like I said earlier, she's been doing this for over
twenty years, she has empowered entrepreneurs, creative, small business owners
and organizations and helped all of those entities, all of
those moving parts move from overwhelmed to operational success. And

(09:47):
her portfolio spans industries including digital marketing, accounting, nonprofit and
independent consulting with an expertise and project management and organizational
strateg That is important to know.

Speaker 7 (10:01):
Listen, you have a lot of.

Speaker 6 (10:04):
People out there right especially say they're coaching, they do
this for your business, they do that for your business,
and they just jump on it because they figure this
is something possibly I can do. But when you have
that acumen behind you, you have the expertise behind you
project management and organizational strategy, those are key components and

(10:26):
implementing processes to help you alleviate overwhelmed. So she's doing
the work, and let me just say too, she's a
proud graduate Bybee of Clark Atlanta University. We know about
the cau CiU is serious and sharp those females that
come from there, and she's trained through several entrepreneurship programs.

(10:52):
But although I mentioned all of this, you know, education,
all of this training she gets there. Please let us
not get twisted him, fuses her formal education.

Speaker 7 (11:03):
With real world experiences.

Speaker 6 (11:06):
She is a proud mompreneur, so she understands even being
a parent and that entrepreneur. She is a creative at heart,
So those who she served there's not just sympathy there,
there's empathy. And she's a passionate advocate for those ready
to grow personally and professionally. And I'm gonna let her

(11:26):
talk more about this, but back in twenty thirteen, she
expanded her mission with Biz Savvy Artists, which is a
platform that is dedicated to equipping and empowering creatives to
build sustainable businesses. I'm gonna slow down and say this again.
This is why I said listen. As a creative, you

(11:47):
can put yourself whatever you do in that box. As
a creative, you are a business. You are the CEO.
And we have now shifted, which I'm extremely happy about
that people are seeing that that we have to walk
and handle ourselves as such. And she helps you to

(12:09):
build sustainable businesses through her coaching, her workshops, her mentorships
and conferences through the bit Savvy Artists. And I had
the pleasure a few years back to Grace one of
her stages and speak on intellectual property. So she identifies
people to come in and pour into these creatives and

(12:32):
not just pouring to important to them the important aspects
of creating a sustainable business. And I have the pleasure
to join the one she has this year talking about
AI and all the great things. So she has a passion, right,
I mean, she helps creatives turn their passion into profit
with confidence and clarity. She's been featured in magazines on

(12:56):
the Soul Sweet Radio, pop pop Life Radio. But I'm
happy right now. She is on the seek elevation experience
to share with you. And lastly, she not just only
provides these services, have great education, have great experiences showed
up in media.

Speaker 7 (13:16):
She also serves. She gives of herself and she serves
on boards.

Speaker 6 (13:23):
And she also helped produce the juneteenth New York City's
Virtual Summit. So she pours back in the community so
many different ways. This is why I say I identify
real deal.

Speaker 7 (13:36):
So with no further ado, I'm going to bring Kimberly
to the stage. Hello, how are you?

Speaker 4 (13:47):
I am wonderful, Thank you so much for having me listen.

Speaker 7 (13:52):
My pleasure.

Speaker 6 (13:53):
Like I said in the introduction, there's no doubt, no question.
When I go down the list of the amazing people
I'm connected with, I have a vision and I have
an idea of how to help build this community and
move us forward. And there are lights that just illuminate
in my vision, and you're one of the lights, especially

(14:14):
in what you do and in this particular area.

Speaker 7 (14:17):
So thank you, thank you, thank.

Speaker 4 (14:18):
You, thank you so much.

Speaker 7 (14:20):
I appreciate that absolutely. Oh right, So, how could that
been going so far before we get into it?

Speaker 6 (14:27):
How?

Speaker 7 (14:27):
How how's everything today?

Speaker 4 (14:29):
Everything is good. Today was busy as your usual. We're
getting ready for this Savy Artist Academy in about a month,
so a lot is happening behind the scenes. But I
can't complain at all. This is what I signed up for,
that's right.

Speaker 6 (14:43):
And we'll get more into the Business Savvy Artists event
because this is it's not an event, it's it's a
it's a mission. So we'll we'll we'll get into that
more because it's important for those to hear it. And
I know what's a lo for creatives, but it benefits
everyone who touches on business in some aspects, some shape

(15:07):
form or fashion.

Speaker 7 (15:10):
So let's just talk a little bit about your journey.
Those that I bring on.

Speaker 6 (15:15):
What I like is just kind of getting to know
them individuals that connect with them, especially when they can
identify something that you can do to help level them up.
I like them to get to kind of know the
person and how did you even get there? Because one
thing that we're all doing in life period is walking
our journey, and some of us are still figuring some

(15:36):
things out. So it's more than just talking about the
end game. But let's talk a little bit about Kim
and walk us up to where we're going to be
at today. So and what you do thinking about what
you do, what part of your journey, your own journey
and your walk inspired you to take this type of

(15:57):
assistance or service along.

Speaker 4 (16:00):
I honestly, I think I kind of fell into it
a little bit. I think I've always been one of
those people who's been very active in a lot of
different organizations and activities. Since I was growing up as
a child, I was in a lot of different extracurricular
activities and had to juggle a lot of things, and
so I kind of became known for being really organized.

(16:26):
That followed me into college. So I was always the
one when you know when you're in the group projects
I was the one that was kind of always taking
the lead to like organize things and coordinate meetings, and
I was the one that was always a sign to Okay,
she's gonna do all the typing of it and make
sure it gets submitted on time and those types of things.
And so I always had a love and a passion

(16:49):
for the arts. I've been involved in the arts. I
grew up just outside of New York City, so we
would go into the city a lot, go to plays
and concerts and music festivals and all different types of events.
And so I fell in love with it and saw
an opportunity to marry the two. I started to notice

(17:11):
shortly after graduating from college that there were a lot
of artists that I was coming across that were extremely
talented but struggled on the business and operational side, and
I wanted to be able to offer that support. Once
I realized that there were entertainment companies that were big
organizations and they have admin staff, So why wouldn't independent

(17:34):
artists have like admin an operational staff as well? And
so I just saw a niche and pursued that as
an opportunity to do something I love and use a
skill that I had developed over the years.

Speaker 7 (17:48):
Yeah, I mean that's good.

Speaker 6 (17:49):
That's definitely a good point that everyone, especially that we
deal with, we work directly with, they have all those
things in place. We too should have those things in
place before I get there. I want to go back
a little bit because you said, I mean you kind
of fell into it. You was just that one in
the group, and I know those ones in the group.
But how did you ever feel when you was in
that group and people realize your gift? Did you ever

(18:12):
feel like, man, I'm the one they always come to
that's going to do, not the brunt of the work,
but you know, pull everything together. Do you feel like
people started to just completely depend on you or how
did you feel becoming known as that person?

Speaker 4 (18:31):
I don't know if I realized it right away. It
was just something I kind of did and didn't think
about it. I know, particularly growing up by my mother's
a very type a personality, and so she always had
high expectations of this is how you do this When
somebody is calling the house. I couldn't just tell her oh,

(18:53):
so and so called. I had to say this person
called at this time, this is what they wanted, And
it had to be like written down in a certain way.
So I just kind of developed these habits and I
didn't even really think about it. And I remember being
in church one Sunday and they would say, I think
it was my pastor would say, your gift is that

(19:14):
thing that you don't really think about, that you kind
of shrug off, but that other people always acknowledge about you.
And I think that was when I kind of had
that aha, like, oh, Okay, this is not something that's
just like normal for everybody. Because that was always the
thing that people would always point out about me, is
that I was so organized and I always seemed like
I had everything together, and so it was just kind

(19:37):
of something I just did and didn't even really think
about until that moment.

Speaker 7 (19:43):
And that's why I was getting to I was getting
to what the pastor said, and that's why I love.

Speaker 4 (19:47):
Oh.

Speaker 7 (19:48):
I love this part of conversation.

Speaker 6 (19:50):
It really gets me into my thing just being inquisitive
because I always keep hearing a common theme. It hasn't
felled yet, Like you just said, PA says that thing
you don't even notice, but also that thing that you
have been developing in or being created in and you
don't even know you're being created in Like you even
mentioned when you was a kid, your mom didn't let

(20:11):
you answer.

Speaker 7 (20:12):
It's that thing we always say, what am I supposed
to do in life?

Speaker 4 (20:15):
What is this?

