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The Business of Creativity: What the Arts Teach Us About Leadership with Megan Mirkes
6 Plays1 month ago
In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we’re joined by Megan Mirkes, Operations Manager of Kidz Kabaret, for a conversation on what the corporate world can learn from the arts.
Leading in creative and nonprofit environments requires a different lens. Megan shares how simple acts of gratitude, empathy, and truly understanding the experience of your team can shape stronger cultures and more resilient organizations. When resources are limited, leaders have to be intentional about how they show appreciation and create meaning in the work.
As businesses navigate tighter budgets, the nonprofit world offers an interesting blueprint. Megan talks about how organizations like Kidz Kabaret balance the books while still making people feel valued and connected to the mission. The takeaway may surprise some leaders — the things that make the biggest impact on teams aren’t always financial.
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Transcript
Introduction to Fractional Frequency Podcast
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Welcome to Fractional Frequency, our take on talent, people trends, and the reality of building up businesses in an economy that keeps
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of Strativist.
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And I'm Erin Todis, Managing Director of Talent Delivery, which basically means I live in the universe of finding the right people to make an impact for our clients fast.
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Around here, we talk about the real side of HR and talent, what works, what absolutely doesn't, and how to build teams that can carry a business, not drag it down.
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We'll break down trends, share the behind the scenes of scaling a consultancy from zero, and probably overshare a little because that's where the good lessons live.
Daylight Savings and International Women's Day Discussion
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So whether you're building, hiring, leading, or just trying to keep your company profitable, you're in the right place.
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This is Fractional Frequency.
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Let's get to it.
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Hello, Amy.
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Hello.
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How are you doing?
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I'm great.
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Good morning and happy daylight savings time.
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Oh, I know.
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I know.
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Losing that one hour on International Women's Day feels right.
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Feels totally right.
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Yeah, it does.
Introducing Kids Cabaret and Its Unique Approach
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But I am so excited that today we're joined by Megan Marcus.
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Megan is the general operations manager of Kids Cabaret, a highly successful children's theater company and nonprofit organization based in Naperville, Illinois, outside of Chicago.
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Their unique non-audition model creates opportunities for all students to share in the spotlight, learn, grow, and enjoy the arts.
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And the organization was launched 25 years ago and has now scaled to run 100 shows per year with up to 20 casts at a time.
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If your head is spinning already at the thought of bringing those logistics to life, just wait.
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We have much more in store to learn about leadership, mission, boundaries, and scaling an organization that has positively impacted thousands of children's lives.
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Welcome, Megan.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for having me.
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I'm looking forward to the conversation.
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Welcome.
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What an intro.
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That's so impressive.
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And let's get into it.
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So Megan, I want to start by talking a little bit about Kids Cabaret's origin and some of your growth story.
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So for listeners who may not be familiar, what is Kids Cabaret and what makes it different from other theater companies?
Kids Cabaret's Evolution and Community Impact
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Yeah, absolutely.
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So Kids Cabaret is a non-audition children's theater, which I'm not sure that we are the only one, but what does make us unique is every child is center stage, which means every child will get a highlighted role with solos and lines to really have their opportunity to be center stage.
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So
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Given the musical, we decide, you know, are there 15 roles that are intricate to the story?
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And then from there, any kid that would like to participate will register and is able then to perform on stage, center stage.
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That's amazing.
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I think about some of the audition theaters that exist for kids and how much pressure that must be for, you know, like a 10 year old, for example, to go in and feel like they're under a microscope and are they good enough?
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And to shed that part of it is just an amazing thing that you do for students.
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So really excited to learn more about this.
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And Kids Cabaret is 25 years old, bootstrapped, launched in your backyard.
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At what point did it shift from kind of a community project to a more serious growth organization?
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Yeah, so Kids Cabaret, as you said, started in the backyard.
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And from there, we grew very baby steps to different rehearsal spaces, performance venues.
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So for a while, we were performing in a church area.
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We've performed in a hotel setting.
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So renting like the reception room of a hotel to perform.
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So really where we started to make our mark
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would be probably with the purchase and renting of center stage theater and creation of that.
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So we knew going into Kids Cabaret, if we wanted to continue to grow, that we would need to create our own performance space.
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And so in 2010, we took an industrial building and completely revamped it to now be the home of Kids Cabaret Performances.
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And with that comes now rental opportunities for outside groups to also use this performance venue.
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So I would say probably about 2010 is really when things started to shift to more of a business setting.
