Promoting Proactive Leadership

‍

Do you have your dream job right now? Oftentimes, we don’t end up with the job that we want. And sometimes, we end up with the career that we thought we wanted, but we weren’t happy. This was the case for Keltie Knight, the New York Times bestselling author and host of the Ladygang podcast. She wasn’t happy with her career anymore so she turned her life around and created her own successful business by following the data.

“if you can't get the job you want, you just have to create the job you want” - Keltie Knight

Keltie grew up as a dancer. She got her first dance job before she graduated high school, which encouraged her to skip college and follow her dancing career. She spent six seasons with the Radio City Rockettes and danced for big names like Taylor Swift, Fergie and Beyonce. But as she grew older, her body starts to break down and she realized that she wanted something more. She wanted to do her own thing which led her to create the Ladygang podcast.

Follow the Data 

As she was growing her business and her brand, she had one simple rule - follow the data. Whether it’s creating podcasts episode or selling merchandise, she was always looking at the data and see how the market reacts. 

Most people will do what they think is best for their company without looking at the data. But according to Keltie, data is crucial. It’s what will tell you what works and what doesn’t in your business, or in any endeavor that you are in. 

This is why Keltie keeps data in everything that she does. She uses spreadsheets for everything because they can be proven useful in the longterm. She even adds notes for people data so that she never forgets the people that she meets that could help her in the future. 

Get good with rejection

If you want to succeed, you have to put yourself out there more often, says Keltie. The more you try, the more chances you will succeed. No product is right for everyone, so don’t take rejections personally. 

“Rejection is the best tool for your business to improve” - Keltie Knight

If you know how to take in rejections, you can actually improve your business going forward. What you need to do is learn to ask for feedbacks. Why they didn’t like you, why you got rejected, this are all crucial learnings and an opportunity for you to make things better. 

Add more irons to the fire

And in the interest of trying more, Keltie also believes that you should pursue more than one business idea at a time. Don’t invest too much time in one very specific goal. You have to broaden your net so that when it fails, you don’t start from scratch. The worst thing you can do is invest all your time and money on something that turned out to be nothing. 

However, do not stretch yourself too thin. It is best to stay within reach of your existing business for it to be sustainable. If you are too distracted with your other ventures, your existing ones will suffer.