Speaker 6 (20:16):
It's all the things around us that is complimenting, gifts
that already are putting up, put in us to give
back to others, things that we dismiss as compliments to it,
but we may see it's something different. I hate this story,
I hate this family member, I hate it. But that
very thing that you think you hate, that's your glory

(20:38):
because your story is wrapped into it.

Speaker 7 (20:40):
So that's what I wanted to hear.

Speaker 6 (20:41):
That's why, that's the essence and fabric of Kim has
started from younger needing to be on your p's and
q's dot and your eyes crossing your T. So just
showing up that way with other groups around you, all right,
So in your journey and seeing that we're there now,
let's move forward.

Speaker 7 (21:00):
Like you said, you grew up in New York.

Speaker 6 (21:02):
Of course we're all you see, all the entertainment, all
the things you started identifying, you know, with these creatives
what they actually needed. What was your next thought from there?
Like would you start saying, Okay, I see there's a
need here. Where did that bring you?

Speaker 2 (21:21):
So it?

Speaker 4 (21:22):
I don't know if it was an immediate thing. I
graduated college early two thousands, right before nine to eleven happens,
and I was having a hard time fighting a job.
I kept, you know, going on interviews. They kept saying,
you know, we like you. But and so one day,
in particular, I was just sitting in my apartment. I'd

(21:45):
had one of those you know, and they had those
subscriptions where you could get like three magazines for a
dollar kind of situation. So I'd subscribed to Black Enterprise
and I'd subscribed to Entrepreneur, and so I was sitting
in my apartment reading Entrepreneur magazine, and in the back
they have all of these how to GUIDs how to

(22:05):
start all of these different types of businesses, and one
of them was a business support company. And so as
I was reading the description of it, I realized that
was a lot of the tasks that I was doing
in the last job that i'd had, And so I
was like, well, why don't I do that but focus
it on the entertainment industry, And so I started doing research.

(22:29):
I went to the library and found a similar book
in the library, borrowed that and pulled all of the
information I could out of it. Send an email to
a bunch of the contacts that I made in my
previous job at the time. Prior to that, I had
worked at a record pool that distributed final records to

(22:51):
DJs and then collected feedback from them for the record labels.
And then he also produced an annual music conference. And
then and on the days that I wasn't with him,
I was working at an independent record store, and then
the owner of the record store also did radio promotions,
and so I kind of was coming into contact with
a lot of different artists and label execs and things

(23:14):
like that, and so I just kind of compiled a
list of people that I had met, reached out and
kind of said, Hey, I'm doing this new business. These
are some of the services that I'm planning to offer.
If you need anything, let me know, And it just
kind of went from there. I had one particular person
reply that was a publicist. She had me help her

(23:36):
organize a bunch of her contacts, put it in an
access database at the time, and then I took it
a step further and took all the business cards and
fly here she gave me, and I got a binder
and I bought the little business card pages and organized
all of the business cards and flyers in there, gave
it back to her, and then that turned into her
introducing me to other organizations where I started meeting more people,

(24:00):
and it just kind of took off from there.

Speaker 6 (24:04):
Listen, I was writing some stuff down as you was talking, right,
because again it's beautiful and those who listening you already
know where I'm going. Right, we're all hearing the same
thing and not even just hearing the same thing when
you look at your own life.

Speaker 7 (24:18):
When I'm looking at my own life, I love that
you said one.

Speaker 6 (24:21):
You talked about the steps you took right, the work
you did, you read, you took something, and it's not coincidence.
It's connecting the dots. It's not coincidence. You get this magazine,
read something, and the something that you end up reading
is something that absolutely resonates with which your life is.
And that thing now sparks another idea. Right, So, ideal

(24:44):
containers is what we live in in this life period.
Everything we see starts with an id started with an ideal.
So ideal containers that it sparked that for you, So
you had you did the work by taking action, not
just sitting waiting for some miraculous thing to drop your mind.
You utilize contacts you knew where you were at. You're

(25:05):
working for other people, but you utilize those contacts that
you made through working for other people.

Speaker 7 (25:13):
And then most importantly, you invested in yourself. That part
that we got to understand.

Speaker 6 (25:18):
You invested in stuff you ain't got the cards, you
got the things that you needed to get in order
to continue to elevate. So I wanted to parse that
out where quickly that you just summed up in their question.
As you worked for these record labels and other things,
because we're talking about entertainment industry, how did you or
should I say, are there any challenges that you've seen?

(25:39):
Even in those areas whoever you worked for, did you
see certain challenges that you said, Wow, this definitely needs
more organization or this is what pushed me more or
shaped you more? And how you want to move forward
in supporting your clients through possibly their own struggles.

Speaker 4 (26:00):
I think particularly with the record pool, he had a
pretty good structure going on.

Speaker 7 (26:07):
Okay, so that taught me.

Speaker 4 (26:12):
The need for it even in the entertainment industry, and
I think a lot of times people kind of think, oh, entertainment,
you just kind of do whatever.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
But the.

Speaker 4 (26:25):
Companies that are doing well and thriving and you know,
doing things, there's a structure behind what they're doing. They're
not just kind of throwing spaghetti at the wall and
seeing what sticks. There's like, he had scripts for when
I had to make phone calls to record labels. He had,
you know, itemized list of when you walk in the door,
you do this, you sit this down, you put this here,

(26:47):
this goes that way. When it came to like distributing
the records, he had a system and a process for that,
And I think that just reinforced the need for it.
So when I left and I'm going to other places
and I'm seeing they didn't have that, and I would
be asking questions, Okay, what's the process for this, and

(27:07):
they're just kind of like, oh, just kind of do it.
And that kind of made it the light click for
me that Okay, they like, other areas need processes to
other organizations need processes.

Speaker 6 (27:18):
Too, So what's the opposite for you. That's beautiful to hear.
That means one It's great to hear that you worked
for an entertainment company that had their stuff together, because
a lot of times it can be very chaotic. I've
I've worked on opposite sides of entertainment companies, be it
rect labors or different things, and it is just chaos.

(27:40):
To your point, though, is because they were systems in place,
or there's certain you know, people in place that's just
used to moving how they want to move, ir regardless
of a systems. I've been in here for thirty, twenty
whatever years. I'm just gonna move the way i want
to move. So it's good that to hear you didn't
actually learn from specific challenge.

Speaker 7 (28:01):
You learn from.

Speaker 6 (28:02):
Getting a chance to be to have access to seeing
it work. And you're saying, huh, I want to take
these things that I've seen that I you know, learn
and applied them to others success that you're going to
help achieve.

Speaker 7 (28:19):
So is that correct?

Speaker 4 (28:21):
Yes?

Speaker 7 (28:21):
All right, So now walk us to the next step.

Speaker 6 (28:23):
You see that you get that, you say, Okay, these
are different things that's actually needed.

Speaker 7 (28:28):
Where are we at now?

Speaker 4 (28:31):
So at that point I started targeting working with trade organizations.
So I joined the National Black Programmers Coalition. It's I
think the National Broadcasting Professionals Coalition. Now I worked with

(28:53):
nap femin the National Association for Black Female Executives and
Music and Entertainment. I joined the Atlanta Black Chambers, and
I started positioning myself to meet other people who were
in the entrepreneurial space or in the entertainment space that
would need the services that I offered. And I just

(29:15):
began working with them, volunteering, helping to put some of
those structures in place. Like when I joined the Atlanta
Black Chambers, it was literally just starting, and so there
was a lot of space to kind of begin developing
processes and procedures and create structures so that it could
you know, grow flourish. And so I was the point

(29:40):
person at the meetings. I think we met monthly at
pastorals at the time, and so I was the one
that was sitting at the registration table and checking people
in and proofreading the would have a brochure at each meeting.
So I was proofreading the brochures. And it's just when
you present a certain way, it gives another level of professionalism, yes,

(30:02):
And so I would aim to do that for the
organizations and the people that I was meeting and starting
to work with.

Speaker 6 (30:09):
I love to hear that you said again the word positioning.
I position myself, you're taking action. But what I really
love to hear is when you said volunteering, because you
have a lot of people that said, if I'm not
getting any coins at all, I'm not thinking about doing
anything where I get no coins. But sometimes the compensation,

(30:31):
the pay is the dividends within yourself that you're able
to withdraw from later. And I try to tell that
to so many people so many different times. Listen, let's
do chess here, like, really understand the moves you're making.
Can what this do for you that you cannot otherwise

(30:52):
have done, get done now or within the near future
without investing your time and get that dividend exactly.