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can only imagine the opportunities that that opened and having your own space and not having to hop from one venue to the next.
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What scaling milestones would you say you're most proud of recently, say in the last two to three years?
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Yeah, so a little bit out of the two to three range, but COVID, as we all know, hit businesses hard, especially performance groups, groups that are meeting 100% in person.
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So one milestone that I'm pretty proud of is being able to stay open during COVID.
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I mean, we were only closed for
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probably like two months by that summer of 2020, we were up offering camps, knowing that, you know, we have our main clientele at home itching to get out of their houses and come do something different.
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So I think that that definitely spoke miles of our staff and, and as well as our customers and you know, the fact that people were,
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reaching out, going, when are you guys going to open?
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You know, my kids are dying to go there.
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So that would be probably something that staying open and then being able to build back up those numbers from COVID, I think is a huge milestone for Kids Cabaret.
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Yeah, my goodness.
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I can only imagine the stack of safety measures and protocol that you would have had to spin up just overnight almost to make that come to life and make it happen.
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That's incredible.
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And we've been talking a little bit about some of the scale.
Balancing Growth and Sustainability at Kids Cabaret
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And I think that a lot of people would maybe not think business case study initially when they think about children's theater, but
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your growth story, you know, certainly nods to that.
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And so I want to get into some of the behind the scenes from a business perspective.
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Would you share with us, Megan, what are the core revenue streams that you have at Kids Cabaret and how have they evolved over time?
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Yeah, so there is a registration fee that we do put in place.
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So every child that registers has to pay a registration fee.
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We do do as many discounts for our families as possible.
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So, you know, we do like a 10% discount for families.
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We have a membership.
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So our loyal customers that are coming and participating in all four seasons a year, we offer a price break to them.
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our main revenue stream would be registration.
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But from there, there are other entities like ticket sales.
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We do fundraisers.
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We have merchandise that we sell like show posters and show t-shirts.
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We also then, with that performance venue, will have rentals come in, too, as well.
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So people are able to rent that facility and with that have rental fees, too, as well.
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So many different streams of revenue coming in at different parts of the year, too, as well.
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So it's something that I think is important.
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hard to maintain sometimes is if you're registering for something on a seasonal basis, registrations at the beginning of that.
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So then in those three months, how are you sustaining income?
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So that's where things like then ticket sales come in, or we have an outside rental group that's using our space every Sunday.
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So keeping revenue coming in consistently throughout the months.
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And how do you, that's an interesting problem to solve and that it's sort of an inconsistent stream coming in.
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How do you think, you know, as you think kind of long-term, how do you think about sustainability of the business versus growth of the business?
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Yeah, so Enable has, so I think what we've proven over the last, you know, 25 years is,
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kids want to do this.
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Kids want to be a part of Kids Cabaret.
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So sustaining the business is keeping, listening to our young customers of what they want to do.
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But the business itself has proven that if we continue to host a show every three months, the kids will continue to register.
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So sustaining that and continuing to register
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Stay focused on what is important in terms of staffing and revenue going out and not exceeding
Leadership and Empathy in Team Management
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those means.
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So I guess staying humble in a way and staying towards the goals of where we started and continuing these baby steps and not going out of our means is what has been able to have us be sustainable over these years.
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I think that's a great lesson and something that a lot of organizations in the corporate community are sort of grappling with right now too, is there's more and more
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macroeconomic pressure on organizations than maybe they've experienced in the past.
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Those that don't already hold that value of humility and being really thoughtful with their expenditures and investments are probably struggling a little bit right now and most certainly thinking about that more than they might have in the past.
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And so really excited that you brought that up and I want to dig into it a little bit more.
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One thing, before we dive in, I want to talk about leadership and how you've led that organization in recent years.
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But before we dig into that, tell me a little bit about success.
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How do you measure success of the organization beyond registrations and ticket sales?
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What are some of the signals that you're always looking for and listening for?
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Yeah.
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So, hmm, that's a good one.
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So,
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Measuring success.
00:11:21
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So besides the numbers, besides registration, besides, I guess, those facts that you see coming in, um,
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A funny one of measuring success.
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It's a small scale, but many of our young employees at Kids Cabaret are stem from volunteering.
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So usually, you know, the kid will start the program in elementary school, let's say.
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And now they're in junior high and they might take on more of an assistant director volunteer position where they do that for three years.
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Now it's time to get a job.
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And these kids that have spent, you know, 12 years with us, pretty much their entire childhood with us, are now wanting to continue to grow with us in a professional way.
