Opening Doors: How to Navigate High-Stakes Career Pivots in Media & Production | Nicole Welch

Deneen L. Garrett (0:30): Behind the scenes. Today, we are talking about what it means to manage the pivot and build a legacy that keeps the production running and the vision alive. If you are ready to build your legacy in real time, you are in the right place. Let's go. Welcome to Women of Color Live, the live version of women of color and intimate conversation, a top 20 women's empowerment podcast.

Deneen L. Garrett (1:11): We center and empower women of color, and we also have a free newsletter built specifically for black women 50, the Dream Lifestyle Collective, Weekly Rhythm. Go to deninogarratt.com to get started. And shout out to our production team at the Leon Thomas Group. Today's guest is Nicole Welch, a production manager, television academy member, and industry authority featured in the twenty twenty six produced by magazine spotlight. And she's a homegirl from the D, and I know her very well.

Deneen L. Garrett (1:50): This month, we are highlighting the execution series, Power, Pivot and Purpose. Nicole, welcome to Women of Color Live.

Nicole Welch (1:59): Hey, Deneen, happy to be here, thanks for having me.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:02): Hey, you are so welcome. All right, so I know Nicole, I have known her for a while, so you'll probably hear me say Nikki because that's what I know her as, but I've called her for a number of years. Well, okay, let's backtrack. She actually worked at the daycare that my son went to and she also babysat him. So that's how close we are.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:23): That's how we go back.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:26): Love John, yes.

Deneen L. Garrett (2:27): I just love this. And you know what? So as I was thinking and as I was kinda like reading your bio, I recognized that this is family, you know, saying legacy, I'm like, this is your family legacy. It's like 7,000,000 members of your family are in this space.

Nicole Welch (2:47): Little bit, a little bit. I mean, my and my dad, but my mom growing up, we used to just watch her, she had a show that came on, was it Barton Cable on Wednesday nights, it was called City Highlights. And so we kind of just, we just grew up in it. She was doing that show until I was well into high school, maybe even like into college, yeah, before she ended that.

Deneen L. Garrett (3:15): That is so awesome. And then you said Barton Cable, so again, for folks from the D, we know. Barton Cable. Oh, and as a matter of fact, for those who don't know, the Barton family did, they own the casino in Vegas D. Don't know if it's the D Yeah, or D or yeah, if I'm not mistaken.

Deneen L. Garrett (3:37): I mean, y'all could check it, fact check me on that, but I believe that they did own that casino. I don't know if the family still owns it, but I believe that they opened that casino and it's down on Fremont Street. So it was in downtown, oh, Las Vegas.

Deneen L. Garrett (3:50): Yes. That

Deneen L. Garrett (3:52): is so cool. That is so cool. I love that. All right, so let's kind of jump into it. Oh, and by the way, those who are watching, let us know you're out there, engage with us, drop WOC in the comments, drop Dreamers if you are part of the Dream Lifestyle Collective and drop a heart if you're family or friend, because again, we wanna know you're out there, drop questions, comments, all the things, engage with us.

Deneen L. Garrett (4:21): All right, so Nikki, who were you before the title, before the credentials of the PGA in the Television Academy, and what was the decision in that Detroit control room that shifted how you saw yourself as someone built to lead production?

Nicole Welch (4:39): That's a handful right there, Deneen. Okay. So before all of this, I guess let's talk about my journey just a little bit, Yes. So as I mentioned, my mom had her television show when I was a kid. Like I was on her show when I had to been about three, just on it doing little arts and crafts for like a special, think it was like an Easter episode or something like that.

Nicole Welch (5:05): But as I got older, I got to just come to work with her. So not only did she have the television show, she also worked on Mix 92.3. So I would go to the radio station with her sometimes in the morning and then on Wednesdays we'd go from the radio station to the television station and I would either sit in the studio and watch her and watch all the cameras and all the camera people, or I would sit in the control room. And I really loved sitting in the control room with her director and producer Montez Miller, because she was just such a fascinating person to watch and just see her just do everything that she was doing. Like that's a lot to be a producer, to be the director, just calling all the shots, you know?

Nicole Welch (5:48): And I love seeing black women in this field doing what they do and doing it well. And so, like I said, as a kid, that's what I would do and I fell in love with that. I fell in love with the things that Montez was doing. And Montez, even when I was old enough, she let me like PA for a Hyundai event that she was doing, let me sit in on the edit for it, that kind of stuff. But beyond that, before we even get to television and those kinds of things, I was just a kid who loved music, I loved coming home watching things like TRL and I used to love Video Soul, like those kinds of shows, 106 and Park, and so those things really just ignited a fire in me to want to learn more about the industry and just how things come together because I love seeing things go from zero to 1,000 and it just left a big impact on me and so that is what kind of helped keep it going, keep it going for me as I continued on.

Deneen L. Garrett (6:52): And then what was the second question you asked me, sorry?

Deneen L. Garrett (6:54): It really was just all part of was all part of your journey. We appreciate that. And then to where you are today, right? Leading production.

Nicole Welch (7:08): Yeah, yeah. So Believe it or not, it was one question.

Deneen L. Garrett (7:14): Was just a one one question.

Deneen L. Garrett (7:14): Question.

Nicole Welch (7:17): Oh, no, that's all right. But all of, I mean, all of that kind of led me to where I am now between television, my love for television and just watching things come together, but more importantly, love for storytelling and learning about people's backgrounds. That is really where that got me. And so from high school on, well, I guess I'll say college, I started doing like radio shows on our college station. I was working on one of the only shows we had that was like an urban platform for it.

