We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Lansing a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, thank you so much for joining us today and appreciate you talking about a sensitive topic. It’s unfortunately relevant to so many in the community as layoffs have been on the rise recently, and so we’d appreciate hearing your story and how you overcame being let go?
During the pandemic I saw the entertainment industry becoming more and more a business as layoffs were rampant and divisions were cut left and right. I knew I needed to do something to set myself apart from the competition so that if I did find myself back in the studio system on the exec side one day, I could be in the room making the decisions of who was getting laid off instead of being at the mercy of those decision. I went back to school to get my MBA and am so glad I did.
Not unlike the pandemic with rampant layoffs and work stoppages, I also found myself directly affected by the WGA / SAG AFTRA strikes this summer and was actually laid off earlier in the year. During that time I “showed my work” — started a podcast, documentary project, Substack, refined existing scripts, and wrote two new ones during this time to build up my content, further my brand and create a digital footprint which is more valuable that any resume could ever be–especially in a creative industry.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
So many projects come to mind but the most recent project I’m really proud of is the podcast I co-created with @missredventure called I Love That For You! It’s a dopamine-infused podcast that celebrates the late bloomers and trail blazers of all walks of life. So many people have reached out to us that this podcast resonates with them and inspires, and at the end of the day, that’s all a content creator can hope for–creating meaningful content that resonates with an audience. You can check it out at linktr.ee/ilovethatforyoupod and follow along at @ilovethatforyoupod
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
For this industry –resilience, networking and emotional intelligence come to mind. Some of these I learned and/or honed in on in business school but podcasts, articles and Ted Talks are available to refine these very valuable skills.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
“Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon comes to mind. Here’s the logline of the book:
“In his New York Times bestseller Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon showed readers how to unlock their creativity by “stealing” from the community of other movers and shakers. Now, in an even more forward-thinking and necessary book, he shows how to take that critical next step on a creative journey—getting known. Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It’s about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time “networking.” It’s not self-promotion, it’s self-discovery—let others into your process, then let them steal from you. Filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, Show Your Work! offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive.”
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/kellylansing
- Instagram: kellylansing
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kellylansing
- Other: linktr.ee/ilovethatforyoupod kellylansing.substack.com