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So now I started here as a child actor, and then I volunteered and took more on leadership positions.
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And now I want to go work in their cafe and be there.
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So I
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I guess a way to measure success without the numbers is your staff and your people of going, do they, I mean, it's a nice compliment that you'd want to continue working with us or volunteering with us or being with us.
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But the duration of having your volunteers or staff with you, I think is a nice measure of success of,
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you know, we're around for the journey because we created it.
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And this is something that it's our job to sustain.
00:12:57
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But when other people that don't have the relationship with the business want to be around for the ride too, I think that that's a great compliment and measure of success.
00:13:08
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I agree completely.
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It's so nice to take somebody through that journey and give them that consistency of experience.
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I think it teaches them something about commitment and loyalty and
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you know, what you get out of something that very much depends on what you put in.
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And I think that just sets, you know, people up really well for their, you know, longer term career goals when they've had that kind of foundational experience of having a consistent place that they're able to add value.
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I think I agree.
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I think that's a it's a great measure that you are able to
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to keep people around.
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I think, you know, in even in the corporate world, it's, you know, your retention metrics are important.
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Because you want to know that people are staying that they feel good about the environment that they're in.
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And, you know, it's very rare that you get somebody these days that would stay for for over a decade.
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So yeah, I think that's, that's a really solid measure.
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Over a decade and through various seasons of their lives.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So many of our staff are kids that started as kids, Gabrielle kids.
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And now even in like adulthood, you know, they went, they went away to college.
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Now they've graduated college, whether they've gotten married and are starting a family or looking for their next step in their career.
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We have kids that have been loyal to us for years.
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20, 10, 15 years that different stages of their life, they're always circling back to kids cabaret, to Fair Lady Productions, to continue to add jobs to their resume, or just need a place to continue their, you know, career path.
00:15:15
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And that I do think is a huge compliment of just
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Or, you know, just even as I'm sure all small business owners know, you know, you're in a bind, you know, all of our staff are sick and aren't unable to come today.
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How many people are willing to jump in and help you out?
00:15:34
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I think just as like a huge measure of success, like that loyalty of people sticking around and you understand like why you have, why you do, why you want to.
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But when people that aren't as connected to it do, it's a huge compliment.
00:15:50
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And yeah, a testament to your leadership, I'm sure, because people want to want to want to help you want to help what you're doing.
00:15:58
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So I think that's, that's really
Burnout Prevention Strategies
00:16:00
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cool.
00:16:01
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And you're responsible for leading across many stakeholder groups.
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So I think about employees, volunteers, board members, parents, children, the community at large.
00:16:13
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How do you balance these various audiences?
00:16:17
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And what do you feel like they need from you as a leader most of the time?
00:16:23
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Yeah, so I think just like employees, I think it's very important
00:16:29
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maybe clear to people, you know, you hired an employee to do this job and now I must set them up with the training and the skills that they'll need to do this job.
00:16:40
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And I think people have a hard time with the leadership when it comes to volunteers.
00:16:46
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I think people, you know, they're not paying these people to be here to help.
00:16:51
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But when you work in such a community that
00:16:55
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is driven by volunteers, I'm not afraid to put those volunteers to work, to give them the same guidelines and leadership that I'm going to give my employees.
00:17:08
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And I've seen in different situations where I think some people hold back because, you know, well, this person's volunteering, but people are volunteering because they want to make a difference.
00:17:19
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And they just need to have those guidelines in place or leadership leading by example of what needs to get done.
00:17:30
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So I think although it is different, I think that that is something that is important to focus on when you have a different scale of people.
00:17:40
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So whether that is employees, volunteers, parents,
00:17:45
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your customers, which are, you know, sometimes younger children.
00:17:50
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It's listening to those people.
00:17:53
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And yeah, I mean, keeping, let's see.
00:18:00
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Yeah, focusing on people's wants and needs, regardless of where their stake is in your business.
00:18:07
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So, you know, a volunteer is just as important as an employee, especially when it comes to our nonprofit business.
00:18:15
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Yeah, absolutely.
00:18:16
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And I think you make an amazing point about listening.
00:18:19
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You know, so much of that is, as a leader is, is using your ears and, and not always being the one to speak.
00:18:26
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So you know what they need from you.
00:18:28
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And you started to talk about, you know, the various needs that the stakeholders have and that you're always sort of pouring your heart and soul into the work.
00:18:36
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The work you do is so passion driven and you've got this small team supporting it and it can probably feel overwhelming at times, I would think.
