Jackie Indrisano - Resilience in the Entertainment Industry

Our guest today is Jackie Indrisano, General Manager of the Off Cabot comedy club. Jackie spent the bulk of her career in entertainment, booking music and comedy venues. She built not one but two college venues, one at Northeastern and one at Berklee College of Music. We talked about what it means to run a business where your team members are students, so your goal as a manager is to run a successful business while also preparing your employees for a long term career in the industry.

Jackie also had to overcome a series of personal tragedies, so her story is also an inspirational story of overcoming adversity.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[02:43] – I shared with Jackie that I selected her as my birthday guest.

[03:59] - Authenticity is accepting who you are, being truthful to your core, and being willing to put yourself out there.

[06:07] - Jackie shares a little bit of her experience.

[08:06] - Being on campus is not where you would put somebody who's going to have a career in the music industry.

[10:24] - Jackie just got thrown into it, and she learned how to book in that environment.

[14:32] - The main thing is knowing your audience and constituents.

[16:47] - It was a team; it was a collaboration. Jackie elevated what she knew, but if she didn't know something, she would try to find out who did and learn.

[19:51] - Jackie was in constant research mode, but she was also a super fan.

[21:27] - The music industry or the music business is because those two words coexist. You can't have one without the other. You need to understand that it can't just be about talent.

[24:37] - Jackie shares a story about a New York City artist.

[26:44] - It usually boils down to the marketing and promotion of a show. It's all about that because the talent is there.

[30:21] - Jackie shares a part of her tragic story.

[32:50] - The support of people surrounding Jackie kept her persevering.

[36:52] - The way Jackie was received after being gone so long from the business surprised her.

[37:40] - It was people Jackie didn't even know who were paying attention and waiting for her to come back.

[39:32] - It is about being tenacious about the right opportunity, otherwise someone else would've gotten the job.

[42:14] - There are a lot of transferable skills for those trying to hire people.

[45:34] - Know who you are, know what kind of environment you want, and then add to that culture. And if you can't add to that culture, it's time for you to go.

[48:38] - Jackie shares the interests she has outside of work.

[50:35] - I ask Jackie the expression or business jargon that drives her crazy.

[52:38] - Food for the body or food for the soul.

[52:48] - Tell our listeners who are some of the comedians that they should listen to & look out for.

[54:42] - Thank you and closing remarks.

Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.com

Websites:

al4ep.com

offcabot.org

Additional Guest Links:

Jackie's Voiceover Site: rebelindrisano.icanvoice.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacquelineindrisano

Twitter: twitter.com/jackiejustwait

Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino Cattaneo

Dino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneo

Podcast Instagram – @al4edp

Podcast Twitter – @al4edp

Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edp

Music

Susan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com