Her Story
About Kay
I started my career in corporate, in the HR realm, and dabbled in some marketing. But one of the things I realized kind of late, but early on, is the creative side of me. I knew who I was based on my personality, I knew who I was based on what I love to do, and most of that was create, but more importantly, it was about connecting with people. My life was built around people using me as a resource, a shoulder, a motivation, and so sometimes you don't realize you have that gift, or even if you have that gift, you sometimes are like, yeah, that's not what I do. But at some point, I began to lean into it because it was important to other people, and they felt good. Whatever it was I was saying, or what I was doing, they walked away feeling better, which made me feel better. I spent a great deal of time in radio, almost 20 years. I was a radio personality and the marketing director, I was the director of marketing for Cluster Radio Station. I moved to LA for 3 years because I wanted to write and direct shows. Now I'm a marketing director handling business development, marketing and branding. I'm also a podcast host for We Rock With Her, which is based around women who survived. I wanted to hear those stories about the challenges women had in building their business, their career. I sit in a lot of rooms and I hear a lot of powerful stories, but sometimes I feel like I didn't get the meat of how you got there. I see you now that you've arrived, but what did it take? What did it cost you to get there? Because I believe that is what women hear. My day-to-day really is about being in a creative space 24-7, so I do a lot of networking, engaging with people. I'm basically creating for the company every day, reinventing what can we showcase to our clients, our customers, and then for myself personally, what can I bring to the microphone that women who are listening to this podcast, or people in general, what will they walk away with? And can they use it and apply it to their life, or even share it with someone else?
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kay
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The greatest piece of advice I got was from Kat Williams when I was doing stand-up comedy in LA. I had completely flopped on my first night - not a smile, not a laugh, not a chuckle, nothing. When I came off the stage, Kat Williams came up to me and said, 'That was a great set you did.' I thought, are you kidding me? Like, no one laughed, no one did anything. He said, 'I've seen people come in here and fall flat on their face, seeing people come in here and do great. But this is one thing I will tell you. One shot will never get you drunk.' I thought, what does that mean? And he says, 'You gotta get up and do it again.' He gave me some advice about comedy, and I came back the next night. I had on sweatpants and a cap, and I did the same routine and bought the house down. When he told me, 'One shot will never get you drunk,' that is the thing that I try to tell people, even through everything I do. Even if you fall flat on your face, get up and do it again. Doesn't mean it's over.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My greatest piece of advice would be listen as much as you talk, and learn everything you can learn. And to add one more thing to that, be a researcher. Be a researcher. Dig deeper. So, you may get things come at you every single day that's all on the surface. You may get people throwing things at you and giving advice. Be a researcher. Renee Brown taught me that. Be a researcher in your life, in your career, because being a researcher teaches you what you don't know.
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