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Sharing my Journey with all - The Megawatts Productions Experience
152 Plays2 years ago
Reena Friedman Watts, Marketing Specialist, Megwatts Productions is a lady of many parts . In this episode, she takes us on her journey of discovering her passion and purpose, she touches on her highs and lows and shares her wealth of experience in media and marketing.
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Transcript
Introduction to Zencastr Sponsorship
00:00:01
Speaker
I am super excited to announce that this show is now powered by Zencasta. Check out the podcast discount link in our show notes and stay tuned for why I love using Zen for this podcast.
How to Grow an Online Community
00:00:12
Speaker
If you want to grow a community and an online presence, one really great way to make friends online is to comment on other people's content, share other people's content,
00:00:31
Speaker
People appreciate that so much and then they will want to reciprocate for you. So one really easy way to grow your presence could literally be going online and commenting on 10 people's things a day, sharing one person's content that they've worked hard to produce a day and tagging them and saying, great job, or I listened.
00:00:55
Speaker
People appreciate that, they will come back for you, they will reciprocate for you, and that will help you grow exponentially. Even more than creating your own content is sharing and communicating with the people whose content you really admire.
Meet Rina Friedman-Watts
00:01:42
Speaker
Hello, friends, and welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur Speaks Podcast. My name once again is Kofi Animedu. My guest describes herself as a hustler, a changemaker, and a consummate connector. Rina Friedman-Watts has worked on reality TV shows such as The Jerry Springer Show, CUT TV, and 9911.
00:02:11
Speaker
She's worked in radio. She's planned mega events for the telecom and finance industries. And she's also secured sponsors and MCed. Her diverse background and skill sets allow her to seamlessly weave in and out of multiple markets and find her way through doors that don't open for
Rina's Upbringing and Podcast Inspiration
00:02:33
Speaker
others. She coaches entrepreneurs on how to get unstuck and find their first clients.
00:02:39
Speaker
She gets blips from influencers for their best-selling books, and she even helps them grow communities of their own. Welcome to my show, Rene. Thank you so much for having me. Excited to be here. Great, great, great, great. I'm also excited to host you on my show. So I can describe you as a lady of many parts. So let's kick off this conversation by you telling us a bit more about yourself and your childhood. Yeah, so I grew up.
00:03:08
Speaker
in Louisville, Kentucky. I lived there most of my life, born and raised there. And I was fortunate enough to grow up with all four of my grandparents, which I feel is unique. I didn't realize how unique that was until later, but not most people get to grow up with all four of their grandparents kind of like having an extra set of parents. And that's really been
00:03:33
Speaker
I feel like instrumental in who I've become and a big part of my life and even has lended itself into why I decided to create a podcast. I think that, you know, especially today, people are living far away from their families and living without those kind of relationships that it makes me a little bit sad even. I wish that my kids had my parents closer and I feel like they need that wisdom from the other generation.
00:04:03
Speaker
That's, that's very true. So yeah. I mean, I, I still call my dad practically every day for advice. Uh, that is why I started the Better Call Daddy show. Um, he gives me not only life advice, but business advice, friendship advice, marital advice, and, um,
00:04:26
Speaker
you know, we should all be so lucky to have mentors like that, somebody who we really value their experience. I think it's hard to find in the workplace. I think it's hard to know who you can trust as far as colleagues and friends. And it's, it's been crazy even during the pandemic, I feel like, you know, people that you might've hung out with before the pandemic, you might not be hanging out with now. And I think we're all in kind of a refiguring out stage and a reaffirming stage of what's important in our lives.
00:04:56
Speaker
I'm glad you mentioned. And you need to have trusted advisors. You need to have trusted advisors in your life that you can talk about all of these stages of life with. Yeah, that's true. That's true. And I'm glad you mentioned your podcast and your dad. Later on in our conversation, we'll talk about it into details. So has anything in your childhood influenced what you are currently involved in?
