It’s tough to get noticed in Hollywood, and today's guest made a career by helping others do just that. She was one of the entertainment industry’s most respected and sought-after media and publicity strategists, ran her own talent management firm (B. Company), and now she works with Late Show legend, Stephen Colbert… as president of his production company Spartina.
Carrie inspires me and so many other women by being a kind leader in a tough industry, her dedication to her team, and her 1.8 second-response time to text messages. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in business for years, there's something here for you. So grab a cup of tea, buckle up and tune in!
In this episode, we discuss
This episode at a glance:
[08:23] What helped Carrie take off on her own: she wanted to contribute to the choices that her clients were making, not just enhance the work they were already doing. And it just took one client, America Ferrara, to say “I see you as that” to give her the confidence to *be* that.
[20:45] The main reason Carrie said YES to running Stephen and Evelyn Colbert’s production company, Spartina: If that YES is loud, if something magnetic is pulling you, that’s telling.
[31:08] Carrie’s empowering leadership style: she taps into people's strengths and celebrates the things her team can do that she can’t. If you have a team of clones, you won't succeed.
[44:05] Carrie was surrounded by strong female role models, starting with her mom, author and speaker Marcia Byalick. She learned from great women in her industry like Kelly Bush Novak, Lesley Dart, Lois Smith, and Pat Kingsley.
[58:03] What’s on Carrie’s Times Square billboard: “There’s always a ticket”. There's a way around any challenge.
Resources and links:
You may also like:
Want to increase revenue and impact? Listen to “My Good Woman” for insights on business strategy and female leadership to scale your business. Each episode offers advice on effective communication, team building, and management. Learn to master routines and systems to boost productivity and prevent burnout. Our delegation tips and business consulting will advance your executive leadership skills and presence.
It’s tough to get noticed in Hollywood, and today's guest made a career by helping others do just that. She was one of the entertainment industry’s most respected and sought-after media and publicity strategists, ran her own talent management firm (B. Company), and now she works with Late Show legend, Stephen Colbert… as president of his production company Spartina.
Carrie inspires me and so many other women by being a kind leader in a tough industry, her dedication to her team, and her 1.8 second-response time to text messages. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in business for years, there's something here for you. So grab a cup of tea, buckle up and tune in!
In this episode, we discuss
This episode at a glance:
[08:23] What helped Carrie take off on her own: she wanted to contribute to the choices that her clients were making, not just enhance the work they were already doing. And it just took one client, America Ferrara, to say “I see you as that” to give her the confidence to *be* that.
[20:45] The main reason Carrie said YES to running Stephen and Evelyn Colbert’s production company, Spartina: If that YES is loud, if something magnetic is pulling you, that’s telling.
[31:08] Carrie’s empowering leadership style: she taps into people's strengths and celebrates the things her team can do that she can’t. If you have a team of clones, you won't succeed.
[44:05] Carrie was surrounded by strong female role models, starting with her mom, author and speaker Marcia Byalick. She learned from great women in her industry like Kelly Bush Novak, Lesley Dart, Lois Smith, and Pat Kingsley.
[58:03] What’s on Carrie’s Times Square billboard: “There’s always a ticket”. There's a way around any challenge.
Resources and links:
You may also like:
Want to increase revenue and impact? Listen to “My Good Woman” for insights on business strategy and female leadership to scale your business. Each episode offers advice on effective communication, team building, and management. Learn to master routines and systems to boost productivity and prevent burnout. Our delegation tips and business consulting will advance your executive leadership skills and presence.
My Good Woman
Ep. 10 | Trust Your Gut: Crafting a Career by Being Unapologetically You with Carrie Byalick
Dawn Andrews [00:01:03]
My good woman. A buckle up. I am a super fan of the iconic, influential woman I'm about to share with you. It's no secret it's tough to get noticed in Hollywood. And my guest has made a career in this business, turning heads and challenging conventions for top-notch creative talent. Today, I'm speaking with the trailblazing, creative, and funny Carrie Byalick, a longtime entertainment industry publicist and manager who was recently named President of Spartina, Stephen Colbert's production company.
Dawn Andrews [00:01:35]
But it's not just her professional accomplishments that make her special. Carrie continues to inspire me with her dedication to her team, being a kind leader in a tough industry, and her 1.8-second response time to text messages. And Spartina is Carrie's second startup. Before Spartina, she launched and ran her talent management firm, B. Company with a roster of clients including America Ferrera, Josh Radnor, Jessica Williams, and Zoe Chao. Prior to B. Company, Carrie was a senior VP at iD New York, where she was one of the entertainment industry's most respected and sought-after media and publicity strategists. Leveraging her badass media management and expertise, she played an integral role in promoting and planning the careers of her clients Andy Samberg, The Lonely Island, Amy Schumer, Paul Giamatti, Greg Kinnear, Bette Midler, Vera Farmiga, Billy Eichner, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Noah Baumbach, Whitney Cummings, Greta Gerwig, Ed Helms, Peter Sarsgaard and more.
Dawn Andrews [00:02:41]
In this absolutely fun episode, we talked about finding the confidence to start your own thing in the entertainment industry twice. Handling comparative pressure, facing down obstacles, and not apologizing for who you are—balancing high demands on your time while still finding time to live a life—her genius method to get to Inbox zero. I've done it. It works. And she also shares stories about the women that lift her up. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in business for years, there is something here for you. So grab your cup of tea and tune in. Enjoy my conversation with Carrie Byalick!
Dawn Andrews [00:03:17]
Hey, you're here!
Carrie Byalick [00:03:19]
I'm here. It's already going well.
Dawn Andrews [00:03:23]
Best Monday ever.
Carrie Byalick [00:03:25]
Yes. I'm determined to make every Monday less Monday-ish.
Dawn Andrews [00:03:31]
I love that. My 12-year-old would really appreciate that too. He gets horrible cases of the Mondays. We have to work them out.
Carrie Byalick [00:03:37]
It starts Sunday night, and then you just have dread. And I think we should just try to instill, it's like, what if something really amazing, unexpected, and joyful happens on a Monday?
Dawn Andrews [00:03:48]
Amen to that.
Carrie Byalick [00:03:49]
And then you look forward to Mondays.
Dawn Andrews [00:03:51]
I love it. See, like, I think we could just, mic drop there. My important bullet point takeaway. The takeaway from the episode. There it is. We don't have to do anything else.
Carrie Byalick [00:04:01]
Great. So this has been a pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Dawn Andrews [00:04:04]
Best 2 minutes ever, actually. One minute and 14 seconds.
Carrie Byalick [00:04:08]
Yeah, 1.14.
Dawn Andrews [00:04:10]
Keeping it tight.
Carrie Byalick [00:04:12]
It's your new favorite podcast, ladies and gentlemen.
