S3E10 - One Small Act to Empowering Others w/Kristin Lee

Subscriber-only episode

This week in The Biz Dojo, we're joined by Kristin Lee , Founder and Managing Director at KLBM - a business management firm specializing in supporting the entertainment industry.

Kristin shares her stories of starting out as a proud supporter of local and indie music and how she married that with her aptitude for accounting, eventually forming her own business (KLRM). We also talk about the vision for her business in supporting women in the industry, and how we can help form pathways that support equity in all industries. This isn't just about women's rights and creating equal pay, it's about providing opportunity for growth and uncovering your own potential. Kristin also shares her insights into how we can all help create more equitable futures, and what that means for our collective development (hint: it's nothing but great!)

So, crank it to 11 and rock out with some  Biz Dojo Coffee (Masters Medium - OR - Dojo Dark) as we share our conversation with a Rockstar in business management! 

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Transcript

JP Gaston: 0:02

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Voiceover: 0:29

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JP Gaston: 1:00

So being in a band is hard, trying to get shows trying to book anything, especially for more than a pitcher of beer, because that's what people want to pay for a band. It's hard

Seth Anderson: 1:10

and know where you're going with this. You can't you? You can't for me.

JP Gaston: 1:15

So when I, when I had a band, we've talked about this before for the listeners who have have been with us for a little while. Back in season two, we talked a little bit about this on on the podium, actually, we were doing the podium,

Seth Anderson: 1:30

retired segment that we had, yeah, maybe maybe we'll bring back one day, I think we will bring it back one day.

JP Gaston: 1:35

Yeah, it was fun. Well, in some form, we'll have to bring it back for sure. But we did talk about a person named Deron McGinty, boy, all right, our boy Darren. So when I was playing music in a band, it was really, especially as a person in the band is really hard to get shows and to have good conversations. And then you show up and you meet the person and then they try and swindle you into something different than what you talked about blah, blah, blah. So I just decided it'd be way easier to have a manager who dealt with all of that stuff, basically, virtually, all through email, text, whatever. And the man, the man behind the band, as it were, exactly. really helped to make sure that you know, we had the right contracts in place, blah, blah, blah, and could deal with any fallout. So we could just walk in and say we were told we would make X number of dollars, you need to pay us X number of dollars. That's what the contract says we're done.

Seth Anderson: 2:28

And this is this is barons commission right here. Yes. So

JP Gaston: 2:32

So Deron McGinty was me with a fake email address, and a fake name. And he would do all of our bookings. And I would just go to the show, as you know, the basis or the guitarist, whatever band I happen to be in, and he made some good money.

Seth Anderson: 2:50

I remember the first time we talked about this, and I couldn't stop laughing enough to get myself under control to ask any questions. All right.

JP Gaston: 2:57

I'm open for questions today.

Seth Anderson: 2:58

But I am I'm curious, did you ever have a situation where you, JP, were talking to someone who was trying to swindle or barter with you? And you're like, yeah, let me go talk to Darren and see what see what he has to say.

JP Gaston: 3:14

More than once. I literally have asked the guitar player so in one of the bands, I asked the guitar player, we had a code. So I asked him if he could go grab my picks, I don't use a pick. So he knew if I was asking to go grab the picks, I wanted him to go and have his phone out and be ready to answer his phone. So I was like, Yeah, I need to talk to Darren and I would step away and I would just pick up my phone and I would dial and he would be like outside the venue and he would answer and then he would be the one talk over the phone to whoever we were having a problem with and he would know the contract because I shared the contract like everyone in the band knew what the contracts were but yeah, he would manage them on the side Wow Oh yeah. So we were doubt all over the city.

Seth Anderson: 4:09

So there's something I didn't know about you see you are of the Cliff Burton School of bass versus the Jason Newstead is that that how that goes the finger picking versus the

JP Gaston: 4:21

empik I'm I'm a cross between finger and slap slap in the face slapping the bass. Yes.

Seth Anderson: 4:31

There you have it.

JP Gaston: 4:32

I also don't like people are gonna think I'm crazy here but I actually don't like using a pic for guitar. No. I think it's because I grew up on bass like so my dad was in a band when I was not born yet. Like 2030 years before I was born. So pre JP yes free JP My dad was an event of one that actually like won a bunch of awards and could have gone somewhere but just couldn't afford really good recording equipment. So never won any they were actually In a contest with the guests who, and they came second. So I don't even know if I would exist if they won that God does, because who knows where in the world they would have ended up but yeah, I picked up the bass because of my dad, he had this really old base that weighs 1000 pounds, and I just decided I wanted to learn how to play it. He also had a guitar, but it wasn't out in on display and the bass was so I taught myself how to play bass played bass through high school in jazz band and everything and got into some rock bands and fell into the circle of basis at my high school, and then again in college, where I met a bunch of really cool people and did some tutoring. And yeah, it was

Seth Anderson: 5:40

awesome. I feel like I'm learning all kinds of things about you that Aaron and well, and Aaron, Aaron is a, I think a reoccurring character in our world from here on out. Alright, why are we talking about all this gap?