Speaker 4 (31:03):
I mean, I'm sorry I was, and I think to
my point, I tried to be strategic about it, Like
I wasn't just volunteering any and everywhere. I was being
selective about where I was volunteering, and I was putting
myself in a place where the people that I wanted
to work with were getting an opportunity to see me
do what I do. And so then they started coming

(31:25):
to me and being like, hey, I see how you're
running these meetings and how you're you know, managing a
registration process. I need somebody that does that. And I
started getting the clients from those volunteering opportunities. So I
was always very like strategic about how and where I
was volunteering, and.

Speaker 6 (31:45):
I loved that exactly. You have to be very strategic
in it. But it was twofold for you, So the
ROI was amazing. You weren't only just volunteering to continue
to sharpen your skills, you also were volunteering to put
yourself in front of those individuals that can now see
how you show up.

Speaker 7 (32:05):
Because what do we all do a lot of times?

Speaker 6 (32:07):
Right, if we're going to buy a product or service,
nine times out of ten it's going to be from
someone that referred. We've seen tons of testimonial, seen somebody
else with it. Something has to give us our comfort
in order to do it. What best comfort do you
get then someone being able to see you I am
so called, I could see how you deliver what you do.

(32:30):
So sometimes we have to just put ourselves in a
room and showcase our gifts because we never know who
was there. So was that was twofold return on your investment.
All right, So you go in and I can speak
to the land of black chambers. I mean, because you
were amazing, like even when we had meetings a part
of the group that we were together. Yeah, we turn

(32:50):
right to you get everything you know, make sure everything
stay on par and keep us on track. And then
after even all the information is the disseminated because you
have so many amazing minds, you need to pull that
stuff together.

Speaker 7 (33:05):
And you just had an amazing skill with that as well.
All right, So you did that.

Speaker 6 (33:12):
You're volunteering, you get you're sharpening your skills, you're putting
yourself in front of individuals houses. Does it continue to
unfold for me or where are you starting to get
your hmm, these experiences I have that I'm getting or had.

Speaker 7 (33:29):
It's not just for me. They're meant for others' success
as well.

Speaker 4 (33:33):
Absolutely. I think in being in those spaces, I started
to see more and more people that needed what I
was doing. So, for example, I would go to I
was working at volunteering at the Southeast Urban Music Conference,
for example, and I would interact with the artists that

(33:57):
were there. They would ask me what I would do
what I did, and when I would tell them, they
were kind of like, I don't get it. So I
would say, you know, I am a virtual assistant. We
probably administrative support, you know, we help you manage your business.
And they were like, oh, so you're a booking agent

(34:17):
and I was like no. Oh, so you're a manager.
And I was like no, oh, so you're a publicist
and I was like no. And then that helped me
realize that they didn't really have the concept of like
business structure, and so I was kind of like, Okay,
they don't know, or they're not aware of, or they're
not even considering the other aspects of the tasks and

(34:42):
things that are involved in running and operating as a business.
And so that kind of also helped me to be
aware of, Okay, I need to make this like an
educational thing too, in terms of teaching them about business
in addition to helping them with the services that I
can offer, so they could see where I could be

(35:04):
used in what they were doing and how I could
support them.

Speaker 6 (35:07):
Did that also help you with learning how to shape
saying what you do because a lot of times some
of us do struggle with just because we know what
we do we know when are I We know in
our head, but conveying that to other people in the
most simplest form, most understandable form, digestible form, sometimes can

(35:29):
be challenging because it may be several things right, and
so you don't want to give this whole long When
they kept asking you, was it this?

Speaker 7 (35:37):
Nope?

Speaker 4 (35:37):
Was it that? Nope?

Speaker 6 (35:38):
Did that start helping you shape how to actually communicate.

Speaker 3 (35:44):
What you do?

Speaker 4 (35:47):
It did make me think about it more. It did
make me more aware of, Okay, you need to find
a way to help them relate to what you do.
And so what I started doing when I was going
to conferences is I would offer to do what I
did for the publicist, which was organized the context. I'm like,

(36:09):
you're at this conference, You're meeting all of these people,
You're collecting all of these business cards. Or what it's
gonna happen with those business cards when you leave? Are
they just gonna sit on your desk and collect dust?
I was like, I will organize the business cards for you.
I will put them into an Excel spreadsheet or a
database so you can import them into your email list,

(36:29):
or you can reach out do a mail merge and
then I was like, I can explain how to do
that for you, but it would make it easier for
you to follow up with all of the people that
you're meeting here. And when I started to say it
that way, that kind of gave them like a oh hi,
I didn't think about that, And then that would open
up the door for me to share some of the

(36:51):
other services that I was able to offer.

Speaker 6 (36:54):
Okay, So it's not just figuring out how to communicate
what you do to others.

Speaker 7 (37:00):
Was it was also more so creating gateways.

Speaker 6 (37:03):
How do I get them in right focus on that thing,
Stop trying to communicate the whole thing that maybe too much,
but figure out a gateway. And as they come in
on this gateway, other things can be you know, dripped
from there. Other conversations could be dripped from there.

Speaker 4 (37:17):
Absolutely.

Speaker 7 (37:19):
So what are like you said, I want.

Speaker 6 (37:20):
To go back to when you said a lot of times,
especially when you was letting people know what you what
you did, they really didn't click because they probably didn't
realize they needed so after getting in and they realize
I do need it and you start working with them,
What are some of the common challenges that you've seen
that these you know, creatives are growing businesses or whoever

(37:42):
your clientele was at that time, what were some of
the things that they were facing.

Speaker 7 (37:48):
That they didn't realize.

Speaker 6 (37:49):
I need this type of assistance behind me in order to,
you know, break through, get my breakthrough.

Speaker 4 (37:56):
So I think one of the things that a lot
of my clientis we're facing them and are still facing now,
is creating structure, processes, consistency, and so it was kind
of like they would do things one way one day
and then the next day they would be like, Oh,
I changed my mom think I'm going to do this,

(38:16):
and then it makes it hard for somebody else to
support you when things are constantly changing. So, for example,
I would have a client who he would quote people,
and because he didn't have a set price list, he
would forget what he quoted them, and then when they
came back, he would be like, oh, I don't remember
what I said. And he was relying on them to
tell him what he told them and then having to

(38:39):
trust them, and it was yeah. So it would be
things like that. It would be the missing appointments, missing
deadlines for things, submitting things that maybe the information on
it was incorrect, or if there was typos or misspellings

(38:59):
or just looked messy those types of things. So I would,
you know, get involved in helping them to create documents
and presentations that looked neat and professional, helping them keep
track of their appointments and their calendar management, helping them
again create those processes and structure so that there was
a level of consistency. So it was going in and saying, okay,

(39:21):
let's talk about what you're doing, how much you want
to charge for these things, making sure that you're charging
enough so that you're covering your costs and then still
have some leftover to pay yourself. You know, those types
of things, so that there's like some business structure to
it so that you can grow and be successful.

Speaker 7 (39:42):
So how does that carry over?

Speaker 6 (39:44):
So I could see that with because what you just
brought up, I'm like, yeah, like you need to know
that at all things, you know, you get your price.

Speaker 7 (39:50):
But the more I hear, the more I learn, the
more I learn that I don't know.

Speaker 6 (39:56):
Because I hear new things and we can't think common sense.
This is common right, it's some people just you learn
new things. I would have never thought someone didn't think
to document or least have a consistency in their price.

Speaker 7 (40:11):
But obviously that happens, so that's the most basic.

Speaker 6 (40:15):
So how does something like that transfer over to creatives
someone's where does that consistency need to.

Speaker 7 (40:23):
Show up that will help them?

Speaker 6 (40:24):
If they're a creative or I don't know, an athlete, like,
how does that transfer over to them?

Speaker 4 (40:32):
As far as systems, I think creating a level of
consistency helps you to be more efficient, helps you to
be more efficient. So if, for example, if I am
doing outreach for an artist and they are going to
be performing somewhere and they want to let the community

(40:54):
know this is where I'm going to be, and they're
sending out emails to different people, If I have to
sit down every time they get a new contact and
want to reach out to them, and I have to
recreate the same email over and over again, that's taking
up extra time. Versus if I have a template email
for they're performing in this market, we wanted to make

(41:14):
you aware. Please share it with your constituents. We'd love
to invite you out. Whatever that language is. If I
kind of have the template for that, and all I
have to do is switch out the name, maybe switch
out which market the performance is in and you know,
kind of personalize a few things here and there and
then send it. That might shave time off that process.
So if I'm emailing fifty people, instead of it taking

(41:37):
me three four hours, maybe I can get it down
to one and then that allocates more time for you
to do whatever it.