Childhood Dreams and Early Struggles
00:05:17
Speaker
Yeah, so as a child, it's funny, even in kindergarten, I wrote a book
00:05:22
Speaker
about a little girl who wanted to live in Hollywood. My grandfather always wanted to work in the industry. I always wanted to work in showbiz. My parents or my dad definitely glorified the industry. And so, you know, I grew up watching TV shows with my grandparents and my parents and them always wanting to put me on stage. You know, my mom put me in modeling and dance lessons and
00:05:49
Speaker
gave me piano lessons and singing lessons and always was trying to push me onto the stage. And I did like to perform for my family, but then when I auditioned for a youth performing arts school and high school, I didn't actually get in on the first audition. And that was really my first taste of rejection and my first
00:06:10
Speaker
time where I saw my dad go to bat for me and he told the head of the music department, you know, let me get her the proper lessons, let her learn how to read music, let her re audition at the end of the summer. And I promise you, even though she might start from behind, she will finish in the front. And so I took lessons for three months and I learned the music that they wanted me to sing to audition with. And I re auditioned and I ended up getting in and
00:06:36
Speaker
getting to sing and perform with the most talented people. But the thing is, is like since I didn't get in on the first try, I never really sang out and I just wanted to blend in. I didn't feel like I was as good as everybody else. And so that
00:06:54
Speaker
innate talent in me and that excitement that I had as a kid was a little bit, I would say, kabashed in some way, even though I was like singing with people who were better than me and more talented. And I do think in life that you should put yourself around people who are more talented than you because then it makes you better. I do feel like I started becoming
00:07:19
Speaker
a little bit more self-conscious and less sure of myself in that environment, like second guessing myself more. And it wasn't until, it's funny, but there's a girl, I would love to reconnect with her. Her name is Nicole Scherzinger and she's extremely successful now. I think she's worth like 300 million. She was in the Pussycat Dolls and she's been on Dancing with the Stars and she's been on all these big shows now. So I went to high school with her and our senior year, she took me into the music closet.
00:07:45
Speaker
And she said to me, Reena, you've been studying music alongside of us for four years. Like you can do it. I know you can do it. And she was like, I'm going to sit in the front row, sing to me. All these college reps are in the audience, but focus on me. And she sat in the front and she bobbed her head and she cheered me on. And I ended up getting two offers to two small schools, but I ended up taking one. And that was really like the first time where I felt like I had made it. And, um,
00:08:15
Speaker
That story, too, I feel like is a really good example of what we all need. We all need an encourager, and my dad is my encourager. We all need that in our relationships, in our jobs, in our projects, in our life. I really feel like if you have an encourager and if you can be an encourager for others, that will take you to new heights. Very, very true.
00:08:41
Speaker
Let's now talk about your career and the amazing things you've been involved in. Can you walk us through your career and the amazing things you've been involved in all these years?
Career Journey: From Radio to TV
00:08:52
Speaker
Yeah, so I ended up transferring from that first college that I got a full scholarship to. I was there for a couple of years and it was great, but it was very small and I didn't feel like I was necessarily pushing myself as much as I could.
00:09:07
Speaker
And so I ended up transferring to a much larger school, Purdue University, which had like, I went from like 2,500 students to 38,000. And I also went from like a 3.8 to a real reality check of much harder professors, much harder subjects, but also much greater opportunities. So my junior year when I transferred, I walked into a radio station on campus.
00:09:34
Speaker
and was like, I want to work in radio. And turns out like somebody was actually leaving that week or very soon after I had walked through the door. So the timing was right. And I ended up taking, you know, a job where I had to get there at five in the morning and I was loading the features and I was reading the news and the weather and I was working weekends and mornings and pretty much the shifts that nobody wanted, but I loved it and it didn't pay much, but he was a foot in the door and
00:10:02
Speaker
at night too, like after I got my work done, sometimes I would sing and I would record myself and I was making my own demo tapes. And I did that for two years. And then when I ended up leaving that, I gave it to one of my good friends and she worked there for a couple of years as well. And I thought that I wanted to work in radio after I had worked there for a couple of years. So I made some audition tapes. I got an interview at WGN in Chicago, which was a big station.