Nicole Welch (7:50): And we only did it Fridays and Saturdays, but I was one of the hosts of those shows. I was a news anchor for News Central thirty four. I went to Central Michigan University, fire up chips. And I was a news anchor there for about a year and a half. I did some internships in Michigan and then those internships just continued on more work in production.

Nicole Welch (8:15): I'd have my own community affairs show that I was working on where I got to interview different people, learn different aspects of the industry that I had not learned in school, which was really good for me. It helped me pick up a camera, helped me with editing, it helped me just hone my skills in every which way that I had never seen possible.

Deneen L. Garrett (8:35): That's kinda weird, weird guy. I love that, everything about that. And by the way, I guess I'm a chip as well because I did get my master's from Central.

Deneen L. Garrett (8:44): Yay, yes, let's go.

Deneen L. Garrett (8:46): Never stepped foot on a campus though. That's okay, it's cold up there. Never stepped foot, couldn't, I mean, I know what city it's in, but yeah, I couldn't even tell you how to get there, but I do have a master's. You know how schools have those extension programs? I really just did everything in Downtown Detroit.

Deneen L. Garrett (9:05): And I think really honestly, all my classes were in Downtown Detroit, but yes, so I can say that as well, that we have that in common.

Deneen L. Garrett (9:12): Yes, we do.

Deneen L. Garrett (9:13): Wow, cool. You know what, I've said on several shows how I learn more about people that I know doing these conversations. And so learning this about you growing up with your mom and being on a set and your inspiration there and how pretty much she planted a seed in you, right? And it made me think about my son. So John, he is in event planning and that seed was planted for me because here's the thing that's just crazy.

Deneen L. Garrett (9:45): I moved to Vegas because I was interested in doing events. Going years back, there used to be this Budweiser Superfest concert that I would go to and I'm like, I wanna do this. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to do it. So fast forward, I'm like, oh, okay, that's like in the event space. Anyway, that's what took me to Vegas.

Deneen L. Garrett (10:04): And while we were there, we got very involved in a volunteer organization. And of course, there was a lot of events. And so I remember John saying years later that being involved in those events is what sparked the interest for him. Had no clue that that was happening, had no clue that the things that I was doing was planting seeds in my son. And so that's what he got his degree in and that's what he's doing today.

Nicole Welch (10:35): That's awesome. Mean, like seeing your parents doing things or even just anyone that you even may look up to doing something and just being in that space, it can definitely just fill you with so much fire to just get something done and just so much joy and just experiencing something that you may have never thought you would ever see.

Deneen L. Garrett (10:59): Absolutely, and you know what, in this day and age, like if there's something that you enjoy doing, there's a way that you can make money off of it. There's a way to monetize, just figure it out, right? Because just like, I don't know if when you were little, if your mom would say this to you, but parents would say to kids who were playing video games, you're not gonna have a job in that. And people are millionaires from playing Yeah, right.

Deneen L. Garrett (11:26): From just playing games. Yeah,

Deneen L. Garrett (11:28): because people are watching them. So whatever you can think, you can make it happen, you can monetize it. So definitely lean into all that.

Deneen L. Garrett (11:35): Absolutely, absolutely.

Deneen L. Garrett (11:36): So you mentioned how you love seeing Black women in this space, right? And I'm gonna kind of take a gander, probably not very many Black women are in this space. Is that pretty true? There are Black women in this space,

Nicole Welch (11:53): in the production space just in general. I, as a production manager, I'm usually the only production manager on the sets that I'm on. It's very rare that I have more production managers. And so unless I'm going to like networking events, like those kinds of things, I'm not going to see many other Black women, at least in my position, just because they're not working together. But yeah, most of the people that I work with, there have been a lot of sets.

Nicole Welch (12:19): Most of the sets that I've been on, I've been the only Black person that has been on the set. A little disheartening, to be honest with you. I say it's a little disheartening, to be honest with you, but we're gonna change that.

Deneen L. Garrett (12:33): Yeah, absolutely, right, by continuing to show up, right, and to be visible, to make sure that we're visible. So I was sharing with you that I was at BOMISI last week, which is a organization for Blacks in media, and they have an annual summit and that summit was in Detroit. And Jamil Hill was one of the, she was on a fireside chat conversation. And she talked about how they were asking, I think they were kinda asking like, what advice would you give to like up and coming journalists? And she said that Or the way I'm gonna take away from what she said is, one, and they were talking about creators, so it was kinda like the journalists versus creators.

Deneen L. Garrett (13:16): And she mentioned something how, well, the creators wouldn't have anything to talk about if it weren't for what the journalist was writing. Okay, that was one aspect or perspective. She also said that the journalists, they need to lean into what the creators are doing and that's branding yourself. So she was saying how for the most part, when you're taught as a journalist that you're not the story. So now it's a shift that you are and you need to be and you need to show up.

Deneen L. Garrett (13:47): She said, put your face on it. Yeah, you gotta be out there. So it's like what you said with storytelling and like you're saying that we do need more black women in these spaces in a way to make that happen is by those that are already in the spaces to show up, to be seen, to tell our stories and put our face on it.

Nicole Welch (14:10): Oh, absolutely. Not only just show up, you just gotta do it. You just gotta go out there and do That's that's the only that's the only way I feel like we can really advance is just getting out there and doing it and being not being a gatekeeper.

Deneen L. Garrett (14:29): Yeah.