Dawn Andrews [00:04:15]
Okay, so. I would love to share your origin story a little bit with people.
Carrie Byalick [00:04:21]
Okay.
Dawn Andrews [00:04:21]
And what I've noticed with women, especially with women in business, is if they're reaching out to start the next thing, their confidence is key. But people want everything to be perfect. They want it to be pretty and polished before they actually try. And the irony of that is that that doesn't. Doing everything on your own, behind the scenes does not build your confidence. And then you take it out to the world. And all the assumptions that you have may or may not match reality. And that gives you a hit to your confidence as well. And I happened to have just a little bit of inside information on you. So knowing that you were at iD PR working for somebody, you know, working as an employee, working for somebody else for 18 years, what gave you the confidence to make the leap to go out on your own and start B. Company?
Carrie Byalick [00:05:09]
Well, speaking to what you first said just about being camera-ready and being perfect and other people's version of what's perfect. And what's labeled as such is, I will say, I am grateful that not only in the beginning of my career, but just in my youth and in my junior high school and my high school and my college. And even in the beginning of my career and through the nineties and early aughts as they call them, I didn't have filters and Instagram and comparative pressure. Because comparative pressure always exists. You could always be in school growing up and look over and be like, I wish I had that. I wish I was that. I wish I had less of this and more of whatever X-Y-Z. And I think it's hard enough being a human being, comparing yourself without noise and filters and, and imagery and advertisements and things, convincing yourself you didn't even know you thought you needed in order to be a better, thinner, prettier, smarter, more successful version of what already is, all of those things.
Carrie Byalick [00:06:15]
And so I'm grateful that up until my career and then throughout the roots of my career in the entertainment industry, I didn't have any of that. Because I probably would have had less my eyes on my own paper and more of "but if I only had what she has and what she has and when she has, then I'd be the she I'm supposed to be." And I never was like that. I always just have to thank my gut and my confidence in myself that I never knew all the things. But I was able to always identify what I was good at. And there are tons of stuff that I'm still not good at. When I don't know what I'm doing, I'm the first to raise my hand and say I actually don't know. Who would know? Because I know what I know and I know what I don't know. And I think that's a huge part of anyone's success is identifying that.
Carrie Byalick [00:07:09]
But just getting back to how I made the leap I had gotten to a point in my career. So as you mentioned, I was a publicist, mainly for actors and then sort of branched out into hybrids as we know them, multifaceted, multitalented people who also wrote, who also directed, who also produced who did every aspect of entertainment. And I found a real niche in my career with really smart, intelligent, what was known as the New York actor. Simultaneous to really smart, hilarious people. So I had running parallels in my career as a publicist, which was If you're a comedy person, Carrie's your publicist. If you want a publicist in based in New York, who knows comedy, who knows how to speak comedy and speak to comedians like that? That's who you go to.
Carrie Byalick [00:07:58]
And the same thing for if you want your Peter Sarsgaard's and your Paul Giamatti's and your Sammy Rockwell's and your brilliant talent, your Oliver Platt's, Carrie's also your person. So I really there's no like, how do you do that? I can't speak to that because that's just years of just like figuring it out and tapping into different human beings psyche, I think. And what that person needs out of what I can provide and the skill set that I have and the skill set that I learned. I got to a point in my career, almost 20 years in of being a publicist where I was itching for something different. I wanted to be a contributor to the choices that my clients were making and not just an enhancer of the existing work that they have. So I started to sort of sniff around and say, like, Well, what would my options be if I made this leap, which is always terrifying. To make any change, and I will just say this is like any kind of blanket statement, to make change is scary. To make any change will give you back a lot. It will open your eyes. It will give you new birth. It will give you a new perspective. So terrifying/rewarding. And it and there's no like, what's a good change? Any change is terrifying, terrifying, and rewarding. So I will say that I was itching for that terrifying, rewarding symbiosis. And in the belief in myself and knowing that if I had just one person who would look at me and say, I see you as a manager, not just a publicist, then I could then go, okay, I'm a manager.
Carrie Byalick [00:09:25]
And at the time, I had a lot of success with a handful of clients. And I know I was instrumental in not just their publicity, but in their strategizing of what their career was looking like from, you know, as they say, soup to nuts. And I know that I had an instrumental drive and vision to why that person was where they were at in their career. And I felt the confidence that I had that because I was getting that information from them. I'm so glad you were able to give me that advice because without that advice I wouldn't have done X, Y, Z or whatever. And it wasn't just you should wear this on the cover of Vogue that I was able to secure you. It was a lot of real detail-oriented, big-picture strategy. Forecasting, five years from now, where are you? I see you as this. You may not see yourself, but I've always seen that for you.
Carrie Byalick [00:10:08]
And so I had that innately and I believed in myself that I could do that. So I started exploring. Well, if not a publicist, then what would I want to do? Because I really wanted to stay in this business. I do love this business. And I feel comfortable and right, it being a part of the mechanics of this business. So I knew all those things. Once I had one client look at me and say, "I see you that way". I said, "Great, I see myself that way". And then began my journey into, okay, well, what would it take to do this? I asked around. I had a lot of lovely people in the community approaching me, offering me jobs to be a manager at their very successful companies. And that was intimidating to me. Oddly, more so than me going out on my own and creating a business. Because at least if I did that, it would be my own exploration of something new, with my rules, with my font, with my DNA, with my taste, and my way of how I would do things. And it really took one client, it took America Ferrera to look at me and say, "I see you as that. I see you as a manager. You are already doing it." And I went, okay, will you see me as that? Then I am that. And so after fact-finding and getting the confidence and asking a council of people, because I also think that's really important to have a council of people, whether that's friends, family, and then mentors and community in a business that you've grown up in to say to you, "You can do this and here's why." You don't need ten people. You need a handful of people. It's that Lady Gaga thing that she said about a Star is Born, "if one person." But it is true, if you have enough people who you trust in your circle personally, professionally, to convince you that making a life decision so bold as to start your own business won't be a mistake.
Carrie Byalick [00:11:57]
You do it and is it scary? Yes! Of course, it's scary. For me at that time it was, make a change or not be happy. And so for me, I really wanted to find happiness and a new chapter. And I knew that this was the way to do it because I took a bet on myself and if all else failed, I would call one of the many lovely, generous people in a business filled with lovely, generous people, you just have to look. Who offered me opportunity. And I went, okay, let me try this first, and if this doesn't work, fall back on all the good that I worked very hard in creating in the landscape of a business that I grew up in. So that's a long answer to tell you that it was confidence in myself, being seen by someone who was giving me the key, saying, I trust you, here are the keys, and then figuring it out from there.
Dawn Andrews [00:12:51]
Yeah, there are so many good nuggets in there. I hope people picked them up along the way, but I'm going to go back and put them in the basket
Carrie Byalick [00:12:58]
Please do, you're good at that.