00:10:26
Speaker
and went up to Chicago, drove there from Purdue, it was a couple hours away, and again, didn't get the job. I don't know if they didn't have an opening right when I was graduating, or I didn't meet the qualifications, whatever, it didn't work out. But while I was up in Chicago, I saw a flyer that a television show, the Jerry Springer Show, was looking for interns the same day. So I walked across to NBC Tower,
00:10:52
Speaker
Told them I had an interview with the intern coordinator, got through security, and ended up starting there two weeks later. And that changed everything for me. I mean, I went from intern to producer in one season. I was so excited to live in a big city and to work on a TV show. I was like, there is nothing that is going to stop me from getting an office in that building. I am going to do it. I was working like 80 to 100 hours a week
00:11:21
Speaker
I was listening to the successful people on the phone and what they were saying and how they were getting people to do crazy things. I was like, I can do that.
00:11:29
Speaker
So what I started out was like as an intern, I was just taking the guests around town and I was keeping them happy. And I was learning the city at the same time because I was new to living there. So I was having a blast and they were giving me cash to entertain the guests. I'm like, this is the best job ever. But then I learned who the best guests were, what their stories were, what they were looking for in the television show. And so befriending them
00:11:55
Speaker
is an intern gave me insight into how to find those stories so i went from intern to associate producer in like a couple of
00:12:05
Speaker
months. And then I started outbooking the people around me. I started getting the best stories. And then at the end of the first year, they gave me the opportunity to produce my own show. It was crazy. And then I got to manage my own team. The thing is, is what I learned, and this is like looking back later, I was not a good manager. I was a workaholic and I was like,
00:12:28
Speaker
I know how to do it all. And if you want to be with me, you do it all too. But that is not a good way to train people. So when I became a producer, I was just still on workhorse mode where I would book the stories myself, do the budget myself, brief them all myself. And I went through so many assistants in one year because I wasn't really training the people under me or being a good team player. I was just trying to do it all myself. And I got burned out, to be honest.
00:12:58
Speaker
I was living and breathing that show and that was it. And smoking two packs of cigarettes a day at the same time. So after producing a third season or the opener for a third season, I decided to move to LA and try a different show. And like, you know, I had gotten my fill of that one. So I moved to LA and I started all the way over.
00:13:22
Speaker
And I became an executive assistant to three pretty established producers, which was great because I got to learn from people that had been in the industry for a lot longer than me.
00:13:34
Speaker
They were doing much larger scale productions. They were working on movies. They were doing the business side of things. They had 200 people on the crew. So that was really cool because I got to network with more people. And then after working for them for a year, I was able to go back into the field and kind of get more creative and work on some of these newer shows.
00:13:56
Speaker
Okay, that was a lot. But that's good. It gives us a better feel of what you've been involved in in the past. Tell us a bit more about what you are currently involved
Shift to Corporate Events and Networking
00:14:07
Speaker
in. What do you currently do?
00:14:09
Speaker
Yeah, so from that television work that I did, I ended up meeting my husband on the third season of Nanny 911. I was a post-production supervisor on that show. I had worked my way back up from being like an assistant to, you know, a post-production supervisor. And I worked on that show for three years. That was the last major show that I worked on in LA. Then I got married, I had three kids in four years, knocked that chapter out. And then I kind of inched my way back into
00:14:35
Speaker
working in, working at all, but like working in corporate America where I started planning lunch and learn events for a telecom company. So basically I would go on LinkedIn and I would type in like head of customer experience at, you know, X company that was Chicago based. So they wanted like Chicago based companies and they wanted certain, you know, C-suite positions to come to these events. And I'm like, Oh my God, LinkedIn's amazing for that. Literally you can type in.
