Meet Lily Merrick

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lily Merrick . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Lily with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I definitely get my work ethic from my parents. My mom worked for about 20 years in education, she started out as a volunteer and gradually worked up to working in WorkAbility as an instructor and job developer for young adults and teens with disabilities, she did things like teach job skills, on the job training, even some day to day life skills. I worked alongside her one summer, after volunteering extensively myself and that job gets such little praise but is so necessary and beneficial for those involved in the program, we worked incredibly hard, with just support from each other. My dad and I a bit earlier than this started a racing stable, we worked together from 2006-2015. Even though we were management/owners we were in horse stalls shoveling horse poop, filling water buckets, feeding 3 times a day, and training the horses every day, it was incredibly fun but also hard work. I was about 10 when I started that, my parents have always encouraged entrepreneurship in our family. Nowadays I run YNA Entertainment with my dad as our CFO and I’m starting a new business with my mom called Calla Lily. I do want to return to working with horses eventually but my heart and soul is always going to be YNA Entertainment. It’s okay to do multiple things as long as you feel you can handle it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My focus is on YNA Entertainment, on an average day I’m pitching to investors, answering trainee and artist emails, Instagram DM’s, combing through auditions, and organizing future plans and events. And in my spare time, I’m producing songs for our artists, creative directing, styling for debuts and comebacks, and even writing lyrics and developing choreography. I’m very hands-on and very collaborative with our artists and their content. We also video edit as a team. It’s an amazing experience. One of our girl groups RE:DAWN will be in Sacramento, CA working on pre-debut promotions and developing their teamwork (and filming a little bit). They’ll be here July 9th-July 20th. We’ve got plans to busk, and do open mic nights to get the girls ready to perform, We’re hoping the schedule will be: July 12th, Barrio Café around 6 pm (open mic night), busking July 16th, in Old Sacramento, 2 pm, July 15th, busking in San Francisco, probably around Pier 39 or The Embarcadero (it’s a really pretty area, I highly recommend getting out and enjoying all of the street performers), July 17th, at LogOff Brewing around 5:30 pm (open mic night).

I really feel our diversity is what makes us so special, we don’t put restrictions or limitations on our artist’s backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, sexualities, gender expression, languages, different abilities, or really anything that makes them who they are. We just look for talent and drive that can be nurtured and who we feel we can give the best chances to.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Drive, dedication, and in all honesty stubbornness. I could’ve quit by now probably 8 times, but this is my dream, and my dream helps other people’s dreams. I’m in it to make it work for us, no matter how long it takes me. In a way I’ve had tunnel vision on making this a reality and it’s honestly helped. There were people who didn’t think we’d last 6 months. And there’s been people who thought we’d never see a dime. But we’ve beat those milestones. We’re still working on becoming profitable but we can do it, we can and will get there and it’s just about putting in the work and beating those odds. I value my team above all else so I’m willing to put in extra work to make things happen. And with starting a business you just kind of have to have that mentality.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Currently seed capital is our biggest obstacle. It’s not a secret that I work part-time and make $17 an hour. And I’m in a position where I can spend most of that on YNA Entertainment’s development. But to make that coveted profit we need an investor. I’m constantly pitching YNA to investors and angel investors. Even doing this interview I’m putting myself out there and asking: Do you want to be a part of something that could be huge and could revolutionize the way the Entertainment Industry works?

So here I am asking, again, and telling you happily as always that if you want to take that step with us, you can always shoot me an email at ynaentertainment@gmail.com.

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