The Secret to Serenity:

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Tannenbaum, co-creator of The Tannenbaum Co. and executive producer of many television shows including Notes From the Underbelly and Two and a Half Men, the highest rated comedy series on the air. 

Kim and her husband/business partner, Eric have recently ended their contract with Warner Bros to form a new production company based at Sony Pictures. The venture will include an additional business partner, Emmy winning producer, Mitch Hurwitz who is best known for creating the television show Arrested Development. 

Industry media sources are hailing the venture as one the biggest TV pairings of the year. 

Kim served as executive vice president of Creative Affairs for Artists Television Group and was the senior vice president of Comedy Series Development at Columbia TriStar Television.

All of the experience under her belt has made for a seemingly natural transition from employee to business owner. I hope you enjoy the interview. The topic is television…so I’ll let it unfold like a drama. Grab a snack!

Adventures in Century City

My Interview with Kim Tannenbaum

12:00 p.m. I left early for my interview with Kim. We weren’t scheduled to meet until 2:30, but if you’ve ever been to southern California and seen the wreckage that is our freeway system you’d understand. 

1:00 p.m. I’d gone 6.32 miles and made good headway. As I drove, I wondered what exactly I was going to say. I wasn’t unprepared. Like any good interviewer, I’d maxed out Google, Wikipedia, and every other stalkish website in the name of research. Combined with what I already knew about Kim Tennanbaum, there was plenty of material to cover. But did I really want it to be a fact checking session? Example:

            Me: So, I read that you were with Artists Television Group for five years…

            Kim: Yes. 

            Me: And you own a monkey?

            Kim: No. 

Boring. I remembered hearing a successful motivational speaker say that he rarely prepares his speeches. Instead he asks questions and gages what the audience needs. I decided to shelf the idea of impressing Kim with my web searching abilities and instead learn by engaging her in conversation like a normal person.

1:45 p.m. I pulled into the parking garage at Sony Plaza. So this is where the big shots park, I thought. I quickly learned that it is normal for luxury cars to take up two spaces.

2:00 p.m. I walked up to the large amusement park-esque Sony lot. I should rephrase that. You just don’t waltz past the security box. After a full body search and retinal scan, I was in. It was quite a surreal experience to stroll around the grounds. It looks like a bunch of movie sets converted into office space. 

2:20 p.m. Upon entering the office it was obvious by the boxes that everyone was still getting settled from the Warner Bros move. Despite the packing supplies, the atmosphere was light and professional.

2:30 p.m. Kim is as pretty as her images on Google Photos. It only took a few minutes of us talking for me to appreciate her communication style. Not many people can manage the art of casual professionalism. 

The interview was full of insights that any entrepreneur can draw from.

On Getting What You Want: When Kim was pitching the quirky, baby-centric comedy Notes From the Underbelly to the studios, they didn’t “get it� initially because no one had kids! Eventually a combination of Kim’s persistence and Mother Nature pushed the project forward. When bundles of joy began appearing in the lives of people who had said “no�, suddenly a show about couples navigating through parenthood became a little more interesting.

Lesson: Don’t give up on your vision just because you’re hitting brick walls. If you’re confident that you have something of value to offer, keep knocking on doors until you get a yes. 

On Being a Working Mom: As any entrepreneur mom knows, there is no compartmentalizing in our lives. The breast pump in Kim’s office is evidence. She assured me that there have been days when the diaper hits the fan and she considers what life without the work/life juggle would be like. Those moments are always fleeting. 

Lesson: Don’t beat yourself up for not being a perfect super-person. Everyone is taking it day by day and doing their best. Entrepreneurs have good days and bad ones so when you’re winning, right it down so the rainy days don’t feel so wet.

On Being Innovative: One of the goals for the new production company is to nurture television writers in a way that hasn’t been undertaken before. The Tannenbaum-Hurwitz trio has plans to serve as advocates for the writers as well as foster creativity through group interaction and a collective work environment. 

Lesson: There is always a new way to deliver a tried and true concept. In your business, separate yourself from your competition by brainstorming news ways to transform your industry.

On Loving What You Do:  When I asked Kim about her goals and future career aspirations, she answered clearly. “If you’d asked me a long time ago I would have said that I wanted to run a studio or network. (But) I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’m working for myself.� Spoken like a true entrepreneur.

I’m pleased to say that I’m finally getting a copy of Kim Kiyosaki’s book Rich Woman: A Book on Investing for Women. I was in college when I read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad and If You Want to Be Rich and Happy Don’t Go To School.

It was reading his books (along with No Money Down, by Robert Allen) and an interest in passive income, that led me to fall in love with real estate. My first step was to study for my real estate license in order to feel competent. I passed the Department of Real Estate test, but never registered my license in order to avoid the liability that having “higher knowledge” can bring. When you have your license, you also must state that on every offer you make. Instead I signed up for every real estate workshop I could find.

No seminar in the world could have prepared me for what becoming an investor is really like. When I made my first offer on a duplex in Ohio, I must have made 8 mistakes on the form. I’m sure the seller’s agent knew I was an amateur. When my first offer was accepted, the process of finding a lender (oh the joys), getting an inspection, knowing what to do with the inspection report, and the 1,000 pages of closing documents left me wondering if real estate was even for me.

When my propety management company sent me the first rental income check…well that made it all worth it.

Now I can’t pass a For Sale sign without collecting a flier. I find potential deals through out of state agents, websites like craigslist, and investment group meetings.

Investing is not just a man’s game, but many women seem to shy away from it. There is nothing special about me, I just dove in after getting educated. A person can read all the books they want, but nothing substitutes running the numbers and making offers.

I’m so excited about the idea of women becoming more involved in real estate investing. Instead of talking just about TV and movies, it would be awesome to discuss lease options, shelf corps, and assignments with a group of my closest gal pals.

My real estate goal for 2007 is to add a property to my portfolio every three months. My 5 year goal is to have a diverse portofio that includes commercial property and subdivided raw land for development. Because of the disturbingly high foreclosure market, I just started looking at REOs and short sales in California. I think it is entirely possible for a diligent investor to pretty much own a neighborhood with how things are going.

It is interesting to see how men and women invest differently, which is why I’m so interested in Kim’s book. My husband does his deals with a partner, while I prefer to work alone. He is always willing to talk to seller’s agents, while I will play detective to find out how to contact the seller directly. One thing we have in common is that we are excited about exploring real estate in other countries. It seems smart to not have all your eggs in one economy.

I encourage all women reading this to buy Kim and Robert’s books and start investing in real estate. Nobody can (or wants to) work forever. The tax implications and passive income make it worth the initial tears and fears. It is more than possible. If a 24-year old who ditched class in high school (and college) can do it, why can’t you?

P.S. You don’t have to be rich to start investing! My first deal was a “no money down” deal!

Resources:

http://jamesorr.com/ - great site, taught me to “run the numbers”

Cashflow - amazing game! Have some friends over, open some wine, and avoid the doodads!

http://www.robertgallen.com/ - Robert Allen, author of No Money Down and Multiple Streams of Income