Dawn Andrews [00:13:00]
What I really noticed is that you first of all, you looked at what was possible for yourself. You identified that where you were going or where you were presently, wasn't going to cut it for you anymore. So there was a recognition of, I can stay here. It's safe. It's okay. I'm you know, I'm achieving, I'm doing well with this, but it's not really giving me any satisfaction. So that's the first piece of letting go to me, is just acknowledging that where you are now is good enough, but it's not all that you want it to be. And then, borrowing the shine. So we're not the best accurate reflections of ourselves. We do not mirror ourselves very well. I think it's particularly true with women, we're constantly comparative like you said at the top of the call. So we're not the best reflections. And so you found in your circle of people, people who could reflect back to you and stand in the place of the future you and reflect it back to you in advance. So that you let go of the one side -- "I'm not satisfied here" and you have something to walk towards because it's your friends are already waiting there for you. They see you in that role so you can walk towards it. And I also appreciate that even in making that choice and letting go and drifting to this next destination you realized you still could come back to whatever it was. If for some reason it was a mistake or the choice wasn't great, you could always return because you had that in your back pocket. And those three things I feel like are just it's like a little, you know, a little booster shot of confidence that people can take away even if they haven't done the thing yet.
Carrie Byalick [00:14:27]
I always say, like my mom was, my mom gives me the best advice and she always says, like, write it down. You know, she's a big fan of the legal pad, make a pro-con list. Don't type it, write it out and something about your own handwriting and seeing pro-con. And if you can compare it on paper and say like, well, I'll be fine because look at all the reasons why I would do this. I mean, it seems like basic advice, but it's actually quite deep because you coming up with your why and your why not isn't someone else's idea of why you'd be good at something or why you wouldn't, or someone else's perception of why you could do something and why you can't. It comes from you. And yes, it takes courage. I mean, it's terrifying, but again, like I referenced earlier, like there's a reward in taking a leap. And even if you have just one cushion that you know you'll land on, like that to me is worth it if all the pros are there stacked up against what's driving you to make a change.
Dawn Andrews [00:15:29]
For sure. I was thinking about that. So I have two sons and we live in Los Angeles, we live on a hill. And I was out for a walk with one of them one day, and we were walking up this really steep hill. I think it was like five at the time. And he just kept wanting to sit down on the walk up. And of course, the clock is ticking. We're supposed to be somewhere. We have to get up this big hill and whatever time, you know. And I'm losing my parental patience at that point, debating whether to pick him up and carry him like a log up the hill. And in that moment, we had gotten, I don't know, a third of the way up. And I encouraged him to just look back. I was like, look at how far you've made it up the hill already, you know, and he could see from street level to whatever view he had at that point. And I said, Well, what would it look like if we just took five more steps, five more steps, different view, five more steps, different view? I swear to God, it was a moment of parental inspiration. It's I'm not that smart all the time, but it was so great to be able to illustrate that for him and for him to be able to look back and see that view. And that's what I hear you describing, is that there were all of these moments along the way in the development of you as a professional, that you could look back on them and say, I'm taking all of this into my next destination. And if all of this goes to hell in a handbasket, I always have this to look back on and to turn back to if I need to.
Carrie Byalick [00:16:51]
And there's something yeah, there's something about that. The reason that book, that the childhood book, "I think I can, I think I can" resonates so much because, you know, it is the Little Engine That Could. You are your own engine. There's no one else that's going to push you, but you, to do anything. Truly. That's a constant in anything that you want to do. Right. I mean, if you think about it, it's like there's something kind of profound about the little engine that could because if you think you can, you probably can. Even though there may be obstacles. It's true.
Dawn Andrews [00:17:24]
Amen. Well, if you can't see it first, you can't get there anyway. Right? I'm curious now. You've had the transition from iD PR into B. Company and now this lovely new opportunity at Spartina. Would you say similar things were going on that like the "I see something and I'm ready to let go and move on to the next thing." What was the transition from one to the next from B to Spartina?
Carrie Byalick [00:17:49]
So I would say no in that this wasn't by choice. This was an opportunity that presented. Right. So that's the umbrella difference. I wasn't looking to leave. I was very, very grateful for B. Company, which is the management company. I'm doing this, this is so funny in the podcast and the very popular podcast, Smartless, they always say like listener. Then it's like listener in case you don't know. So iD which Kelly Bush calls it iD now, it was iD PR, now ID because they encapsulate many, many different things. So leaving iD was much more my personal drive to craving something new and, and a new aspect of how I can contribute to people's careers wherein I wanted to be involved in all aspects and not just taking the product and making a shiny and telling a story through media. Which was essentially my role as a publicist, was to tell the story through press of what my client was trying to do, whether that was launch a show, a film, an album, a Broadway musical, whatever the project may be.
Carrie Byalick [00:19:04]
And so when I started B. Company, talk about the little engine that could, to build a clientele and to learn about aspects of the business that I didn't know much about other than being an observer, a keen observer from the publicist hat. I would watch what a lawyer did. I would watch what an agent did. I would watch what a manager did. And I knew what I was doing. But I always learned by just observing and being on calls with the teams and saying, okay, I could do that. And then once it became my day-to-day job, I was like, "Oh, okay, I have questions." Let me ask these questions because I only know my own experience. And so once I got a year and I would say like six months to a year and of being like, okay, I'm in a groove, I was able to sign business that wasn't just existing clients that I had had as a publicist, but also really wonderful talent that I'm so proud of being a part of developing their career. And I was rolling along with that.
Carrie Byalick [00:20:01]
Obviously, we had this global pandemic and that threw everyone into a big head-scratching life change. And mine wasn't searching for what was next. It was more like, how do I now adapt to what this looks like. What's happening with our business, who's working, who's not working? What's going into production? What's safe, what's not? What am I telling my clients? How do I feel about this? How can I make people feel better? Who am I turning to for advice on how is this changing everything? And so I would talk to everyone all day long, and then it became okay to start working again with all of the new protocols. And thankfully, again, in taking a bet on myself, I have really good taste and all of my clients started working again. And then everyone was doing very well. And during the pandemic I was lucky enough to have all of my clients working on projects. And so things were, as we like to say on paper, really working. And I was not unhappy, I was not searching or yearning. I knew what I liked about it. I knew what I didn't like about it. But that's like any job. There's no perfect job where you get up every day and if there is caller, let us know. There's always something about work. My mom always goes, well, they wouldn't call it work, right?
Carrie Byalick [00:21:12]
And so I feel like what had happened is Stephen Colbert, who had been my client for 16 years, I had been his publicist, and we just have always had a real simpatico of thought, idea, process, conversation, comedy. We've always just been really in sync. And I've been through a lot with him. And it's been one of the most rewarding relationships in my career because I feel like I was able to launch his show, The Colbert Report, which was so singular and iconic and important. And then he took over for Letterman and we were able to tell a whole new story and introduce him as an individual to people, as a human being, not as a character. And so we have been through so much together and really kind of profound in a way, and important to me. And when I was at B. Company, you know, he was my only client that I still did publicity for because he is, again, singular and he has his own category of human and talent. And I'm not just saying this in case he listens, that I know him, he knows I feel that way about him.
