Linda Schwartz: She Shed Comedy

Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite makes the process of becoming a published bestselling author as simple as sipping your morning cup of coffee. You can learn more about Authors Unite at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Linda Schwartz with us. She is a stand-up comedian and host of the She Shed Comedy podcast, a show dedicated to empowering women pursuing a career in comedy. So welcome to the show.

Thank you, Tyler. Really glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

Of course. And I'm really glad to have you here. We'll jump right into the first one. Linda, the first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

Sure. So when I was about 30 years old, I did stand-up comedy for the very first time, and I was kind of given the opportunity by a friend of mine. And it just so happened that he was producing a show and was also his birthday, and we shared the same birthday. And he came over, we were talking about it. And by the time he left, he said, "Hey, Linda, why don't you do my show?" And it like, I froze. I was scared because number one, I didn't know anything about stand-up comedy. I hadn't had any material. I didn't know how to move a mic off the stage. I didn't know any of the technicalities. And he said, "Why don't you do my show? And by the way, when I leave, when I walk out the door, the offer is off the table." And so, like, in a split second, I said yes. And from that date to the date of the show was, I think, 2 and a half weeks. And so, the message in that is that basically once you say yes and commit to something, the universe, if you believe in that kind of thing, will really conspire to make things happen for you. So, in that 2 and a half weeks, I wrote a 5-minute set. I got on stage. I invited 75 people. 300 people were in the audience that that night along with, you know, my 75 and the other people who came for the show. And, you know, by my measure, it was probably one of the most exhilarating and successful things that I've ever done in such a short amount of time. And what it taught me was that I really had to get out of my own way. And the only way to have done that was to commit to actually doing the show. And in my mind, a switch went off in that I had to prepare myself in every way possible, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, even physically. You know, like I was literally writing material up until about an hour before the show. And so it really taught me the, and you know, I think you've done improv before and, you know, one of the tenets of improv is to say yes and, and that's what I did. And I tell you, it was probably one one of the most memorable things that I've ever done in my life. And it got me hooked on stand-up comedy. I stopped for a little while, but I'm back in and it's been one of the most exciting things that I've decided to do.

Yeah, I'm so pumped that you're back in. And as we were talking before we hit record, like, I'm trying to get back in there too, but it is scary. So I give you credit. Like, it's scary. So But yeah, so the next one I have for you, Linda, is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

Well, currently I, so I have a podcast called She Shed Comedy Podcast and we empower women who are pursuing a career in comedy. And I think for me, the most important piece of information that people should know about this industry is that, you know, especially going, stand-up comedy and being a woman in stand-up comedy, we really need to build a support system and, and to really like have a network of other women who are doing it so that we can see for ourselves that there is room for us. And I think the most important thing inside of that is to know that there is room for you as a female comic. In any endeavor, really, there is room for you if you can just accept that and acknowledge that, then you'll be able to move forward with a little bit more ease and maybe a little bit more grace.

At least that's been true for me. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I am in full, like we were talking about again before, in full support of it. And I just, again, I give credit to anybody who will get up on that stage because it is all by yourself. It's fun.

Yes, it is. It is nerve-wracking. It is, you're really up against yourself. Like I think stand-up comedy, what it does is it really pushes you up against your own mindset and your, if you've done any personal development, you know, I think that stand-up comedy is one of those things that really pushes you to put all of, your personal development in action, right? Like, you're literally having to convince yourself to feel the fear and do it anyway, to set aside, you know, those tiny voices in the back of your head saying that you can't do it and proving it wrong by just getting up there and doing it. Whether or not you succeed or fail on that stage doesn't really matter. It's like, I think the journey of a stand-up comedian is is a personal development course in action.

Yeah, I agree. You know, it's interesting because I would consider myself someone who's done like a lot of personal development. And now that we're even just talking about this, like I'm starting to get some more confidence because it's like, just like in business, right? Like I'm a firm believer that failure leads to success. Like I've had so many failures, which has allowed me to get to a point where I'm running a successful business and doing a podcast that I love. But without those failures, I would have never been here, I would've never known. So I think when you do standup, it's just because the failure is in front of everyone, that is hardcore. It's not like I made a business mistake and only a few people know about it or something. It's like, no, I'm up on stage, like you're saying, in front of 300 people and I bombed it. And that's heavy.

