Interview DSM

For my interview blog I chose to contact an individual in my age range, who is already fairly successful in the field that I am currently trying to break ground in. Kayla (she preferred for her last name to be left off of the transcript) is a 25 year-old event coordinator for Dallas Summer Musicals. Her main job is to coordinate/produce Musicals and various theatrical productions that DSM puts on throughout the year. The only difference between what she does and what I want to do is that she works for a theatrical company, whereas I want to actually own my own business.

For her job, it is a requirement that she makes negotiations with script holders for the rights to actually produce the show. When I asked her how she separates people from the problem when negotiating, her response was to remain calm, listen, and to really have solid back up information for any argument that could come up when making a deal. She explained that more often then not, she has to bring in objective criteria when negotiating the price for which the company can acquire the rights of the play. She used examples of deals that were made with other theatre companies to back up her claims. Kayla also discussed that she always has a BATNA ready in case she cannot get the rights for a play, and that is having a back up play in case the first choice falls through.

I really feel like I learned a lot about how not to be so shy when going into a deal. Kayla explained that she used to be that way, but she grew out of it when she started this job. She explained the importance of being confident and doing your homework before going into meeting. Those two things really helped her and I think that they are valuable lessons that I can definitely take away from this interview.