Carrie Byalick [00:22:24]
And so we were having a conversation and Stephen and his wife, Evie, had produced this incredible film based on a show called "In and of Itself," and they really enjoyed producing. And obviously, he produces every day. He does the show every night, and with that comes so much and so much intelligence, on running his team and creating comedy and telling the day's stories and making it digestible. And I like to say he's the aloe vera on the daily sunburn of all of our days, and he cools us all down and that is producing. So with "In and of Itself' which Hulu bought and, and is just beautiful. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it to anyone it's streaming on Hulu. And so they really loved the idea of taking this production company not just as an idea, but as a real entity to create and tell stories. And it was a natural fit that he said, you know, I know you have a job and I know you have all these clients, but we've been thinking about it. And they both approached me and said, would you like to run it?
Carrie Byalick [00:23:40]
And I wasn't looking for a change, but I also couldn't say no to that opportunity for many reasons. I found it initially just igniting and exciting and it was just a yes, even though there were all the things I'm like, but, but, but, but, but I have all these clients. But I'm doing well at this thing that I didn't even know I could do. But I don't want to let people down. But people rely on me, you know, there's so many things. But the yes was so much louder.
Carrie Byalick [00:24:11]
And I think that the advice and again, I'm going back to like empowering other women in making choices and not just running your own businesses, but in making day-to-day choices. If the yes is loud, that is telling. And if something is magnetically pulling you, that is telling. And I mean, I probably said like, well, yeah, I want to do that. I think the thing that makes me kind of good at what I do is that I have no poker face and you just know what I'm thinking. If I like you, I like you. If I don't like you, probably know that, too. Yeah. There's a subtlety really involved with me. I'm just, you know, it's I've always just said, like, this is how I feel, this is who I am. And so I don't apologize for that, which I think is important, too. And I and I think so many women, we say, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry all the time. And it's just painful because we have to stop apologizing for having a big personality and declaring what you love and being passionate about what you're passionate about and stop hiding because you should be, you know. But I would say like it was a loud Yes. To get back to your question and thus began, well, what would this look like and what would I do and how am I going to do this? And we're still in a pandemic. And it was you know, it was an ongoing conversation until it became real.
Carrie Byalick [00:25:35]
And then I had to do the difficult thing, which is to depart from B. Company, which I built from my gut and from my instincts to do it and my confidence that I kept building and my experience on top of experience because with each experience, you build yourself up and you build your own business. And it is like Legos and you build your own tower. And, and I was like, wow, five and a half years in. It was only really just starting. And I had visions for it. And I'm not sad about it because I know that this opportunity that I am now in, is speaking to all the cylinders that are fired up that I was doing there. But using new skill sets and how exciting too, to be in a business for so long and feel like it's so fresh.
Dawn Andrews [00:26:28]
There's still a growth path, right?
Carrie Byalick [00:26:29]
There's a growth pattern. And again. I'm sorry, because you probably have a lot of questions, but I also, you know, me, I could talk a lot, but what, I'm just saying, I just want women to raise your hand and say, I know what I know and I don't know what I don't know. And I hope that's okay and do not apologize for not knowing things because this is an opportunity that I am taking so seriously and that I'm so grateful for. But when I don't know something I say, well, this is the first production company that I am running.
Dawn Andrews [00:27:02]
I'm would call that a superpower of yours. In knowing you for a while, I think that if we wanted to boil it down to Keys to Carrie's Success that is something that I have seen time and again with you. And I notice again with women that are in leadership positions or in starting up something new, they're trying to cover off on all of it themselves. I'm totally guilty of that in my own business where I'm like, I'm reasonably good at that. Sure, I'll do that or somebody needs to do it, so I'll take that on. I would credit a lot of your growth, the growth of B. Company in such a short period of time, to you constantly saying, who can I pay for that? Where's the person? Let me call that person. I don't know. I'm going to ask a question like you have no embarrassment at all about revealing your vulnerabilities and your knowledge base. You're confident in the knowledge base that you have.
Carrie Byalick [00:27:58]
That's right.
Dawn Andrews [00:27:59]
And you have no shame with, I don't know it. Somebody tell me. And I think that contributes a great deal to your speed and growth. I also think it's one of the things that makes you so attractive to the clients that have come to you. To you as a professional in the business. By being that person, by being vulnerable and showing what you do and don't know. You cut through the posturing that I think can be very prevalent in entertainment and can be prevalent in business in general. And you give people permission to just let their hair down and show up and shine in their own uniqueness and then be vulnerable in the parts that they need support with.
Carrie Byalick [00:28:35]
I think that's really important. I think vulnerability is really important, I think for us, and I also think boundaries are really important. I learned a lot about that in talent representation, and creating a safe space for people and a mutual trust. But also like this isn't your family. And, you know, I made a lot of mistakes, too. Like, I like that we're both talking about like and the reason all the good things about me. But like, listen, you can't have success without making mistakes and saying, I wish I hadn't said that. I wish I hadn't done that. I would have done that differently. I mean, that's all of us and anything that we do. But I will just say, in my career, vulnerability is important. Boundaries are really important. And learning.
Carrie Byalick [00:29:23]
I was curious, like at the top of our conversation, we were talking about, you know, women now coming up in this comparative place. If we did have a comparative moment right now and you're like, God, I wish I had that quality or that thing that another female leader has. What's a quality that if you could just, suck it up and add it to your skill set or add it to your strengths, what would you want to borrow from somebody else?
Carrie Byalick [00:29:47]
Oh, my God. Just a sense of calm. The ability to like sun salutate, like to meditate and to. I wish I was a person who could get up at 6 a.m. and not feel like, oh gad, like morning people to me. I wish I had those two things. The ability to be calm sooner. I'm much better. And because I've learned a lot about balance and about what you need for work life balance, and that's always everyone's struggle. And I hear you, you are seen and heard. But I will say, like the ability to to to be calm, to breathe, to take a deep breath before reacting. I've seen women and I'm like, wow, I don't really know what you're thinking. I think a lot of people go, "I wish I had more of what you have." And I always like, Oh, I wish you didn't say as much as you say. Because sometimes people look at me, I'm like, Wow, you said a mouthful. And I'm like, but I didn't say anything. And they're like, Right, Dawn, you were going to ask me another question. I would take a sip. Hydrate.
Dawn Andrews [00:31:01]
Okay, everybody, hydrate, hydrate, hydration. Break. Here we go.
Carrie Byalick [00:31:04]
Oh, yeah.