Speaker 6 (41:45):
Is that you know your core businesses right, and also
be like consistency. I guess how you do one thing
is usually how you do everything. I believe the quote goes,
but so like consistency, that will help you with just
how you're showing up period, right, Because how we show
up and whatever we're doing, whether it's just lifing, entertainer, athlete,

(42:10):
how we show up is what attracting the opportunities because
those opportunities are attracted to us how we're showing up.
So that consistency, if there's consistency, and how you're sending
out emails, consistency and how you're sending any communications, also consistency,
how you're doing social media, all those different things would help.

Speaker 7 (42:29):
Would you say absolutely?

Speaker 4 (42:32):
I think it helps in that in terms of shaving time.
And to your point, when you're getting ready to release,
it's easier for you to hand it over to someone
else to do on your behalf when there's some structure
and there's some processes in place versus everything being in
your head and you just kind of doing things randomly.
So if you can hand them a sheet of paper
that's like, do this, do this, here's the template for this,

(42:54):
here's the script for this, they can kind of take
it and run with it and they don't have to
stop every five minute and ask you questions, and you
have more freedom to focus on, you know, being creative.

Speaker 7 (43:06):
Yeah, and consistency helps things to just run.

Speaker 6 (43:10):
I had read a post on IG and I believe
it with someone who obviously is well known. I think
she has a clothing company, but she posted a posting
shutting down the business.

Speaker 7 (43:30):
I have no shame in it.

Speaker 6 (43:32):
I'm going back to my nine to five. This entrepreneur
I forgot how she worded it. This this pretty much
like this entrepreneurship hype wasn't for me. I'm killing myself.
I want to go where there's no responsibility, no this,
no that, And so I usually don't comment a lot
of things, but I commented on that one because I

(43:55):
was like, first of all, you have to figure out
what is for you, but I wanted to make because
there's the hype on both sides just having a nine
to five. I've seen people get taken out being an entrepreneur.
I've seen people get taken out. It's not the thing, right,
So it's one what is for you, right? And I'm

(44:17):
happy everybody don't want to be a full non entrepreneur
because who will help assist those who want to be
a full entrepreneurs I never pushed that, But it's about
these small things you're talking about, Like I said, even
life licensing, so finding consistency.

Speaker 7 (44:31):
We don't learn those things.

Speaker 6 (44:32):
We take on everything we have the overwhelm and I
comment that, no, you know, it's not about the nine
to five. It's not about the entrepreneurship. It's about knowing
where you fall in line. If you fall in line
at corporate and can support someone else's vision and still
manage your life doing that, so be it. If you

(44:53):
want to be an entrepreneur, it has to go from
you running a business to a business.

Speaker 7 (45:01):
And that's the difference.

Speaker 6 (45:02):
And so when we're constantly running a business, we're running
ourselves into the ground. It's not just about entrepreneurship, it's
about now what does entrepreneurship tell and these are the
things you're talking about. Consistency is one of the things
that sets up a system to just be running versus
you running. So I wanted to bring it up because

(45:24):
what you're doing is timely and it's missing in a
lot of conversations. And it's not just again, it's not entrepreneurship,
it's in anything that we're actually doing that takes some
type of structure, and everything that we do take structure.
Like I said, if you have a nine to five, yeah,
I have some type of structure. Your whole life's gonna feel.

Speaker 7 (45:42):
Like us.

Speaker 4 (45:43):
At the difference, I said, absolutely. I think the difference
is a lot of times the nine to five to
a degree is giving you some semblance of structure. So
it may not be in entirety, but they're telling you
we need you hear from this time this time when
you get here, we need you to do X, y Z.
When you are an entrepreneur, you have a clean slate.

(46:08):
So if you're getting to a point where it's coming
in on Monday at ten o'clock in the morning and
then on Wednesday, I'm coming in at eight o'clock in
the morning and like it makes it difficult to operate.
One people don't know when to get in touch with
you because I don't know if do you open at
eight or do you open at ten? Can I call

(46:30):
you at eight in the morning or should I wait
till ten? So I think it gives you a level
of I think it gives you a level of consistency.
As we've been saying, I think it also sets expectations
for the people that you're working with, which is another
big piece of having that consistency and structure is that
other people know what to expect from you, and it

(46:50):
gives you a level of protection. So one of the
other things that I was doing with one of the
clients that I was working with was running a marketing agency,
is is I was. I was the bad cop kind
of person. So when there were those trouble clients, I
was the one I was reinforcing, like, no, this was

(47:11):
the deadline. We needed to have it in by this
deadline so we could get it to you by this date.
You said you needed by X Y Z date, we
need this by this or it was okay, you have
this project, you're saying, it's a rush job. You need
it tomorrow. We can't get started until you give us
a deposit. We're gonna we're not gonna start working on it.
And then you decided to change your mind, and then

(47:31):
we've already done the work and now you're trying to
tell us you're not gonna pay us. Like there were
all of these these things that were kind of happening
that I was seeing that I was like, no, we
need to lift this in the bud or people. He
was doing workshops and trainings and events and then people
would pay. They would go to the event, record a
testimonial talking about how great the event was, and then

(47:53):
turn around and dispute the charge with PayPal, talking about
they didn't get what they expected because we had structures
in place, I had documentation of Nope, they went, they
were there. There are pictures of them there. This is
a testimonial that they recorded saying that the event went.
Like I was sitting there disputing people that were saying,

(48:14):
oh I didn't get what I needed, I want my
money back.

Speaker 3 (48:18):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (48:19):
I didn't even think about it from that perspective there.
And of course you wore make an attorney's job very easy.

Speaker 7 (48:25):
But that's good. So documentation, administrative support with just.

Speaker 6 (48:30):
Being able to have those things ready when people are
challenging you, and.

Speaker 7 (48:38):
Unfortunately that happens a lot. I never thought about it
from that competity.

Speaker 6 (48:41):
I never had to, you know, experience anything with assisting
somebody from that capacity. You go to a whole event
and give the testimonial, I mean, say how great it is,
and then turn around and say, I just want my
money back and you want to hustle at So it's
good that you had those things in place. That and
this is why again structure is important because if there's

(49:04):
anything from audits, especially if you're an entrepreneur, I mean
there's all types of autists that may actually happen I arrest,
audits that may have you want to have things in
place that it doesn't take you time.

Speaker 7 (49:17):
Or you can't even do.

Speaker 6 (49:18):
It to show up and fulfill these particular artists. Now
you mentioned, like what I mentioned in your bio, you
help nonprofits. That's one of the biggest things. Right. A
lot of people say, you know, I want to run
a nonprofit business and this and that, and what they
don't realize is one, if it's a federal nonprofit and
you're registering to be a five oh, one. Whatever it is,

(49:38):
it technically belongs to the government, and so that may
be your baby, but you hand it over to the
government so they can stick their head in when they
want and they can audit it, especially if you're getting
grants and you're getting money, and there's a lot of
times nonprofits do not have anything anything documented. So what

(49:59):
is your experience when nonprofit versus profit? What are the differences.

Speaker 4 (50:05):
I would say that's one of the big ones, is
the documentation level is different when you're working with a nonprofit.
I think it's also well, I would say from the
experience that I'm working with, the work is a little
bit different because it's more focused on you know, community
initiatives and things like that, So you're dealing with a

(50:29):
different customer base, so to speak.

Speaker 2 (50:34):
And then.

Speaker 4 (50:38):
There's more of a need for, like the retention of
those documents, more of a need for retention of information
about the organization. How many people are you serving, how
are these programs successful? Like I have an organization that
I'm working with now that's an arts organization, visual Art,

(51:01):
And that was one of the things that I noticed
when I came in. When I would ask them for
information about something, they couldn't tell me where anything was
because they had everything all over the place, or they
had different people storing things in different places. And they
were like, y'all, we've been they've been in operation for
over thirty years. But they didn't have documentation of all

(51:23):
the exhibits that they've done for over thirty years. And
so I had to come in and start like creating
a repository of Okay, we've had for exhibits this year.
Here are all the exhibits. These are the flyers for
the exhibits. These are the artists that were involved in
those exhibits. Documenting like addresses, phone numbers, social handles so

(51:43):
that we can stay in communication with them for the
next exhibits that's coming up, or we can go back
and say, okay, this person was in this exhibit in
this year and sold XYZ like there was no documentation
of anything, and so going in and it was a
lot of creating those databases, creating the systems. We implemented

(52:06):
a new platform to operate the call for artists, because
what they were doing was just having artists email them stuff,
and so the information that they were receiving from the
artists was inconsistent because they're just getting emails and the
artists are putting what they want in there, and so
when we're using a platform, there's a consistent structure of

(52:28):
this is a form that you're filling out. These are
the fields that are required. So they're getting more consistent
information from each of the artists that they are working with,
which was helping with selling the work, being able to
communicate to potential buyers the dimensions of the work, the pricing.

