Episode 291: The Business Case for Leading With Story | Carling French | French Productions
Founder and Executive Producer Carling French is the go-to creative partner for turning big visions into reality. She joins Kara to talk about producing everything from ad campaigns to music videos, what it means to work with kindness in a high-stakes industry, and how she built her production company from the ground up. They dive into client relationships, standing your ground with grace, and why being highly organized is a creative superpower.
“We can make anything happen, so why aren’t we also being kind and nice to each other? It’s so important to me on every shoot that we have fun and enjoy the work while we’re doing great work.”
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
(00:00:00) - Introduction to Carling French and Her Work
(00:03:05) - Understanding the Role of a Producer
(00:06:04) - The Importance of Kindness in Business
(00:16:20) - Navigating Challenges in Entrepreneurship
(00:37:22) - Personal Reflections and Future Aspirations
If you come to me and say, Hey, I want to shoot photos of a circus in the desert, I would bring you to circus. I'm like, I will make sure we can legally do this. I will make sure we have insurance and permits. We bring in crew. We do all the nitty gritty so you can show up and create and shoot your circus in the desert.
That's Carling French. I'm Kara Duffy, and this is the Powerful Ladies Podcast. I am so excited to talk to you today.
Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's so nice to meet you.
It's so nice to meet you and I love that Sarah Rhodes was like, you have to interview this badass businesswoman. I know she's amazing. And I've, I don't know if Sarah told you how I found her.
No, I love Sarah Rhodes, by the way. She is incredible. Such a badass.
So amazing. So I was truly, I had bought a bunch of magazines to make a vision board old school style for January. Like I always do them usually on New Year's Eve love. And so that's what I was doing. My sister had come down, we were like making her vision boards and I was, I picked up randomly as Santa Barbara magazine, and she and Chris had done this whole series in it.
And I was looking at like, Oh, who shot this? And I saw their picture. I'm like, they'll cool. I want to be friends with them. So truly just emailed her and said, I don't know anything about you other than what I could Google, but you seem awesome. We should talk. And then she came on the podcast and I was like, we have to be friends.
Literally the same. I was, we were doing a shoot and the creative director asked us to reach out to Sarah and Chris for for our campaign. And it was so funny. My husband and I got on this zoom call with them to meet cause they, they unfortunately didn't get the job cause it was kind of predetermined who was going to shoot. But We still did a zoom just like a little meet and greet and we showed up and Chris and Kit my husband were wearing the exact same thing and Sarah and I were wearing the exact same thing and we thought, well, aren't we going to be friends? It was so funny. And now Sarah and I hike and she's started this really amazing shoe company called combi that we've been just really privileged to be able to kind of see start and then now become what it is. It's really fun.
Well, that was the crazy aha moment we had because besides having crossover with like brands she had shot with and ones I had worked with, she had no idea I worked in footwear for 20 years. I had no idea she was starting a footwear company and that came out in the podcast and we're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay. Now we really need to go to lunch.
Yes, absolutely. I would like to join you, please. I work in footwear. That's awesome. That's so cool. She's the best. She's the best.
So I want to come back to you. So before we go any further, let's tell everyone your name, where you are in the world and what you're up to.
My name is Carling French. I am in Los Angeles, California, and I I own a production company here. So we focus on, like, campaign advertising, motion, so, I mean, we do some commercials. But we do a lot of kind of combo shoots, which is kind of getting into the nitty gritty of what we do, but we make, we, I use, I say, we get shit done. That's what we do. That's what, that's what our business is. It's a lot of logistics, a lot of planning, a lot of supporting. Other creatives.
People often ask me, like, what is a producer actually do? Because if someone asked me, ultimately, what am I, I'd say, I'm just a producer. Like I take the idea, I make it happen. I pull in the people that need to be there to make it happen. And hopefully we're making it fun and smooth. And there's so much nonsense in making cool things. So much. And when I was, you know, prepping for this episode one, your website phenomenal as a business coach, I give it a five out of five stars.