00:15:05
Speaker
like the position that you're looking for and the company that you're looking for. And you can connect with these people. You can befriend them just like casting a television show and get them to come to your event. And so I did that. I was able to do that in the telecom space. I was able to do that in the finance space where I connected with hundreds of CPAs and financial advisors and got them to come to financial events. And I was able to do it in the entrepreneurial space, which by the way, I loved the most.
00:15:31
Speaker
Like I love entrepreneurs. I understand entrepreneurs. I feel like from my film background and like working on pilots and working on TV shows that might not get picked up and taking something from beginning all the way through fruition, like that's much more my space. Like I, I wasn't really into selling insurance or working on, you know, a telecom product that I didn't fully understand all the features of. So, um, yeah.
00:15:59
Speaker
So I worked in the corporate space for a bit, planning events, but then I found the entrepreneurial space and really loved that. And I ended up working for a couple big influencers. One was a podcaster, one was another lady who put on events and she did like coaching. So what she would do is she would like do a free version of her event. And then, you know, I would help her book that. And then from there she would upsell them into like her, you know, coaching programs.
00:16:27
Speaker
I actually liked that because I thought that she was a really great coach and she was a really great speaker. And then this other lady that I worked for, Kathy Heller, I was a part of her official launch for her Made to Do This program, which was amazing to see because she got like 300 people to sign up for her first launch of teaching people what they were made to do. And so from working for a couple influencers, I was like,
00:16:53
Speaker
you know, a lot of these people were starting to DM me privately and saying, Hey, since we can't really work with those coaches one on one for 1500 bucks an hour, would you be willing to do some entrepreneurial coaching? Would you be willing to help us find our first clients? Would you be willing to help us with our
00:17:10
Speaker
LinkedIn profiles and how to reach out to people. And I was like, yeah, that sounds like fun work. So I really just started kind of helping people with what they needed help with and then figuring out what in that I liked and what in that I didn't like.
00:17:25
Speaker
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Speaker
click on the link and we start recording. Zencasti is all about making your podcasting experience easy and with everything from local recording to automatic post-productions in the tool, you don't have to leave your browser to get the episode done. Okay, very interesting.
00:18:15
Speaker
Let's talk about megawatts production. Tell us a bit more about megawatts production and the story behind this setup. Yeah.
Starting a Production Company
00:18:22
Speaker
So, oh my gosh. Truthfully, the idea for megawatts productions started really around the time I got married because we were living in Northern California. My husband was finishing up his graduate degree and somebody in our synagogue community
00:18:40
Speaker
said that they were teaching a class on how to look at the brighter side of life. They were teaching a class on happiness. And she was like, Rina, she was like, could you make a creative video for me on what people think happiness is? I was like, yeah, that's totally up my alley. I would love to do that. So me and my husband took a camera and we walked. We did a man on the street. This was 2007.
00:19:05
Speaker
And I went up to cab drivers and opera singers and homeless people and just all of these people on the street. And I was like, hey, can you tell me where to find happiness? What is happiness? And I just talked to all these random people and I cut together like this video. And she used that to start her presentation for all of her students.
00:19:27
Speaker
And then other people saw that video and they were like, oh my God, can you shoot my baby naming? Can you shoot my barber bot mitzvah? Can you make videos for these events? So that is what actually sparked me getting into video production because it was just kind of like everything that I had used from my television past.
00:19:47
Speaker
Yeah, when I got pregnant with my first kid, I actually decided to take an editing course. So I kind of wanted to use like my editing chops and my, you know, casting chops and the things that I loved from my television background. Now, fast forward to the pandemic and COVID-19 and not really being able to meet with people in person. So I decided to create a podcast so that I could show people
00:20:14
Speaker
I know how to cast guests. I know how to edit. I know how to put together a story. And I really did it to get better at those things. I wanted to create more relationships. I wanted to create better marketing materials. I wanted to get more confident on the microphone.
