Music, Marketing & Me
When I decided to take the leap and start my own agency, I did what every girl does, I called my mom & daddy for approval and confirmation that I am going to be ok. I hear my dad’s response every morning in my head. “Sis (He wasn’t using slang here. I’m an only daughter, the oldest and the world’s okayest sister. It’s my name.), I think you started singing before you started talking. Music is in your blood. This makes more sense than anything you’ve ever told us. You’re finally doing what you were meant to do.”
This blog will be a little long-winded but I want all of you taking the time to read it to see the true journey I’ve been on, how God goes before you and that no matter where you are right now, it’s not where you have to be. You can do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING you want in this life. There is no one stopping you but you.
When I pray over it, sit down and really think about it, music and marketing have always been there. God’s path for me was clear the whole time.
I grew up in the simplest of country life off a little road in Southwest Austin called Fitzhugh …..IYKYK. Willie had a house behind our land and James White (Broken Spoke) lived a couple miles up the road. I didn’t think much of it, other than they were cool neighbors. We ran the streets of South Austin from Brodie Lane to Mckinney Falls. Live music was everywhere, from the corner stores, to every restaurant.
My toddler years to my teenage years were a mixture of horseback riding and dancehalls. Our parents dropped us off at Skate Ranch and danced at the Double Eagle. We went to dancehalls with them most of the time, and played in the sawdust while bands were on break. Then, when we were old enough to drive ourselves, we traveled all of Central Texas (including but not limited to) Country Music Showplace Wednesdays, Dance Across Texas on Thursdays, Friday’s at SPJST in Round Rock, Saturday’s at Ed’s River Palace and Sundays at The Pier. To the world, we were the “Live Music Capital.” To me, it was just home.
Three months after my 19th birthday, God made me a mother and it was time to grow up. I remember finding out Kay was a girl, doing the math and thinking “Welp, at least when she’s in her 20s I’ll be young enough to be best friends with her.” Aaaand…here we are. Her two brothers joined the party like clockwork every three years after that and, before I knew it, I was a 25 year old mother of three of the most amazing gifts and lessons God could give. I always tell people I do life backwards. I had the kids while I was too broke to care and I couldn’t be more grateful. I learned at a very young age that you will do what you have to until you can do what you want to.
The entire time God went before me. I worked in different industries- each would give me the tools and skills I would need to get to where I am today, and I had no clue. I was born to be a mother and I stayed home raising them for all of my 20s and the majority of my 30s. I have always put “Domestic Coordinator” on my resume for the years that I was able to spend as room mom, managing their calendars, booking their appointments, chauffeuring and being their personal assistant. Y’all laugh…but if you really think about it… it’s true. I worked at mortgage companies, an accounting firm (I can do your taxes to this day but I wouldn’t recommend it.) and, when my youngest Cody went into pre-school, I took a job with a growing franchise as a receptionist.
The office manager looked at me on day one and said “Well, I guess I’ll put out another ad for a receptionist. We are growing so fast- there’s no way you last up here two weeks before a department steals you.” Two weeks later I had offers from both Operations & Marketing. The Marketing Director made the better pitch (Thank you, Beth!) and I became a Marketing Assistant. I learned the true nuts and bolts. I managed multi-million dollar production funds, built calendars for new locations (at the time, we were opening 3-5 locations across the country a week) and coordinated national print drops. One day, they hired a new VP- the woman who would become my biggest mentor and the voice in my marketing head for the rest of my career- Susan Boresow.
She pulled me into her office and said, “You were meant to be a promoter. We have a relationship with the VFW. I want you to contact them and figure out a way we can support the troops.” I had zero clue where to start or what I was doing. I’ve always been good at putting myself in situations where I just have to “wing it” but I definitely should not be “winging”. Ha! We found a free call program for troops to call home on Christmas day. The goal was $10,000- we raised $30,000.
From that moment on I was hooked on cause marketing and promotions, as well as the art of building them from concept to design to execution. There really is nothing better or more fulfilling than seeing a plan come to fruition and success. I was with them for over 7 years and worked with everyone from vendors to pro sports teams to little leagues, local businesses, you name it. I learned the power of marketing to help your business and how powerless your business can become without it. I learned how to analyze each area of business, stay focused on key goals, how to increase sales long-term rather than a temporary fix and how to prove the numbers, success or failure.