Dawn Andrews [00:31:06]
To that point.
Carrie Byalick [00:31:07]
Yes.
Dawn Andrews [00:31:08]
How would you describe your leadership style, in Running B Company now in running Spartina. Three nuggets. What would you say your style is?
Carrie Byalick [00:31:16]
What would you say my style is?
Dawn Andrews [00:31:19]
Nice pivot.
Carrie Byalick [00:31:21]
Well, it's also that part that's a hard thing to do because I think I think a lot of times.
Dawn Andrews [00:31:27]
I think you've nailed one with vulnerability.
Carrie Byalick [00:31:31]
Sure. Vulnerability is there and I do. I am empathetic and understanding and open. I think I have the ability to tap into people's strengths and not shame them for not being able to do things a certain way. So I think it's about celebrating what people are good at and. This is what it is. Identifying talent in your staff and where can people thrive in what lanes, different from mine. Because I think if as a leader you are trying to have a team of clones, then you're not going to succeed. I think as a leader, what I've learned is finding strengths that may or may not be similar to yours or actually identifying things where your team understands your intentions but can fly and soar in ways that you want them to, and by empowering them and celebrating the things that you're so grateful they can do that you can't. So whatever that's called that.
Dawn Andrews [00:32:34]
You're an empowering leader.
Dawn Andrews [00:32:36]
I think I am. And I would say inclusive of community, because I do think that, now in my role, it's trying to figure out where we can all develop, create and then produce these ideas and these projects that we're cooking up here. And so it's where can everyone on our team contribute and have added value because to me that is also successful of, you're a leader who has ownership but also then hands out ownership to everyone involved. So I couldn't do this if I didn't have you who brings such an intelligent background to the project because you have a specific point of view and experience that I don't have and that I couldn't be. We couldn't do this show without your knowledge of how comedy works and how nuanced that needs to be for a project like this. I couldn't do this project if I didn't have you over there who understands the mechanics of actual production and what we need in order to make this successful with the confines of a specific budget.
Carrie Byalick [00:33:48]
Really acknowledging that you cannot do everything yourself. And you may want to. And I'm a Virgo. And if you're eye-rolling out there, you're clearly not a Virgo. But I will say, as a very typical Virgo who has come into her Virgo-ness, I think like since 30, where everything needs to have a place and everything needs. I wasn't always like that. I was a kid who was a slob. My mom would come into my room and be like "Where are you, even?" There were clothes and things everywhere. And then I just really snapped in at some point and realized, Oh, I'm so much happier if everything has a place. And so you can be a good leader in that way. But what you also need to be doing is celebrating that everybody has strengths and everybody is there for a reason. And where can people go home and say, I love my job? Here's why. Because I'm able to be. I'm seen for what I'm good at. I'm learning about what I need to know to be better at the things I'm not good at or that I'm not aware of. And that I have things to look forward to. And I'm going to have a growth pattern here. So I think I want anyone who is working with me or for me to feel that way. To feel like they are part of a team, that they are being celebrated for who they are as a person. Because not everyone is good at everything and not everyone can do what I can do. But guess what? Everyone who works here can do things that I can't do. And that's why they're here. Because I go "oh, I'm not worried about that. Because I know Holly is going to do that. I'm not worried about that because I know she's got a great idea there." I know that Stephen's going to think this is great because he believes in all of us as connective tissue to then be out there in the world on his behalf with his name on this company. So does that answer your question? I don't know. That's three things. That's a lot of things it does. You now, may I call her outside the lines? I can't give you like, you know, you haven't rehearsed. You gave me this.
Dawn Andrews [00:35:52]
You're a storyteller honey. It's all good.
Carrie Byalick [00:35:53]
But I always related to clients who would say, "Oh, that interview went so fast." And I was like, Listen, not all of us speak in soundbites.
Dawn Andrews [00:36:02]
In bullet points. Listeners, she is pointing to herself. I'm going to skrrrch over to the side of the road.
Carrie Byalick [00:36:20]
Oh please.
Dawn Andrews [00:36:20]
Let's talk about your Virgo tendencies. So, listener. If you happen to be in the good fortune of being in the text life of Ms. Carrie Byalick, You can expect a lightning-fast response time. Like you have never seen. I have had conversations with many of our mutual contacts, friends, etc. and there is not one among us that doesn't wonder how, when I happen to wake up at three in the morning and send you a text because I'm thinking about something that would be beneficial to you, that at 3:01 am, I already have - a like, a response, a photo back. It seems like you are omniscient. How do you manage to return things so quickly? Just in the operations of that in like your day-to-day too, that you're a very efficient person. And I'm curious, what we can impart to others in managing their time, their work, their day, that like what's going on over there because that's amazing.
Carrie Byalick [00:37:19]
Thank you. It's a blessing and a curse, I would say. I think I've always put a lot of pressure on myself, just in general. I am in constant fear of things falling through the cracks. And I like checking a box. I like saying "I did it". That person knows how I feel about it. That person knows that I've heard them, seen them, have a thought about it. Kelly Bush used to say, touch it once. Respond to it. Forward it, file it. Do something with the thing so that it's in motion. Hmm. I'm one of those people that there are memes of people's inboxes that have, like, you know, 75 million unread emails. I get, like, I have a physical reaction to that. I can't tell. I can't teach anyone how to do that. I think it has it's probably some form of psychological, I don't know, obsessive-compulsive to just respond to something. But then I feel like it's handled because I know what it's like to be a very busy person. And I like not having to worry the next day about things that are left over. Like right now, we are having, a very thoughtful, specific interview that I blocked out on my schedule. So I am not multitasking during this. You are getting all of me. I will say that I always want anyone who is across from me or who is in conversation with me to feel like I am paying full attention. But I try to have a lot of cylinders going at the same time. So sometimes I'll be in a group meeting or a zoom and I'll come up with an idea or you may text me, Hey, can we move the meeting next week to whatever org a thing like. Yes, you know, and so that way I don't have to go, I never get back to her. So my brain and my physical shirt, my whole connection, my synapses are constantly doing a lot of once. And does that trip me up? Sometimes? Of course it does. Like, I always make a joke. If you don't hear back from me, I'm either at a show, at a movie, or as in Harry Met Sally, trapped under something heavy, right? That's my job. I'm always trapped under... you're right, that was the best answering machine. Yeah, like, leave a message because - I feel personally better if I handle something in real-time. And I have said to anyone who's worked under me, as an assistant or junior level, whatever, that I do not expect you to be as fast as me because that's just putting on unrealistic pressure. I am built this way. I am to blame. No one taught me to be like the fastest texter responder in the world.