Oh, for sure. Absolutely. And I think that is I think that's a lesson in, you know, getting out of your own way and knowing that people really want you to succeed up there. You know, it's how much do you believe in yourself, in your material? How much do you believe in what you're doing that even if you do fail, you're not making it mean anything about you, right? You're not saying, oh my God, I'm terrible at this. It's like, okay, this is— it's just feedback, right? Like if people laugh, that's feedback. If they don't laugh, it's feedback. So you get to really work and hone your craft that way. And it's such an immediate kind of feedback that you don't have to wait until, you know, you can go out, I can go out tonight to an open mic and test my material and I'll know if it works or not almost immediately, actually immediately, right? So, and I feel like we, especially when I know that I get attached to my material and I get emotionally involved with everything that I do. It's also teaching me to be a little detached from the material and not married to the idea that when I'm on stage or if I'm doing something that I'm bearing my soul to the audience, you know, that when they do give me feedback, it's just them saying it just needs a little bit more work and it's not personal. You know, I think that's— we make it so personal. I think as stand-ups, when we go up there, it's like, it's— do or die, right? And we, and we take it personally sometimes. And I think, I think a lot of people do that in business too. And, and I mean, I've had a few businesses myself, um, and I've failed in a lot of things. And I think it's gotten to a point where it's like, it's, it, you know, what's the cost and what's the payoff of me either doing this or not doing this? And when the payoff is that, you know, like for me, I feel like if I don't do this now, I'm going to be letting, as Dr. Wayne Dyer says, don't let your music die inside you. This is something that I have to do in order to be satisfied and fulfilled in my life.

Yeah, you know what? I like the outlook. I might— because I'm definitely going to go back to it. It's in my soul, so there's no way I'm not going back, but to trying it, I'm going to look at the audience as just a feedback group.

Yeah, I like that.

That's a different way to look at it. So my next one for you, Linda, is what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.

Overall piece of advice, I think for me is the best piece of advice I've ever gotten that really shifted my perspective is to just get good at implementing. Like regardless of how big or how small it is, just get good at it. Because again, it goes back, like you won't know what you're doing right or what you're doing wrong until you're actually in action. And when you implement, if something doesn't work, that's feedback. If it does, that's feedback. So you get to see, you know, what's working, what's not only by implementing. So once you get good at the implementing, you're going to know yourself to be somebody who is an action taker, a mover and a shaker, whether or not it works out, you know, I think that the biggest nugget inside of implementation is, is that, you know, when people, when you're doing it, it really gives you a sense of self-confidence. When people see you doing it, it gives them a sense of confidence in you, right? And you kind of build this feedback. I keep going back to feedback because Without acting, you just won't know. And implementation, just get good at implementing, um, whether— and being detached from the outcome.

Yes. And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

Oh, my younger self, I would just say, um, just keep doing what you're doing and everything will be okay. And exercise more. Do a few more sit-ups.

God, those sit-ups are hard.

I know they are, they are. Oh God, they're like the bane of my existence. Yeah, do more sit-ups.

And then that is a perfect leeway into the next one, and that is, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness besides sit-ups?

Um, I think the key to happiness is Knowing yourself and knowing what you stand for and what you don't stand for and living by that ideal for yourself, you know, like really coming from a place of authenticity and authentic being and knowing that that's good enough for you.

And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?

Oh my gosh, I've read so many books, Tyler. In 2014, I read 26 books.

Nice, that's awesome.

Yeah, so I read a lot, and I would have to say that, um, wow, God, I, I, I go back. So the book that comes to mind is Tim Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek, and One of the ideas in that book that I took away was a lifestyle by design. And so I feel like just that one piece of advice to live a lifestyle by design has really enabled me to take a look at my life and readjust and reinvent myself in a way that I have time to do everything that I want, that I'm doing work that I love, that I'm making a contribution in a way that I've never seen or thought that I would before, and really coming into myself as a woman and as a human being and as somebody who contributes to the greater good of humanity.

And what is your favorite quote and why?

And I love quotes. I've probably like— Okay, so I think my favorite quote I have so many, but the one that comes to mind is Dr. Wayne Dyer's quote from The Power of Intention. He said, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. And one of the— and that quote literally helped me change my life because I really took that to mean the way that I see myself when you change the way you look at yourself, the way you experience yourself changes and the way the world experiences you changes. And so I really love that, that you can really alter the trajectory of your life just by altering the trajectory of how you see yourself, like basically changing your self-image.

Yeah, self-image is so important.

Yeah.

So thank you so much for coming on. This was fun and funny. And thank you. And the last question I have for you before we let you go is, where is the best place for people to find you online?

Oh, the best place for people to find me online. You can visit my website at she shed comedy.com or find me on Facebook. That's kind of been my platform these days. Linda Schwartz. I think that's my— anyways, I don't know. Linda Schwartz on Facebook and on Instagram. You can find me at She Shed Comedy.

Perfect. Thanks again for jumping on.

Thank you, Tyler Wagner Wagner. You're awesome. The podcast you just heard was made using Anchor. Ever thought about making your own podcast? Anchor makes it really easy for anyone to get started. It's a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, and distributing podcasts. Best of all, it's 100% free. Sign up now at anchor.fm/new. That's anchor.fm/new to get started.