We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Reb Carlson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Reb below.

Reb , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I was at a potlunch brunch a few years ago playing a board game. It was my turn, and because I still use “mad” versus “very” (a common slang from my youth), I yelled I was “mad focused”. Someone commenting that it sounded like a business and they should grab the domain name. Panicking, I bought it that night.

In 2020, I found myself unemployed and pregnant during pandemic lockdown in New York City and doing some introspective work. I realized what stood me apart from other strategists at agencies I worked at was that I could participate in the big idea brainstorms, but could also break down why big ideas worked and how to make it come to life. Hence “mad” meaning inspired or creative, and “focused” about getting into action. I decided to launch my consulting firm to be for working creatives to help actualize their ideas into business plans.

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

My knack was for writing and research, so I initially started at Hofstra University as a journalism major, switching to communications as social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook started to create shifts in multiple industries. I started working at advertising agencies after graduating focusing on social media.

I was always a creative kid, constantly drawing, dancing, singing, writing, etc., so I always gravitated towards friends who made art, film, or music. Therefore as my career progressed, I found myself enjoying working with influencers, creators, musicians, artists, and celebrities (Maria Sharapova, Tony Moore, Wet, Christian Scott, Chef Richard Blais) on both a local and global scale for clients like United Airlines and Marriott International.

In early 2020, I found myself pregnant and unemployed while in pandemic lockdown in New York. I knew I needed to support my growing family, so I launched Mad Focused Consulting to help working creatives (people who are creative professionals or entrepreneurs focused on lifestyle) figure out how to pivot their businesses and present themselves digitally. We provide marketing consulting, business development, social and digital strategy, and content ideation and development services in a scalable model, from an affordable monthly subscription for a curated newsletter and content on trends and insights to a service offering that can be hourly, one off projects, or monthly retainers.

What I really enjoyed was being able to advocate for my clients by leveraging my marketing expertise and experience in negotiating and launching partnerships. I had an instance where a client (who was BIPOC, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and had a disability) was not paid fairly for her partnership, so I was able to support her in contract negotiations and not get taken advantage of. My perspective is that we need to provide more platforms and support for marginalized creatives so they can develop self-sustaining careers.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

“The Action Method” by Scott Belsky of Behance was a read I had during my early career that helped me understand the importance of a work process that leads to output versus spin. It also challenges the idea that creatives cannot be goal-oriented or good planners.

“Culture Is Bad For You: Inequality & the Creative Class” is a published research book about lack of equity within the creative industries within the United Kingdom. Marine Tanguy of MTArt Agency recommended it to me to understand the current landscape of art and why it is so challenging to have diversity in various cultural sectors.

“Career Forward: Strategies from Women Who Made It” helped changed my mindset about work and career, and how by being invaluable, I can better affirm my boundaries and needs to maintain a work life balance, especially with me having small children.

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

I never aspired to work in advertising and don’t find marketing campaigns particularly inspiring. What does inspire me is what is happening in culture: what art is being created, what’s is happening in music and fashion, etc. I tend to bring ideas and inspiration from outside sources and apply it to the most straight forward industries (retail, agricultural tech, etc.) Additionally, I try to stay on stop of the latest trends and what is happening daily on social media. It shifts so quickly, so it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.madfocused.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mynameisreb/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebcarlson/
• Twitter: https://x.com/mynameisreb