00:18:45
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How do you prevent burnout for yourself and for your team?
00:18:51
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Yeah, so I think it's prioritizing.
00:18:56
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when you have so many different hats, so many different, um, entities of a business, you have to prioritize what needs to get done and what's important first.
00:19:07
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So the list of things that have to get done is never ending, but what has to get done today and what needs to be, um, on the top of the list of things to do.
00:19:19
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So understanding that if I can just prioritize and delegate, um,
00:19:25
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using the people around me to assist with the load of stuff, focusing on, you know, this is stuff that I 100% need to handle, but this would be a great skill for this person to learn.
00:19:37
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So let me train them and get them in that.
00:19:39
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So using the people around me definitely help prevent the burnout in the sense of not being afraid to delegate those jobs, especially when the load is heavier than usual.
00:19:53
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So
00:19:54
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not feeling like I need to be the only person that takes this on, recognizing my volunteers and staff and their skills and having them assist with that, I think is huge.
00:20:07
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I think it's also important too that, you know, staff is scheduled to take a break.
00:20:13
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So we might have, you know, a really hefty work week, but all of us need a couple hours to recharge and reset because none of us are going to be
00:20:24
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on our A game if we're not rested or taking care of ourselves outside of the job too as well.
00:20:30
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So I think when we're at work, we're there to work and we buckle down and get the jobs done.
00:20:37
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But when it's time to be off the clock, I think it's important to set that precedent of we're off the clock today and let's all take a break.
00:20:46
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So yeah, those I guess are ways that I try to stay on top of not feeling burnt out and not feeling like,
00:20:54
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overwhelmed with the job.
00:20:55
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You know, it's a large job.
00:20:57
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But because I believe in our team and staff and their skills, I know I'm not alone doing any of it.
00:21:05
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And I always have a team that I can reach out to.
00:21:08
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Yeah, that's really cool.
00:21:09
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I think there's a couple lessons in there for like small business owners and founders.
00:21:15
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Number one, know when to delegate.
00:21:17
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It's definitely something that I struggle with and could do a better job of.
00:21:26
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And number two, like when you're off, you're off, like setting those boundaries.
00:21:32
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so that you do actually get some clear headspace away from what you're trying to achieve at work.
00:21:41
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Because then you come back refreshed, new perspectives, different ideas, more patience maybe, and then you can get through the next task.
00:21:51
Speaker
So definitely good lessons in there for people that are working in small business.
00:21:58
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Yeah.
00:21:58
Speaker
And I want to follow up in Megan, you talked a little bit about setting boundaries and really respecting your time, you know, at work and your time away.
00:22:06
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What is the most critical boundary that you've put in place as a leader?
00:22:09
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And if you're open to share what led you to commit to it?
00:22:13
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Yeah.
00:22:20
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Yeah.
00:22:20
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So the boundaries probably put in place, um,
00:22:25
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I think that that's that big one.
00:22:26
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You know, you're off the clock, you're off the clock.
00:22:28
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So it's so easy, especially when you're in charge of all the employees, you know, the text messages that if you're not at the job site and you've hired others to work the job for you.
00:22:44
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So
00:22:44
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You know, say we have a rental in on the weekend.
00:22:48
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I've hired staff to accommodate that rental.
00:22:52
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But with that rental will always come questions or text messages over the weekend and things of that sort.
00:22:59
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So I do have to prioritize those when those come in.
00:23:03
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But boundaries that I've set to prevent those text messages...
00:23:07
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is making sure that ahead of the time I've delegated the job, I've explained it thoroughly, and I've opened the door for questions while I'm still on the clock.
00:23:19
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So I'm in the office until Friday at 7 p.m.
00:23:24
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And if you need any help with this, this is when I will be able to help you with this.
00:23:28
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So I guess for myself, it's knowing that when you run a business,
00:23:34
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there's no one to turn to but you.
00:23:36
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So you are going to have those need to be addressed texts or emails over the weekend.
00:23:45
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But doing what you can during your designated work hours during the week to prevent things like that from happening, setting yourself up for
00:23:58
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I guess over going the extra mile during the work week to prevent it's going into your non work week, I guess.
00:24:08
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So there's things that I definitely will keep in place or keep in mind while I'm prepping going into time off to try to guarantee that I at least have a few hours over the weekend on two days to make sure that I'm as clear minded as I can be.
00:24:27
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I think there's a great lesson in that.
00:24:28
Speaker
I always sort of joke that an out-of-office reply on my email is like a magnet for people to pick out questions, comments, and concerns.