Nicole Welch (14:29): There are a lot of people, I mean, in the industry, but even in my industry, which is why I've started posting a little bit more now about the background of production that people don't see and don't think about, because you don't wanna, I don't know if I'm gonna be doing this forever, but I wanna be able to leave some type of legacy, some type of information, something that whoever comes after me, they can take that and just go off with it and do it better.

Deneen L. Garrett (14:56): Absolutely, okay, so we, aw, yay, aw, that is so sweet.

Deneen L. Garrett (15:05): Hey, Kathy, you're well.

Deneen L. Garrett (15:06): Know that, your parents are watching.

Deneen L. Garrett (15:10): Look at your grandma. Big

Deneen L. Garrett (15:11): mother too. I said about legacy, okay y'all, she does come from a family, a family, their legacy, they are in this space in their own lanes and I just love to see it. All right, so man, that just feels It so good to see does feel good. So again, those who are watching, tap in like Nikki's family is doing, let us know you're out there. This is some good stuff right here, right?

Deneen L. Garrett (15:40): Because Nikki just said, just do it. Absolutely just do it. Get out there and do it. And y'all know if you've been watching me, listening to the podcast, that's how I got started six plus years ago. Eventually, once I knew what my hesitation was, I just did it.

Deneen L. Garrett (15:55): I say I Nike'd it and I just did it, launched my podcast, and here we are six plus years later. And here we are doing a live every Thursday. So absolutely just do it. All right, so what did you have to unlearn about staying in your lane to fully step into the pivot of managing large scale global broadcasts? And how has that changed how you define legacy now?

Nicole Welch (16:22): As far as unlearning, okay. I don't know what I really had to unlearn. I feel like more so I just had to go into every single project that I've done with an open mind to learn something new and be open to it and be able to acclimate and make that pivot and I guess an example because I haven't really talked about the things I've worked on but I've worked on different things from reality shows, documentaries, larger scale reality competition shows like holy moly. Yeah, so just every space that I've been in has definitely been a different, it's been a learning experience. A reality show that may have 20 to 25 people, it's not gonna operate like a competition show that has over 150 people that you're managing and you're in charge of managing and supervising.

Nicole Welch (17:20): And so the communication is gonna be the same as far as you need to communicate with every single person or every single department head that you're working with, that's gonna stay the same. But how big a show is, is definitely gonna change the impact it's gonna have on everyone, especially if there's over 150 people on. That's a lot of people to just be trying to manage over, I guess I could say like a farm something like that. So I would say with anything, just, I more so had to just be open to like, okay, things may change, things may not work or look the same way that it did for this documentary that I did for CNN as it's gonna look for holy moly or American Ninja Warrior type of feel, like it's not gonna do that. So you just have to be open to whatever comes to you and be open to communicating with people your opinions and anything that you may feel is different from what they're saying or you a mindset that some people have.

Nicole Welch (18:30): And a lot of people will appreciate that learning from each other at the end of the day.

Deneen L. Garrett (18:35): So out of your different experiences, so we'll flip it around, right? Instead of unlearning, learning. So what would you say over these years of your experiences being these different spaces, the different type of shows that you've had, whether it's radio, whether it's production, just your different lanes, what would you say the most pivotal learning experience for you was?

Nicole Welch (19:04): Being open to listening to people, more so because I not that I'm stubborn, but when I have something in my mind, way I want something to go, I'm like, Nope, this is the way I want it to go and I think it's gonna be perfect this way. I have to be open to taking in other people's thoughts or advice Because at the end of the day, I'm still learning every day from every single person that I work with and I'm very thankful for that. Whether they've been a person who's been a little more difficult to work with or just someone who I adore working with every single day and miss it when a shoot is over. Yeah.

Deneen L. Garrett (19:41): I love that. So being open and listening to what they have to say and knowing that you know a lot, but there's still more to learn.

Deneen L. Garrett (19:49): Oh yeah, forever. I'm a forever learner.

Deneen L. Garrett (19:52): Right? And so I wanna kind of go back to this because this podcast is about empowering women, right? So it's like giving us something tangible that we can walk away with and we can do. So again, going back to wanting to see more Black women in a space, loving when you are seeing Black women in a space, do you have a community? Like I know, a few years ago, we were talking about the different memberships that

Nicole Welch (20:14): we were involved in and what should we get involved in, like what's most in alignment with where we are in life at that particular time and whatnot? What community do you have today? To be honest, my community's pretty, I consider it to be pretty big because for me, my community is, I don't wanna say anyone I've ever worked with, but kind of, because I still will get messages from whether it's just text or emails from people just checking in, people reaching out to me saying, Hey, I had someone reach out to me the other day that was like, Hey, know someone who's looking for a production manager for a very big event. Unfortunately, I had to turn that down. But I consider my community to be pretty massive and I like that because no matter where in the world I go, there's always going to be someone that I can not necessarily lean on but someone that's going to be there to have my back and I appreciate that.

Nicole Welch (21:17): Yes, I have my women of color, I do have my women of color, I have my LGBTQ, I love my Alphabet Mafia, They stay strong for me.

Deneen L. Garrett (21:29): Happy pride, happy pride. Thank you.

Nicole Welch (21:34): So yeah, I have a really great community that is very supportive of me.

Deneen L. Garrett (21:39): Yeah, I love that, I love that. And you mentioned that you're doing videos on, so you're doing on IG, I know, because I see them. So make sure that those that you're following. And so that's your way of giving back, that's your way of educating, your way of impacting legacy. Are you doing any like one on one mentoring or are you mentoring in small groups?