00:20:30
Speaker
And so I created my show to do that. And then from creating the show, I had three or four people reach out to me and say, Hey, can you help me produce my own show? So that is Megawatts Productions. Like I love working with people who have an idea and want to create a show and need a little bit help doing that. And I might just be a couple steps ahead of them, but I can help them do that.
00:20:52
Speaker
Very, very interesting. Um, so still, how long have you been doing this? Um, working with mega Watts production and how's the journey been so far? Yeah. So I've been doing it for, I mean, the idea came years back, but I took some jobs in between there, but I would say really for the last like three and a half years, I've been pretty focused on it. And this last year was amazing. I got the most business ever from creating a podcast.
00:21:21
Speaker
Okay then, now let's talk about having an online presence.
Importance of Online Presence for Business
00:21:26
Speaker
Why is having an online presence critical for the growth of every business? Yeah, so having an online presence is, I believe, critical for your business because
00:21:39
Speaker
It's the best way to market. It's the best way for people to understand who you are and to really get to know you and see if your values and your beliefs and your agenda aligns. The more that you talk and the more that you connect with other people and the more that you tell your story in different kinds of ways, it brings new relationships every single time. And the way I look at it too is like, if you do a post and it only gets a hundred views, like,
00:22:09
Speaker
I guarantee you you're going to get at least one new relationship out of that. And that's free marketing. Like why wouldn't you want to do that? So you've outlined the importance of having an online. Can you help us with some tips and tricks on how we can build a very strong online presence? Yeah, so one trick that
00:22:36
Speaker
I have recently discovered and, you know, some influencers make fun of it, but, you know, polls are so easy to do and they get really good engagement, especially on LinkedIn. So, you know, I was actually reading through my email, there's a site called HelperReporter.com and they're always looking for people to
00:23:03
Speaker
interview and different subject matters. And I always read through those because I'm like, what questions does Forbes want to know? What questions does Entrepreneur Magazine want to know? So I'm always looking at like, what are these new sources looking for stories on, right? And I saw them looking for somebody to talk about stay interviews recently.
00:23:24
Speaker
Like how soon should you interview your employees about whether they plan on staying at your company should that be in six months should that be in a year should that be in three years should that be in five years that's a great question to ask my audience.
00:23:39
Speaker
right? Like feedback is critical. I'm looking for feedback. Like I just launched season three of my podcast. So what did I do? I said, Hey, I got a new intro, you know, I'm doing more family stories. I want to know what kind of stories you want to hear, right? Like I am constantly asking my audience for feedback. So I started a Facebook group. That's another really great way to create a community, right?
00:24:07
Speaker
Like you don't constantly have to be teaching people in there, but you can just bounce ideas off of them. Ask questions that you might want to do a story on. See if your audience has questions around those subject matters. I do that all the time in my Facebook. And it's also a good way to weigh whether that is a good subject to even cover.
00:24:30
Speaker
So if you say, hey, what would you like to ask a psychic? And you get 40 responses, you're like, okay, so maybe people are interested in the psychic medium space, right? But if you ask a question like, what are your thoughts on vegetarianism? And you get two responses, you're like, okay, maybe my audience isn't interested in vegetarianism. Right?
00:24:52
Speaker
I think polls are a great way because it just gives people choices and they don't have to think about writing a response. You could say, hey, when do you think employees should have to answer about their happiness level and how long they plan on staying? Should that be at six months, a year, three years, five years, or a comment below? You can give them the option
00:25:15
Speaker
to comment, but just make it easy for them. And then they're going to be interested in the results. So I think polls are a really great way if you can't think of open-ended questions enough. If you're just starting out, I would try a poll. Another thing is to document your day. Document your life. What's something cool that happened in your day that you can share? Yesterday, I read an entire book, literally in one day.