00:24:37
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But there's something really powerful about inviting those in a really intentional way before you're out and creating the space for employees and volunteers to think through what their questions might be and address them while you're there.
00:24:53
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I think an awesome lesson in that for anyone who struggles with similar things.
00:25:00
Speaker
More generally on leadership, Megan, before we dive into another segment here, what leadership traits would you say you've had to develop over time in your role?
Learning and Leading by Example
00:25:10
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And maybe what are you still working to develop as a leader?
00:25:14
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Yeah, so...
00:25:16
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I think something that I've learned over time that has just been super successful is leading by example.
00:25:24
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And that's something that I'm constantly using, you know, whether it's with my employees in the classroom when I'm teaching anything, you know, there's nothing that I'm going to say no to probably.
00:25:40
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And especially if I'm going to have a staff member or a volunteer do this task, it's nothing that I wouldn't do myself.
00:25:48
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So whether that's, you know, if I, in a kid setting, you know, I'm telling the kids, let's lead by example by, if you want to have a good show, let's open our scripts backstage and make sure that we're ready to work.
00:26:02
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If we're in an employee setting, you know, let's lead by example in the sense of,
00:26:08
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I'm here for two hours.
00:26:09
Speaker
These are the tasks that I'm giving.
00:26:12
Speaker
If I work hard, maybe the people around me will do the same and we'll support each other.
00:26:16
Speaker
So there's definitely, I've just had huge success in personal and business life with leading by example.
00:26:26
Speaker
Then I think in terms of learning is reminding myself that there's always something to learn.
00:26:36
Speaker
So
00:26:37
Speaker
especially being in a job for 20 plus years.
00:26:40
Speaker
It's easy to get comfortable or into a routine.
00:26:48
Speaker
But as the years go on, things are constantly changing and reminding myself that something that worked five years ago, something that worked 10 years ago might not work as well now today and being open to that adjustment and change, um,
00:27:04
Speaker
as you run a business that's been in business for as long as, you know, Fair Lady Productions has.
00:27:11
Speaker
And I think that's one of my favorite things about Kids Cabaret.
00:27:13
Speaker
It seems like every time we talk, there's something new that you're working on.
00:27:17
Speaker
Something unexpected, too.
00:27:18
Speaker
I remember when you opened the cafe and I first thought it was a cafe, but coming to the theater and seeing that integrated into the Showtime experience was just the coolest thing and it made so much sense.
00:27:31
Speaker
And so I love that.
00:27:33
Speaker
Always, always considering what else you might incorporate or think differently about.
00:27:40
Speaker
We've nodded a couple of times to sort of the similarities or differences between a nonprofit kids theater environment and the corporate world.
00:27:50
Speaker
But I want to dig into that for a second here.
00:27:54
Speaker
Megan, imagine if a leader from a corporate environment shadowed you for a week.
00:28:00
Speaker
What do you think would surprise them?
00:28:02
Speaker
And what do you think they might learn?
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:05
Speaker
So I think when you get these
00:28:09
Speaker
big titles, whether it's executive director, operations manager, you're not, you're thinking, okay, that operations manager is office hours, probably working the job more on a hands-off position, delegating, but not living those jobs.
00:28:32
Speaker
And I think what would surprise a corporate leader is that
00:28:37
Speaker
All of the jobs that are offered at Kids Cabaret that we hire employees to do are jobs that I've done myself or have continued to do myself.
00:28:49
Speaker
A fun example is we, as you mentioned, we did open a cafe that we run and operate.
00:28:58
Speaker
Many Kids Cabaret students will get their first job at King's Cafe operating in
00:29:06
Speaker
food service for our shows.
00:29:09
Speaker
And in the summer, I take on the position of lunch ladies.
00:29:13
Speaker
So in the summer, I have college students that come back to direct our summer camps.
00:29:19
Speaker
And I go into the cafe and run our lunch and snack service throughout the summer.
00:29:27
Speaker
Reason why I do that is it's a need and something that needs to be filled.
00:29:31
Speaker
But more importantly, I
00:29:33
Speaker
I'm in charge of running that cafe.
00:29:35
Speaker
I order the stock, the inventory.
00:29:38
Speaker
I'm in charge of the logistics of how food service should work when we're running it.
00:29:43
Speaker
And something that I genuinely believe I can only learn those skills by doing the job.
00:29:51
Speaker
So taking seven weeks in the summer to run that position during the day that I would usually spend doing office related jobs.