Thank you so much. We actually just have done a couple tweaks in the last like 24 hours. So I'm super happy. I'm super happy. It's so clean. It's so clear what you do. It presents you so powerfully.
I was like, yes, yes, yes. If anything, I wanted more about you because I'm like, who is behind all of this? But I think, you know, from your own words, like when people hear about producers, it's such a Hollywood creative word, people not in these spaces are like, I think a producer's job is made up. Like I understand actors, I understand photographers, I understand videographers, I even understand hair and makeup. But what does a producer do?
I mean, I think you did a great job kind of kicking off the explanation of what I do. I, I take creatives visions and bring them to life. So I believe that our industry is kind of, it's, I mean, I don't know if this is common, but I think it's very Much rooted in hospitality. So think about like a wedding planner or, you know, an event planner, someone that's basically saying like, let me take care of you so that you can do your job. And so that's what we do in production. So if you come to me and say, Hey, I want to, I want to shoot photos of a circus in the desert. I would bring you the circus. I'm like, I will make sure we can legally do this. I will make sure we have insurance and permits and the right crew. And you know, Suggesting department heads like art department that might be the right fit for your project So we bring in crew we do all the nitty gritty so you can show up and create And shoot your circus in the desert.
Kara: Well, what I love about that is one of the trademarks we use for My coaching business is a ridiculous and extraordinary life and Many producers would not have You pulled out of their back pocket, a circus in the desert. So I really hear your willingness to make the, what seems impossible, totally possible and smooth.
It probably comes from my start in music videos where people would say, Oh, we have this, you know, kind of small budget, but we need to do this incredibly crazy thing. And so now I've been really able to bring that into the commercial space.
Cause thankfully brands and, you know, the advertising space, there's more money so we can actually do more, but they're usually asking for a little bit less. It's not like, Hey, will you go like do a crazy stunt or, you know, set up a circus in the desert. It's very much. It's a bit more tame. I feel really privileged.
I feel really privileged that my background, similar to yours, has put us in spaces where we got to work with the crazy idea. Definitely. And, you know, I was working at companies like Puma in DC and like DC was doing things like jumping the Great Wall of China on a skateboard when I got there. So Totally. It was like anything that wasn't that big was like, Oh yeah, no problem. Absolutely. And it blows my mind on a regular basis. One, that not everybody wants to be an entrepreneur. Shocks me. And then two, like you're not scheming up ridiculous things to do on the side. Like what?
That's so funny. Isn't it wild what people ask for and that they can come up with? It is wild, but that's why I do what I do and they do what they do because I'm like, I can figure out like my brain, I feel like I was saying to my husband the other day, my brain is just like this constant puzzle. And so anything that's not efficient or I can't, I don't understand how people operate and in ways where I'm like, wait, that doesn't make any sense creatives can go off into space and think, Oh my God, this is such a great idea. And I have to say, okay, puzzle, let's go brain. Let's figure it out. How are we going to do this?
Is your puzzle something that you see in your mind's eye, like right in front of you as a screen? Is it, are you like mapping it out? Like, how does that go from what you think in your head to something other people can see?
Oh, that's such a good question. I mean, I think that it feels like I feel like my brain is this program that's always like running in the background. So it's always one step ahead or like if a happens, what, what, you know, what, what is the next step? Like if, how do I get from A to B? And in the most efficient way.
So I actually do work with my husband and so it's been really amazing because he came on board in 2019. So I started the company in 2017 and it's been a little hard if I'm being honest, he's the best human in the whole world, but everyone thinks because it's our last name, it's his company and it's been a little challenging as a woman.
You know, to always have to kind of correct people, even though if there's one person in the world that I would totally be fine sharing the glory with, it would be him. But I bring him out because he's been really great. Cause he really understands my brain. You know, we've been, we've been friends since we were 16 years old.
So he understands my brain and I, and it took some learning and it was actually really great that he was my first full time kind of like right hand person. Cause I was able to learn how to communicate my crazy brain, but then he already kind of knew how it operated. So it was a little bit of an easier transition into having someone around all the time.