Carrie Byalick [00:39:58]
Like, I have no game. Gentlemen. Yes, I'm single. To the one gentleman listener. I know this is for women, but I don't have game. There's no, like, oh, I'll wait two days to respond to this. I wasn't built that way. There's no, like, two-day rule or three-day rule, whatever that dumb book is. You have a question? I have an answer. So what's the game? We're all here for a limited amount of time. What do you need to know? That's the other thing. I just want to handle stuff. To answer your question, I just want to handle stuff. And the balance, it's an ongoing challenge of how do I do it all? How do I work out? How do I see family? How do I take care of a dog that I love very much? How do I see friends? How do I see family? How do I? It's because I'm constantly trying to find windows to do everything. And there are weeks where I'm like, okay, this week proves impossible, wherein I'm going to not exercise for five days. I will exercise 2 to 3 days, I might even exercise one day. And then that's about allowing that to be okay and figuring out what else I can do for myself, whether that's to take a walk home or walk to work, whatever it is to clear my head, that will give me what I get from the other thing. So every week is different. I don't have a by-the-book this is what I eat, this is what I need. It doesn't matter. It's just doing the best I can every day.
Carrie Byalick [00:41:23]
And as far as my fast response time, I don't know where that came from. And it's a blessing and a curse because sometimes, like, I'll, I'll glance over and I'll be like, Oh, look at all those unread emails. I will say, I don't understand anyone who's doing their business from Gmail. This is not a slam against Gmail. What I highly recommend, it was introduced to me in terms of work capacity, is using Outlook because you can file - and I'm sure you can do this with other programs, this is just my own experience - in order to get through a cluttered inbox and in order to be efficient about it, I always sought by person. So several times a day, I'll keep my inbox in received so that it's a chronological story. And I'll make sure I'm not missing anything if I'm in a meeting or a zoom or not at my desk for a certain amount of time, or not looking at my phone for a certain amount of time, I'll make sure I don't miss anything chronologically. Then when I have a minute or five to sit down and go through my inbox, I will quickly switch it to from because and I can see did a client send me something? Did a producer that I'm waiting on an answer? Did my assistant flag something that I need to do or follow up on? And your efficiency is increased tenfold. And this is again, this is my and this is you asked me a question.
Dawn Andrews [00:42:40]
I know, Listener. This is like this is operational gold here. If you're struggling with your inbox, Carrie is a ninja master with this so we're getting the behind-the-scenes of how it works for you.
Carrie Byalick [00:42:54]
It has helped me in ways where I'm just like, oh, look at all those emails. And then I realize so much of it is spam or Hollywood Reporter alerts that I can read later. And I made a file for media alerts, and I'll go through and just go, Oh, I care about this. I don't care about this. Delete, delete delete. And all of a sudden you can see the numbers diminishing. And even that soothes my soul because I know that I've gotten through a lot of I've gotten through what's necessary, what's timely, and then I can go back to the other thing and dip back in and know that I'm not missing or someone isn't relying on me for a reply. I love it. You know? I also think the need to reply quick is something I have to work at in therapy, which I have, which is I don't want to let anyone down. Right. So they need to please and that people-pleasing thing which also makes one a good talent representative also makes sure that people don't feel like, well, I wrote you and you never wrote me back. So I think I probably have overcompensated in my life for like, well, not only did I write you back, you didn't even finish writing, and I wrote you back.
Dawn Andrews [00:44:02]
I have been on the receiving end of that. Do you feel like being a woman in the entertainment industry has been a benefit, a detriment, one way or another? Do you think it's had any bearing on how things have played out for you thus far or the opportunities that you've had or created?
Carrie Byalick [00:44:19]
I've been really lucky in that one of my mentors who I referenced earlier, Kelly Bush, you know, is a groundbreaking entrepreneur in her own right and created this business. And I had I've had other jobs and other career-making building blocks before Kelly hired me. But I would say the shape-shifting of my career and my real solid oh, this is who you'll be for the next 20 years. You know, I was a publicist, was under the umbrella of Kelly Bush's company, and she's a woman leader. And so I got to learn from great women and was an intern for Leslee Dart and Lois Smith, who at the time, you know, ran PMK, which was really when I went to NYU, the only PR company that really mattered if you were a movie star, that was your company, that's where you were. So it was Pat Kingsley in Los Angeles and it was Leslee Dart and Lois Smith in New York. And I got to see how the sausage was made when I was in college and to learn about what PR was from these incredible women. So to answer your question, like, I was really lucky in that, you know, and my mother is a writer and she wrote for a women's newspaper called The Women's Record. I always grew up with these incredible role models that were all women. So I, I never had to really go, but I'm a woman like, how dare you?
Dawn Andrews [00:45:56]
There was never a distinction that there was something - you were just being you, doing what you did, and you had lots of examples and mentorship from other women. So you never had a story of I can or I can't because I'm a woman in this industry.
Carrie Byalick [00:46:08]
I'm very, very lucky. And, you know, and by the way, like I had a short stint at Miramax and people go like, you know, what was that like? It was awful. But I was protected by the women who ran the department I was in. So again, you see it in so many people's lives and careers and businesses, I personally was very fortunate that I was empowered, that I was educated, that I was taught, yeah, go for it. Like there was no roadblocks. It was like, this is up to you how successful you're going to be here. And here's what you need to do to get there. Plus with who you are, I was encouraged. And I was very fortunate. I worked really hard and I was very lucky.
Dawn Andrews [00:46:51]
You've represented some incredibly powerful, outspoken women. You hire women. Do you feel that's a particular mandate for you? Is it forward-facing or is it just that you find really qualified, amazing women and you're drawn to them, and so you do that? Is it an on-purpose choice or that's how it's worked out?
Carrie Byalick [00:47:14]
That's how it's worked out. I've hired men, too. I've had men work for me. I think it's just I've hired the best people who are qualified, who make sense for me, what I want to do, and the people that I've represented. And then in terms of the talent that I was able to represent, I mean, what a gift to have this stable of clients. And I've had tons of clients throughout the years. Men and women. If you look at the women that I was blessed to work with, I mean, it's truly amazing; Greta Gerwig, Amy Schumer, America Ferrera, I mean, like you look at these women who have changed the world essentially with their work and 100% have been noticed for shaking shit up, too. Can I curse?
Dawn Andrews [00:48:08]
Oh, yeah.
Carrie Byalick [00:48:12]
No, really. Who have turned heads and won accolades and who changed the course of what it means to be x, y, z in the profession. And for me to have this much to do with it, you know, to be a contributor of that has been incredible. And now in this role as you know producing content to make people feel better in the world and empowering all types of people and women all around the world. Like if I could do a smidge just by trying to get something made and having eyeballs on it. Then. Then I feel. Be. I just feel so lucky. And it's a real privilege to do so.
Dawn Andrews [00:49:22]
Who's inspiring you right now.
Carrie Byalick [00:49:25]
Oh. Well, besides my mother, because that's the first you said that.
