Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice Shikina.
Hi Alice, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was a little girl, about 7, I wanted to become an actress. I followed my dream all the way through my early 30s. When I was 13, I auditioned for my first play and was cast as Lucy in the musical Snoopy. Once in high school, I competed in local speech tournaments and made it all the way to nationals. During my sophmore year, I applied and got into a performing arts school for my junior and senior year. I went on to major in theatre in college.
I moved to the Czech Repblic my senior year in college and remained there for a total of three years. I studied Czech language and theatre history. I also began my directing career there. Once I decided to follow a path to direct plays, I applied and attended the University of Hawaii. I studied directing and Asian theatre.
In 2000, I moved to San Francisco, because I wanted to direct plays and work as a graphic designer to support myself while I directed. I got connected to the Three Wise Monkeys Theatre Company and began working with them. Not long afterwards, I became the Artistic Director and produced a theatre festival every year. I directed several plays. I wrote Okinawa 1945, which was a historical play about the teen nurses in Okinawa during WWII. My play was produced in San Francisco and then in Hawaii. Then, the theatre group in Hawaii too it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Once I had my second child in my late 30s, I gave up the theatre world to focus on parenting. At that time, I was working as a graphic designer, creating marketing pieces for the American Red Cross. I was laid off from that job around 2010. I continued to freelance until 2013, when I found a job at a tech startup in SF, while driving part-time for Lyft. This job was a dream job for me at the time. I was able to experience life at a start-up and really enjoyed building the company from the ground up.
In 2016, I was laid off from that job, as they downsized and I began to search for my next dream. At the time, I had also been working part-time for a job that required me to mediate sometimes. I really enjoyed that aspect, so when I was laid off from my full-time job, I decided to get certified to become a mediator and arbitrator.
I started mediating in 2016. I mediated divorces, landlord-tenant cases, workplace conflicts, family conflicts, personal injury and breach of contract cases. The more I mediated, the more I became interested in negotiation as well, since I was observing negotiations every day. I began to take negotiation courses at Yale and University of Michigan. I read as much as I could on the topic. Around 2020, I started my own negotiation Academy.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a smooth road! As an actress, my biggest obstacle was being Japanese-American. In the late 80s and 90s, directors were not that open to color-blind casting and there were very few plays for Asian-American actors.
Then, when I became a director, I noticed that there were very few female directors. Most were male.
Now that I am a mediator, most lawyers want attorney/mediators, so the immediately disqualify me from their lists. But I continue to find ways to succeed, despite the road blocks put in front of me.
Growing a business on my own has been very difficult, but I continue to persevere. I have been able to double my revenue each year, but I am constantly offering new services and trying out new ways to get in front of my target audience.
We’ve been impressed with Shikina Mediation and Arbitration, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I offer several services under Shikina Mediation and Arbitration. I mediate divorces, workplace and family conflicts as well as various litigated cases. I also work with non-profits and companies who are in need of communication and conflict resolution training for their staff. I have a small group negotiation course online for individuals who want to feel more confident negotiating in their lives. Finally, I offer private negotiation consultation for high net-worth individuals who are negotiating on a regular basis. I help them with their blind spots and also act as a sounding board for their high-stakes negotiations.
My background in theatre informs my work as a mediator and negotiator. As an actress, I learned how to read others’ emotions and how to affect other’s emotions. Using this same skill, I am able to read the room and adjust my own attitude and behavior to affect others in a positive manner.
As a mediator, I am unique in that I help my clients get to a resolution by coaching them on how to effectively negotiate with one another. I help them achieve a win-win resolution much of the time.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I like best about Oakland is its diversity. There are so many different cultures represented in Oakland. It truly feels like a major metropolitan area. My children are exposed to people of diverse races, ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientation and even economic classes. They get to learn different views from their friends and peers. What I like least is the amount of crime that is occurring in Oakland. Although I don’t go around feeling afraid, I find it sad that I always have to be prepared for the worst at any given time.
Pricing:
- $997 Small Group Negotiation Coaching Program
- $6000 Annual Private Negotiation Consulting
Contact Info:
- Website: shikinamediation.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shikinamediation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shikinamediation/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceshikina/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqVqdrGOqqDh-g0R8nXWnw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shikina-mediation-and-arbitration-oakland
- Other: ShikinaNegotiationAcademy.com