But now it's, we just make a lot of lists. We have a lot of checklists and a lot of, you know, spreadsheets so that people can jump in. You know, we have coordinators that don't jump in until we're a week out from a project that we've been working on for two or three weeks. So just a lot of organizing that way.
Yeah, all of my clients know that you just said two of my favorite words, lists and spreadsheets, right? I love that for us. I mean, that's so often a client will be asking this big complex question and I'm like, we have to start. They're like, what do I do first? I'm like, make a list. Absolutely. They're like, that doesn't sound powerful.
I'm like, no, it is the most powerful thing. It is the domino that will start everything else.
Absolutely. Yeah. We have like, you know, Google sheets that we share and everyone has like, it's my list. And so everyone can see everyone's lists and everyone can see what everyone's working on. And it's the only way for me, I think, to do project based work, because I think that You know, you're always working with new people.
You always have a new set of creative, a new set of needs. And so it's the only way that makes sense to me, at least. And and to you.
It's the two of us. For the client said to me recently, he's like, I think we're just two unicorns feeding into each other's delusions. I'm like, that's kind of all I want. That's the only that's fine in my life. That's fine with me.
If we go back to eight year old, do you would she have imagined that this is your life today?
Oh, my God. No, eight year old me had social anxiety. So such bad social anxiety. And now I have none. It's so crazy. So I don't think I could have ever imagined any of this at all.
No, I actually for a really long time had no idea what I wanted to do. I was pretty lost in my twenties. I worked kind of odd jobs and then I fell into production really organically. It's just, I don't know. It's just been such a gift. So I had no idea there. I didn't even know production existed when I was eight or 18 or 28.
It was so crazy. I had no idea it was even a job.
You've had the privilege of working with some of the biggest brands, biggest celebrities. Was that part of what drove you to get into production or has it surprised you that you're like, Oh yeah, it's totally normal that that's Jessica right over there. No big deal.
No, it wasn't the drive at all. I actually didn't even know what production was until a couple of my friends their photographers, incredible photographers. There's actually one of their photos behind me, a big sir low field. They they're dear, dear friends of mine. And they were prepping for a shoot.
In 2016 and and they were talking to me about I didn't love my job at the time and they were saying, Well, I think you'd be really good at production. I think you'd be a good producer. And I said, Well, I have no idea what that means. And they said, Listen, we'll teach you. We'll show you what this means. And so.
Over, you know, about a year or so, they would bring me on jobs and they would teach me how to be a producer. And I had no idea because the first set I was ever on was with Megan Trainor. And so she was, you know, she is, and she was a celebrity at the time and, and kind of even almost bigger back. In 2016, 2017.
And it was so funny cause I had no idea. Like, am I supposed to talk to her? Am I not supposed to talk to her? I had no idea. I had no idea, you know, kind of my boundaries as the, as a, as a producer or someone on production And now, yeah, it is, it's pretty normal. I mean, they're just people. And if they're kind, wonderful people, it's just, they're just people.
And they're really talented, incredible people. But I don't know. I just try to be really authentic and, and bring out. The same in a celebrity because I think a lot of people treat them really differently. And I think it's really important to humanize them and make them feel comfortable. So, you know, it's fun.
And sometimes they can be. Most incredible people and sometimes they can be a little bit harder, but it's usually pretty great. And my husband was a touring musician for a really long time. So I was kind of around like celebrities ish. But nothing could have prepared me for being like, Oh, Hey, you know, so and so what's up?
How are you doing? It's so random. So random.
Well, and I think it's so interesting because living in Southern California, especially L. A., you get really desensitized to it all. One of my clients, I helped them produce an art show this past Saturday. And they, I yell at them all the time because they're not taking advantage of their friend group.
And these, you know, You know, significant people of significance that they know I'm like, we need to talk about some strategies with them, like not to take advantage, but like, take the opportunity that you have, because other people don't have this opportunity. Absolutely. And his sister had flown in from Idaho and she's like, Wait, who was that that I was talking to for 20 minutes and had no idea that they were the director of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
He's like, Oh, yeah. But. It's she's like, they're so normal. And I'm like, yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It's it is really funny. And I mean, people talk about like air one all the time, but you walk into any of these stores in Southern California, especially in Los Angeles. And you're like, Oh, There's so and so, and here's so and so, and they're, you know, like that, that dumb part of, I can't even believe I'm saying this, but in Us Weekly, it's like celebrities just like us, and you're like, yeah, totally.