00:25:44
Speaker
And it was something that my son was going to read for school. So part of the reason I read it was just so, you know, I could see if he actually read it and maybe we could have a conversation around it. So I beat him to reading his school book for the week. Just so when he reads it, I might be able to say, hey, you know, these were the thoughts that came into my mind when I read it. Right. Have you read a book? Have you read an article? Have you done something cool lately? Were you on Kofi's podcast and you had a great time? Talk about that. Right.
00:26:15
Speaker
Those would be some of my tips. Okay, all right then. So you've been on this journey for quite some time. What indeed are some of the challenges you've encountered on this journey? Can you share some of the challenges with us?
Entrepreneurial Challenges and Lessons
00:26:30
Speaker
Yeah, so I have had some tough lessons. One is I think it's really important to background check people.
00:26:44
Speaker
especially in this online world where you don't really know how people do business and you've got to Google, you've got to Google Google people before you decide to take them on as clients. You know what? I don't even think there's anything wrong with maybe asking for a reference or people, other people that they've worked with. Like I decided to leave
00:27:11
Speaker
a job because somebody wanted to partner with me and I felt like it was a great opportunity. But I also had seen that he didn't treat my boss very nice, but I thought he was going to treat me differently. Sometimes if people show you that they don't treat other people very nice, you're not special and they're going to treat you the same way. So I have, I have gotten burned a couple times, unfortunately more than once.
00:27:40
Speaker
um, being too trusting. And in today's day and age, I think you really need to do your background checking on people before you decide to market them and before you decide to go into business with them. So that's one thing I will say. Also working in the entrepreneurial space, not everybody does things legitimately. Not everybody does things through contracts. You know, they feel like they're your friend. They feel like, but
00:28:09
Speaker
You know what? It comes down to business. And even if you feel like you're friends with people, and even if you like the people that you work with, you've got to set your boundaries. Otherwise, you're going to get on endless phone calls with no agendas. It's just like the corporate world. If there's no agenda and no boundaries, you are going to be taken advantage of. This has happened to me too. Because I just, I'm a nice person.
00:28:35
Speaker
you've got to set proper expectations. I would say that setting proper expectations and background checking people are the utmost importance as an early entrepreneur.
00:28:47
Speaker
Very true. So you've been on this journey for some time. And like any other journey, there's been highs and there's been lows. There are days that you don't really feel like working. Where do you really draw your inspiration or what really motivates you to carry on with what you're doing?
Finding Motivation and Creating Impact
00:29:10
Speaker
What gets me fired up? Yes. What gets me fired up is when I have a really big win.
00:29:18
Speaker
So, you know, if I'm shooting somebody and doing a three camera shoot and I get them to tell me their story in such an engaging way where I like feel emotion from the interview, I leave that shoot like literally dancing in my car. That charges me. I'm always on the search for that. Like even in my own podcast, like if I have a guest that's like,
00:29:45
Speaker
I've never shared that before, or good job doing your research, or how did you get me to talk about that? Those little moments I juice for, that gets me high. That is what I'm always on the search for, of people that are just ready to spill it. Or the thing is, I've had people that are shy and might not want to open up like that, but
00:30:13
Speaker
One guy I met at an event three years ago.
00:30:17
Speaker
the financial event that I was putting on and he was really impressed with like the speaker and the venue I picked and how the event flowed and so we exchanged information after and then he wanted to go to an event it was a couple weeks later where he learned how to market himself as a financial advisor and he was like hey would you like to attend this with me I'll pay for your ticket I was like um yeah that would be amazing so he took me to this event and I was really interested on how other people put together their events like that was great
00:30:45
Speaker
And so I did just like a behind the scenes of this event he took me to kind of as a thank you. And I put that on my social media and I said, Hey, you know, this person took me to this event and here's what I learned and here's the behind the scenes of it. So that just enhanced our relationship and made him more comfortable. And it was a nice thank you and something he could use. And then I ended up producing this local podcast last year and turned out the host wanted to interview him. So we already had a rapport. We already had a relationship. He already felt comfortable.
