Rookie Mistakes Rookie Mistakes

On today's episode, I spoke with Liza Shtromberg, a jewelry designer who has had a successful jewelry brand in Los Angeles for almost 40 years.


Some things we discussed:

- Starting her jewelry brand at 16 hustling on the streets of LA

- Overcoming the 2008 financial crash and finding out her employees were stealing from her

- The mechanics and aesthetics of jewelry design

- Balancing being a designer and business owner

- The ups and downs in her career

- Advice for aspiring jewelry designers or people who want to start a jewelry brand

Enjoy!



Website: lizashtromberg.com


IG: www.instagram.com/lizashtrombergjewelry

On today's episode, I spoke with Jamie McShane, an actor who has had recurring roles on hit shows like Wednesday, Bloodline, Sons Of Anarchy, and Southland. Jamie has an incredible story that is a testament to the importance of perseverance and never giving up on achieving your dream. His first series regular role was on Netflix hit show, Bloodline, after being an actor for 25 years.

Some things we discussed:

- His acting career & how he got different roles
- Landing his first series regular role as Eric O'Bannon on Bloodline & what the experience was like
- Working with Gary Oldman
- Playing Sheriff Donovan Galpin on Netflix #1 Show Wednesday
- Advice for people looking to pursue acting
- Inspirations growing up
- Mindset and the technicals of acting (related a lot of it to sports)

Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to episode 4 of Rookie Mistakes! Today's guest is Tommy 'Chooch' Chuchvara, a professional drummer with over 40 years of experience. Tommy has an incredible story. My biggest takeaway was the importance of continuing to move forward despite the setbacks you may face in life. In this conversation, we discuss:
- How Tommy got into drumming
- Finding out he had type 1 diabetes at 19 / learning to manage it throughout his life
- His career as a professional drummer
- Running 4 marathons
- Overcoming adversity / the importance of consistency
- How music taste has changed over time
- Advice for becoming a professional drummer

If you would like to get in contact with Tommy, the best place to reach him is at his website tommychooch.com.
Hope you enjoy the episode!

Welcome to episode 3 of Rookie Mistakes. Today's guest is Virydiana Aranda, a tattoo artist from Mexico. This was a really interesting conversation with someone in a career I didn't know much about, so I enjoyed learning about it. Virydiana is truly an incredible tattoo artist. Check out her Instagram, the colors are insane!

On this episode, we discussed:

- How she got started tattooing

- Being able to travel the world as a tattoo artist

- The importance of surrounding yourself with more talented people

- Challenges of being a female tattoo artist

- Nightmare client stories

- Advice for aspiring tattoo artists

- Tattoo styles based on different cultures

If you are interested in getting a tattoo from Virydiana, you can reach out to her below: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v_aranda_tattoo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gingkotattoo

Enjoy the episode! 

Welcome to episode 2 of Rookie Mistakes. Today's guest is Jennifer Landon, a real estate broker in Los Angeles. This conversation is one that really represents everything I hope for with this podcast. I've listened to it a few times now and each time I have left motivated to go after what I want. 



We discussed:

- Realizing her initial career path wasn't for her after graduating from USC

- How she got into real estate

- Why she transitioned to the appraisal business

- The 07-08 financial crisis (recognizing pivots in business)

- Running a dance school

- Opening her real estate brokerage

- Balancing passion with what pays the bills 

- Advice for buying a house, investing in real estate, and working as a real estate agent

- The importance of mentors (finding someone you can relate to who shows you it's possible)



If you'd like to get in contact with Jen, you can find her below: 

Email: jennifer@lrgla.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landonrealtygroup

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landonrealtygroup

Website: https://www.lrgla.com



Enjoy the episode! 

Welcome to episode 1, season 2 of Rookie Mistakes. After a 3.5-year hiatus, I'm back! My intention for this podcast was always to have conversations with other people, so I am finally doing it. 

My first guest Jana Collins. Jana has lived an interesting life and has had an incredibly successful career in politics, public relations, and real estate. On top of all that, she's easily the most generous person I know. 

Some topics our conversation covers: 

- Business ventures gone wrong (selling silk pajamas from Hong Kong at Nordstrom)

- Working for the Republican Party in California during the Reagan years/meeting Ronald Reagan

- Her family real estate business 

- Near-death experiences at 19 and on her honeymoon

- Advice on becoming successful 

- The impact of her mother and grandfather on her life

- Dealing with failure

Enjoy!