They're just an air one. No problem.
They're also buying almond milk and tampons. Yes. Thank you.
Exactly. Exactly. Getting a green juice. It's totally normal. Absolutely.
You know, starting a, Business in general can be really overwhelming. So when did you decide that you wanted to go out on your own and make this your thing?
Well, ignorance is bliss. A hundred percent because I had no clue. My friends were so supportive and so wonderful. I had no clue that it was, You know, so many people start in production at 22, their PAs, you know, they work for free or they do internships. And I just, I didn't, I didn't really fully grasp how long the road to being a producer typically, you know, would be.
And so I feel like everything, even starting the business happens so organically. If I'm being honest, it wasn't this whole, okay, so I'm going to start this business and we're going to, this is what's going to happen and this is how I'm going to run it. And these are the things that we're going to work on.
It was, I have a music video coming up and I have a certain amount of money coming into my account and it can't come into my personal account. It needs to come into a business account. So then I. I had to open a business to have a business banking account. And so a lot of it was just in the beginning out of necessity.
But now of course, it's, you know, obviously it's just making good decisions, figuring out the best hiring practices. And so now it's more. business focused than it was back in the day or, you know, 2017 when I started it. But it was, I mean, it was really out of necessity. I had no idea. I mean, now I look back and think, thank goodness you didn't know more than you knew because you might not have done it.
This is so crazy. So I feel like I'm just. It just, it was so authentic and organic to me to do it that it just, it just, it just happened. And now, you know, again, I've learned so much over the last seven or eight years, but in the beginning it was just because I needed a bank account.
Yeah, I love that. What are you, what's been the hardest of stepping into, you know, French productions being its own entity?
You know, I think that I was asked the other day what would be one thing I would change about my job and it's not about the hustle. Like I love hustling. But it's really about sometimes the people, because I feel like I think, okay, you know, one of my biggest challenges is boundaries. Yeah, I have really good boundaries.
I think it's really important as humans that we are not working 24 seven. I think it's really important to have time with our family. It's time to have good, you know, it's important to have time with friends and traveling and just experiencing life. And so I think sometimes in our business, it's really hard because people are working at nine o'clock at night and texting me.
And I think that it's, I hate to use this word, but I'm like, I think it's a little inappropriate. You know, I think that it's good to keep things on email. I think that, you know, no, none of us are angry that the grocery store closes at 10, no one's banging on their door at 11 o'clock. You know, I think that that's been a little bit of a challenge for me.
And then also, I think people have just become really comfortable with communicating in a really negative way. And so it's funny because it's not really the structure of business or the money aspect, which I feel really grateful for because I have a really, my puzzle brain is also a math brain, but I think it's just, Just expectations and just, I just, I just wish people were a little bit more kind and I work with a lot of really great people, so many great people.
So it's not something that always happens, but you, you do run into the person or, you know, the, the VP or the, you know, someone of status that, that decides that they need to make your world a little bit harder than it needs to be, because it really doesn't need to be.
No. And that's the part that I think has baffled me my entire working life.
And you said a phrase earlier, like, that seems dumb. I'm paraphrasing, but like, that's dumb. Why are we doing it that way? It's so silly. The two reasons I've ever started any business or done any project was, that sounds awesome. And that's, that seems dumb. Yeah, totally. Those are the two things. And you look at The, I think that there's power in having your shit together and, and demanding excellence, like I'm all for demanding excellence. Absolutely. And you don't need to demand excellence by being an asshole. 100%. You catch more flies with honey.
Come on, people don't realize that. Like, it's not that hard. No. Just be nice. We're not curing a disease. Like we're not doing, you know, we're, we're, we're making content for a living. It's really amazing and sure.
