We were lucky to catch up with Janae Adams recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Janae, thanks for joining us today. Have you ever experienced an industry-wide U-Turn? Tell us about it?

I took a complete U-Turn on the journalism path in my career. When I was in school, I had aspirations of being a sports journalist/producer. My goal was to be writing feature stories on athletes or covering a team as well as becoming a producer for a sports TV show. Every job and internship had me on that path preparing me to reach my dreams but recently I realized I may want to do something else.

After I had my daughter, I started thinking long term what all do I want. What will fulfill me the most? I realized that what I wanted to do was help people. I spoke to one of my mentors and he was telling me that I have potential in becoming an agent. I was super confused because that’s not at all what I was expecting for myself but I discovered I had interest in that area.

As a broadcast agent, I’m still involved in journalism but just on the business side of things. All the connections I’ve made with journalists over the years, I’m able to use them and help them achieve their career goals. Being an agent found me and I’m so grateful it did because it’s the best decision I’ve made.

I was nervous to make such a career change but I’m glad I took the risk.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Clark Atlanta University graduate from the Bay Area. I studied Mass Media Arts with a journalism concentration in school with the goal of becoming a sports journalist. While in school, I played softball (which I also went to Alabama A&M for my freshman/sophomore years) and juggled time with internships and being a student athlete. While in school, I had internships with Turner Sports and The Undefeated (now Andscape) which helped mold me as a journalist and grow my network.

When I graduated, I went to MLB Network as a Broadcast Associate. I earned an Emmy Award while there for working on the show “MLB Tonight.” Then, I took a job with the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans working in production and then moved back to Atlanta to work remotely for The Athletic as a breaking news editor.

Currently, I’m a broadcast agent for CSE Talent where I specialize in finding up and coming broadcast talent to help them with their career endeavors. I’m proud about my journey I feel that me being a journalist for some years and having a strong network allows me to excel as an agent. I’m very determined to help my clients achieve all their goals in their career and work hard to make that happen.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Social media! I think social media is definitely an effective tool to help build your network. A lot of the people I know, I first met them via Twitter, Instagram or even GroupMe. Just following someone on the platform isn’t enough though to gain a reputation. It’s about actually communicating with your followers, being engaged with their posts, genuinely rooting for them.

When it comes to clients, clients want their agent to be genuine and hardworking. The easy part in my opinion is showing you’re a hard worker. There’s so many people who have a stellar resume and connections but what makes you stand apart? Making sure I maintain positive energy and always being myself is what makes me different. It’s not strictly business with me, my clients will gain a friend and a supporter in me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Having a baby was by far the most difficult time of my life. Luckily, when I had the baby I was blessed to have a great maternity leave policy so I spent five months with my daughter and family at home enjoying every moment. Then, when I went back to work it was a huge adjustment. Even though I worked remotely, I underestimated how difficult it would be splitting time between a baby and my work.

The work I would be doing was very time sensitive so there were times I would have to do an assignment but feed the baby at the same time. A lot of the time, my partner would be on daddy duty taking care of the baby to allow me to work but there were other times where I’d have to juggle tasks.

Honestly, there were times it felt impossible like I would never be able to be great at both being a mommy and being a boss. It took prayer, leaning on support system and extending myself grace to realize I was being too hard on myself. Pushing through the obstacles has helped me be the confident woman I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.naefromthebay.com
• Instagram: janaenadams
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janaenadams/
• Twitter: janaenadams