00:31:15
Speaker
kind of opening up to me. Now, when the lights and the camera and everything was rolling, he got really nervous because he is not so comfortable on camera. And I was like, okay, you know what? Turn off the lights, turn off the camera. I'm going to take the place of the host for a minute. I sat in a chair. I was like, hey, I was like, I know you. I was like, I know you as a dad. I know you as an EMT. I know you as a community member. You've got this. And I just talked to him and made him feel comfortable.
00:31:44
Speaker
You know, we were able to get through it and it was pretty good. And then like a month later, he's sponsoring.
00:31:52
Speaker
a nonprofit event here in Chicago and he was like, hey, Reena, he was like, I really need somebody that can help me tell my story of my company and my personal story. And I really like, he was like, I need to shoot it on a Friday and I need it done by Tuesday. I was like, we can do it. I've got you. And so I went to his business and I helped him put together like a minute and a half video and it was something I was the most proud of.
00:32:15
Speaker
Like that relationship was three years, maybe four years in the making. And he trusted me from all of the different times we had gotten together to help represent him and put together something that really felt genuine for him. I was so proud to be able to do that. Exciting. So since 2020, we've been confronted with this huge pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:32:45
Speaker
And for some people, it's hindered the operations. For others, it's also boosted the operation. How has COVID hindered or boosted your operation? What's your COVID experience? Tell us about your COVID experience. Oh my gosh. In the beginning for me, it was crazy because I'm a mom of four and I went from having a nanny
00:33:11
Speaker
which was the best thing ever. I had never had a nanny until kid number four, and it was such a nice treat for myself to have extra help in the house. But, you know, I just really was worried about keeping my kids well and having less exposures. And so I went from being able to work full-time and have help
00:33:39
Speaker
in the home to my husband working during the day and me working at night or working some on weekends and it's been quite a juggle. So I had to really figure out what can I do mainly online and less in person.
00:33:55
Speaker
I ended up producing a show last year locally here in Chicago, but I only did like one shoot day every six weeks. So I would do like a 10 hour shoot on a Sunday with one camera guy, one host and one guest and that was it. Um, and we would record, you know, six or seven guests in a row and then we would release one a week so that
00:34:20
Speaker
I had less exposure and less in-person. I even produced one of those remotely where I zoomed in and directed it remotely. I feel like with the numbers still on the rise, and I think we've all known people to pass away, which has been so crazy. My kids are back to school, thank goodness, and we've been able to steer clear of it.
00:34:47
Speaker
I want to focus more on helping people with their online presence and with online collaboration and less in-person still for me.
Podcast Concept: Conversations with Dad
00:34:57
Speaker
Okay. Now let's talk about your podcast, Better Call Daddy. That's an interesting name, Better Call Daddy. Why that name, Better Call Daddy? So Better Call Daddy is because that's always who I call for
00:35:14
Speaker
all of my advice. He's my biggest cheerleader. He's my biggest confidant. And I wanted to share his wisdom with the world. My dad was an entrepreneur, is an entrepreneur. He worked with his parents his entire career. My grandparents were entrepreneurs. It's definitely in my blood. And I feel like he has a lot of knowledge to offer.
00:35:39
Speaker
And so my idea was I will use my casting experience and my interviewing experience and I'll connect with the guest. Then I cut the segment down. I share that with my dad and we react for the first time together. So my dad listens to it separately and then I send him a Zoom link. We hop on a Zoom and we talk about what he thought of each segment. And sometimes, a lot of times, I allow for the guest to ask my dad a specific question.
00:36:09
Speaker
guests like that. They're like, can't wait to hear what daddy has to say, you know? Or what does your dad think about this subject matter? Or this is something I'm facing right now. I'd like to hear what your dad thinks about that. Like recently I interviewed a girl who had gone through multiple miscarriages, failed IVF, surrogacy, and now just became a mom. And so she wanted to know
00:36:32
Speaker
what advice my dad would have for a first time father. And my dad is, you know, a father to three and he's got three sisters and he's currently taking care of his parents. And I just feel like he's a really solid guy. And so I feel like his advice is needed. Okay. Okay. So, so I was going to ask the next question, but I think this response has covered it. I was really going to ask what a podcast is about, but I believe,
00:37:02
Speaker
By and large, you've talked about what the podcast is about. And I'll call on my listeners and viewers to go to all the podcasting platforms and listen to Better Call Daddy. You never know. You could reach out and call Daddy for advice. Thank you. Yeah, so we're just about wrapping up.