Dawn Andrews [00:49:31]
We're going to skrrrch again and yeah. Okay. So for those of you that haven't taken in the full visual of the lovely Carrie by, like we got a nail, we got a lip, we always got strong glasses. It's always did and it's amazing. To me, you are an icon, and you were raised by an icon, the lovely Marcia Byalick. How has and I know that you've also gone through some really big things during the pandemic with your mom. Like, what is it about? What does your mom bring to who you are in your leadership expression?
Carrie Byalick [00:50:17]
Yeah. So it's not even like, oh, I'm so beyond lucky or I'm so gracious. Narrow. It's how this woman exists. And then she's. And then she's my mother. Where I get to say like, Oh, well, that person isn't real. And then I get to be like, Oh, she's real and she's my mother. I mean, my mother is in my head all day long. I read that I think is funny, I hear her also laughing. I hear her say, like, you got this, you're halfway through the day, you can do this. You can climb this mountain, tomorrow will be a better day, whatever it is. She's constantly with me all the time. And it's always been that way. She's in remission from cancer that was diagnosed during the pandemic, which was obviously quite the experience for all of us. It's terrifying. And also, just like watching a warrior really go to battle and with humility and it was something and strength beyond any definition of what strong is. And so to grow up with a woman who showed me what it's what it feels like to be loved, to be accepted no matter what, to be celebrated, to, you know, talk about you have a skinned knee, she's the person who's going to make you feel better about that. But also, you fail test - so you'll get an A on the next test or you won't, but you're going to be good at X, Y, Z - just constant empowerment, constant support, constant belief that no matter what, things are going to be okay. I mean, like to have that person who is your parent I know is so rare and who also is just hilariously funny, who is so in awe of my sister and I and what we've both accomplished. My sister is like a really brilliant psychologist and mom and just how much work that is. And she makes everyone feel accepted and loved and celebrated. Anytime you ask me what women have inspired you, not only does she come into my mind, it's like, wallpaper of her everywhere and, you know, and I feel I am so just beyond fortunate that I face time her every single night just we have recaps of our day even if it's sometimes it's 5 minutes sometimes it's 3 hours. She is my person. She is my flashlight app that's constantly on. She's a light and love and strength and brilliance. She's a brilliant writer and yeah, that's why. That's why. Well, I don't know. What was your question? What women inspire me these days? Yeah so she's constantly inspiring me like, oh, not in the mood. Look what she went through, okay, get up and do it.
Carrie Byalick [00:52:57]
Who inspires me? I mean, so does for one, Stephen does. I know he's a guy, but, you know, I watch what he does every day. And this world is dark and like watching someone.
Dawn Andrews [00:53:10]
Find the little shred of light out of that is really remarkable.
Carrie Byalick [00:53:14]
Yeah. And then being just being able to work with someone so brilliant and so kind and compassionate he's really inspiring. It's why I'm here. You know, people always go like, oh, is he as great as he seems. And I'm like, he's better. And people are like, Come on. I'm like, Yeah, that's why I'm here. I keep saying, that's why I'm doing this.
Carrie Byalick [00:53:34]
That's so funny. I'm thinking about all the women who help me all the time. You, my therapist, Denise. Truly, I feel so much better when I talk to you, Dawn. What you brought to my life and career and how I raise my hand and go like, wait, what am I saying? How am I doing this? How am I forming sentences? How am I trying to get the version of me out there that makes sense? And you're like, okay, let's look at it. And you just make it. You make it make sense and you have a good bedside manner. I think any woman who's strong, kind, and compassionate is where it's at and it's like, Yes, be funny, Yes, be strong, Yes, stand your ground. But also like, be open and warm and kind and loving. And because that matters and I think now more than ever, like women have to help each other, support each other. We all need to make each other feel like it's okay, even if today it's not okay. I think that there's something about our need to feel so strong and so tough and so mad all the time. But it's like it's actually okay to be quiet and to be to have a minute and to be concerned and to and then to know that you have a unit of people who are going to be there for you. You know, all of my girlfriends who I have such a strong network of friends who work so hard and everything that they do, you know, being mothers. I mean, just what that takes. And in a time where the imagery and, you know, oh, my god, my niece Hannah inspires me. She's 16 in a time of Instagram, in a time of Euphoria high, in a time of pop music and crop tops and vulnerability and sexuality and all of it. And she is confident and compassionate and just a beautiful human. And to be a young woman at 16 and have all of that, I mean, that's a huge credit to, I would say, my mother or my sister probably me, too. But just to be such a kind, wonderful young woman and just she gives me hope for other women out there and to not Tick Tok yourself silly, but to go out and just be people with each other and not to look at your screens and try to identify who you are through what you think is perfect or a version of something that is successful. But, you know, my niece really looks in the mirror and she's like, that's right. You know? It makes me feel so good. I'm like, okay, we're going to be okay. There's more like Hannah and we're going to be just like, thank you. Yeah, because I could go on and on and be like, Oprah, or whoever, but these are people in my life that really make a difference.
Dawn Andrews [00:56:32]
Yes. There are people that are making dents on a larger, global scale with much bigger visibility. But part of the intention in having these conversations on this podcast is, yes, would it be great to interview Oprah and Michelle Obama? Yes. I'm gonna put that into the universe right now. And at the same time, most of what gets any of us through our days are the people that are closest to us and that surround us. We're not running in that kind of company on any regular basis. I'm so curious about people's fuel and what lights them up and what gives them hope and makes them feel like, yes, there's a future for ourselves, for our society, for democracy, for the planet. Thank you for sharing all of your people.
Carrie Byalick [00:57:14]
Yeah, I mean, there's so many more. I mean, I have them as the list goes on. Best friends in the world. I mean, I do you know, I have friends, my friend Sara, my friend Sharon, my friend Emily. I mean, like, these are all, like, incredible, hard-working, smart, funny, just to have a unit of friends where you can call each and every one of them as experts in who they are. And, you know that if you take a leap. You are not without a net. It is something I am very grateful for.
Dawn Andrews [00:57:47]
My last question, because I want to be sensitive to your time.
Carrie Byalick [00:57:50]
Oh, I'm the worst. I just talked. You had like 50 questions and I answer four.
Dawn Andrews [00:57:56]
It was the perfect interview. Everything that needed to come out came out. So answer this last question.
Carrie Byalick [00:58:02]
Okay.
Dawn Andrews [00:58:03]
So imagine yourself in the lovely, sparkly, somewhat trashy Times Square with all of the big billboards surrounding you and in the biggest, brightest, sparkliest one, you get to pop up a message to women that are in leadership or pursuing a spot in the world. What's the message that you'd like to leave them on the billboard?
Carrie Byalick [00:58:23]
So. Can it be a revolving billboard?
Dawn Andrews [00:58:28]
Sure, it can be a carousel post.