Deneen L. Garrett (22:04): Are you doing any of that?

Nicole Welch (22:06): I don't have any mentees right now, I would love to get some mentees. I love talking about what I do because it's such a joy for me to do it and I love explaining to people what I do. It can be kinda hard to explain what a production manager does because we have so many different hats and because every genre that you go into, the production manager, they may, and the production management team, they may operate a little differently. And when I went to school, at Central, I got a degree in broadcasting and cinematic arts and the focus there was more So I wanted to be a news anchor then and a news reporter. And so the focus there was literally just the newsroom, the control room, like that kind of stuff.

Nicole Welch (22:50): And then I went back to school, I went to Specs Howard because I wanted to learn more about not necessarily the film side of it, but kind of more of like that run and gun, it was like a one camera producer and a person just asking questions, talking to someone. So I wanted to kind of get that experience. And so, I don't know, I feel like I've been prepared for every aspect that I've been in as far as production, but yeah, every production management job is just, it's a little bit different. Yeah.

Deneen L. Garrett (23:26): Yeah. Yeah. Well, what's maybe one thing, one or three things that would fit in any scenario, right? Like one way to show up that would work regardless.

Nicole Welch (23:39): Like one way to show up as a production manager or just?

Deneen L. Garrett (23:43): Yeah, in any of those situations.

Nicole Welch (23:48): I think one of the biggest things is, and I'm probably gonna keep on hounding on communication because that is one of the biggest things in production management. If your production manager is not communicating with your producers, not communicating with your lighting team, with your sound team, and like all the other different aspects of a show that helps it bring it together, things can kind of fall through the cracks a little bit more. And I know every, I don't wanna say every production, but not every, I guess not every production will have a production manager but it's a lot easier, I'd say, on people and on the team in general to have a production manager because that person's going to be there to anticipate the needs of everyone based on all the information that has been given, based on the story. They're

Deneen L. Garrett (24:37): going

Nicole Welch (24:37): to try to have everything prepared for you so when a producer asks like, Hey, where's my plant that I needed in the back? Oh, it's already over there. We already got it for you. Always want to be three steps ahead. You don't want someone to just be waiting, be like, oh, well, where's the water?

Deneen L. Garrett (24:52): Well, we're out of water. Why are we out of water? That's a problem.

Deneen L. Garrett (24:55): Yeah, yeah. So basically project managing, right? So for people, like you said, to kinda explain to people, well, what does a production manager do? It's a form of project managing, right? It's just project managing for production, if you will.

Nicole Welch (25:09): Exactly, it's helping put all the pieces together to make one giant puzzle.

Deneen L. Garrett (25:13): And make sure it's running smoothly or as smooth as it could.

Nicole Welch (25:16): As smooth as it can without the audience noticing the bumps.

Deneen L. Garrett (25:23): You noticed that, like you knew, it was like, everything was on fire, but we didn't know that. See that because you were there, you were on the scene.

Nicole Welch (25:31): It's like that little dog GIF where he's just sitting at his little coffee table, like everything's fine and everything's just on fire around. Yeah, exactly, that's me, every day.

Deneen L. Garrett (25:39): That's you, I love it, I love it. All right, so y'all heard her, she says she's looking for mentees, so reach out, her handle is on the screen. So she's open and she's definitely wanting to connect with more people to help more Black women in this space, show up in this space. So Nicole, you've managed the logistics for everything from The Biggest Loser to live sports and documentaries. Most people see the final broadcast.

Deneen L. Garrett (26:09): They don't see the sites behind the management, which is what we're talking about right now. What does mastering the pivot make possible that a perfect plan never could? Wow.

Nicole Welch (26:20): So I will say I was a production assistant for The Biggest Loser, that was like one of my first production jobs. So I won't say that I managed those logistics, did have to get people around a lot actually.

Deneen L. Garrett (26:36): But

Nicole Welch (26:39): I think with me the pivot, I've pivoted so much. I feel like as a freelancer, it's just something that you do and those pivots just helped at least me become a stronger person, more confident in myself. Went to New York, a lot of places I went without knowing exactly what I was going to be doing. When I went to New York for my internship at BET, this was after I graduated from Specs Howard and my only goal to, at that time, was to work at BET as an intern and get on 106 and park somehow or somewhere. And that was a pivot I had to take because I had been working on a local show in Detroit where I was interviewing different celebrities, I really wanted to interview Monica and I was able to do that within six months of graduating, like I was on the ground doing what I had to do to get the interviews I wanted.

Nicole Welch (27:43): But that was a pivot I had to make because I had just interviewed for a local, it was supposed to be not necessarily a spokesperson, but like the people who do the safety videos and those kinds of things for different companies. And the interview had gone very well, they were gonna have full benefits, all this kind of stuff. And maybe about a day later, BET calls me and they're like, Hey, we have an internship opportunity available for you. We'd love for you to come. You gotta be here in two weeks.

Nicole Welch (28:09): It's unpaid, what are you gonna do? And that was a pivot, that was one of the first really big pivots that I had to make and be like, okay, well, don't know anyone in New York, I don't have anywhere to live and I have maybe like 5 to $800 but I need to be there in two weeks, what am I gonna do? And so I took that pivot and I decided to take that shot and it changed my life for the better and even in New York, even more pivots happened when there was a time where production had gotten a little slow for me as a PA and so I started working at the Gap outlet and I had gone to church one Sunday and the pastor was, Pastor Mike was talking about, you know, don't lean on your crutches, your crutches aren't a safe place to be. And that following Monday, I was like, you know what? I feel like the gap is a crutch.

