Meet Kala Guess

We recently connected with Kala Guess and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kala , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is the incredible mental strength we can only build by enduring and going through life’s challenges instead of giving up. Instead of finding shortcuts or settling for a new reality. Resilience is having faith in yourself and putting your foot on the gas when you can’t always see the rest of the road ahead of you.

Resilience is a direct result of finding that second or third breath even when you’re already exhausted from surviving life’s hurdles and pain. I learned early on that I could accomplish quite a bit on my own if I could just hold on a little bit longer than my competition. Once I surrendered to the uncomfortable parts of being challenged, I saw for myself that my feelings couldn’t actually kill me and on the other side of surviving anything is always an opportunity to thrive and start a new chapter.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

anything is always an opportunity to thrive and start a new chapter.

The next part of the interview is where we’d love to learn more about you, your story and what you are focused on professionally – whether it’s a business, nonprofit, artistic career etc.

Please tell our readers about what you do, what you feel is most exciting or special about it, as well as anything else you’d like folks to know about your brand/art/etc. If relevant, please also tell our readers about anything new (events, product/service launches, expansion, etc)

I am a manager and producer that represents writers under my company, K Station Media, LLC. The most fulfilling and important aspect of my job is helping writers get out of their own way. It’s revealing to them that while their dreams and goals feel delusional, they are indeed possible. The most exciting aspect is when a client achieves a goal and sees the actual success from something they created. I understand writers deeply and I understand from experience what it takes to carve a career out for yourself. I know how easy it is to say “this is too hard”, but I also understand the feeling of getting through the hardest parts and being proud of sharing your story.

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?

I raised my now adult-aged daughter as a single mother in Los Angeles. There were periods of time when I was thriving professionally and personally and there were times I had to keep several jobs in order to make the money and time make sense. I think that adventure is where I built most of my resilience. It also taught me that I can indeed do what needs doing for myself and the people around me. That same tenacity comes to life for the clients I represent.

Before starting my own business, I was climbing the corporate ladder for the better part of a decade. That time taught me how to show up to all kinds of bureaucracy, obstacles, challenging personalities and roadblocks with grace and open ears. I learned to turn contentious interactions into productive conversations by learning to really listen to people. The solutions are almost always in the problem if you are actively listening. I also built a really high tolerance for being under pressure and that helps me service my clients in rooms where most would be completely intimidated.

Growing up, I had so many ideas about what I could do with my life professionally and I can honestly say those ideas only multiply as I get older. Life is such an adventure and I think our careers can be too if we embrace the idea that we aren’t meant to do just one thing forever. We change and grow even throughout adulthood. I have anyway and as a result, my interests change and I find myself pivoting into all different aspects of an industry.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am a huge believer in collaboration. About two years ago I decided to start my own management firm with the goal of either attracting a legacy company or collaborating with seed investors so that I can expand my reach with a full team. It’s really hard to sell success stories when you and your clients are under embargoes but I’m excited to see that change as soon as the second quarter of 2025. My clients have had their heads down developing and writing material the world will see very soon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kstationmedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kala_guess

Image Credits

Image A: personal photo of me on a set, hanging in a video village with my puppy.
Image B: me and my daughter photographed by Kristina Rodriguez in Venice Beach (2017)
Image C: personal photo at the Pickford center early-on in my career, probably working a writer’s festival
Image D: personal photo of me ready for another round of the WGA Awards
Image E: my headshot by Temma Hankin