Advice for Aspiring Media Professionals
00:37:27
Speaker
I believe there are a lot of listeners and viewers who are also thinking of growing careers in the media space like you have done over the years. What would be your advice for somebody with that desire to start a career in the media space? Yeah, so I think there's a lot of ways to break in.
00:38:16
Speaker
I would look for opportunities to collaborate
00:38:23
Speaker
I like your show. I like what you're doing. I think when you collaborate with other people, you always learn things. I'd be interested in potentially
00:38:32
Speaker
teaming up in some kind of way. And then we hopped on a call for like an hour and a half. And we talked about guests that we've had and guests that we might like to share. And now he wants me to potentially co-host his show. So I think one way to break in is maybe start off as a co-host. Actually, before I started my own podcast three years ago, two and a half years ago, I co-hosted somebody else's show called Next Level People. And it started out where I was just sending them guests.
00:39:03
Speaker
then they were like, oh, it'd be cool to have a female perspective. It's just two guys right now. Maybe you could sub in on occasion. So, you know, look for internships, look for partnerships. There's so many Facebook groups. You can literally go on Facebook and type in like podcast community or go on Craigslist and go in like their TV and film section. You know, people are always looking for production assistants. You know, you could go on a photography shoot and be an assistant camera.
00:39:32
Speaker
you know, see who's doing it and ask them how they can help. Like what are they looking for? I'm constantly, constantly connecting with people in the industry and see, seeing how they're doing it. I mean, over the last couple of weeks, I've reached out to like four or five other podcasting agencies even. And I'm like, Hey, you know, are you ever helping your guests with, are you ever helping your clients with guesting spots on other podcasts? Or do you, you know, just,
00:40:01
Speaker
If you connect to other people who are in the industry or who are doing what you want to be doing, people are willing to have conversations with you. This is like the best time ever in history to talk to people virtually and ask them where you can fit in. I want you to have the same easy experience as I do for all my podcasting and content needs.
00:40:25
Speaker
If you go to zen.ai4slash the entrepreneur speaks both, you will get 30% off your first three months if you opt for the professional package. That is zen.ai4slash t-h-e-e-n-t-r-e-p-r-e-n-e-u-r.
00:40:53
Speaker
S-P-E-A-K-S-P-O-D. You can also check it out in our notes below. You can also try the hobbies account for free. It's time to share your story. That's very true. So before we sign off, what would be your general words of advice for my listeners and viewers before we sign off?
00:41:19
Speaker
If you want to grow a community and an online presence, one really great way to make friends online is to comment on other people's content, share other people's content.
00:41:38
Speaker
People appreciate that so much and then they will want to reciprocate for you. So one really easy way to grow your presence could literally be going online and commenting on 10 people's things a day, sharing one person's content that they've worked hard to produce a day and tagging them and saying, great job or I listened.
00:42:02
Speaker
People appreciate that. They will come back for you. They will reciprocate for you, and that will help you grow exponentially. Even more than creating your own content is sharing and communicating with the people whose content you really admire. Thank you so much, Rina, for sharing your rich experiences with us today on the Entrepreneur Speaks Podcast. We wish you the very best.
00:42:32
Speaker
Thank you so much. Kofi, it's been amazing connecting with you. So this has been another exciting episode of the Entrepreneur Speaks Podcast. We'll come your way next time with another interesting episode. I made your host, Kofi, and you made you. As always, do take good care of yourself and let's continue to keep hope alive. Cheers. I love that.