(52:48):
You know. It was also a need to document all
of that art work to get the work inshored for
each of the exhibits. So we have to submit a
list of all of the work, how much it costs
if it wasn't for sale, what's the value of the work.
So beginning to put a lot of that infrastructure in
place and beginning to document the information is helping to

(53:13):
also create their end of the year reports, creating their
sponsorship packages and proposals when they're doing different activities. It's
helping them sell the different programs and scholarships and all
of the other things that they offer as a nonprofit organization.

(53:34):
So there's still that level of there needs to be
some structure, There needs to be some consistency and the
need in terms of the documentation is just that much
more important.

Speaker 7 (53:46):
On the nonprofit side, yes, and that's.

Speaker 6 (53:52):
That's what I was talking about, Like people, I mean,
I just want to start our pop because they'll start
a conversation. I was saying about doing this. Do you
think I fit a profit or nonprofit? Because okay, again,
we know what we know and we don't know what
we don't know, and the conversation is this level, but
it's okay, yes, you want to do this, should be
a profit or nonprofit is one level of a conversation.
But once you decide what you want to be, there's

(54:13):
a whole nother conversation on the level of responsibility, the
level of everything if you're going to do it right right,
And once we learn what it takes to do it right,
then we realize, wow, it's not just about putting you know,
five oh one, C three or LLC or corp.

Speaker 7 (54:32):
It's actually encompassing of a lot of different things.

Speaker 6 (54:35):
And it makes me chuckle because my son, our son,
my husband and my son does a lot of gaming.
And we finally decided because I watched Kay send that
he's a gamer and he just talked about the hours
he put in and how.

Speaker 7 (54:49):
Hard is to do that.

Speaker 6 (54:50):
I'm thinking our son be putting in hours with gaming,
not just playing a game, but gaming. So we told
our son, listen, you're gonna have to make this business.
This is not going to be just you gaming. So
we started the path of it being a business. And
then we started having conversations, what's the business name? Well,
this is the name I've been going by. Mom, All right,

(55:11):
well I need to check it because I have to
make sure.

Speaker 7 (55:13):
No, the name is out there.

Speaker 6 (55:14):
Well, I spell it differently. No one spells it like me.
It doesn't matter if they don't spell it like you.
If it sounds the same, then there's confusion. So now
the mind is like, whoa there? All this business stuff
is different. It's not fun and games. It's not just
about all go register LLC. It's the structures. It's understanding
that there's different levels of conversation to run a sustainable business.

(55:37):
So there's a singer that is watching, there is a
speaker that is watching. So if you was a trance
late this stuff and you was actually you know, push
organizational skills administrative assistant to help them be successful and
sustainable in what you do what they do. What are
some things, not going deeply into it, but what are

(55:57):
some things that you will help those type of creatives
in order to you know, level up.

Speaker 4 (56:06):
I think it depends on where they are in the process.
I think what a singer artist starting out may need
versus somebody that's a bit more established is probably going
to be significantly different. One of the things I would
say starting out and that kind of encourage this for

(56:28):
all business owners, not just singers, is when they are performing.
For example, if they're doing a show. I noticed a
lot of singers music artists would have like a notebook
for you to write your email address. That was one
of my biggest best pet peeves because I was the
person I was always trying to decipher chicken scratch trying

(56:50):
to get the email addresses put into like a database
or something like that. So one of the things that
I always encourage for artists is to do like either
a key for QR code that would take them to
the email form. Most email marketing systems have like an
opt in form built in that you can customize to

(57:11):
fit your branding and all of that stuff, and you know,
having people just type in their email address themselves, versus
you having to take a notebook home and then you
have to sit and spend however many hours trying to
decipher handwriting and put that in. I think another thing
is once you're having that list, taking it a step

(57:36):
further and tagging each of the people that are opting
in based on what show they were at, what location
it was in. So if you go back to that market,
you can go back to those people that were at
that show and say, hey, I'm coming back, and hopefully
they'll come back and support you again. I think another
thing is also being strategic about how are you leveraging

(57:59):
that show for other opportunities. Are there appointments you can
set while you're in that market, Are there brands that
you want to meet with? Are their producers and writers
that you may want to meet with, and you kind
of maximize your time in that location. So if you're
an Atlanta artists and you're going to New York, there

(58:21):
may be other artists in New York that you may
want to try to connect with or collaborate with while
you're in New York, So you may want to be
scheduling those appointments ahead of time around the time that
you have this show, so that you can do that
as well. You may want to have some press materials
to distribute so that if there are you know, local outlets,

(58:42):
local blogs, podcasters, maybe you can get in and connect
with them to help promote your show. So there are
different things that artists can do when they are performing, traveling,
you know, that would benefit from having some administrative support
to help them with executing it.

Speaker 7 (59:03):
I love you just said that, because.

Speaker 6 (59:07):
My mind just went completely off like when you said that, Like,
especially if you're there at a show, right, first of all,
you don't have to have a line people doing whatever,
but they have this QR code to have this built
in system. Now everything becomes more automated. Not only you
know to say hey, I'm here or there whatever, but
now when you send out maybe just snippets of you

(59:29):
performing or doing, this is now your personal unlike social
media those things like that, this is now for me
to you, for me to you, and you saw me,
and you remember me, and I once you still remember me.
Next time, another opportunity comes open, whether it's you given
the opportunity or you hear about an opportunity, but it's
more intentional and it becomes automated because that QR system

(59:51):
and administrative support. It's like, we got this in and
this is the thing we're going directly to our congregation
right lost on someone else's platform. You opted in, you
want it to be contacted, and this is how I'm doing.
And now you're always front of mind when an opportunity
opens again that they may have or they hear of

(01:00:13):
an opportunity because they're always seeing whatever you now set
up automated to go out to them from there.

Speaker 7 (01:00:20):
I love that.

Speaker 6 (01:00:21):
So that would be kind of the same thing like
a speaker for the speaker, right if you're you know,
doing speaking engagements, is the same thing. When you show
up somewhere, you want to have something to gather the information.
So you're saying, even take it a step farther than
just trying to pass out cars, but do something where
you know you have administrative support to actually pull in
that information.

Speaker 4 (01:00:41):
Absolutely, yes, but you can use your admin to follow up,
Like maybe you're getting them and they're opting in. Now
your admin can go take that list and send those
follow up emails after the thank you emails afterwards. SOO, hey,
we have this next thing coming up that we wanted

(01:01:03):
to make you aware of like there are other opportunities
for you know, your advent to support you once you
kind of get some of those things in place.

Speaker 6 (01:01:12):
And that is important for the ADMIN to have because
most of the times, a lot of opportunity loss comes
between the being there and the follow up.

Speaker 7 (01:01:21):
It's that in between. It's the follow up because life
be life and it is what it is.

Speaker 6 (01:01:25):
But to not just be in front of somebody mind,
but actively in front of somebody mind. And as artists,
as creatives, as entrepreneurs, things we do, those are the
things I'm talking about that take you away from the
very thing that you need to show up one hundred
percent of yourself in. And that's why I think it's

(01:01:45):
it's really important for to bring someone who can show
up a hundred.

Speaker 7 (01:01:48):
Percent in that.

Speaker 6 (01:01:49):
And that's where a lot of things continue to open up.
When you see overwhelm or disorganization, how does that usually
show up? How can you tell, Okay, there's a lot
there's gonna be a lot of overwhelm a disorganization here,
or it's not like does it show up a certain
way unmanaged I should say overwhelm a disorganization.

Speaker 4 (01:02:13):
I would say it varies, but I think the consistency
is you're noticing that balls are being dropped, You're noticing
that things that are supposed to happen aren't happening, or
things are getting missed that shouldn't be getting missed. So
usually when somebody's got too much on their plate, there's
gonna be like if your hands are full and then

(01:02:34):
somebody throws something else at you, you can't catch that
other thing because your hands are already full. So there's
ending up being something that's getting missed, a ball that's
getting dropped, something that's not getting done. And so oftentimes
it's usually somebody that they either didn't plan or prepare
for it. Well, they didn't do their homework in the
front end like we talked about earlier, kind of doing

(01:02:56):
their research and mapping out, Okay, these are the process,
this is that I'm gonna follow, or these are the
steps that I'm gonna take, or this is what I
need to do first, second, third, So I think it
kind of shows up in different ways, but I think
the consistency is something is off. You can see something
that's not happening that should.

