Full name?: Brace yourselves.. it is a long one….Brinn-Heather Thomas Black (check out her latest single here!)
Position / Job title?: Full-time Country Music Artist / Non-Profit CEO, and Music Festival Director
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
For as long as I could remember, I always wanted to be a singer, but for some reason my mom said there was a year that I wanted to be a doctor (probably until I found out about how much school was involved)
Fast-forward several years/decades. How did you land (or create) your current position?
I headed to Nashville straight out of high school, determined to make it as a country music artist, and I fell into the music festival side of things after I performed a show where we hold the festival now. We just all kind of looked at each other and said “we should turn this into a festival”. The non-profit (The MusicPreneur Storehouse) started as a tribute to my fiance that passed away a few years ago, and now has transformed into something so much bigger than I ever anticipated.
Did you have to take on internships to get there? How important in general, do you think, are internships?
I think internships are extremely important. In college, I had a songwriting internship at one of the largest music publishers in the world and I grew more in those few months than I did in my 4 years of college, both as a songwriter and a businesswoman. I also spent 3 years working as a promotions assistant at a local radio station (which pretty much paid like an internship), and I attribute most of my “out of the box” thinking, budget stretching, and so much more to that job. I think it should be a requirement that every person in the music industry should have that job for at least a couple of weeks. It’s like boot-camp.
Tell us what a typical work day looks like for you. What is your job REALLY like, both the glamorous and not-so-glamorous parts?
I don’t know that I really have a “typical day”. I wear so many hats that I have to compartmentalize my time for things now, and inevitably I end up having to merge them 80% of the time.
The most typical day would be to wake up, feed my pups, have 30 mins to myself and my coffee, then go to a writing session for a couple of hours. Afterwards, I might have a meeting, photo shoot, recording session or something depending on the day, but I usually attack my todo list. Whether it’s doing an interview like this, responding to the never ending emails, making a social media plan for the week, or all the other tedious things that involve putting on events/shows… there are never enough hours in the day.
What is the biggest career mistake you’ve ever made?
Definitely putting the cart before the horse. I didn’t know any better, but my eagerness and naivety definitely held me back for a long time because I didn’t realize that being patient, strategic and intentional about things actually gets you much further than you can ever imagine.
What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to other career-minded women?
To surround yourself with people you are super fans of, in all areas of your life. Recently I heard Bob Goff say that “people are either a reflection of or a reaction to who them surround themselves with”, and that really brought it home for me. I spent a lot of time being a reaction to circumstances or other people’s opinions until I started keeping people around me that I wanted to be a reflection of.
Let’s talk about work/life balance. What does that mean to you? Is it important?
I think it is totally important. As an artist where you are the product you are selling, it has been very hard for me to wrap my head around work life balance. Thankfully, most of the people closest to me are on the same grind and work in the same industry, but it has been really hard for me to balance that life and the life with my life long friends back home and family members that make up my heart. I have to remind myself almost every day that I am the only person who can be the oldest daughter to my parents, the big sister to my siblings, and also the only person who can be Brinn Black the artist. That helps me put things into perspective, and delegate where I need to.
On that note, do you think women can have it all? Both the baller career, and the happy family?
Heck yea I do! I think women are wired for it. Most men are wired to be task driven, and women are wired to be on a conference call while having a baby on their hip. Once more women see that within themselves and their confidence grows, I think the world of women as a whole will look a lot different.
If you could look into a crystal ball and see 20 years into your future, what would you want to see?
That list could keep you reading all day, but most of all, I hope to be able to still be making and playing music. Also I hope I am able to say that I am still proud to be the person I am and feel like my life thus far has somehow made a positive impact on the world.
Do you have any career role models? Who are they?
I do. My mom would be at the top of that list. Despite the challenges that come with being a single parent, she raised my sisters and I to be strong,compassionate and driven women. In addition, she’s built herself an incredibly successful career and still loves going to work every day.
Also on that list would be Reba McEntire, Sara Barellies, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles, Shania Twain, and so many more.
What is the best piece of advice that you have ever received – career-related or otherwise?
My mom has always told me that “everything happens for a reason”, and while I used to think that was cheesy and it was only her way of making me feel better (and maybe it was), now I find that it makes me stressed life a little bit more every day and not worry about the small things that used to consume a lot of my thinking.
Also, one of my dear friends told me to let myself be loved and see everything through the lens of gratitude. That advice changed my life. I find when I am letting myself receive love from the world and focus on being grateful, that good things happen more often.
Parents love to say, “just wait ’til you have to face the real world…” When you were in college or high school, what did you think the “real world” looked like? What is the difference between what you thought and reality?
I think I was born in old soul, so reality didn’t really surprise me. I always felt comfortable traveling, being independent or figuring out situations. (Probably because I saw my mom doing it all the time). I will say that I have always had a tendency to see the good in people, to a fault. That’s where my naivety comes into play.
It took me a long time to learn to look past people’s potential good-heartedness and see them for where they are, and decide for myself whether to engage with them or not. Boundaries are such a good thing.
Should you work for the money, or do what you love?
Do what you love. 100%.
How important is money to you when considering a job?
Not really important. To me, if you are working hard doing what you love, and your feel like. It’s what you’re supposed to be doing, the money will come.
What is the single most important factor of a job?
Purpose and fulfillment. I think when people have those two things, they perform better, and the company as well as the individual are both able to thrive.
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