A lot of money rides on, you know, productions and advertising, but I mean, it's fun. We make, I mean, to, to really oversimplify it. I'm like, we take pictures for a living. We, we make like mini movies for a living. It's fun. Fun. Like we get to do this. So many people sit at a desk and like punch in numbers all day.
We're outside. We're, you know, we're doing fun things. So it doesn't have to be so negative at times.
It does not. Yeah. The other thing that freaks people out, especially in creative entrepreneurship is where are my clients going to come from?
That's fair.
Has your business been a lot of referrals and just you were already in the pipeline so you just kept kind of capitalizing on the pipeline or have you been strategic about I want to work with that brand, that person, that company?
I would say 95 percent of our business is word of mouth and it's really amazing because, you know, it makes me feel like, well, you're doing a good job if people keep referring you to other people. And so I feel like as soon as we get our foot in the door, we're typically, you know, with that client for, multiple jobs, which is really great.
I will say one of the challenges is that people also just, we reach out to a lot of brands just cause I mean, I can't, we can't just sit around if we have a week off, you know? I mean, sure there are weeks off where we're like, well, we're out of here. We're going to go to Paris and have a nice time.
But then there are also random weeks throughout the year that we do really focus on business development and growth and marketing. And I think that our, my job, especially our job, especially is really seasonal. So there are certain seasons where you're really working on growth. And there are certain seasons where you're like, I don't actually have time to do anything, but.
The four jobs that are in front of me that are shooting in the next three weeks. So sometimes I do, you know, we make sure I think, and again, thank you for your compliments on our website, but we make sure like the websites up to date, we have, you know, marketing packages that we can send out. But to be honest, I may be at a response from a cold email one every, I mean, have I ever gotten a response?
And it's crazy because I feel like we are so qualified to do the work. And so we work for we work with DSW a ton, which is the shoe warehouse. And so through DSW, we've worked with almost every shoe brand there is that DSW would carry. And so it only makes sense for me to reach out to like, for an example, like an Adidas, like I actually haven't reached out to them, but I'm using them as an example.
But I don't understand why they wouldn't respond because I'm like, I've already even shot your content. I understand how to shoot shoes. I've actually shot your product before and I don't even get responses for, you know, for, I don't get responses to some of these emails. And it's, it's really hard because you do want to grow.
And I have so much confidence in the product that we offer and the services that we offer, and especially having like hospitality kind of as our North star. I'm like. This is I, I guarantee you give us one chance. Just give me a conversation and I can show you why we're different, but it's so hard to get in the door.
It's so hard. So most of it's been word of mouth.
Well, you mentioned a brand that I happen to have like 80 bajillion connections too. So we'll work on that offline. I love that. Thank you. Of course. I think that's a really good example because in my mind, I'm like, I know exactly why they aren't responding.
And. Especially with a, with a company like Adi where. They have headquarters in Germany. They have an office in Portland. They have one in LA. They have one in New York. They have one in London, like every, the, every category, every collab, every shoe is like, it's a different, whole different world and team.
Absolutely. None of it is universalized. And so you never know, like sometimes like a whole city will just delegate it to this. agency partner they have. And they're like, I don't even make those choices. Absolutely. And it's just kind of, plus it's so big. I actually think it's easier to get into smaller organizations where the people you can find are actually making choices.
Well, we do. And that's, I use them as an example because we haven't reached out to them. So no shade on them. They have not, not answered my email. I have not emailed them. But we have, we've reached out to some smaller brands too, because I think, you know, just business strategy, you're thinking for marketing, you're, you're thinking, okay, so other production companies are writing.
you know, their top 10 brands to work with. And it's going to be Nike and Adidas and J crew and gap and banana Republic. And, you know, all these, I, we work a lot with like kind of the mall brand tiers instead of the high end, you know, Gucci's and Dior's stuff. And so those are the kinds of people I feel like in the mall sector that people are really excited to work with.
So I always think, well, Let's figure out people that are not in those top 10 and let's reach out to them because they make great content too. And we, we work with people just like, just like some of these brands. But it's still, it's still hard because I don't get a lot of responses. And again, I'm pretty shocked by it, especially with our, you know, with our portfolio and.