Speaker 6 (01:03:17):
Be Yeah, because how it showed up for me and
That's why I asked, is so sometimes you don't recognize it.
You just think it's whatever. It showed up being stuck.
It was unmanaged over them, showed up by being stuck,
and you're doing everything else thinking this is gonna unstruck you.

Speaker 7 (01:03:35):
That's the word, and it's not.

Speaker 6 (01:03:37):
It's passing the ball, punting the ball, and all of
a sudden you just you did nothing different right out
of everything, the service, you offer, whatever's going on, nothing
changed except for passing the ball and letting somebody else
do it, and then all of a sudden you're unstuck.
So for me, that's how it showed up anytime there's unmanaged, overwhelmed,
And now I know how to identify if I feel

(01:03:59):
completely stuck in the area, oh h, passing it on
that you forget what that thing is to pass it on.
That's why I wonder if that showed up with anybody too,
just being stuck. And then when you pass it, you
start to see, you know, the floodgates. Things start to
come in, opportunities start to do, things start to flow, right.

Speaker 4 (01:04:19):
I think to your point, a lot of times you're
just so used to chaos that you don't even recognize it,
and so sometimes it ends up in either something big
getting missed or like you said, getting stuck, or somebody
else has to come in and be like, hey, it
doesn't have to be like this, there's another way to

(01:04:39):
do this so that you're not experiencing these things to
kind of open the door to oh, there's another way
to do this where I can have my business. But
then there's still you know, peace, productivity and profitability in
what I'm doing.

Speaker 6 (01:04:56):
So what do you say to individuals who say I
don't I don't know, am I even in the play
space or wherever I need to be in to have
to truly delegate to be able to scale?

Speaker 7 (01:05:09):
Like when does someone know?

Speaker 6 (01:05:10):
This is a question I'm putting someone on you because
this is the question I always get as an attorney.

Speaker 7 (01:05:14):
When do I know I need to get a tired attorney?

Speaker 6 (01:05:17):
I'm not as soon as you know. But when do
people know that you know I probably should bring this
one in? Is it when there's overwhelmed or bringing them
into already move them forward? Like when is the time?

Speaker 4 (01:05:35):
That is a good question. I think a lot of
times when you are in the process of growth, like
if you're doing something and you're seeing the wheels are
starting to turn. You have to be self aware enough
to recognize that you're only one person and there's only
so much you can do before you max out. And

(01:05:58):
so I think if you are are being cognizant of it,
if you're starting to see, oh, this thing that I'm doing,
where I was working like twenty hours a week and
now I'm at like forty hours a week and there
are still more opportunities coming, you need to start looking
at Okay, I need to have somebody else come on

(01:06:22):
board to help out with it. But I also I
like reading a lot of business books. So there's the
EMS boy Michael Gerber. He kind of talks about being
cognizant of the different hats that you're wearing and associating
those hats with a job and a job description, and
so he would talk about the things that you don't

(01:06:44):
like to do or you don't do well, starting to
take those jobs off of your plate first, and identifying
people who can fulfill those positions for you so that
you can focus on the things that you do better.
And then as you're growing, you know you can start
to allocate more people and begin to delegate more of
the work so that everything is not on you and

(01:07:07):
you can start to pass those hats off to other people.

Speaker 6 (01:07:11):
So question if I heard you correctly, because I heard
and earlier you said, you know, when your wills get
to spin in and you see there's more opportunities coming
in and you feel like you know there's more here,
I can't handle it. But I also did hear like
you just said in that book, you know, when you
find yourself doing more of the things that you know

(01:07:32):
you don't like to do, you're not set up to do,
or it's taken away from the thing that will actually
grow you. So if I hearsay two things, it's not
just necessarily when you're getting opportunity.

Speaker 7 (01:07:45):
It could be the ladder to get opportunity. Is it both?

Speaker 6 (01:07:50):
Like, so if you see more opportunity and you're pulling
opportunity in, yes, but if there's no necessarily there's not
necessarily opportunity coming in.

Speaker 7 (01:07:58):
Like if I think I'm here, you who opportunity mean?

Speaker 6 (01:08:01):
Is you know, opportunity to make more money, to perform
people buying your products. If there's no opportunity coming in yet,
but you find yourself trying to get opportunity trying to
get breakthroughs, but you find yourself having to put more
and more hours into doing those things to get it.

Speaker 7 (01:08:18):
So opportunity is not coming yet. Is that also a
time to bring in an administrative assistant?

Speaker 4 (01:08:24):
Yes, it could be, It could be. It may be
that the opportunities aren't there because, like we talked about before,
you're not positioned to receive them. And so if you
are taking some of the things off of your plate,
that may be hindering you because again it could be

(01:08:49):
that's not your strength. And so you're doing this thing
that maybe it takes you two hours, but if you
have somebody that that's what they do, maybe it takes
them thirty minutes. But if you take it off your plate,
then you can focus your efforts in another area that
is stronger for you or that you enjoy doing, and

(01:09:11):
that may create more opportunities for you to grow and expand.

Speaker 6 (01:09:17):
And that makes me think about, like I was saying
one of our empowerment speakers on here, that's like reaching
out right. So when you're pitching, you're pitching and you
want to pitch at scale, and you want to go
to all these different you want to find time to
study your message, become one with your message and just
being your message, and not be really disturbed by the pitching,

(01:09:40):
right or not even that when I say to Stort
by the pitching is sometimes you get rejection, you get
all these different things that kind of interferes with your energy.
But if you have this, this mediator, this person in
media the middle that's doing all that all that's coming
on them, right, and so now you're staying in the
energy of what you do best and the only thing
that's really kind of filtered to you who is those

(01:10:00):
things for you to do best.

Speaker 7 (01:10:02):
So now you continue to feel your best.

Speaker 6 (01:10:04):
And that's what I was thinking about when I ask that,
what if there are no opportunities because a lot of
times there's no opportunities coming in because we're probably doing
all these different things and it's bringing our light a
certain way. But it may be a time to bring
a ministrative assistant in to do those things that we're
doing more of in order for us to continue to
eliminate more in.

Speaker 7 (01:10:23):
Our light for those opportunities to come.

Speaker 4 (01:10:25):
So let's see what I think. The other thing, too,
is when you have someone else, you know, there's the
expression that two minds are better than one. There's somebody
else that can see things that you can't, and I
was gonna say that. And then there are things that
they may be able to think ahead of for you
so you don't have to think about it. So if
they see something that's coming up down the pipeline, they

(01:10:48):
could maybe say, hey, I noticed XYZ.

Speaker 2 (01:10:51):
Do you need me to do this for you?

Speaker 4 (01:10:53):
Or do you want me to go ahead and take
care of it for you so you don't have to
think about it, or they if you empower them to,
they can go ahead and just do it for you
and then tell you, hey, by the way.

Speaker 6 (01:11:03):
I did x y Z, I was gonna bring it
up when you have brought the QR code from earlier, right,
So that may not have necessarily been a thing too.
You know, there's a lot of chaos going in. It's
a thing to prevent chaos. But it was also just
innovative strategic thinking of how to put you on the
path as an entertainer with automated systems, because a lot

(01:11:28):
of times when we think about automated systems or customer relation,
you know, gathering information, we're thinking about literally from just
an entrepreneur who wants to you know, sell whatever product.
And if we think about service, it's still services like
you know, maybe courses or this, but not necessarily think
about I want someone to contact me to come perform.
And so that is just innovative and for thinking. That's

(01:11:49):
why having administrative system is not just about you know,
doing the things. It's about you know, two minds coming
together and creating that synergy that can actually create opportunity.
So I was gonna say that because that was that
was a huge one. Ken, that's a gen. So if
they don't think Ken the fire, I don't know, look
all right, But see the thing is too what I

(01:12:12):
love about you is it's not just like I said,
book read. It's not just education. You are out in
the field. It's different when people have touched ground, when
people worked in the field, when they're part of the roots.
It's like you bring a different connection to all these things.

(01:12:33):
You see it from a different way of how these
things can be done. And so I love that you
can marry all those things and it helps you to
think out of.

Speaker 7 (01:12:43):
The box. So from your experience working with vastly.

Speaker 6 (01:12:47):
Different people, and I know everyone's different, everyone's different, and
everyone may be in different stages. But if you can
like pull in one of the biggest things, one of
the biggest systems that someone implemented that helped put them
on the right track, no matter what industry you and
what would that be.