JP Gaston: 5:54

We're talking about this because we this week, we had an opportunity to talk to a real Darrin, a real person, he was involved in entertainment management, not just bands, but entertainment. Management. So Christina Lee, and that was a great conversation about everything and not not just stories from the road, which he would, you know, expect in those sorts of situations it was, it was a lot about starting your business and you know, some of the decisions she made to, to do certain things with her business that we won't dive too far into and giveaway.

Seth Anderson: 6:26

Yeah, no, I think just a super inspiring person is what I take away from it, you know, she worked with some big firms decided to go off and do it on her own, had a lot of people second guessing and doubting her. And, you know, based on everything I can see she's, she's doing some pretty cool stuff,

JP Gaston: 6:44

when you can open three locations across the US and opening a headquarters in Nashville, like if, if you're doing those sorts of things you're in, if you're in LA and Nashville alone, and you're in the music industry or entertainment industry anywhere, you're doing something, right,

Seth Anderson: 7:00

yeah. And just her overall vibe, you know, I just, I dig it. And I think a lot of the things that she stands for, in terms of, you know, being an advocate for equal pay for women, and creating space for women to not only, you know, have good jobs, but to be promoted and, and be at the front of this industry and other industries. To me it just to put their money where our mouth is, you know, based on what she's actually doing in the world on a day to day basis, which is pretty cool.

JP Gaston: 7:37

Yeah, it's nice to see someone who has a mindset about not just the business they want to be in, but how they want to run that business. Like any anyone can go and start a business, it's something completely different when you have a vision about how your business can actually impact the world. And she talks a lot about being the change that you want to see in the world. And she talks about making, you know, kind of small changes, and many small changes will add up and like you said, She's, she's putting her money where her mouth is like she's she's making those changes, and she came into the game thinking about those things.

Seth Anderson: 8:11

So with that thought to ponder in your own life is what's one thing that you could do to empower others or give someone else a voice? Well, welcome to The Biz Dojo with Seth and JP. This week, we are joined by Kristin Lee, welcome to the dojo.

Kristin Lee: 8:44

Hey, how's it going

Seth Anderson: 8:46

on? Great. Thanks so much for joining us today. And I guess reading up and listening to a couple pods you've been on, it's like, you took one of the more traditional I'm going to call it boring jobs in the world accountant and you've matched it with the gaming industry. Is that about sort of capture the spirit of what you do.

Kristin Lee: 9:06

Yeah, definitely. I think you know, at the heart of it all is business managers are mostly accountants, but there are business managers who have other backgrounds you know, maybe lawyers or financial planners, too, but I would say a large majority of us fall in that accountant area.

Seth Anderson: 9:22

And you had a you know, a bit of an interesting journey there. So as I understand it, your parents were accountants and once you kind of got finished with the music scene, that was just sort of a natural path for you to head down that route.

Unknown: 9:35

Yeah, I, I went back to school for accounting, and no, I went into general public accounting star and I thought maybe I'd work with family, but I just found it to be really boring. I was good at it. But you know, it just wasn't really exciting me. And when I found out that entertainers and musicians and people still needed accountants to and worked with This woman who helped me get my first job, I was very delighted to find out that I can kind of mold those worlds together. I've been doing it

JP Gaston: 10:08

ever since. And you've sort of you were in entertainment. From a very young age, as I understand that you kind of got yourself and how much did that play into your desire to find something within the entertainment industry?

Unknown: 10:21

A lot. Yeah, I mean, I've been going to shows for as long as I can remember, and playing in bands and kind of running around in the underground music scene for a lot of my life. And, you know, it's, it's something that kind of really fits in your core when you're a part of one of those DIY scenes. And it was not something that I was willing to shed from my life. It definitely it still to this day plays into everything I do. I think that's part of who I am.

JP Gaston: 10:53

I feel like people don't realize that, like 99% of the music scene is underground, and they know nothing about it. And they only see the 1% that make it onto radio or into their ears through podcasts and those sorts of things. And it's a totally separate world from the world

Unknown: 11:08

they live. Yeah, and I bet most people have never heard of any of the bands that I was going to see or hanging out with 15 a lot of them aren't around anymore.

JP Gaston: 11:22

That's par for the course the music industry, right?

Unknown: 11:24

They can't aIl be the Rolling Stones,

Seth Anderson: 11:27

just kind of picking up on something there. Kristen, your time in the we'll call it the underbelly of the music scene. We talk a lot about transferable skills. So we've had, you know, professional athletes and musicians who've been on the show before that we've then gone on to have you know, pretty careers. Just wondering like, Is there one or two skills you picked up in that scene that have actually helped you or not, not actually, but like played a role in your success in business?

Unknown: 11:55

Yeah, you know, if you have never experienced a DIY show, or festival, or something that these kids put together or busines that they put together, I mean, this is all born of a passion and a love for music. And, you know, they will work their tails off and figure everything out and make this happen and put this show together and make it work. And I think a lot of that mentality has transferred over with me and no, it's definitely a part of the firm, it's a very collaborative effort of the work that we do. And, and everyone kind of helps everyone and we play into different skill sets are like, Okay, if you're good at a and you're good at B, then you know, together, we can get this one project done and see it through. And, you know, I think a lot of that does come from growing up in that scene, it was like, I would go to shows and take photos of my friends bands. And then I worked at a camera store, in high school and college, and I'd run down there and develop pictures and then give them to them so they can use them for their promos, or put them in scenes or whatever. And it kind of all did this, you know, not for money, but for the love of seamless, whatever project we're doing through and you know, just for our love of music

JP Gaston: 13:17

scenes. It's been a while since I've been involved in that music scene and being involved in scenes and the amount of work that goes into those is incredible. And it's all just passion. Yeah, there's like nobody's getting nobody's making money on z No, it's

Unknown: 13:36

your love. You know, it's like just being so obsessed with something that you want to talk about it and share it with, you know, 10 other people that are passionate about the same thing.