00:30:00
Speaker
It adds a variety to my job, but it also prepares me and helps me better train our employees.
00:30:09
Speaker
And I guess make sure that the logistics of the business are run in like how you would run food services done correctly, because I've actually ran it and done it myself.
00:30:21
Speaker
So versus watching or
00:30:24
Speaker
standing back and waiting to get the, hey, something's not working here.
00:30:30
Speaker
I try to be proactive and jump in and see what can I do in these different jobs and roles to be successful.
00:30:39
Speaker
I guess even something in this case of running rentals, house managers.
00:30:45
Speaker
So I'm the person that's going to set up everything for this rental.
00:30:50
Speaker
I've booked it.
00:30:51
Speaker
I've made the contract.
00:30:53
Speaker
We've organized the event together.
00:30:56
Speaker
And now I'm going to pass this off to a house manager who's going to be there on the day of event to run it.
00:31:01
Speaker
But I have my hands in every aspect of the business and not just from an overseer position, but my hands are literally in those jobs, making sure that they're done, you know, the way that they should be.
00:31:17
Speaker
Oh, sorry, Erin.
00:31:20
Speaker
I have a feeling we were going to say something similar.
00:31:22
Speaker
So please jump in.
00:31:23
Speaker
I was just thinking, it just makes me think about, you know, in the corporate world, a lot of times you will get people that have gotten into like a senior leadership position that haven't necessarily done all the functions that sit underneath them.
00:31:42
Speaker
And I just, I'm not sure it would ever occur to them to, um,
00:31:48
Speaker
take on the role themselves for a period of time to better understand the challenges and complexities of the work that they're asking their teams to do.
00:31:58
Speaker
And I think it's a really interesting concept to better understand your team dynamics and the pressures that they're facing and the realities of trying to get done what you're asking them to do as the functional head.
00:32:15
Speaker
um if you haven't been in their in their shoes i mean obviously you rely on people telling you but there's no uh better way to understand the the true dynamics of a role than to actually sit in it yourself and i it's just i i can't imagine i don't know about you aaron but i just can't imagine a senior leader in the corporate world just taking some time to to really sit in the shoes of the people they they um they make decisions for
00:32:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:32:45
Speaker
And there's so much power in that discovery.
00:32:48
Speaker
I remember stepping in to execute an offer for a team member in a previous position, and it was the first time I'd interacted with the offer workflow at that organization.
00:32:58
Speaker
And I remember uncovering a really silly step that you basically had to just, it was additional clicks for no added value.
00:33:06
Speaker
And I remember asking them about it and they were like, yeah, it's a really irritating part of the process that doesn't have value.
00:33:13
Speaker
And so it was one of those sort of like,
00:33:16
Speaker
couldn't see the forest for the trees.
00:33:18
Speaker
And when you're in the role and you've just been dealing with something for as long as, as you have, you know, sometimes you almost forget that it's there.
00:33:27
Speaker
And so the new eyes can a lot of times uncover things that, that, that others might not.
00:33:34
Speaker
And so I think there's a lot to be, a lot to be learned from, from that habit.
The Power of Word-of-Mouth and Performances
00:33:40
Speaker
Diving into a couple more points about, you know, what leaders can maybe learn from kids cabaret.
00:33:47
Speaker
We talked earlier, Megan, about the loyal following, and it sounds like there's an incredible level of loyalty in the students that have come up through the programs and with the community at large.
00:33:59
Speaker
And you've done this without a large ad budget, which is incredible.
00:34:03
Speaker
Share with us what strategies have helped you bring this to life.
00:34:08
Speaker
Yeah, so we are so lucky to have so many wonderful children.
00:34:14
Speaker
that really do the advertising for us.
00:34:17
Speaker
So, I mean, these kids, they go to school, they tell their friends, I'm in a show, it's at Kids Cabaret, you've got to join it.
00:34:24
Speaker
And genuinely, that is our advertising budget.
00:34:29
Speaker
Word of mouth, our product speaks for itself.
00:34:33
Speaker
So the best thing that we do is any school, any other nonprofit, usually, you know, every season, we have about 10 to 15
00:34:44
Speaker
nonprofits or schools that will reach out to us doing a daddy-daughter dance or a fundraiser, and they ask for donations.
00:34:54
Speaker
And what we will donate to them are show tickets to come see our show.
00:34:59
Speaker
So, you know, this is a raffle prize for four tickets to see our show.
00:35:03
Speaker
knowing that the product will speak for itself.
00:35:07
Speaker
So something that we do, I guess, you know, we usually every show might have a handful of open seats.