Nicole Welch (29:01): I know I don't have any jobs as far as a PA right now, so I'm just gonna quit. And I was on the track for a manager position with Gap Outlet and I was like, No, this isn't where I feel God has me and I don't want this to be my crutch anymore. So I just left, I left the job with nothing, absolutely nothing. So that was another pivot that I had to take because it was like, okay, I'm sleeping on someone's couch, leather just sticking to my face when I'm waking up.

Deneen L. Garrett (29:31): Probably no air, said in New York, if I didn't have any air. Yeah,

Nicole Welch (29:35): right in that brownstone. But that again was another pivot that I had to take and just put my faith trust in God and know that when I'm gonna take this leap, he's gonna catch me. And he did, he did.

Deneen L. Garrett (29:47): I love that. So I do wanna go back to doing what you have to do and we'll get into that after break. So before we go to break, if today's conversation is landing for you, the Dream Lifestyle Collective weekly rhythm is where we go deeper. It's a free newsletter for black women 50 who are ready to dream, decide, design, and drive their next chapter. Go to deneenogarrett.com to get started, and we'll be back after this break.

Deneen L. Garrett (30:17): I've been doing this work for a while, building credentialing, showing up week after week for women of color, and more recently for black women 50 who deserve a seat at every table in every room. And I want you to know the rooms are getting bigger. This year, I walked into the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit as Credential Press. I was accepted as press in the room at the Milligan Institute Global Conference, one of the most prestigious gatherings of global leaders on the planet. I was also honored as a Leadership action honoree at Career Master.

Deneen L. Garrett (30:53): And I finished in the top five in my category in the National Entrepreneur of Impact Competition. And I'm not waiting for permission to be in the room. I'm building my way into every one of them. And the next phase, already in motion. DreamCon is confirmed, and I'm going with the intention of interviewing my dream podcast guest.

Deneen L. Garrett (31:15): Who do you think it is? Drop it in the comments. And we're still waiting on Roots Picnic, BET Culture's Biggest Week, and Essence Festival. Credential Press at the Marquee Cultural Events of twenty twenty six, bringing those conversations directly back to you across my social channels. And if you're a black woman over 50 who was done settling for the life you thought you were supposed to have, who was ready to dream boldly, decide intentionally and drive your vision, there's a community built specifically for you.

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Deneen L. Garrett (32:26): Welcome back to Women of Color LIVE. Today, we're talking about the power of the pivot and bridging the gap between production logistics and professional purpose with Nicole Welch. And before the break, Nikki had mentioned that she wanted to interview Monica and she did what she had to do to make it happen. So what did you have to do? What did you do to do that?

Deneen L. Garrett (32:49): Let us know.

Nicole Welch (32:50): Oh, man. That's a crazy story. You know, I found out she was gonna be at Motor City Casino, it was like Big Boy's birthday or like a new album release, I forget exactly what it was. And I was just like, oh, this is my opportunity, I need to try to make this happen. And so I just went online, tried to like Google her, I Googled her record label, I was trying to Google her manager, like all these kinds of things.

Nicole Welch (33:17): Of course this is before social media.

Deneen L. Garrett (33:19): And

Nicole Welch (33:21): I wasn't getting a thing, not a thing, it was dry. So I was like, you know what, about a week before the show, was like, this is probably gonna be my last shot. I reached out to Motor City Casino and they put me in contact with whoever was over events And I just laid it out, I was like, Look, I'm working on a local television show. We interview different entertainers and different people around the city, just that highlight the things going on in the city. And I would really love to get an interview with Monica if there is any way that you can get me in contact with her people.

Nicole Welch (33:56): I don't care if it's just for like three minutes. I would be so grateful. And again, I did not hear back from her until about maybe two days before the event. There was the lady, I forgot her name, but she reached out to me and she was like, Hey, I got your message. I'm gonna see what I can do and try to get ahold of her team.

Nicole Welch (34:16): I was working at the I had about three or four jobs at that time, but in this moment I was working at a store called Rule, it was owned by Abercrombie at if you're familiar with Michigan or Metro Detroit, I was working at 12 Oaks Mall. I got a call about four hours before the event was supposed to start from the lady at Motor City Casino. She was like, Hey, I got ahold of her people. She said, If you can make it here before the show, you could do the interview. I high tailed it out of that store.

Nicole Welch (34:50): Grabbed my best friend because they told me I could bring someone other than my camera person and my other producer. And we went on to Motor City Casino, we got the interview with Monica, we got an interview with Big Boy, and I think the promoter of the event as well. So it worked out very well, very well. And then I would go on to work while I was interning at BET, I was working with the BTS, the behind the scenes crew. And we, again, would interview her, I think maybe like two more times while I was working with the behind the scenes crew.

Nicole Welch (35:24): So that was great. But I had to put that work in, calling people, looking all around, that's what you gotta do.

Deneen L. Garrett (35:31): That's what you gotta do. That's what you have to do, and I love that you said that, right? Because that's what part of shooting the shot. You know when they say faith without works is dead? Like you can pray for something and you're supposed to also put in the work to make it happen for yourself.

Deneen L. Garrett (35:46): And so what you just shared with us is demonstration of that. And it's also what we were talking about beforehand. So during the break, the video I mentioned in there how I'm going to DreamCon with the intention to interview my dream guest. And so a little story about that shooting shot. So when I was in corporate, I wanted this person to be a keynote speaker.