Speaker 4 (01:13:13):
I think probably when I was working with the digital
marketing company, we just had to start putting in operational
systems because there were none, and so we went from

(01:13:34):
scratch to like I was saying, working out pricing structures
to creating a step by step process. So I sat
down with my client and was like, Okay, when a
client needs X, what does that? What do you want
it to look like? Not what's happening right now, but

(01:13:55):
what do you want it to look like? So when
they first inquired about, hey, I want XYZ service, I
want of fire designs, I want a logo done, I
want a consultation. What do you want that process to be?
And we sat and wrote it out and we went

(01:14:15):
from one he was able to leave his job. He
went from probably making less than twenty thousand dollars to
I would say maybe by year five he's making over
one hundred thousand. He was able to increase his prices

(01:14:35):
because he started to position himself as an expert in
certain areas and starting to interact with a higher caliber
client because we started to go from Okay, we're looking
at this person that wants this discount logo, to hey,
we're talking to this artist that wants to pay five

(01:14:58):
thousand dollars for a VIP day. So once we started
kind of putting those things in place, it put him
in a position to be able to generate more revenue,
to have a greater impact on the clients that he
was working with, and you know, being able to grow to,
you know, do some of the other things that he

(01:15:20):
wanted to do. I think one of the big things too,
was when I started working with him our very first call,
I asked him, you know, what were the different things
that he had going on, and I think he rattled
off like ten different businesses that he was like in
the middle of, and I was like, Okay, can we
like start with one. Let's focus on one, get the
wheels going on that one, get that running smoothly, and

(01:15:44):
then we'll start to trickle in the other ones. So
I was my ask of him was like, Okay, what's
the lowest hanging fruit, what's the easiest one to start
with to get it going so that you're generating revenue
and that we can, you know, get running smoothly and
you have things in place a little bit for that one.
Let's streamline that, focus on that, get that running smoothly,

(01:16:07):
and then we can go back and revisit some of
the other ideas that you have.

Speaker 7 (01:16:11):
So what it sounds like to me what I got
from that the use that one particular client.

Speaker 6 (01:16:17):
But the biggest system to get in place, or the
system to get in place that could make the biggest
difference universally is operational because what we're doing, no matter
what we do, we're operating in some capacity. So getting
operational system down also to your point you just brought up,

(01:16:40):
for those of us who just wake up with all
the stuff in our head, operational system helps to.

Speaker 7 (01:16:46):
Bring it all in.

Speaker 6 (01:16:48):
You don't have to I want you don't have to
let go of this, let go that. That's your vision,
but it's not meant for it. It's not meant to
make you confuse and be all over. So when you
have an operational system, like you told him, Okay, we
have all these things, but let's start. We're gonna we're
gonna eat all the fruit. But let's go ahead and
start pulling from the low the lowest hanging one. So
operational system is what I heard. So one last question

(01:17:09):
before you get into I want you to talk a
little bit more about UH savvy artists. I want you
to just go into that. Go in, but before we
go there, what advice would you give to someone anyone
in whatever their industry is, UH entertainment, I mean as
a creative, as a business owner, nonprofit for profit, who
knows they do need help, but they're struggling with the

(01:17:31):
fear of letting go. Because that was me until I
said that's stuck meness, I'm I'm gonna do everything. No
reason to be stuck here, I let go.

Speaker 7 (01:17:43):
What would be your what advice would you give to
those individuals?

Speaker 4 (01:17:49):
So one thing is I would want to bring to
their attention that them not letting go is creating a bottleneck.
I've been in enough organizations where I've seen firsthand, because
everything had to go through X, Y Z person, things

(01:18:12):
were not happening, things weren't progressing the way they should
have been progressing because that person was getting overwhelmed. There
was one instance where they just stopped answering their phone,
and nobody could get in touch with them, and so
it got to the point to where, Okay, well we
can't sign this deal for this sponsorship, and you just

(01:18:35):
lost ten Graham because nobody could get in touch with
you to finish out the paperwork. So growing is going
to require you letting some things go in any capacity
as a parent. Eventually, Like I'm aware that my kids
at some point they're gonna grow and they're gonna move on,

(01:18:57):
and I have to let them go, and I have
to prepare them for that. And I think it's the
same thing with your business. You have to kind of
think of your business like I used to say when
I was first starting out, like my business is my baby,
Like I have to think of it like I'm preparing
this and nurturing it to eventually be able to run
and function without me. And So the biggest thing I

(01:19:21):
think I talked about when you're like working with clients
and stuff, kind of setting expectations, I think you also
have to do that for the people that you're working with,
and so you need to have Again, it helps a
lot if you already sort of have some processes in
place in terms of being able to delegate. But I
think it also helps to kind of create a culture

(01:19:44):
and set expectations for what you're looking for, being able
to articulate this is the vision, this is where we
want the company to go, and make sure that the
people that you are bringing on understand the vision, are
on board with it, and are willing to help you
achieve it. And so I think when you start to

(01:20:06):
put the infrastructure in place, you start to have the
job descriptions and you know processes, and you know, make
it easier, help them help you, basically is what it
boils down to. So you start to put the processes
in place, you start to put the structures in place,
you start to set the expectations of what you're looking
for in terms of communication, how frequently when you need reports,

(01:20:30):
what to do, if you have questions. And then I
think the more you get comfortable with that person, then
you can start to let go a little bit more.
You can empower them to do things a little bit
more without them needing to check in with you. And
I saw that happen with some of my clients too,
were perfect example the marketing company. We went from every

(01:20:54):
time I talked to somebody else having to call him
and get clarity on something or ask questions, to the
point where he wasn't even like interacting with people. I
was just running the business for him, and he would
get calls and then he would tell them to call me. So,
you know, I think there it gets to a point

(01:21:15):
eventually where you kind of have to begin to think
in those terms of being able to position yourself to
not just have this, not just be self employed and
have a job, but have a business that can function
so that you can do other things. You can take
care of your family, you can go on vacation, you

(01:21:36):
can go on a retreat, so you can get some
new ideas and new innovations to push whatever your idea
is forward.

Speaker 6 (01:21:45):
Absolutely find the acts. When you find yourself dealing with
many clients, where is your go to place to remedy
the organization of everything you got going on? So where's
your two plays?

Speaker 4 (01:22:03):
So when I'm dealing with a lot of clients, So.

Speaker 6 (01:22:08):
That's yeah, that's a good question. So on a posting,
is this a question of to Kim or Kim advising
somebody else who's dealing with many clients and where they're
go to places? And while she while while she types
that go ahead and get into bis savvy artists and

(01:22:30):
talk more about that it's coming up, let them, let
them know what that is.

Speaker 4 (01:22:35):
Absolutely So this Savy Artist Academy, this is our twelfth
annual event. We do it every year to provide entrepreneurship
training to creatives, and so that is one of the
things that came out of some of those experiences I
was mentioning where I'm interacting with artists that don't really
have an idea of business structure and operations, and so

(01:22:58):
this Savy Artist was kind of born from that as
an opportunity to say, there's more to being a singer
than just singing. There's more to being a filmmaker than
just rolling the camera. There are budgets, there are you know,
you're dealing with independent contractors. You know they're dealing with

(01:23:18):
contracts and agreements, and there are all of these other
facets to operating as a business that as a creative
you need to be aware of. You need to be
cognizant of either you knowing how to market yourself or
being able to bring in someone to help you market,
but you also need to be aware of what to
expect from them to know that they're doing what they're

(01:23:40):
supposed to be doing. So you need to have the
knowledge yourself of what to expect and what some of
these areas are and then have an opportunity to, you know,
bring other people in to help you do those things.
And so Fitzavvy Artist was a space that we created.
The goal is for it to be like an arts
and er tament business incubator eventually, but we're starting right

(01:24:03):
now just doing the annual event. We have workshops throughout
the day on business and teams on branding and marketing,
public relations, entertainment and technology, and then managing finances and
understanding legal matters. We also have tons of networking opportunities.

(01:24:24):
It's a great place to connect with other creatives to
cross collaborate because we deal with artists in music, film, literary,
visual and performing arts. And then it's also an opportunity
to be introduced to products and services that you can
use within your business. So if you're looking for accountants
that specialize in working in entertainment or entertainment publicists or

(01:24:51):
entertainment attorneys like Alocacia like, that's where you want to
go to make those connections, build those relationships and expand
your business. Spit. Savy Artist Academy is coming up on
August ninth. It'll be out the Russell Innovation Center for
Entrepreneurs and the website to learn more is the s
Athacademy dot com.

Speaker 6 (01:25:12):
Yes, and that information is scrolling for those who want
to see you see the b s a A Academy
dot com and also Kim contact. But yeah, so even
that I know the year that I went, uh bes
savvy even brought James Brown's daughters just just to tell

(01:25:33):
you about it was uh.

