We were lucky to catch up with Carly Tatiana Pandža recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carly Tatiana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

YES! I think it’s important to mention that I put in the effort to be happy. Happiness is not always the default. Life happens. Obstacles come up. Circumstances. But I’ve always prided myself in being someone who focuses on who I’m being in those circumstances. You can’t control what happens to you but you have all the say in who you’re going to be about it. All the challenges I’ve had have made me grow; and learn to surrender, trust, and let go.

The main reason I think I’m happy is because I allow myself to be creative and have claimed my birthright as an artist. I think earlier in my career, so much of my pain and sadness came from my own denial that I truly was an artist and the disallowing of myself to be creative when that’s all my heart wanted to do.

I’ve never wondered what it would be like to have a regular job as I’ve had many regular jobs throughout my life and I still take gigs from time to time now to supplement my income and allow myself to keep going towards the fulfillment of my biggest dreams and potential.

A question I often ask others once I find out what they do is, “Do you like it?” And I can always tell the ones who authentically tell me “Yes” and the ones who are putting up with it. They buy into the story that our happiness and doing what we love isn’t the priority.

It always breaks my heart. I mean I get it, I’ve had jobs that felt like my soul was being sucked out and my light was being dimmed every minute I was there. I’ve never struggled with complacency. Even in those jobs, I was always aware and taking actions towards being happy. I’ve never ever settled and been ‘ok with not being ok.’

Carly Tatiana, love having you share your insights with us. For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry/ business/ discipline/ craft etc, what type of products/ services/ creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/ followers/ fans to know about you/ your brand/ your work/ etc.

I’m proud of how much I love, champion, and amplify other creatives. Other people’s success is just as important to me as my own success. What’s the fun of having victories if everyone else is miserable?

I’ve recently started developing a course for artists/creatives called Standing Room Only. I was in sales for years, used to lead seminars, and coached thousands of people and I’m really good at it. I’ve also done a lot of personal development to grow beyond the stories of what gets in the way of asking people to show up for you, especially as an artist.

What I’ve witnessed with HER Theatre Company (which I founded) and the stand-up comedy class I just took, as well as other occasions I’ve had when interacting with artists is that sometimes artists spend hours perfecting their craft and pouring their hearts into a piece of art, but when it comes to inviting someone to their show, screening, etc, artists mostly won’t do it. Or they will be shy about asking.

It breaks my heart. It’s almost this weird form of subconscious self-sabotage.

I used to do the same thing but I’ve worked on this and self-soothed this part of myself. It’s no longer an issue for me. It also helps with all of the coaching and sales training I’ve taken.

Basically, I see that there are actual logistical elements and skills that lots of creatives don’t have when it comes to putting on a successful event or getting someone to come to your art ‘whatever that may be’ and then there’s an energetic transformational element. Who they are as they take actions to put on the event, etc.

I know I have a lot of knowledge and wisdom I can share to guide creatives to be able to sell out their shows. And I want to do that! I don’t just want people to make the art but I want their art to be seen, that’s a big part of it. Probably the biggest part, I could argue. It’s both. Both are required.

When I did my first stand-up show this year, I had over a quarter of the 200-person venue come out to see me in a lineup with 13 other comics. I had some people who were turned away! We sold out our graduation show for the first time in Pretty, Funny Women’s history. It was then I started to get the idea for this course, so I’ve been slowly and steadily developing it.

Follow me on social media or sign up for my newsletter on my website if you want updates as I develop the course and are interested in finding out more in the future.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

As a society we can best support artists by stopping the narrative that being an artist isn’t significant or not a real job. I truly think that without art, life wouldn’t be multi-dimensional and worth living. I think being an artist is to truly live and connect people to what it feels like to be alive. It’s so necessary. Just think of how dull and boring life would be without paintings, color, books, movies, TV shows, dancing, singing, stand-up comedy, etc. The list could go on and on.

Other concrete ways to support this are going to people’s shows, buying art for what it’s worth, and by encouraging artists to put themselves out there, celebrating and amplifying them when they do.

If you know someone in the industry that you can connect to an artist that might be a game-changing connection for their career, make that connection. Your generosity could be the sole reason for having that person break into the industry. You could be the catalyst for that person becoming a well-known artist in the world, impacting countless people.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I think social media is all about authenticity and connecting with people. I know that is not the view most people have of social media. I don’t have a huge following but the following I do have, I’ve noticed, gets the most engagement when I’m just being real. Expressing myself despite fearing who might disagree. Not trying to look perfect or present that I’m doing better than I am. I have a bunch of bald fetish followers that came out of the woodwork when I first shaved my head and I had no idea that was a thing. I didn’t shave my head to get that following! All of a sudden my promo video for my head-shaving charity event went viral and I had a bunch of loyal followers overnight.

As far as advice, just be yourself. I know it’s easier said than done sometimes. Allow your excitement, passion, and love for whatever you want to share to guide you, versus some ‘shoulds’ or strategic niche strategy. Get used to consistently allowing yourself to be seen and heard so you can start to associate visibility with safety. Such an important skill to develop especially as an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlytatianapandza.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlytatianapandza/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlyTatianaPandza/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlytatianapandza
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarlyTatiPandza
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlyTatianaPandža
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/her-theatre-company-los-angeles

Image Credits
Headshots: Huebner Headshots Other Branding Photos: Megan Lyn Photography Headshot Touch-Ups: Katya Keely Photography