Seth Anderson: 13:48

So I mean, maybe just following that thread, then Kal BM is the name of your firm, and maybe just give us a bit of a taste of how that came to be and what you guys are all about.

Unknown: 14:00

Yeah, I know, I worked at some really big firms. At the start of my career, I worked for some incredible partners at all of those firms and I picked up you know, all of the good parts along the way and tried to remember not to do the bad ones. And you know, I think time and time again, as you know, a lot of marginalized people I'd say face the the ceiling that you would constantly hit. So you know, I know, like so many women who are passed over for positions, people of color, LGBTQ that just don't sit at the big table, a lot of these firms and I think I just kind of kept out over and over and over again. So jump and go somewhere else and go somewhere else. And then I realized that if I wanted to do things and have the vision that I saw for my future, my firm, I was really gonna have to do it myself and take it upon myself and just run with it. So Hey Dad, I've just started it up right in my living room and ran with it. Thank God all my clients came,

Seth Anderson: 15:07

if you think, reflect on that for a moment, and, you know, reflecting on our journey, it's actually the one year anniversary today of our podcast. So, one year ago today, nice. Yeah, it's exciting. So one of the one of the things I was reflecting on this morning was how much taking that step into the unknown, like, there's all kinds of self doubt and imposter syndrome and, and worrying about things that are totally out of your control. But once you make that step to all these things, you never even knew were there. I'm just curious, like that moment in your living room when you're like, Okay, I'm doing this What? What was that? Like? What was going through your head

Unknown: 15:42

that weeks and maybe even months leading up to it, or the fearful ones, right? I am an overthinker, as a lot of us are and I played out every worst case scenario that you think of, you know, everything that could go wrong and lamented over all kinds of things? And was I going to have enough cash flow? How was I going to hire? Where was I going to actually put an office? And how is it going to grow. And I realized just sitting there and thinking about all of that stuff, and not taking action was just causing me to spiral. And as soon as I just rip the band aid off and decided, hey, you know, where I was, at the time wasn't working anymore. And I needed to, you know, make a hard left and just go do this would be, you know, that first step, the action of doing kind of removes all that fear, and maybe it's still there somewhere in the back of your mind, but then you're so busy having to do all of these things to get a business off the ground? Well, it's time to be scared anymore. It's kind of just, you got to

JP Gaston: 16:43

go. It's amazing how quick you can act when you've got that fire underneath? Yes,

Unknown: 16:48

yeah, you know, it's for me, I've always found that I'm ahead of making a decision, I get really anxious, and I kind of run around and play out all the different ways that it can go. And as soon as I make a decision, I'm really good at just taking action and getting stuff done. So you know, I've tried over the last however many years to make those decisions more quickly, I'll be at still making sure they're informed and educated and, you know, not just kind of wild, but, you know, I think the less that we spin our wheels, and the more action that we take, I think the better we are,

JP Gaston: 17:27

I think a lot of people have that challenge. And when I say a lot of people, I mean, specifically my wife, very much overthink. And I'm very much the opposite. So I think we play off each other quite well. But there's probably a lot of listeners who have had the same challenge in the past is, are there any tools or tricks that you've learned to kind of light that fire under yourself and get moving rather than trying to plan out every scenario?

Unknown: 17:52

Well, you know, the longer that you spend thinking about something and not doing something, you're just losing time. And I think more often than not, I've gone into a situation and been like, this wasn't like even a fraction as bad as I made it up to be in my head. And then you realize, I've just spent all this time thinking about something that didn't happen or didn't go wrong. And it's actually great. So, you know, every minute that goes by you don't get it back. And so I think, you know, making sure that I kind of limit my thought process as much as I can, has really helped me I think I get more

Seth Anderson: 18:28

done now. Yeah, and I think just reflecting back. I mentioned I was listening to a pod you're on yesterday, while I was at the gym, and I was running around the track. And I remember, you said something around, you know, you thought through a lot of worst case scenarios, and then you got hit with one really, which was COVID. But you made it through. So like, as worst case scenario, as that was, you have the tools at your disposal and the ability to kind of work through it, I guess what, what did you learn from that experience? Like, even if a worst case scenario does come true, you've got the tools to manage it. Was there anything else that kind of came through for

Unknown: 19:05

you? Yeah, you know, I think I've said this a dozen times. And I probably said that on the podcast you're listening to but I you know, I do try to plan for the worst and hope for the best. And, and, and we do see a lot of repeat scenarios, I would say and in my line of work, and they might not be identical. But you know, similar things kind of happen in the world of entertainment, and there's certain ways that things could play out. So I think over time, and just having that experience and going through those motions. I kind of know the ABC to set up for a certain, you know, scenario that might happen if it's contracted one way, but things could fall apart in three different directions. Then we'll try to loosely plan for those three, but also know that you have to be a bit malleable and you have to be able to kind of turn on a dime and just act accordingly to what the situation is. And I think a lot of us face that over COVID we just had to get really creative and flexible and deal with the constant moving target and the ever changing challenges because nothing was certain and we didn't know what was going on. A lot of the times, you know, it was every week, everything was changing in your

JP Gaston: 20:23

line of work being business manager for entertainment. did things get busier or less busy? When COVID? Like, did you have more to manage? Because there was just like, crazy contracts and things canceling and coming up and, or was it like, okay, nobody's doing anything now. So we're gonna sit back?