So it is a challenge. It is a, it is a challenge. So you're thinking, Oh, well, do I go on LinkedIn? And do I start doing the LinkedIn grind? Or do I, you know, what, what is the most efficient way to really connect? Cause it, it, it, I also want it to be authentic. People ask me, you know, who do you want to work with?
And it goes back to just, you know, wanting to work with kind people. I'm like, I don't actually care. It could be anyone. It could be a fertilizer company as long as it's organic, but it could be anything, you know, dog food and just as long as the people are kind. So it's, it is also, I think, hard to put together a list when I don't know who works there.
So maybe they're not, you know.
Well, no, I love this topic because it's something that we talk about all the time in my Like with my private clients and my group programs as well, because everybody has to be expanding their network. And I have a whole series I do about like how business is like dating.
And I'm like, you guys, like everyone's trying to pitch other people and we, you wouldn't walk up to somebody at a bar and be like, hi, let's get married. You're like, you look like a psychopath, and so I've been encouraging my clients to really focus on as much like community building as possible. And one of my list tricks is you make a list of these people, then you go on the brands and you go on LinkedIn and look at who might be the decision makers.
My Sneaky trick is to go connect with everyone below that person, probably hierarchical at the brand, because then when you reach out to them, it looks like you already know everybody at the company. And then also to use your own, like I call it the community map that we make. So within your community map, like if you went on my LinkedIn and you're like, Hey, who does Kara know that's on my list potentially?
Cause you know, an intro will change everything. Absolutely. And we forget to use that network like similar to that client I was talking about before like using a celebrity friend you have isn't about like, Oh, there'll be my influencer. No, no, no, no, no. Like who, who do they know that would be an appropriate introduction.
And I think we forget that there's. I would rather invite people for coffees and lunches and invite people to things I'm doing than send cold emails.
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. I couldn't agree more like an authentic connection with a Like a like minded person is just, it's, it's so much more fulfilling than just randomly meeting someone.
So that is why I like that so much of our business has been word of mouth because it is, then you're meeting like minded people along the way. And sometimes, you know, we actually have, I'm very, very proud of where we've come and where we are right now. And so we have space for new clients, but. We also have a, I mean, we, we have, we have great years, so I'm not complaining, but we do have space.
So why not meet more people that could be really wonderful to work with? But yeah, that's, it is nice. The word of mouth thing so that you're. You're at least people are kind of vetted. It's nice.
Well, and I think too, my, my coaching business is also 95 percent referral based. And then the next place I've gotten clients from has been this podcast, people have listened to it.
But. Not having a boss and being someone who loves like the reviews and loves being graded and loves knowing like I like the feedback and you don't get it often like I have, I have structures in order to ask my clients for the feedback and other ways I can create that system. But to me, a referral is that like to your point, it's.
Oh, okay. You do like what we're doing. Great. Absolutely.
It's so interesting. I actually, as part of my kind of discovering myself in my 20s and again, my husband was touring. So I was always thinking, well, I have to do jobs that keep me kind of flexible. I worked at Lululemon which I know there's been so much controversy with the, with the gentlemen that started that company.
But one of the biggest things I learned at Lululemon was to always ask for feedback. And it's something that I've really implemented in my business where, you know, I'll meet a client for the first time and they'll ask us for a bid on a job. And the last thing I always say is like, listen, your feedback is so important and so welcome because so many people send bids into jobs and then never hear anything because the bid's too high.
But I feel like asking for feedback is this really. It just creates a more welcoming space to give, to be critical if you have to be or say, you know, Hey, we're 50 grand over budget, but here's some, here's some things that I think we could do. Like, yes, let's have the conversation. I would rather have the conversation 10 times than to not hear from you or question if I've done something wrong, or if I've upset someone, I'm like, just let's be adults.
Let's have the conversation. I want to know because feedback is how you improve. Why wouldn't I want to know? Maybe we're just weirdos. I don't know. I, oh, I'm happy to be a weirdo. I'm like, fine. Just let me continue to improve.