Carrie Byalick [00:58:31]
One thing. One thing. I'm just going to avoid this. I'm just an adjacent thought and then we'll get to the billboard. When I was a publicist, I had a million tasks a day because you could never predict what would need to happen. A lot of times something out of left field would derail your entire day. And then you would have to deal with everything else that was just as important, but not as important as this thing that just took the train off the tracks. And you would have to go do that thing and deal with that thing and that thing only. And in retrospect. This is the age-old if you could tell your younger self. But if I could tell my younger self something and this would be a metaphor on the billboard, this gets back to your billboard. It would be like there's always a ticket. And by that I mean I would have clients and team members and someone, always a family member or something being like, We have a problem. We don't have enough seats, We don't have enough tickets to the premiere, to the film festival, to the Cannes red carpet. There's not enough seats in the car. There's none. And then I would be like. Well, now what am I going to do? It was a real like, oh, this is a G5 Summit problem. Like, Nothing else can happen today unless I find this ticket. And there's always a seat. You would walk into the premiere and there'd be rows of empty seats because people wouldn't show up. There was a snowstorm, there was traffic. There's a there's always a seat on the plane. There's always an extra room in the back at the restaurant.
Carrie Byalick [01:00:18]
So going back to the billboard, there's always a ticket is something I always say all the time, there's always a seat. And some people laugh and say, I know what you mean. There's always a ticket. There's always a ticket, I learned that. Because what you do is when you project a problem being so much worse than it actually is, you build a narrative that creates so many roadblocks for your own success because then you can't actually just fix the problem and know it's going to be okay. And that also goes back to what I was saying earlier about like, I wish I had the ability to worry less and predict problems before they happen less and not, you know, worrying is a waste of time. Someone wise once said, and like there is all of these little gems and jewels about breathing and worrying, whatever. But I would say, like, there's always a ticket. And in Times Square, that's actually good, too, because the metaphor is perfect. If you want to go see Hamilton, you know what? Wait online. You probably will get a ticket. Yeah, there's always a ticket is something I always go back to in my head because of all of the worry that I created, that was really a waste of time and that is something that is a good place holder for so many other things because I am working on something in pre-production now where I'm trying to stop myself from getting ahead ten steps because that's not going to serve me. What will serve me now is dealing with today's four things that have to happen in order to get to the other things that will eventually be okay from that thing. And so I think, yeah, I think there's always a ticket and you'll have to call me and ask me what that means if you don't know.
Dawn Andrews [01:01:57]
Well, I think standing in the middle of Times Square, you do know what it means, because if you're standing there, chances are you're trying to get a ticket to something. So just knowing both in the literal and then in the metaphorical sense that there is always a ticket.
Carrie Byalick [01:02:10]
It's the same way of saying you're going to be okay. It's going to be okay.
Dawn Andrews [01:02:15]
Love it. Thank you so much for your time today. It went so fast.
Carrie Byalick [01:02:18]
Thank you. I really hope you got what you needed because I can talk. You know, I probably we probably should have started this whole thing with like Dawn has 20 questions. She will get answers to three.
Dawn Andrews [01:02:33]
It all works out perfectly truly like what I'm finding so far and in doing these interviews, because, you know, obviously this is a new learning curve, new territory for me, too. It's so good. But I am finding just like with anything, right. There's what we envision, what we plan, and then what turns up. And I do feel like that as long as I'm standing in the right intention, like I'm here on behalf of women that want to be better leaders. If I'm standing in that place and we have a conversation, especially when I listen back later, there are things that we covered that I didn't even realize we were covering at the time that always make it in. So one question, 20 questions. We're all we're all good.
Carrie Byalick [01:03:17]
There's always a ticket. It was I was at the I was lucky enough to go to an opening night of a Broadway play with one of the clients I used to represent the other night. And I saw a friend of his and he sat next to me and he's like, Oh, I said, What? And he was like, I was told that my wife couldn't come because there weren't any tickets and there was this empty seat next to him. And I said, There's always a ticket, but that's what I mean. Yeah, like there's someone going no, we only have this and that's it. And I'm always like, really, just come, we'll figure it out.
Dawn Andrews [01:03:54]
The thing that's great about that Carrie, is that in our lesser versions of ourselves, we're always willing to accept the limitation. That's right. But to beat this metaphor to death, if you think about stepping up to the ticket window to go see Hamilton or whatever it is, that person only has so much information. They have a view of a certain slice of the pie. They don't have the 360 view, nor does anybody, nor do any of us. So you get your choice about what you want to believe about the situation, whatever that situation, whatever that opportunity is that you're pursuing. And you have to remember that the people who are going to tell you no are the ones that have. They still only have a limited view of that opportunity or possibility. So there's always more.
Carrie Byalick [01:04:35]
"No" means they don't understand is something Kelly always says. And I was like, What do you mean? And man, did I learn that a lot? Because if you've tried everything and you say, You know what, I've tried everything, okay? You've tried everything. Have you really tried everything? Because then you could say, I took the extra step or steps to try to make something happen. And it was a little scary, but I got it done because I believe in what I'm saying and I believe in what I'm trying to convince this other person to see and believe in. And if you have confidence that you can do something, likely someone on the other end of that call or conversation will believe it, too.
Dawn Andrews [01:05:15]
Yeah. That's your one person. It just takes one.
Carrie Byalick [01:05:20]
It just takes one. Gaga. Gaga.
Dawn Andrews [01:05:23]
All right, lovely girl. So good to be with you.
Carrie Byalick [01:05:26]
Oh, it's the best hang and thank you. I'm honored to be your guest and your client. I'm so lucky, I couldn't do any of this - the other secret sauce - if you can get Dawn Andrews to help you run your life and business and business in life and then get her. But actually, take that out because I need your availability. I need you at my regular meeting time. So please, please don't take that time. She's actually booked up forever. But if she wasn't, you could also have one of the secrets to my success, which is Dawn Andrews, ladies. So thank you. I'm so grateful for you.
Dawn Andrews [01:06:03]
I am so grateful for you, mamacita.
Carrie Byalick [01:06:06]
So I just hang up? Yes. Let me stop this.
Dawn Andrews [01:06:11]
Like, how do I get out of here? Where's the door?
Carrie Byalick [01:06:13]
I just didn't want to break it. I don't want to break it.
Dawn Andrews [01:06:19]
Thank you for joining us this week to view the complete show notes and all the links mentioned in today's episode, visit mygoodwoman.com. Before you go, make sure you follow or subscribe to the podcast so you can receive fresh episodes when they drop. And if you're enjoying My Good Woman, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, reviews are one of the major ways that Apple ranks their podcasts, so even though it only takes a few seconds, it really does make a difference. This episode was produced by me, Brian Marcus, and Kathlena Shaughnessy. Thank you again for joining me, Dawn Andrews in this episode of My Good Woman.