Unknown: 20:41

Yeah, no, it was actually, I think I was busier than I've ever been, in a way that was new to me. Because we were changing plans pretty much week by week, updating cashflows constantly having constant conversations of Okay, now. Now, we're canceling things out further and further and further. You know, at the beginning, it was just canceling short term things, but then it became a very long term, cancellation of everything and, and we stopped rescheduling things and just canceled things. And so then it's like, Okay, well, what happens, if none of this comes back or everything goes away, then we have to make entirely new plans. And, you know, I think I spent more time in, you know, zoom meetings and on the phone than I had in my entire career, just constantly talking about what we're going to do next. And it was just a complete play by play by play, you know, it was, yeah, it was, it was pretty interesting, but also a little bit uninspiring to see how people were able to kind of roll with it, or, you know, change up their workflow to keep it together. So, you know, take the good with the bad,

Seth Anderson: 22:00

did you find support in the virtual environment? You know, getting on zoom and coaching, supporting the people that your firm, hiring people like, what was all that like for you,

Unknown: 22:11

we do weekly zoom with our entire staff, everybody gets on. And, you know, we all just say hi, loose update with whatever's going on with the firm, or what kind of pressing deadlines are coming up that week, or in the next couple of weeks, just to make sure everybody's kind of on the same page? And then, you know, see if anybody has anything fun to share with the group, and try to keep spirits up and stay connected, obviously. But yeah, I mean, that's exhausting. I, I do believe in being with people in a room, you know, it's just a different energy to be next to somebody as opposed to seeing them on the screen. We're doing the best we can with what we've got given the situation. But you know, I don't think that this is a permanent solution. I definitely don't think it's, it's a replacement for in person interaction. But we did the best that we can we communicate on email and slack every day all day long. So we stay pretty thick. Yeah.

JP Gaston: 23:12

Do you find that more things have been enabled? As a result, this podcast and our conversation right now, you know, if we're, if we're honest about it might not have happened a year ago or two years ago? But yeah, you know, Southern Knight aren't making enough money on podcast to fly all of our guests. Like, Belgium, like, we don't we don't have those kind of funds. So we couldn't do that. But yeah, do you find that it's actually made a lot of change in your business, for the positive and you're taking things away from it, that are really going to help you in the future?

Unknown: 23:44

Um, you know, I think that we'll see a little bit less travel and running around. And the entertainment industry is kind of famous for us all jet setting around and going to events, shows and stuff. And I think, you know, while those things still happen, I think, the exit entourage that that that usually entails, and I know my personal travels, definitely going to cut back. And I found that, you know, just spending more time in the office at my desk has been really nice. It's nice to have a more condensed day, I guess, as opposed to, you know, running in and out of the office for meetings, people dropping by constantly all that stuff that kind of interrupts the workflow because I am working with numbers a lot of the day and I need to be focused. So I'm going to try and maintain that as long as I can.

JP Gaston: 24:38

I'm not missing the commute for the time, but I very much missing the commute for like being able to spend some time inside my own head and think through some things and have that kind of decompression between home and work and then more importantly, between work and home. I know I know you've you've talked a fair bit about self care. So how how is your How is your self care changed over the course of COVID

Unknown: 25:02

it's definitely something that I build into my schedule now or I feel like I used to just kind of do that stuff when I had time. And now I block the time out on my schedule on my calendar I've got my workouts are blocked out, you know, I just I tell my my assistant my staff you know, I have this going on and I can't be interrupted I I just need to do this and i think it's it's made me more effective and stronger because I I just have the ability to focus on work when I'm at work and really give myself that time. I definitely being at home more you know, obviously eating better and cooking out there things instead of going out I mean, I did my fair share of you know, ordering in as everybody did, it was a pandemic, but I did try and focus on you know, making more fun things kind of challenging myself to cook new things and, and healthier things, more colorful foods. And I think that really benefited me actually. It was nice to get creative, making things that I never made before. Kind of a new challenge for myself.

JP Gaston: 26:14

Is there a dish that's made it into your regular rotation as a result,

Unknown: 26:17

not a regular rotation, I'd say but I've definitely just done some really off the wall things I've gotten really good at, like cleaning out the fridge and making like a fun meal out of whatever's left. I mean, I'll get that down to the last bit. It's like chop, you know, I

JP Gaston: 26:34

was just gonna say it's like an episode of chop, you're like, Okay, I've got a jar of mayo, and I've got some pickles. What am I gonna make? Today? I

Unknown: 26:41

was like tater tots and bell peppers, kale and eggs. Sounds good breakfast. Yeah, you know, I love bread breakfast hash.