Deneen L. Garrett (36:13): And so someone told me, they said, write a personal letter to her about what you want. They did say, they framed it by saying, now you're wanting this to happen during award season. So even though she don't really like awards, she's probably going, just giving you a heads up that it may be a no, but still shoot your shot. I poured my little heart out and all the things and came back with

Deneen L. Garrett (36:40): no. Yeah, But

Deneen L. Garrett (36:43): no. No, I mean, my little heart was crushed because I really poured out my heart to this individual in this thing. And I just knew it was gonna be a yes, they will figure it out, but it was a no. And it's okay, right? Because I've circled this person several different times.

Deneen L. Garrett (37:01): Like she and I were in the bathroom at the same time. I didn't know it. I missed her, so didn't get a chance to have a conversation there. There was another event where I'm walking up ready to chat with her, take a picture with her and her gatekeepers were like, Nope, we got somewhere to go and kept it moving, so I have a picture of her back. Right?

Deneen L. Garrett (37:28): I'm like, what is going on? Why? So now I potentially have another opportunity. And so here's how I feel about all of that. I feel that it's timing as well.

Deneen L. Garrett (37:42): Sometimes it's not your time to receive a thing that you think you want. Like, I don't wanna just be like, hey, girl, let's take a picture. I want more than that because I think very highly of this individual. She is a game changer in her space, makes way and room for other people. So all of those things she has going on, and I didn't know like, well, what do I want with this person?

Deneen L. Garrett (38:06): What do I want to come out of this interaction? So I wasn't clear on what it is that I wanted to come out of the interaction. And that's why I believe that it never happened because I wasn't clear on my why. So that's my little experience. However, I've been shooting my shot as we talked about before we went live and how now I'm showing up as spaces as press.

Deneen L. Garrett (38:31): Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, they put out a call to action like, if you're interested in showing up at the Summit as press, reach out. And I did, they said yes. And that opened the door to other opportunities. So I'm like constantly on a hunt like, oh, I wanna be a part of this, I wanna be a part of that. Let me reach out, how do I get press credentials?

Deneen L. Garrett (38:52): And so now that's how I'm showing up. That's just another notch in my belt, if you will, showing up as press. But it's because I did it, you know, I shot my shot. Yes, was looking for it.

Deneen L. Garrett (39:04): Exactly, how else you gonna get on there?

Deneen L. Garrett (39:08): The reason I just did it, you know what I'm saying? Like the things, like all the different things, I just did it. So I do wanna go back to gatekeeping, right? Because with this person, She was on the stage talking about how she was gatekept. So imagine how I feel.

Deneen L. Garrett (39:27): Now you gatekeeping me.

Deneen L. Garrett (39:31): Just don't know you yet. She don't know you yet. The time will come.

Deneen L. Garrett (39:34): Right, right, right, it's gonna come. But the thing about it is it's like with a lot of people, right? Because these people are, they're starting from, as black folks, a lot of us, this is not our background. This is our legacy per se. This is not like family generational, it's not necessarily generation.

Deneen L. Garrett (39:51): Some of us are first or second in whatever it is we're doing. So we don't have the years and the generations of that backing, right? So we have to kinda like start from, like you did, shooting shots. We had to go for it. We had to say, This is what I want.

Deneen L. Garrett (40:07): I'm gonna do what I need to do to make that happen. Then we get up here to such a level, now the gatekeeping happens. And I understand it, right? Because you can't continue to grow and build if you're always so accessible. And at the same time, it's disheartening because you talk about how you were gatekept, now you're gatekeeping.

Deneen L. Garrett (40:30): I just

Nicole Welch (40:30): want your thoughts. Interesting. Yeah, I'm not a big fan of gatekeeping. I feel like everyone should just, I mean, I guess some now. Mean, only thing I'm gatekeeping is like the secret little, I don't even know if I wanna say it, the secret little lane on the 110 Freeway downtown, like I would take you that, we don't need everybody knowing that.

Deneen L. Garrett (40:54): No, you know, you know.

Nicole Welch (40:58): Man, you know artists and creatives they're a little, they could be a little different. A lot of people feel like you know because this happened to me and I had to prove myself, you're gonna have to do that as well and for some people that's okay. For me, I'm gonna give as much information as I can that's not giving away super industry secrets that NDAs that I signed could mess me up, but I'm not a fan of the gatekeep. I'm not a fan of the gatekeep. And I do believe that people should work for what they want.

Nicole Welch (41:39): And even though I did have that backing with my mom, that was one of the reasons I wanted to leave Michigan because I was like, as much as I love being here and I love my family, I don't want what I wanna do to get trumped by who my mother was. And I know that may not mean a lot to the world, but for the city of Detroit where she's walking down the street and people are just acknowledging and being like, Hey, hey, you got the young Welch, hey, you know, I didn't want that. Like even at Spex Howard, I did not know that she knew the president of Spex Howard. She told me this and I was like, well, I'm not gonna tell him that. And so it wasn't until my graduation that he found out that I was my mother's child and he was like, well, why didn't you tell me this?

Nicole Welch (42:27): Because I also had one of my teachers worked with my mom and it was harder for me in class, in my radio class, to do my projects because she would be like, Well, you're sounding like your mother, you need to sound like yourself. And I'm like, Well, this is the way I talk. Like, I don't know what else to do, we do sound alike. But that was one of the reasons I wanted to move away from Michigan because I wanted to do my own. Wanted to start my own and start from that ground up, which I continually do every time I move city to city.

