Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly Tomlinson Pollack. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am thrilled and beyond happy every day to be a business owner. Ever since I can remember I wanted to be in charge, to run the show and to have full control over how I spend my day. I spent many years before starting my business working regular jobs, from Starbucks to being a server at CPK and finally working for another agency before starting my own. And I certainly don’t miss any of those jobs.

The driving force for me to start my own business was to fully own every decision I make, fully own every dollar I generate and to have control over the people I surrounded myself with. I get to choose everyone that works for me, and I get to pick and choose only the best, kindest and most talented people to represent at my agency.

The best part of running the show is that it also allows me to be very present with my family. My husband and I run the company together so we get to spend a lot of time working on day to day operations, producing and recording our podcast, and brainstorming how to expand and get better. Plus we are parents to a kindergartener and I love that we get to show him what it looks like for his parents to work hard, and also to be able to show up for every special moment of his school journey.

Being an entrepreneur is one of my greatest joys in life and I am forever grateful for the opportunity.

Kelly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Of course, I grew up in Southern California and was always interested in Hollywood and anything glamorous. After completing a bachelor’s degree in communications, I began working for burlesque legend Dita Von Teese, assisting with stage props and live shows. In 2010, I was hired to work at the prestigious Starworks Artists agency, which represented the best of the best in beauty artists at the time. I spent the next few years honing my skills as an agent and developing a sharp eye for talent.

During my time as an agent, I quickly discovered that I had the natural ability to lead and an innate sense of what would make an artist successful in an industry that requires meticulous management of details and high profile relationships.

In the fall of 2013, my soon to be husband Benjamin Pollack, a graduate of the American Film Institute, and I launched Tomlinson Management Group, representing a handful of hairstylists, make up artists and wardrobe stylists. Today we operate our business from Malibu, CA with artists in Los Angeles and New York catering to A-list talent and high level advertising clients. We work hard to maintain our reputation as one of the most respected agencies for freelance beauty artists, offering artists a personalized management experience unrivaled in the industry.

In 2023 in celebration of our 10th year in business, Benjamin and I launched our very well-received podcast, Agent Beauty – featuring interviews with some of our most celebrated artists and offering insights into the glamorous world of a beauty agency.

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

My journey of discovering how truly resilient I am began 5 years ago. Three months after welcoming our son in 2018, our home burned down in the Woolsey Fire. We had been living a very peaceful, idyllic and happy life and it was ripped away from us in one day. It was heartbreaking and terrifying to live through that, and very quickly we had to rebuild our lives from scratch, all while learning to be first-time parents. Not to mention having to work overtime to keep our company running smoothly. Luckily the business was thriving and we began to recover.

We adapted, we found a new home, and we settled in. Then just over a year later, the pandemic hit our business hard. Overnight we went from having our best year ever to zero sales. All events, shoots, and appearances that our clients would be working on were cancelled as the world shut down. We had to downsize our staff and pivot to working remotely. And simply waited for the world to open up again.

It took years to recover from the impact of Covid, and just as things were starting to normalize, the WGA and SAG double strike once again threatened to knock us right back down. As soon as the first strike was called, most of our celebrity / red carpet business disappeared and our sales plummeted. It was during this downtime we decided to be productive and started our podcast. Throughout the spring and summer of 2023 we interviewed many of our most prominent hairstylists and make up artists. We launched Agent Beauty – The Podcast on our 10 year anniversary, November 6. The SAG strike ended on November 9, exactly 5 years to the day since our house had burned down. Somehow it all felt like the struggle had come full circle in that moment and it was an opportunity to begin again.

Any one of these events would have been devastating on their own, but to live through three massive, life changing events in such a short span has really forced us to prove how resilient we are in the face of everything crumbling around us. It was never an option to back down, to quit, to shrink. It took a lot of strength but we dug in our heels and stayed the course. We learned, we adapted and ultimately expanded – which is what resilient people do.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Reputation is everything in the entertainment industry – I know my clients appreciate my honesty and transparency more than anything else. Managing someones career is a very personal relationship. You become intimately acquainted with all details of their life, their ups, their downs, their finances, their dreams and ambitions. I bill their clients, collect their money – you have to be tremendously organized, detailed and honest to sustain a business like that.

The artists I represent put their trust in me to manage very delicate relationships with very high-profile talent, and it really comes down to communication style. I listen, I ask questions and understand the stakes and relationships at play, we discuss plans and act accordingly. We deal with big personalities and very high stakes moments – a nominee getting hair and make up for the Oscars, or someone is shooting a big career-changing magazine cover – everyone needs to feel seen, heard, respected and taken care of in these moments.

I also find that it is often very basic things that make the biggest difference – attention to detail, returning calls and texts, answering every email, and really learning what they want to achieve in their careers and working with them to make it all happen.

Hollywood is a very relationship-based industry. While I’m in my office most days, the artists I represent are the ones on set, chatting with other artists, publicists and studios that book through my agency. They are my eyes and ears on every job, and ultimately my most important advocates for maintaining our agency’s reputation. So I make sure to give them only good things to say.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tmg-la.com
• Instagram: @kelly_tmgla @tmgla @agent_beauty
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agent-beauty/id1715073033

Image Credits
Main Image, Images 1-3, 7-8 Victor Curtis Images 4-6 – Benjamin Pollack