Seth Anderson: 26:51

That was the word When did we talk about that idea gap of having an app that would tell you all the stuff that was about to expire in your fridge. And

JP Gaston: 26:59

a week ago, because I was talking about how to do well, I like I actually write down a list. Now because I was so bad at food before I write down a list of all the expiry dates when I get home. And I know that I need to eat the food by that date. So it actually ends up making my meal plan for me, because I never eat the food early. I always just eat. My broccoli is going to expire on Tuesday and so is my chicken looks like I'm having chicken and broccoli. So yes, if we had that app, it would be one of our first users of that.

Unknown: 27:29

You know what you should do actually I write when I open so I make smoothies in the morning, like after I workout and I use coconut milk. And I'll write the day that I opened it on there. So

JP Gaston: 27:40

I started doing that with like broth, like the chicken and beef. I always write the date on top. because inevitably I have like four or five on the go in the fridge and I turned to my wife. I'm like, when did we open these? She's like, I don't remember when we ate what? Like, who knows? And then they all get thrown out. So we started writing the date on top.

Seth Anderson: 27:59

Yes, we're building on the sort of self care idea a little bit. Kristen, you and I are kindred spirits when it comes to getting up early. What do you find about that 5am wake up that sets you up for success.

Unknown: 28:13

So nice to have quiet time before everything goes crazy during the day, my days are pretty, pretty busy. And you know, stuff can happen throughout my day that I didn't see coming. So we get curveballs more often than not and so having a few hours to myself in the morning to just have coffee and do the New York Times crossword puzzle. And late this morning I talked to one of my friends who is also about five in the morning for a little bit and we had a little chat and traded some new tunes that we were both listening to and just kind of nice to have that and then the sun came up and I went to the gym and then by the time I get back and I get ready to my desk I'm pretty zenned out and ready to go and I definitely find that I'm more focused at that point because I've kind of gotten all my my scrolling and phone things out of the way. energized for my workout. Yeah, totally

Seth Anderson: 29:13

like I had a day the other week where I woke up at like six and I was like my whole morning was just throwing off that missing that hour to just kind of decompress and do my thing.

Unknown: 29:23

Yeah, if I oversleep I definitely feel like I've lost half a day so now or I just have to sacrifice doing me things which I don't want to do either. And that makes me kind of grumpy.

Seth Anderson: 29:35

JP is the opposite of us though. He's the one that yes, he'll be up editing the podcast till four in the morning and then hand the baton to me and I'll do all the posting

JP Gaston: 29:45

conversations about how Seth and I could easily start a 711 and just run it on our own and it'd be open 24 seven, just hand it off because of our sleeping schedules. But I find the same thing like my, my evening is when I get my quiet time so rather than it's a good like decompress Before I sit down and you know go to bed and whatnot, but I do it for the same reason. It's a little different to I've got a two year old. So it's a little different with a two year old. Oh, yeah, wake up at 6am. It's because someone's screaming. So there is no, like decompression time in the morning, you go from fast asleep to wide awake.

Seth Anderson: 30:17

So maybe just pivoting a little bit. Kristin, you know, one of the things you're super passionate about is equality, women in the workplace, equal pay things of that nature. And I know you're a big advocate, and maybe tell us a little bit about what you've done with your business to sort of lead the way on that front.

Unknown: 30:33

Yeah, this is a good one. I, you know, I felt that in my career, I wasn't taken as seriously because I was a young woman. And though I think, I think it was recognized that I was talented. I don't think that was the issue. But you know, I'm different. I was young, probably a little over eager. And I think some of that ruffled feathers, but I know that there were young men kind of in my class, that would definitely get jobs that I felt entitled to over me. And I don't think there was as much opportunity for me ever, as there should have been as my male counterparts. And I think it's even worse for people of color, especially women of color, and probably even worse for the LGBTQ community. And, you know, when I started my firm, something that's always stuck in the back of my mind was, you know, the opportunities that I could create, like, what am I able to give back by doing doing this, I set up this company, and, you know, not only to serve as my clients, but also to, you know, serve a community and to provide for other people. And so, you know, I kind of try to live by that Be the change you want to see in the world. And so, you know, largely wasted employ women, and one male employee right now. And he's great. Everybody's great. And honestly, the women that I've hired, we have had male applicants, they were just better, they interviewed better, they had the right backgrounds, they had the right energy, they felt like they fit into the culture that I was looking for. And, you know, maybe there's something to be said about people not gravitating toward, like, you know, but oftentimes, I'd be interviewing these women and hear their stories and their backgrounds and be really inspired by it and want them to be a part of what I'm doing. And, you know, I would say, it's, it's unfortunate that a lot of the firms that I've worked for, didn't operate that way and are still trying to figure out how to implement more equality into the firm because they're missing out on so much talent, they're missing out on unique voices, they're missing out on on making themselves you know, as a collective better because if you continue to perpetuate this monotonous voice and and in this vision of your company, then you're not being progressive, you're not being innovative, you're you're not challenging the status quo and you're definitely not not doing anything new and exciting and in fact, you're really limiting where you could go by leaving out those voices and leaving those people off the table. So it's something that's really important to me to keep in mind when we're interviewing and hiring and we've got a great variety of human beings that work for us sounds

JP Gaston: 33:56

awesome. As you've created the culture Do you find that more and more women are applying Yeah, I

Unknown: 34:01

mean, I lead with our advertising on any job postings that it's a women led firm and that were equal pay advocates.