Deneen L. Garrett (43:00): Yeah, and you know what? Uh-oh, let's see. Uh-oh.

Deneen L. Garrett (43:05): Right.

Deneen L. Garrett (43:09): Yeah. So we're reading what your mom wrote. I'm reminded that you said you would learn to survive. Yeah, I hear In order to become successful, and you were right, your brother, Mikhail, said, You're going to New York.

Deneen L. Garrett (43:25): Yeah, she wanted me to stay.

Deneen L. Garrett (43:28): Did your brothers leave as well for like the same reasons? They wanted to go their own paths or?

Nicole Welch (43:35): They definitely wanted to go on their own paths. My oldest brother, Mikkel, he went to Morehouse. So he was like, he was gone in 'ninety and he loved Atlanta. And then my other brother, David, he went off to Chicago and they both started, yeah, their own paths and somehow we all kind of ended up.

Deneen L. Garrett (43:55): See there, look. O'Connor, look, you did your thing, your babies tried to go away, but they still right there connected to you. You

Nicole Welch (44:02): did She your planted the seed and we just blossomed from it.

Deneen L. Garrett (44:07): Yeah. And so, you know what, this here, what you're talking about right now really is a whole different conversation because me, I'm like, yep, such and such is my mom. This is how I Yep, that's my mother. Uh-huh. Because I believe in using everything that you have.

Deneen L. Garrett (44:22): I think that we don't do that enough. Now I can understand your reasons for wanting to navigate your own paths. So it does take that individual, but also we need to lean into what we have, the advantages, the privilege that we have so that we can get further, so that we can bring other people along. So that's just me. And I can say it from a space of not living that, right?

Deneen L. Garrett (44:44): So I'm like on the outside looking in, however, I do believe, that's for me relationships. And so this fits in relationships, but relationships are so important because it's who you know and it's also who knows you. I know you based on your work, your personality, how you show up, your storytelling, you putting your face on it, right? So I believe in all of that and to tap into it and to use it, I will pick up the phone, you were shooting your shot, I'm gonna call whoever. Listen, I will call the CEO of a company.

Deneen L. Garrett (45:18): Exactly. Yeah,

Nicole Welch (45:21): I don't mind. Look, either give me a quick no or let's continue talking.

Deneen L. Garrett (45:27): Okay, all of those things. So I love that. All right, so what do you want the woman watching, especially the one managing a massive build right now to walk away and execute on or stop waiting to start?

Nicole Welch (45:47): I would love for women to stop waiting. I know I said this earlier to like, just do it, stop waiting. And it's something that I sometimes struggle with, to be honest with you. Imposter syndrome is real, it's real. But just this concept, and I continue learning this from different television academy events where they have panels and PGA events where they're having panels and people talking about the projects that they're doing and they're like, You know what?

Nicole Welch (46:18): When we got together with our friends and just started putting things together, even if it wasn't the best in the beginning, it's helped us get to where we are now. So you just have to stop putting stops on yourself, stop overthinking things, and even if it doesn't come out the way that you initially thought it would, just keep pressing forward. Everything is a learning. Everything is a learning example or, yeah, a learning take away from. So stop putting stops on yourself because it is possible to get through everything that you're doing on the other Yeah,

Deneen L. Garrett (46:56): I believe in build a plane as you're flying. That same let's just get started and build on the way, right? It is, it's an evolution. You're continuing to learn, as

Deneen L. Garrett (47:07): you

Deneen L. Garrett (47:07): said. When I started six plus years ago, I was using Anchor. I was using free Anchor. I would have to text my people to say, here's the link. Like, come in on the link.

Deneen L. Garrett (47:21): Then we progressed to, oh, now I'm using Zoom. Like now we progressed to having a team and running the production of it. So it's like, absolutely just start and then you grow, you pivot, you learn and all the things will come.

Deneen L. Garrett (47:36): Absolutely, absolutely. I'm never gonna stop being here. Please keep me.

Deneen L. Garrett (47:42): All right, so for the woman watching who is navigating a major career pivot and wondering if she has the authority to lead the room, what permission do you give her?

Nicole Welch (47:55): She doesn't need permission, she already has it. Your permission has been given and granted, God has already wrote your journey.

Deneen L. Garrett (48:00): You just gotta follow

Nicole Welch (48:01): the steps. That's how I walk around in life. I'm not, I don't like when people see me on set this morning, they saw me on set and they're like, it's 04:00 in the morning, you real happy. I was like, God woke me up today, I'm here. Hey.

Deneen L. Garrett (48:18): Everybody showed up to work, I didn't have to chase anybody down.

Deneen L. Garrett (48:22): Oh, yeah. Praise them, hallelujah, all the things, right? Yes, clap that up.

Deneen L. Garrett (48:28): Absolutely.

Deneen L. Garrett (48:28): So you're right, you don't wait for permission, you become it. And when you become it, everything rises to meet you. That's the Dream Lifestyle Standard. So join the Dream Lifestyle Collective Weekly Rhythm, a free newsletter with strategy, inspiration, and community for black women 50 ready for their next chapter. Again, go to deneenlgarratt.com to get started.

Deneen L. Garrett (48:52): All right, before we wrap, what would you like to leave those watching or listening with?

Nicole Welch (49:00): I'm a keep saying this, go out and do it. And I'm saying it because I am in a place where there have been dreams that I've had that I had since New York that are starting to resurface and bubble up And they started coming up as I was preparing for this podcast. Okay,

Deneen L. Garrett (49:19): okay, Frances.

