We were lucky to catch up with Kathryn Marino recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kathryn , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I truly believe that time is the new luxury, with the new adaptations of the latest technologies at the helm of our disposal, time has become the scarce valuable commodity. Even our attention spans are shorter now, because we have been triggered to have immediate gratification with response times to messages and dms. There was one skill that I had developed working in television that I didn’t realize was going to be an essential aspect of how I performed or conceptualized programs but I did come to recognize that it was how I manage time in short duration activities. I didn’t even know that it was a skill until an advisor commended me.

In television, time is sold at with a great value per 30 seconds, it was what I managed on a daily basis for multiple television shows and multiple ad agencies. We had daily deadlines and with the exception of high speed chases that interrupted programming, we were on gridlock deadlines to plan and secure avails and air time under pressure. Little did I know that years of working in a fast-paced industry, would later develop into habit. When I had my kids and they were toddlers, I started an incentive agency and was adopted by American Express. Truly it was the highest honor they had said they received a lot of new clients from me and that they wanted to give me an office, complete with computer, desk and fax machine where I could run my business independently but still be part of the AMEX Team. I was baffled quite honestly, but they followed me to New York where I was consulting on an Accounting agency for Film Makers looking to secure 300 in attendance in 3 weeks – they sponsored our programs. I was hired by a PR agency that wasn’t having any luck securing attendance in a short amount of time, so they hired me covert to cultivate a new guest list out of thin air within 2 weeks.

There was somethings about me that I realized that not everyone was thinking about or doing, I had a thing about working at 4am-6am, it was my quiet time, I knew that if my toddlers woke up, I wouldn’t have much time to focus much more get things done. So I began quantifying my time in quarter hours, every quarter hour I would make a decision no matter how big or small, I would just decide to make a decision that moved people forward. I would think in 15 minutes, I’m going to write a press release, the next 15 minutes I’m going to build the copy for the :30 second commercial and start production, at the :30 minute hour I would finalize contracts, and the following 15 minutes I would make a list of contacts I would call. Pretty soon I was making 8 decisions a day every morning, and I was getting things done no later than 6am. After I would take my kids to pre-school I would start making calls through noon. And pretty soon, I became an athlete at it. It was a habit. Till this day I train my project managers to be decisive and establish procedures of accountability so that we would have more value delivered in time, then the actual task at hand.

Not everyone can do it, it takes focus, decision, and the ability to have the frame of mine to make a checklist of accomplishments. And most of all, it takes commitment. One of the obstacles that would stand in the way are people that were indecisive. They would drag out a project because they could not commit to a decision missing valuable opportunities.

I’ve actually met clients where I would introduce them to a key decision maker at a large corporation that was interested in becoming their new customer but because they weren’t prepared to close, they didn’t get the business: either they didn’t have proper pricing sheets or because they couldn’t make up their mind, who to send products to, and they would give up. They picked wasting time over making time in delivering the most essential and basic needs that a client wanted and they lost the opportunity. The ROI for them was futile because they weren’t prepared to close. So I’ve always believed that the new luxury is time and when you know how to use time be it under time constraints or in short duration, you can do incredible things.

I once had 3 days to close Veuve Cliquot on a Mercedes Benz event ran by the city, I closed it in 6 minutes with demos, we had turned a car lot into a Veuve Cliquot Glass House lounge over night. It was the fastest project ever. I always like to hear of new concepts and ideas, and I love working with marketers that are athletes and are decisive because team players save time and agony and don’t make the small. set backs a big deal. They see the bigger picture.

So the key take aways, be decisive, actions really do speak louder than words, and keep the momentum going there is actual laws of physics that take place when there is intention, momentum and action and those three components are what I believe take you to the next level of where ever you would like to go next. Its just the art.. of start!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was an International Business Major with a Minor in French, mid way through school I switched to Economics and took the harder courses to get out early. Later I worked in television building broadcast logs, promos and commercials that took me from Fox, UPN, Univision to later Disney where I build the first automated broadcast systems with their IT department, I was actually a big introvert as nerdy as anyone can get. I accidentally shrunk my 8 hour job to 2 because the system worked so well that’s when I leaped over to the OC Register where I took a Senior Analyst position. Little did I know that these were serendipitous jobs that would lead me to working in the fashion industry. When I started my incentive and PR agency, I started consulting a lot of luxury automotive companies in events, conceptions, and in audience acquisition, it came through word of mouth, So I learned about the luxury automotive business servicing Aston Martin owners with privileges as Aston Martin Elite. I later learned that we were the only agency at the time to be approved by Aston Martin Lagonda and Lockton Insurance to host a race day so one day I got a contract signed to build a racing tour for North America Aston Martin, I was thrilled. It was an epic ride and drive to Vegas. Seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vir1CIMDjxY Was thrilling and after I returned from the tour I was flown to Italy by the Italian American Opera Festival presented by Bulgari to be their publicist. It was a whirlwind and non-stop. When I returned, I began consulting OC Fashion Week®’s original founders.. so funny every time I would think maybe its not my industry, something uncanny and serendipitous and far out would happened. I kept taking them as signs to keep moving forward.