Yeah. I agree. When you think of the words powerful in ladies, What do they mean to you? And do their definitions change when they're separate versus next to each other?
Oh, that's such a good question. I don't know. I mean, powerful women to me are living super authentically, which is hard. It's really hard sometimes because, I mean, I feel like I'm in a pretty male dominated world. And entertainment.
And so I do think a lot of women have had to, and I think including myself have had to work harder, you know, to, to grow and to become more powerful, if you will. But I just, I think that there's, I think women have a way of being powerful, but not overbearing a lot of the times, at least the powerful women I know, like, you know, you just kind of respect.
Yeah. I respect a lot of women that I feel like are quietly powerful, if that makes sense. And I think again, going back, it's, it's women that are being authentic, that are kind, that lead with integrity, that want to improve, that want feedback. I mean, Yeah. I just, I think there are so many women that are really changing the world.
And I think that women, the higher we get in power, hopefully the better it will be, but I don't know. I think about people. I think about women like Michelle Obama, you know, who really tried to step into her power and, and change a lot of things for the good. There's this one woman. I don't know her name, but I know her Instagram handle.
Her name is the food babe. Have you been hearing about what she's been doing with Kellogg's?
Yes. And, and I just watched a TikTok last night where this guy was going through all the haters in the comments and tracing who they're funding. These dietitians and like health coaches were all being funded by Kellogg's or the sugar companies.
Like, it was crazy.
Yeah, it's so crazy. But someone like her, I'm, I'm like, that is where I'm like, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Take your voice and change the world. I mean, it's not, I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I think there's so many things that need to change. especially in the United States. And I think women like that, I'm so inspired by.
Well, and it's most of the challenges or the things that are on the, this is so silly list right now, we have solutions for, I know. And the fact that I think this is where we, if we would probably get a 90 something percent rating if we polled people, but so many people are irritated The dumb things aren't being handled, so we can't even talk about the bigger things yet, and it's like we, as a humanity, as a collective humanity, we have all the solutions.
Absolutely. Why aren't we doing them?
They're too expensive, people think, maybe, in some certain, in some ways. I'm like, we need to save the environment, everybody. Yeah. We need to care about what we're eating. We need to care about these things. We need to. have balance in our lives. We need all these things to be humans and to be good humans.
And it just shocks me. It blows my mind.
I shared a speech from Carl Sagan to my stories last night, where he was talking about how in the Cold War we spent, like, half a trillion dollars. To prevent Russia from invading the US and whatever else we thought they were going to do. And he goes, what do you think the percentage was?
Like, was it 100 percent certain? He's like, no, it's probably like 10, 20%, but we, we spent money on it as if it was 100. He goes, climate change is 100 percent certain. Why aren't we spending the same way? A hundred. I, I a hundred percent agree.
I know.
And this video was from like 1991. It wasn't a new, like, it's painful. Oh, it's painful. I know. Well, you mentioned women being powerful and excelling in their power. We podcast where you put yourself on the powerful lady scale. If zero is average everyday human and 10 is most powerful you can imagine, where would you score yourself today and on an average day?
Oh my gosh, that's such a good question because I think going back to the way I started in my kind of more like powerful woman journey having a business, it's still, I still don't know if I can fully wrap my head around what I've done in the last seven or eight years.
I really don't, I can't, I don't understand it. So it's really interesting because I think I give myself a lower score than someone looking from the outside in. Cause I just, It's so hard. It's so hard to just like understand. But I do feel like my power comes from trying to hear people to try being empathetic.
I really, really know that I take care of people on my cruise so well and I fight for them. And so just within that, and just Being able to create jobs for so many people. I, I mean, I think I'd give myself a pretty decent score. I don't know. Maybe, maybe on set, I would, if I'm on set, I would probably give myself a pretty high score.
I can, I can really, I really excel there. So I would maybe give myself, I don't know, without sounding like a total jerk, maybe like an eight or a nine. And then maybe on a, you know, on a typical day, maybe a Six or seven. I do. I don't have children. And I think women that do what I do or have businesses and have kids are superhumans.