Seth Anderson: 34:09

How do you find the I guess the greater business environment in terms of that equal pay conversation I know it's a it's something that's come up in sports quite a bit of late. And you know, to me, it makes a lot of sense if you're a professional basketball player and the W NBA versus the NBA like why can't there be equal pay? Why why why did why does it like it doesn't make sense that they basically have to have a second job to survive and you know, the 16th person on the bench of an NBA team is you know, they're not working at RBS part time to pay their way but what do you find? You come across in sort of the business world when it comes to that conversation?

Unknown: 34:52

I have no idea why. It doesn't make any sense to me that the same job doesn't pay the same for men and women. Um, you know, we make our pay standard based on the position and experience. And that's it, I probably have women who are paid more than men in my industry or my firm, actually, because that's what they deserve. Because they're really good at their jobs. And they hold down their position. It's just, I couldn't even tell you, it's just kind of mind boggling to me that still on the same age that we're having this conversation, it should be obsolete at this point. And I think employers have an obligation to every single person that walks through that door, to pay them based on their experience their position. And that's it.

JP Gaston: 35:48

Do you find that that permeates into the clients that you have as well? Like, do you? Do you find that men are often paid more even in the entertainment clients that you have?

Unknown: 35:58

They are Yes, they are. We see it, because we see all the contracts. But again, most of my client roster and say, probably close to 70%, maybe more now are female artists, people of color, LGBTQ, and it's another thing that's just important to me is amplifying those voices and, and supporting those careers. Because those people need to be successful and heard and empowered, just as much, if not more so than, you know, the same old thing that's been going on for hundreds of years. So we can do whatever we can to push this along. You know, it's it's still really slow going. And it's not easy.

JP Gaston: 36:40

Well, I think it's important to you, and I think this has come up a lot recently, but seeing people that you can connect with or recognize as a part of your community, coming up as a younger person, you know, seeing a black president, seeing a woman in power, those sorts of things are important. With that in mind, like, what else do you think can be done? Other than just, you know, the conversations that are happening? Like what? What can Seth and I do, for example, like we try to give a space here, obviously, to allow people to speak and to advance the messaging and hopefully have an impact. But like, what, what else can we do?

Unknown: 37:16

Yeah, I believe in, in tiny changes, right? We all have our little microcosm that we live in, and then we operate and so it's like, what, what is available? What opportunities can you provide, you guys can give space and a voice to people to tell their stories. And even if that's one story week, that's still really powerful. I think all employers have the the opportunity to look at who they hire and actively think about their diversity hiring, I think programmers for television shows for radio, they can actively look at what they're playing who they're having on. And say we want to make this more diverse, we want to show every young person out there that there's somebody that, you know, looks just like them and has a similar story can also make it if they want to, and it's not there, the opportunities are often not there. You know, in certain certain communities, I was listening to another podcast with Tiffany out of Tucson she was talking about, you know, if you go into lower income neighborhoods, the banks aren't there, the grocery stores aren't there, they don't have these basic things. If you go into more affluent neighborhoods have readily available on every corner, instead you have liquor stores, you know, you have things that are, you know, not not supplying people with basic needs, that they, they should get to just, you know, have a better quality of life. So, you know, you've got to go into those micro communities and start making those changes, you know, block by block. And that could be as easy as having conversation with your friends and family and see what they can do. Even on a very small granular level. I think everybody has an opportunity somewhere to make a tiny change. Think about

Seth Anderson: 39:12

I mean, I've had a lot of really strong women in my life, grandmothers, my mom, I've got three sisters. And then my daughter, I have a five year old daughter, and she inspires me literally every day. And I think a lot about what kind of world is she gonna grow up in and because because I feel like she could do anything, he could be a CEO, she could be any damn thing. Like she literally taught herself how to swim at four years old with like, no help, like she can do anything. And what can I do as a leader of this house or in this community or you know, in any thing that I work on to help create that world for her so there are no barriers and one of the things I've been thinking about, particularly a lot lately is around language. And you know, you could talk about job postings as one thing like, how do you make a job posting? How do you put the right language in it so that a woman or or or LGBTQ or whatever want

Unknown: 40:13

to apply again that's, that's a messaging that's putting it out there, black and white? I do. I put it in all of my job postings because I want everybody that comes across that to know what we stand for as a company. And that probably does generate more diverse applicants on my end, it probably generates more female applicants on my end, and that's totally fine with me. Because that's what I'm looking for. So I think being ultra transparent and encouraging and empowering this

JP Gaston: 40:47

crucial stuff talks about his daughter a lot. He's constantly inspired by her he's, he's just, he calls me randomly sometimes it's like JP like you won't believe what my daughter did today. Cool. It's the cutest thing ever.