Fast forward a few years, so I can get to the good stuff. Well, not necessarily the good, but the necessary.
In 2012, I learned the valuable lesson that sometimes things have to fall apart to come back together and make room for who God really meant for you to be. Life happened. I won’t get too much into this part of the story because I don’t give it power anymore and honestly, it’s just not happy, fun or inspiring. Maybe someday over coffee or tequila we can talk trauma. Ha! I went through a transition from a life I thought I would have forever to raising three kids completely on my own and starting the biggest journey of resilience God would ever put me on. He let me fail. He watched me struggle with control. All the while, He was building me. I interviewed for a marketing assistant job I was told I was “over qualified for and they couldn’t afford me”.
Two years later, the same company called me back with a management offer to manage marketing for their franchise, 5 brands, 60 restaurants in 2 countries (US & Mexico). I thought, “Well, I like food. I’ve worked at Sonic (at 15). How hard can the hospitality marketing industry be?” Again, “winging” things that most definitely shouldn’t be “winged”. Little did I know this company would become my safe place and lead me full circle back to music. I traveled from Indiana to Idaho, Guadalajara to Tijuana. I was able to immerse myself in culture and sharpen my Spanish (took a whopping 4 years in junior high & high school). Who knew that would come in handy? LOL…
Then 2020 happened- we were spun into a pandemic and a whole new world none of us knew what to do with. I had three kids on my couch and still living at home in our tiny, rundown house in Georgetown, TX… but by golly we were making it. As a company, we made it through with less than 10 corporate employees, navigating closing of restaurants, delivery only, 50% occupancy, “new normal” (*trigger words that should be exed out of our vocabulary). Kay graduated with a degree in marketing and became my “right hand WoMan”. We were able to learn how to respect each other as colleagues & businesswomen. We built promotions, national & international marketing plans, negotiated advertising, built graphics, dove into the internet and social media industry learning every algorithm, every benchmark, every strategy for how to convert our activity into sales and guest counts. The only thing that got us through the first days back in society was going to see our friends play at stadiums, small hole-in-the-walls, dancehalls, and (finally) the return of festivals.
When we were at about 50% occupancy, we needed sales and the musicians I loved needed gigs. So, I started booking them every week and dove into how the business side of the music industry worked. I’ll tell you what, going into your passion as a fan gives you an entirely different perspective of how the “sausage is made”. Nothing frustrated me more than jumping on socials and seeing I missed a concert one of my buddies was at in town that I hadn’t seen in 6 months. So, my “solution” side kicked in. I started asking questions, promoting folks on my personals, talking with venues, talking with artists, talking with people on the business side. Learning who does what, what it’s like to manage an entire show or showcase from start to finish. How to manage and book an effective calendar whether it’s a small restaurant or a 1,500+ occupancy amphitheater. I started getting to know the artists, their frustrations, their needs. I networked with agents, radio promoters, radio stations (not knowing I would end up on two…. that’s a story for another time. LOL), artist management teams, publicists, publishing companies, recording studios, record labels, talent buyers…the list goes on and on. Side Note: Holy POLITICS & EGOS! LOL… But all of us have the exact same passion and end goal, getting music out to fans, being able to be a part of the evolution of the industry and, yes, making just enough money to keep the lights on. (Another Side Note: I love MUSIC but Kay and I can market anything, so please don’t get hung up here.)
So, long story long, I prayed about it and I quit. I quit my sustainable income. I quit my office. I quit everything I’ve ever known. I quit making excuses not to. I quit second guessing. I jumped out of my comfort zone because, somehow, I knew I needed to. It’s been a rough year, I am not going to lie, but if this was easy, everyone would do it. What I gained has been incredible. Being able to bring everything I’ve learned, every personal & professional experience I have to help grow businesses, venues and artists is the SINGLE most fulfilling thing I have done in this life with the exception of raising my three, tremendously strong, insanely talented little humans who are now adults. I can’t WAIT to see what God does next. I can’t WAIT to grow the goals Kay and I have for our little agency over the next 5 years and I absolutely CANNOT wait to work with all of you with the same passion to make a difference!
If you made it all the way to the end of this, God bless you. God bless you for listening. I hope that, if nothing else, this inspires you to do one thing- just one- to be proud of yourself today, to empower others today, to start something new. Stay Focused. Stay Driven. Stay Lead.