Deneen L. Garrett (49:20): Maybe right, thank you. Well, I still think about that a lot, okay.

Deneen L. Garrett (49:27): You think about what, the rooftop? Did you say the rooftop? The

Deneen L. Garrett (49:30): SWOT. You were texting me about the SWOT, S W O T, am I saying that right?

Deneen L. Garrett (49:36): Oh yes, the SWOT analysis, yes.

Nicole Welch (49:39): It's not finished yet, but I still think about that. But yeah, a lot of dreams have just started resurfacing for me and I feel like they're even more resurfacing now because I, not that I pushed them aside, but I waited. I'm a very patient, I'm a very, very patient person and I know now where I am and the experiences and things that I have been through, all of those things that I've learned are gonna help me to now bring everything else into fruition.

Deneen L. Garrett (50:14): No, and that's how we should be. We need to pause, right? We don't have to, like me, I don't have you know, I'm one of those ones. I've always been, like, taking a test in school. I'm like, I wanna you know, the first one to get done.

Deneen L. Garrett (50:25): Now are they all right? Maybe not. I was finished.

Deneen L. Garrett (50:30): Are they all seized?

Deneen L. Garrett (50:35): I just wanted it done. I just moved through, checking off, checking off. I love to check off. I am that person who loves to check off things. So I'm having to learn to like, nope, girl, just sit back, just slow down, just pause, just wait.

Deneen L. Garrett (50:50): Even if it takes a while, that's fine, it's gonna happen. Like I said, my situation with that person who I keep circling, it's been so It definitely has been more than four years. It has been probably about, yeah, four plus years from when I sent that email, pouring out my little heart. But yeah, it hasn't happened yet and it's okay, right? And I also wanna say this about the people who I didn't mention any names when I was thinking about these gatekeepers, but you can think of any successful Black person for the most part who because many of us, we come from humble backgrounds, whatnot.

Deneen L. Garrett (51:32): Again, we didn't start necessarily in that space that we ended up in. They are the ones that I was thinking about, the ones that I was talking about. They are making a difference, they are impacting, they're giving back. So when you get to a certain level, there has to be some type of gatekeeping, right? So I wanted to say that part that I understand it, and again, it would be different if they were the level of gatekeeping to where is they don't help anybody out, but these people, they truly, truly, truly do.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:02): I'm still mad that girl, don't gatekeep me though. And don't gatekeep when you just talked about being gatekept. Now that don't match. That does not match. Next time y'all need to plan better.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:14): You need to have a buffer of an hour or so to spend time because you are at an event for thousands of black women. You know we wanna talk to you.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:24): Yeah, They I may not have the time coming from the production management standpoint. Everything is is on a strict timeline and it's about time and money because

Deneen L. Garrett (52:36): I know. That's what I'm saying. As long

Deneen L. Garrett (52:37): as y'all have to pay me more.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:39): She should've missed the loss on the money on that part because, again, you know we wanna talk to you. We when we gonna have an opportunity to see you again like this? That's what I got to say about that. But, anyway You

Deneen L. Garrett (52:50): have it.

Deneen L. Garrett (52:51): It it's awesome. It'll happen when it Yeah, it'll happen. All right, so I have really enjoyed this conversation because for those who didn't hear at the beginning, we go back, she used to babysit my 20 He's now 24, so she used to babysit my son. So that's how far we've gone back. And yes, I have seen her journey.

Deneen L. Garrett (53:10): I have so much enjoyed her journey. And I'm gonna tell you one of the most proudest moments that I shared with you was on that rooftop. That was such a wonderful time to be on that rooftop. Look, we all over to LA in the Art District and looking over the city. And that was a beautiful moment that you were able to do that for me.

Deneen L. Garrett (53:32): So I greatly appreciate it. And that you're in a position at the time to do that because of your life journey, because of the things that you said yes to, because of the shots that you shot, shooting shots, all of those things. So I greatly appreciate you, I greatly appreciate your time. And again, for you coming on Women of Color Live, thank you so much.

Nicole Welch (53:56): Oh, thank you so much, Denique. I really appreciate you. I love you so much. Really look to you like a mentor. So this meant a lot to me.

Nicole Welch (54:05): So thank you for even asking me to be here.

Deneen L. Garrett (54:08): You're welcome. And so Nikki did mention something. So those, if you're not familiar with what she was saying, SWAT, it's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. So that's something that I learned in the corporate world that you can apply to, because as she did it, she applied to herself personally, that you can apply personally, right? You can do that analysis to help you navigate spaces.

Deneen L. Garrett (54:33): And I'm not gonna say you're not done, you did it at that point, it's something that you revisit. So it was something maybe you come back every quarter, something you come back twice a year, however often it's something that you come back to. So it's ongoing. Like everything we've talked about is an evolution and we continue to grow. So it's not that you didn't finish it, it's ongoing.

Nicole Welch (54:59): Oh, for sure. It's in my notes. Trust me, I go back to it every now and then. I'm like, wait a minute, I learned something about myself today.

Deneen L. Garrett (55:06): Uh-oh, love it, I love love So again, thank you so much, Nicole Welch, and thank you to Leon Thomas Group behind the scenes every single Thursday at 1PM Eastern. Share this with a woman who needs to be reminded that legacy is what you're building right now, And we'll be back next Thursday, June 18 at 1PM Eastern with Doctor. Connie Bell, as we continue the execution series. See you then.

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