One of the vehicle drivers on the Race Track event happened to be the producer of America’s Next Top Model, who knew she would later call me to ask if I needed runway models. My background skills and experience led me to a participular niche, I was always asked to come save an event, so I was like event emergency girl back in the day, it was ‘Call Kathy, she’ll finance the event, get press and cultivate the audiences.’

Although I have to say of all the things I was most proud of before OC Fashion Week® it was designing a racing tour for North America Aston Martin that was beyond anything imaginable I had hired the racetrack instructors and now some of them are on Netflix, it was very cool experience and I won’t ever forget it probably for as long as I live. Talk about intense and short duration activities, I was at the pinnacle of managing time and doing it well. I don’t even think I barely sleeped I was so excited. The main take away is look for the signs the come in ebbs and waves and if you pay attention they can provide you an insight of things to come.. I always trust my gut now. I never used to I used to get lost Driving for hours before i-phones came out. But now If I feel like I’m lost I stop, I listen and look and ask questions to get to where I need to go without hesitation. Watch for the signs and use your body as a gauge or antenna of frequencies that show a positive affirmation and awareness to your energy and above all , always accept the upgrades.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There was a time I was on Bravo but without being casted for the show. They boarded our boat, and when they accepted their ticket they also signed our terms and conditions in maritime law. Was interesting I was targeted and karenized on the show so that they could make me out to be some kind of nemesis. I had to think fast because my reaction was going to go global … before I knew what was happening I was being attacked by two women making false accusations of me and my staff and they were reprimanding me for standing up to their bullying. All of them had microphones strapped to their back. I didn’t but I did have a microphone in my hand so I quickly squared it in their face so that their atrocities and foul language could be heard on loud speaker. It was an incredibly atrocious night, because we had just lost one of our models to suicide and the night was to be a tribute to her with our anti-bullying campaigns. Coincidentally (again another sign) I didn’t even know that I would be bullied that night by 3 women: the accuser, and two of her cast mates (one was her mother) . They had set me up for a fall after I had graciously offered the yacht I chartered to showcase her daughter’s collections.
I stood my ground on television and afterwards I was mortified, both at my reaction and both at the aspect of them coming after me with no merit and also our sponsor and friend who was black. They were insinuating that he had done something brutal to her mother, luckily we were on a yacht and not in a street where these false accusations could have lead to something worse as he had a young baby on the way, his wife was expecting. When the camera lights turned on I knew I only had seconds to react so in my mind I thought either I’m going to be the biggest pushover in the world, or I’m going to take over .. so I took over and killed their airtime with a rant about bullies. And the very next day it was in the news , and chronicles. I was getting mean spirited Karen’s attacking my feeds, my linkedin, my social media, even my goofball personal youtube channel – it was shocking. I later read some of the articles and they weren’t so bad, I got a lot of east coast support that were happy to see me tell off these bullies and so that brought me some vindication. I don’t know if that defines resilience but I definitely stood my ground in an unbearable situation. I have to think my young intern Jackie who convinced me to follower her to a hidden area to escape the chaos following my outburst cause they wanted to throw me off the yacht. Later I received emails from Bravo telling me to remove my true stories or they would sue and when I mentioned they were in maritime law and upon acceptance of our yacht tickets that we chartered, that technically they’re under our contracts, I didn’t hear back.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I mostly focused on the brand and the growing community. I didn’t make the focus on me, it wasn’t about me. There were stories to tell and inspirations to live by but they were done by the runway designers of OC Fashion Week® I think having the consistency to show be tenacious and vivacious for your company is imperative. And that comes out in the guest attendance and participants at OC Fashion Week®.

I think having the right supporters is also key, I have had some contractors in the past regrettably that were out to learn and take but have bashed to get ahead despite coming with us to Hong Kong a lifetime trip, or learning methods on closing deals, or getting trained in a field that had nothing to do with at the onset. I don’t know what it is about this industry and why jealousy surmounts so quickly, but it is real and unnecessary drama can persist. It would be so easy to delve into an argument but seriously why — it would be so futile. I don’t think it’s necessary to stoop to that level. If there is any merit to their work, it should be done without having to take someone down especially when they aren’t in the same room. But I do have to thank people like them as well, because of them I’ve developed thick skin, as my daily decision making only focuses on what’s ahead vs. what was past.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ocfashionweek.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ocfashionweek
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ocfashionweek.tm
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/ocfashionweek
• Twitter: https://www.ocfashionweek.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ocfashionweek
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/hauteoc – my personal

Image Credits
Photographers @livingmotion photo shot profile of producer Kathy Marino @joegar_ph Joe Garcia @JamesGiovanniPan @sonalisatsangiphotography Scott Rinaldi walks out of our 4-Story Yacht where we featured our runways in Newport Beach Harbor. – Photo by James Giovanni Pan Model Kennedy walks solo onto World Peace Lake Designer DiaAtes photo by Soka University Staff Sydney Steinaker with models lookout from Balcony at World Peace Lake at Dawn Sunflower Collections photo by unknown Charlotte Peng poses for Ugochi Iuaba at the OC Museum of Art photo by @joegar_ph Joe Garcia Roxy Carter masked in Black by designer Llenuel Fro at the OC Museum of Art @joegar_ph Joe Garcia Nicki Bright in Laguna Bridal @sonalisatsangiphotography Advisory Board Lena Milinovic Dina Marciano