Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Abel

Hi Barbara, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

It’s been a non-linear path to get to where I am today as a multi-media communications coach. I started my career in the music business in Los Angeles with zero connections and even less of a plan. I just knew I wanted to be there. I had no practical skills like sales, marketing or negotiating but I had an abundance of enthusiasm and my chatty, curious self was very good on the phone when the phone was everything.

I noticed the young men around me zooming up the ladder while I was stuck xeroxing and making coffee and a lot less money so after a year or two too many I plucked up the courage to move to New York without a job or an apartment or much of a plan. It was all forward motion and I never looked back.

Within two weeks I was working at VH1, where my curiosity, enthusiasm, music business experience and work ethic were valuable. I stayed for 11 years, created the talent development and developed the original Rupaul Show. It was fantastic until it wasn’t and the entire management team was dismantled. I had two little kids and a mortgage and I was forced to reinvent myself again.

My gut said hang your shingle and go out on your own. So I launched Barbara Barna Casting – without a plan (I’m nothing if not consistent) or even a business card. It was great for several years, casting Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Man vs Food, What Not to Wear…until it wasn’t. YouTube, the iPhone and the Wall Street crash of 2008 changed everything forever.

I weebled and wobbled trying to figure this all out when it dawned on me that maybe I should put some intention into the on-camera coaching, teaching and advising I’d been doing on the side for years. So I leaned in, got trained and certified as a professional coach, hired coaches for myself to understand how to structure a small, service-based business, got serious about understanding the digital landscape and focused on the people I could best serve.

Finally, I had a plan! And it worked!

I am blessed to do work every day that brings me joy and have no regrets about my path. It got me where I am. But for anyone reading, I can say I would have gotten here faster and with less pain if:

I had known being a People Pleaser was holding me back from achieving my goals with maximum impact.

I had understood I was stuck in The Shouds and The Should Nots and replacing I Should with I Choose was an empowerment accelerant.

I had known my value and how to ask for what I wanted, the help I needed and the compensation I deserved

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Using the road as a metaphor, my journey has been bumpy as well as smooth. There have been periods in my life when I was lost without a map, taking unproductive off-ramps, and stuck in endless traffic, as well as alone on the road out of gas with a flat tire and no idea how to fix it.

Survey of my struggles:
1. I had no industry connections when I started. I choose to start here because many people quit before they begin thinking if they don’t know people or weren’t born into it, they can’t make it. This is patently false. Not one of the many bosses I’ve had over the years broke into the entertainment industry via family connections. Of the 150 guest I’ve had on my Camera Ready & Abel podcast, only 3 or 4, grew up with parents or grandparents or close connections in entertainment.

2. I’ve been fired from jobs and had to re-invent myself many times. It’s rough going when it happens but I’m forever grateful now.

3. I’ve encountered real sexism and misogyny in the workplace, resulting in fewer opportunities and less pay than male colleagues (at the time) plus feeding the ugly I’m Not Good Enough narrative.

4. Having to constantly adapt to a volatile business and the whiplash rate of change. When I started my business, Cable was booming and there were 3 of us doing casting and coaching and we were good friends. We’re still friends, but Cable is dying, the world is digital, entertainment/media is a global business run by private equity and there’s tons of competition. It’s 100% on me to keep up.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I am a certified multi-media communications coach, helping individuals and organizations identify and amplify their unique values to grow their businesses and make an impact on the world. My mission is to teach everyone from creative executives and entrepreneurs to subject experts and personalities to thrive on camera, on big stages, and in life.

My methodology is 100% client-focused and bespoke and combines executive coaching with media training plus my decades in the entertainment industry.

There are several things I know to be true:

A zombie apocalypse is scary but public speaking (of any kind) need not be.
EVERYone needs to be good on-camera, whether that camera is in a studio or on your phone.
It’s always an audition, even if you think it’s just coffee
You can’t separate your Doing from your Being: Be who you say you are

How do you think about happiness?

Lots of things make me happy! Relevant to inspiring stories, there’s a special joy witnessing a client make a breakthrough or launch their big initiative or get on that stage. Closer to home, it’s the simple, quotidian things like a sunny day, a good book, strolling through the Brooklyn Museum or finding a seat on the subway plus the important things like good health, loving relationships and watching my children thrive in their young adult lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://abelintermedia.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbara_b_abel/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@barbarabarnaabel3138
• Other: Camera Ready & Abel Podcast https://abelintermedia.com/podcast/

Image Credits

Skai Blue Media
Chloe-Kate Abel
Nick Coleman Photography