Unknown: 41:00

I love it. There's something really special about girl dad. It's like a whole thing. Yeah, actually my first boss in business management, I'm still friends with his daughter. He's a girl dad, his two daughters and they're both incredible and one of them's really good friend of mine. And he's just has, he has a way you know, of navigating women better than then you know, those who don't have daughters. I always always remember that about him like a soft if he's so total badass boss but he was softness

JP Gaston: 41:37

like he understands like I grew up so I have an older sister and she's 10 years older than me so she used to just whip me into shape of everything and she's an English major so anything I ever submitted in school was automatically not good enough she's actually She's the reason I ended up I used to live in Ontario just south of Toronto. She's actually the reason I moved across the country so I I moved across the country and became a nanny for her kids. And like the change I saw even in myself over the course of pre being a Manny to post being a Manny was pretty incredible like I just I found that I just understood things better I started to eliminate some of my own biases and things that I didn't even they were unconscious biases I had no idea they existed but they were clearly there I needed to deal with them so

Unknown: 42:25

yeah, I mean these are things that are ingrained into us because they've been societal Li approved for decades right and it's it's not really thought about like changes requires active thought that requires paying close attention to your words and your actions and and why you're doing something as opposed to just doing something because that's how it's always been done.

Seth Anderson: 42:57

Is it time for a coffee break

JP Gaston: 42:59

in I think it is time for your coffee break. Are you going to drink some The Biz Dojo brand coffee during our coffee break?

Seth Anderson: 43:04

I'm absolutely going to drink some beers dojo grande coffee on this coffee break,

JP Gaston: 43:08

which is dojo brewing coffee, are you going to drink during this biz dojo brand coffee break

Seth Anderson: 43:12

personally I like the dojo dark Rose The Biz Dojo Grande coffee on my coffee

JP Gaston: 43:18

break my preference is the Masters medium roast on my The Biz Dojo brand coffee coffee breaks

Seth Anderson: 43:23

how much masters medium or dojo Darko The Biz Dojo Coffee could JP train

JP Gaston: 43:29

Oh JP could drink an endless amount of The Biz Dojo bring coffee on The Biz Dojo branded coffee break, whether it was the Masters medium, or the dojo dark roast, let's see the thing is that our listeners can also enjoy The Biz Dojo branded coffee during The Biz Dojo branded coffee break, they just need to visit our website or Amazon or send us a DM.

JD Lewis: 43:48

I'm JD Lewis. I think I still host the morning show from five until 10am on cG 92 unless they fired me, in which case this is all invalid, but you're listening to The Biz Dojo podcast.

Seth Anderson: 43:59

Maybe a good opportunity, then move into this week's question from Mama Seth. So we do a weekly question from my mom this season. And so her question is, Kristin, as I'm a fellow female CEO, and a primarily male industry, and I find that I often have men mansplaining to me, or talking to my husband instead of me. And I'm wondering if you have found this in your industry and what you do to deal with it, and how you keep your cool because I'm really struggling with it.

Unknown: 44:36

Oh, wow. Yeah, we are not alone in that one. It happens all the time. I feel confident now that the clients they have in the teams that I work with, they respect me and I don't see as much of that anymore, but you know, it's definitely still there in the industry. And there are people who you know, maybe I'm, I'm new to meeting or that haven't spent a lot of time with that don't have the right social graces. In dealing with me, I recently spoke on them on a clubhouse panel. And I was the only person on there with financial background. And there are some other people on there that were managers and lawyers and, and marketing teams and stuff. Somebody asked a question relating back to finances and accounting. And two men who are not in the finance world, spoke over me to answer this woman's question. And it was just appalling, you know, but luckily, it was so funny, the woman that asked the question, came right back and said, Well, I was asking Kristen, the financial expert, that question, so I'd like to hear what she asked. You know, at least as women, we have each other's backs. But oftentimes, I'll let them finish speaking and say thank you for your input. But I wasn't done saying what I needed to say. Or sometimes you just have to be harsher. And I know that there's a lot of Oh, well, she's crazy, or she's a bit and you know, what, fine, if that's what they have to think about me. But I've got to do what I've got to do to say what I need to say, to get done what I need to get done, and I can't be trampled on. And so sometimes I have to stand up for myself, and be a little bit more hardcore than I'd like to be. But I do try to focus on my good relationships, and in those that have a very solid foundation of mutual respect, and work with a lot of those people on those teams. Because if I have to talk to you every day, we better like each other, you know,

JP Gaston: 46:47

it's funny, you mentioned the language there about being called a bitch or whatever. And Seth was talking about it earlier. And I think in a lot of those situations, a male would have been called assertive or confident, or any number of positive phrases. So like, I was just going back to it, because I'm just thinking about just how important the language that we choose to use even in those I will say a little bit more trying situations can be because like, you're not being a bitch, you're you are being confident and been providing your input as the expert in that feels like, to me, there's no other way to look at it. But how do I get through to people who are maybe not in the same mindset that I have, because I feel like I'm pretty open, people

Unknown: 47:33

need to shed their, their old mindset about how women are supposed to operate where we used to be thought of is, you know, sweet and soft, and that file, and to not be assertive, you know, to only speak when spoken to. And that doesn't work anymore. Because that's not how we are, we're actually, you know, wildly passionate, intelligent, vocal human beings, and oftentimes far more articulate, and, and calculated than our male counterparts. So again, you know, we deserve the mutual respect of our male counterparts. And also just that opportunity to have our voice be heard, we shouldn't have to keep making our own way. We shouldn't have to keep building our own table, we should start moving toward how do we even this playing field,

JP Gaston: 48:27

as a now middle aged, I guess, white male, I know that I'm probably the one who needs to make the changes, because me and my counterparts in this in this specific group are the ones who are creating the challenge. And so I always want to make the space. But I'm also cognizant of the fact that I may still have some biases. And I may have some other things that come up from time to time, and I don't want to say the wrong word at the wrong time or imply the wrong thing. Like that's, that is a constant thing that's going on in my head that I mean, I need to overcome for myself, obviously, but like, it is a challenge.