So I need to leave some space for them because I think another way that women are so powerful going back is Just, just moms, just, I, I, I am, again, I am not a mother. I, I may be one day, maybe I won't be, but just the balance and the way that I see women expand as mothers and as leaders and entrepreneurs is so inspiring.
So yeah, maybe that, maybe I'll, I'll leave some space for people that would be doing my job and being a parent.
When you are not, you know, running your empire. What are you doing?
I love exercising and meditating and spending time with good humans and traveling and I don't know. I love the beach. I love going to the ocean and putting my feet in the sand.
I, I love having long conversations with friends. I love going hiking with Sarah Rhoades. I just, I like just feeling connected to people and to myself and Yeah, I, I like having the balance of being off and just kind of piddling. My mom, I think my mom uses the term piddle and I think a lot of people use that term, but I like to just piddle around, just have no, nothing on my list.
I have, I like having no list. I will go hardcore on a list and then I want you to leave me alone and I don't want a list and I just want to do whatever I want to do.
Love that. We've also been asking everyone, you know, what's on your to manifest list or your wishlist? This is a big, powerful community with all sorts of connections and capabilities.
So what is something you want that we can help you with? Oh, well, amazing. Thank you.
I think personally I would, which I don't think that As powerful as its community is. I mean, I'd love to live in Malibu on the beach. So if anybody wants to gift me a house that would work for me. No, I, I do. I, we live in studio city and I think that a big goal of mine would be to live somewhere, maybe like 30 minutes away from the city, you know, like a Malibu, it doesn't have to be Malibu, but just somewhere where I can feel a little bit more grounded.
I think there's a lot of chaos in our city, which is, can be really great. But I think it can also overpower. a little bit. And I love my job. I love the hustle. I love the go, go, go. But I think sometimes it would feel a little bit more grounded being in a place where, you know, you have, we don't have a yard.
So I'm like, I want to put my feet in the grass and I want to put my feet in the sand and feel really grounded and feel a little bit more calm. So personally, I would really like to, you know, in the next couple of years, maybe Be a little bit more removed from the hustle and the bustle. And then at work, you know, I would, my goal would be to have another couple of repeat clients that are really wonderful humans.
And that's actually been a goal of ours for a little while now. I just think. And I don't want to make excuses, but I think the last couple of years have been pretty hard with the economy and, you know, budget cuts and AI and all these things. And so much that, you know, so many things that are unknown. But we, we are like, you know, sometimes I'm like the tortoise in the hair, the tortoise wins the race.
So we have grown so organically that I think that we're, I think we're right where we're supposed to be, but probably meeting a couple of fun new clients You know, shooting four or five, six times a year, you know, we can totally handle something like that and would love to, would love, would love new, wonderful clients.
So for those clients who are listening, where can they find you, follow you, connect with you?
Well our website is French hyphen. So middle dash productions. com. Instagram is French underscore productions. LinkedIn, you could find me on LinkedIn. You can email me. I always love to just meet new people. So I'm always down for a quick zoom or in person coffee is really great too. If. We're not driving across the city, but like if you're within 15 minutes of Studio City or West Hollywood, let's do it. But yeah, just online.
Okay. Perfect. Well, it has been such a pleasure to get to chat with you this morning. I'm so glad that Sarah connected us and yeah, like. It's, it gives me a sense of relief knowing what a big to do list we have of things to fix and improve in the world that there are people like you doing what you can in your corner. Cause then we don't have to hold the whole to do list ourselves.
I know, and we just meet new and wonderful women who support it, and I love that. Not that men aren't great. I love men, but I love, I, as I've gotten older and older, I feel like I just appreciate women more and more and more. It's just incredible. My, my female friendships are just irreplaceable.
Yeah.
It's really nice.
Well, thank you so much for being here today. Yeah. It's so nice to meet you.
All the links to connect with Carling and French productions are in our show notes at the powerful ladies. com. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening and refer us to a friend. Come join us on Instagram at powerful ladies. And if you're looking to connect directly with me, visit Kara Duffy. com. I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Website: french-productions.com
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Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