00:35:14
Speaker
So why not fill those seats with potential customers, knowing that hopefully they're going to enjoy it and then sign their kid up or go tell somebody you've got to go see one of these shows at Kids Cabaret.
00:35:26
Speaker
So taking those opportunities, knowing that you don't have a huge budget,
00:35:31
Speaker
something that isn't going to cost you anything like open seats in a show.
00:35:37
Speaker
You might as well fill those.
00:35:39
Speaker
And going that going that route, I guess, has been very successful for us.
00:35:45
Speaker
Excellent product, bringing people close to the experience.
00:35:48
Speaker
And I'm smiling, as you said, word of mouth.
00:35:50
Speaker
I've experienced that myself when I was up in Chicago for some business lunches a few weeks ago.
00:35:57
Speaker
I was having lunch with an old colleague and she was sharing just a litany of activities that her kids are enrolled in.
00:36:04
Speaker
And she mentioned that.
00:36:05
Speaker
sports and some extracurriculars, but then she doubled down and said, and my son is in this kids theater program that he just loves.
00:36:14
Speaker
And it's sort of the center of his excitement right now.
00:36:16
Speaker
It's called kids cabaret.
00:36:17
Speaker
And I was like, yeah, I happen to be familiar with that organization.
00:36:21
Speaker
So it really does make a big impact and, and I think stands out against other similar experiences for kids.
00:36:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:30
Speaker
Last sort of wrap up question on your leadership, Megan.
00:36:33
Speaker
How do you continually connect people with your mission at Kids Cabaret and why is it important to do that?
00:36:40
Speaker
Yeah, so I think it's fun in a way, but every three months there's a showcase on stage, 20 different opportunities to see it.
00:36:53
Speaker
of what your hard work has done.
00:36:56
Speaker
So whether that's myself, I get to see it myself, or volunteers that have been a part of it and donated their time to helping us.
00:37:05
Speaker
Literally center stage, you get to see all of your hard work and effort
00:37:10
Speaker
With every single kid that participates.
00:37:13
Speaker
I mean, every kid that gets up on stage, sings their song, does their thing.
00:37:18
Speaker
That's a home run for us.
00:37:19
Speaker
So I'm just lucky that I get to do it 20 different times every three months with over 350 kids.
00:37:27
Speaker
And you get to see that direct result.
00:37:30
Speaker
And it is funny to think about that as like, you know, you get to showcase it, but I mean, it is every three months.
00:37:35
Speaker
It's, this is what I've worked hard for this month.
00:37:38
Speaker
This is what I've dedicated those extra hours to.
00:37:42
Speaker
And always that, you know, after you do that show,
00:37:48
Speaker
it's that same night and four or five registrations roll in from kids that just got to see their shows.
00:37:54
Speaker
So that is a huge pat on the back of, okay, well, obviously the kid enjoyed themselves and the parent enjoyed the product.
00:38:01
Speaker
And now those registrations are coming in from that show.
00:38:03
Speaker
So seeing those direct results and, you know, every, every season you'll get a handful of really kind emails from our parents, just thanking us.
00:38:14
Speaker
And those go such a long way too, as well.
00:38:16
Speaker
So,
00:38:17
Speaker
And anytime we get those, I send them off to anyone that had anything to do with the show.
00:38:23
Speaker
So if we had a director that volunteered their time to help us with the rehearsals and we get a nice compliment, I'll forward that to them, thanking them for their time and effort and like, look how much it does make a difference.
00:38:36
Speaker
But when it comes to kids,
00:38:39
Speaker
and especially at this age that they're in and growing confidence, what our business does, the product, there it is, it speaks, you know, there, there's the confidence build, there's the kid doing their, their, you know, in third grade, but this is their 19th show.
00:38:57
Speaker
I mean, it's, yeah, the product and the joy that the kids bring is the best reward for your hard work.
00:39:09
Speaker
And I love that you share just the testimonials and the thank yous that you receive with your staff.
00:39:16
Speaker
I think when leaders struggle to drive engagement in their teams, drive excitement in their teams, maybe get frustrated when they can't always recognize with bonuses or other material rewards, sometimes it really is that simple, is sharing or illustrating the impact that you're having
00:39:38
Speaker
on your customers, on your stakeholders, on your community.
00:39:41
Speaker
So I love that.
00:39:42
Speaker
I think it's a great, great takeaway for listeners.
00:39:48
Speaker
We've talked about connecting people back with the mission.