Unknown: 49:03

Yeah, you know, I think that we, in this time of change, change is hard growth is hard. I think we need to give each other more grace for the attempt, you know, of trying to understand trying to be better, not everybody's gonna get it right all the time. Definitely, probably not the first time maybe not even the 10th time. But the the act of trying should go pretty far. But the thing is, is that we have to keep trying, and we have to keep listening. And we have to keep wanting to be better. And it's just going to continue on. It's not something that you can just do really quick and then set it aside. It's something that has to go on and on and on and on. And probably multiple facets of your world, you know, at home or at the grocery store. You know at work. I'm sure there are a lot of situations where maybe You know, you've got to stop and think of what the best course of action is, or the best thing to say is, and I think it's okay to stumble a bit, you know, as you're trying to figure that out, at least you're trying, they should be thinking about it.

JP Gaston: 50:13

And it's a couple 1000s of years of oppression that we're trying to overcome. And it's really the last, you know, 1015 years where we've started to push. Yeah, it's not gonna be an overnight success.

Unknown: 50:25

Of course not, you know, but I don't like the the idea of the angry feminists, either. That's like, you know, men are bad, like, screw you, you didn't get that right, that doesn't work, because then that starts the conversation. And then people are turned off the other direction, like, Oh, that was trying already, you know, and, and then people shy away from wanting to continue trying. So we do need to hold space for one another. Well, we're going through this awkward phase of changing and new developments and new ways to even just speak to each other.

Seth Anderson: 50:57

Well, this has been a very inspiring conversation, Kristin. Lots for everyone to kind of take away and think about, and I guess maybe on the way out of here, a couple couple more questions. In terms of KL, em, what's on the horizon? What? You guys have three offices across the US now what, what do you what do you kind of see ahead in 2022? Well,

Unknown: 51:19

our national offices brand new, so it's actually been being built out and having desks and things deliver as of this week, even. So when I focus really is kind of focusing on that office and building apps, big space, and there's a lot of opportunity for us here. We've had a lot of exciting developments and new clients come to us since we've showed up in Nashville, and really hoping to kind of build on that, because it's, it's kind of a new world. For me coming from the west coast, I've mostly spent my career on the west coast. And I've done a lot of work in London as well. And I think now coming here to Tennessee, kind of like a whole new world. And I'm hoping that now we can, you know, inspire some change in the industry and be, you know, something different for the clientele here than what they've had before. And hopefully it's something that they're interested in. But you know, I think maybe, in my industry, there's someone for everyone, you know, and I think we're kind of new on the block. So I think it'll be exciting to see what happens next, then who we come across, but we're gonna have a big 2022. And you'll see it.

JP Gaston: 52:34

I've heard a lot of great things about Nashville, and particularly, I worked in radio for 10 years, I've been in bands. And I have had, I know we talked earlier about not having success in bands, but I have had a little bit of success and done some like a little bit of touring. So I have a lot of friends in the industry. And they've, they've all kind of been to Nashville, and every single person that's been there is like it's different. There is something wildly different about everything that happens in Nashville,

Unknown: 52:59

I like it. It's a whole new energy. And it's a whole new kind of way of working the industry. But the thing that I really like about Nashville is everybody here comes to work, and you've got to pay your dues to make it in this town. And I have a lot of respect for that. So looking forward to spending more time here and kind of digging in.

Seth Anderson: 53:22

Amazing. Well, we look forward to what's to come. And we'll definitely be paying attention. And I guess last last question, how? What are you doing for self development right now? How are you feeding your mind?

Unknown: 53:34

Yeah, I am obsessed with Abraham Hicks. So they have a daily podcast, little nugget thing. It's like, you know, maybe 10 to 15 minutes of wisdom. I try and get one of those in every day is really get me going and they put you in this right headspace of thinking that you're about to have a great day and refocusing the word elite keeps coming across my, across my mind across my desk, that for some reason, I'm really hyper focused on that, on that word, and kind of implementing that into my day and my work ethic and hopefully into my team and just trying to be elite.

Seth Anderson: 54:15

They get they get the funny thing. Last week, I actually started doing one of those daily, three minute podcasts about mindset, and it's almost become like, like a verbal journal that I can do every morning. And then so much fun to do.

Unknown: 54:31

Yeah, they really, it really takes your your thoughts and puts them on a different track. And that changes your day so much. It's awesome. I love it.

JP Gaston: 54:42

Awesome. Well, thanks, Kristen, for coming in today. It's been a pleasure.

Unknown: 54:45

This was fun. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

JP Gaston: 54:54

Hey, thanks for listening. Have you ever thought about how to unlock your own potential and what a coach could do for you Reach out anytime. We'd love to set up a free discovery session with you to see if coaching is right for you and if we're the right coaches just send an email coaching at The Biz dojo.com