Speaker 7 (01:25:36):
They talked.

Speaker 6 (01:25:37):
It was amazing to pour in to individuals and just
let them know, you know, how things go other than performing,
Other than all the things you see, there's things that
can happen to her point, if contracts are not in place,
or if just somebody's after you have a state, things
like that, and so it was very information. It's not typical.

(01:26:01):
It's not one of those things you think about, oh
I'm just gonna go here. No, it's literally and because
I believe Kim again, your roots, so you know what
to bring in and what to cover very fore or
thinking anything that's changing that can possibly affect your creativeness
your business. Those things are talked about such as AI.

(01:26:24):
I mean big things that people are staying away from.
The only time you really hear people talk about it
is oh, just chat GPT. But to actually have somebody
come in and say are their potential issues?

Speaker 7 (01:26:32):
Are they this or they're not?

Speaker 6 (01:26:33):
Like literally, uh, BIS savvy is there to up level
us and to legitimize what you're doing and not just
the talent. So I look forward to being there myself.
But outside of even BIS savvy, you all connect with
Kim like where can they connect with you? Just on

(01:26:53):
you know, social media's a LinkedIn is preference for you,
like where can people connect and you know go beyond.

Speaker 4 (01:27:00):
And LinkedIn is definitely a great resource. Kim believe Finel.
I think the LinkedIn r L is LinkedIn dot com
slash in slash Kimfinel e b s. I'm on Facebook,
I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Instagram. Is Kim dadmin. I

(01:27:25):
also have a website Entertainment biz support dot com. So
any of those platforms are an option to be able
to get in touch with me and to learn more
and you know, have a consultation if that's what you
would like.

Speaker 6 (01:27:39):
To do and before you go. That's why I put
that question here, so I want to forget. So that
question is uh to you like about you? So if
you find yourself dealing with many clients, where's your goal
to place for remedy to remedy the organization.

Speaker 4 (01:27:54):
So for me, I think one of the things that
I'm very big on is making sure the foundation can
manage what's coming in. So I think at this point
I kind of have a good idea of what my

(01:28:15):
capacity is, and so I have other admins that I know. Again,
I'm in different trade organizations, and you know, I've kind
of built up a network of people. So if I
feel like I'm starting to get overwhelmed, there are people
that I can outsource certain tasks to. So if it's

(01:28:36):
you know, somebody that needs help with their website, no
web designers that I can outsource things to. If it's
getting videos edited, I know video editors that can do that.
If it's social media marketing, I have social media marketers
that I know that can kind of take on some
of those tasks. So I've kind of created a network

(01:28:58):
of resources of people that I can outsource or delegate
or just refer to handle certain things if it's not
within my wheelhouse, and I don't have the bandwidth to
do it. I'm also very big about setting boundaries and expectations,
and so I kind of have my cutoff times for

(01:29:20):
certain things. So when I do not answer business, tax emails,
phone calls on Sunday, Sundays are my day to unplug, recuperate,
spend time with my family, prep for the week, and
then you know, Monday, I'm able to hit the ground running.
I'm like God works six days and rested on the
seventh through am I to think I could go seven

(01:29:41):
days straight and not take a break and not refuel
and replenish myself. So I always take my Sundays off.
And then for me, again, the arts is a big
area for me to kind of decompress and like refuel

(01:30:02):
myself and get inspiration. And so I will take a
weekend and binge a movie if I feel like I
need to, or binge a series if I need to
go to the movies. I may take the kids to
a music and arts festival and go sit in the
park and relax. Like I kind of have learned to
find different areas of ways to I'll go sit in

(01:30:24):
a car and just listen to the radio. Like, if
that's what it's manageable in that moment. So I find
different ways to decompress, relax, distress, and then that tends
to help me open my mind, give me revelation about things.
Maybe it's something I've been stuck on or struggling about.

(01:30:45):
Once I decompressed, if I take a good nap, usually
by the time I wake up, I have a solution
for whatever that thing was. So you know, I'm a
huge proponent of resting, getting rest, needing rest. I'm not
that I'll sleep when I'm dead, hustle till I die.

Speaker 6 (01:31:06):
Yeah, And you said the keyword, the B word, boundaries.
That's a huge one. And now I don't know if
you've seen this circulating around too, uh, And we all
don't know if there was other underlying issues. But the
posts from the young lady on social media who's working
seven days a week, and she has said, you know,

(01:31:28):
I'm tired about i'mna lay down, I'm you know whatever
her name was, like she said, CC whatever her name is,
I'm tired, I'm gonna lay down, and she lay down
and never got back up. And they were saying, like,
you know, just from the posts and her I guess
if you follow the post and the threads just her
always going hard all the time. So again, I don't
know if there's other underlying things, but that's what was

(01:31:49):
captured and made me think about what you just said
as far as rest, because it goes to the point
I was talking about earlier.

Speaker 7 (01:31:54):
We have these sound bites and these hype.

Speaker 6 (01:31:57):
Men and all these things people talk about entrepreneurship and
that and sleep when you're dad and you don't need this,
I know for me when I went to law school,
they were like in law school and after law school
you have a jealous mistress and that's how you have
the answer to period, meaning nothing else matter. This mistress
you got and I refuse I did. No, I'm not

(01:32:18):
buying it, and so I'm happy you brought that up.
Whoever's listening, don't buy into any of that. We have
to take care of ourselves. You have boundaries, and more importantly,
get people a support team, get people behind you that
this is what they do, so that you do not
deteriorate your health.

Speaker 7 (01:32:37):
That's not worth it.

Speaker 6 (01:32:38):
We weren't given visions and gifts to just take us
out of here, so it's important to have those people
understand that the art of letting go is important and
we need to release this overwhelm. So I hope today's
conversation reminded you that success doesn't come from doing it all.

(01:33:00):
Really doesn't. Please let us dismiss that fake hype. Let
whoever's hyping up saying that. But I guarantee you those
who are hyping all that up got a whole entire team.
I'm telling you they have a whole entire team. And
when they choose to sleep, they sleep, they sleep very well.
So just to know it comes from knowing when to
carry and when it's time to release.

Speaker 4 (01:33:23):
Release. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:33:24):
Absolutely, So I hope this segment with Kim resonated with you.
Please make sure you share this, especially in the community.
Please make sure you share this episode because one of
the things we do not think about when we think
about support. The only time we useally thin about support,
we talk about social media. You ain't supporting me such

(01:33:46):
and such a support me ain't report. What about the real,
the true, genuine support, Someone who is helping you build, someone.

Speaker 7 (01:33:56):
That's helping you not to overstretch yourself. That's the support.

Speaker 6 (01:34:01):
So please share this because we need to be more
educated in this area on how it can apply in
any sector.

Speaker 7 (01:34:09):
So any last thing you want to share, Kim, before
I wrap up.

Speaker 4 (01:34:13):
I just wanted to tag on to what you were
saying earlier in terms of the importance of resting and
taking a break. I listen to a lot of the
behind the scenes behind the music, a lot of interviews
with professionals and creatives, and the one thing that stood
out for me is Limitwell, Miranda, when he came up

(01:34:36):
with the idea for Hamilton, he was on vacation, and
look what Hamilton has turned into. So I think when
you give your mind and your body the space to relax,
what you can come up with is limitless, or what.

Speaker 6 (01:34:52):
Is trying to be downloaded can actually happen. You know
how you see a computer download and just be spinning, spinning,
and it doesn't downloads. That's the interruption, that's the interference
of our overwhelm. Then yeah, then when we clear out,
it stops spinning and then a download happens. You start
to see that barcle That's what I think about. And
I got that from our last segment of data. He's

(01:35:14):
stuck in my head about everything is data. Michael Cortez.

Speaker 7 (01:35:17):
I had him on it. It was amazing, So thank
you all for.

Speaker 6 (01:35:21):
Tuning in, engaging, adding value to this very very powerful,
much needed conversation.

Speaker 7 (01:35:29):
But please remember, the.

Speaker 6 (01:35:32):
More you know, the more you grow, the more you learn,
the more you can absolutely earn. But when you share,
when you share, you show care and I truly believe
also when you share, so much more opens up for you.
So don't keep this knowledge to yourself. Spread the wisdom
tag friends, and let us continue to elevate twogether until

(01:35:54):
next time. I want you to keep striving, keep growing,
and most importantly, keep seeking elevation, peace and progress.

Speaker 7 (01:36:07):
Okay, stay right there, cam Let me s

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}The Art of Letting Go to Grow: Releasing the Overwhelm

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The Art of Letting Go to Grow: Releasing the Overwhelm

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