00:39:50
Speaker
I think there's so much for people to take away from the illustration of impact for their teams and that it doesn't always have to be
00:40:00
Speaker
material reward to recognize contributions.
00:40:04
Speaker
When you think about legacy, Megan, both for the business and for you, what does that mean to you in your role?
Megan's Journey and Advice to Young Women
00:40:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:13
Speaker
So starting with Kids Cabaret in a position that of
00:40:21
Speaker
being a kid.
00:40:21
Speaker
So I started a kids cabaret elementary school, wanting to perform, wanting to be center stage, looking for those opportunities, getting to be a part of that part of the business to now fast forward 25 years later and now running the business.
00:40:42
Speaker
That to me is amazing.
00:40:46
Speaker
just such a huge legacy thing that I can put in place of, I was with this business from the start.
00:40:53
Speaker
I was just like you guys.
00:40:55
Speaker
I used to be a kid's cabaret kid.
00:40:57
Speaker
That's what I'm constantly telling my students.
00:40:59
Speaker
I was a kid's cabaret kid.
00:41:00
Speaker
I was just like you.
00:41:02
Speaker
And I think setting that example for them, I mean, so many kids are like, yeah, I just want to work at kid's cabaret when I'm getting older.
00:41:10
Speaker
And I think that that for me is,
00:41:13
Speaker
What makes my legacy a part of kids cabaret so cool is that just like all of these kids, I was a kids cabaret kid myself.
00:41:22
Speaker
And if I continue with the business, like I plan to, you know, in 10, 20 years now, maybe I'm in charge of the business and in a higher position, having that and looking back to be able to say, you know, this all started and I was just like you, I think is really special.
00:41:43
Speaker
I couldn't agree more.
00:41:44
Speaker
And I think about, I mean, you carry yourself with such presence and you, I think, just command with such ease that people are in awe of that.
00:41:55
Speaker
But it started by working on those skills as a child and building your self-confidence and building your vocal skills and communication skills.
00:42:07
Speaker
And I think it's so cool for people
00:42:11
Speaker
young kids to see the connection between maybe where they're starting and where they could end when they put the work in and enjoy themselves along the way.
00:42:20
Speaker
And so I love that.
00:42:22
Speaker
Let's end with one piece of advice.
00:42:25
Speaker
It's Women's History Month.
00:42:26
Speaker
We're doing that up big at Strativus.
00:42:29
Speaker
And so I would love if you would share, Megan, one thing with a young woman who might be aspiring to leadership in her career.
00:42:37
Speaker
What would your single piece of advice be?
00:42:41
Speaker
keep going, I guess, you know, never say no and keep going.
00:42:46
Speaker
So I think so many different obstacles come with careers and growing.
00:42:55
Speaker
You sometimes have uncertainties, but try it, see how it goes and keep pushing forward.
00:43:04
Speaker
So definitely,
00:43:07
Speaker
there's days, you know, just like in any job where it's hard to persevere, but always putting yourself out there and not turning away from any opportunity is how you grow.
00:43:24
Speaker
And so I guess don't be afraid to grow.
00:43:27
Speaker
I love that.
00:43:28
Speaker
I love that.
00:43:29
Speaker
Keep going.
00:43:30
Speaker
Don't say no.
00:43:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's a good, it's a good motto.
00:43:34
Speaker
And I think
00:43:35
Speaker
one that I've tried to carry on.
00:43:37
Speaker
I had a really good example in my mother who has a very strong work ethic and the motto was always say yes, figure it out later.
00:43:51
Speaker
I've taken that throughout my career journey for sure.
00:43:56
Speaker
So I definitely agree.
00:43:58
Speaker
Keep going.
00:43:59
Speaker
Don't say no.
00:44:00
Speaker
And I'm not surprised that's your advice.
00:44:02
Speaker
I think, you know, Megan, you're probably the hardest worker I have ever met.
00:44:06
Speaker
And I think that with anything in front of you, you'll just figure it out if you don't know how to do it already.
00:44:11
Speaker
And I think that's an amazing piece of advice and North Star for other women who might be at the start of their journey.
00:44:20
Speaker
So this has been so much fun.
00:44:22
Speaker
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us, for letting us pick your brain, dive into your journey as a leader.
00:44:30
Speaker
And really appreciate all of your time this morning.
00:44:33
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:34
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me.
00:44:36
Speaker
Thank you.
00:44:36
Speaker
I so appreciate it.
00:44:38
Speaker
Thank you.
00:44:38
Speaker
Take care.