Amanda Aschinger, Solstice Productions

Amanda Aschinger, Solstice Productions

When you began your career did you ever imagine you would have a leadership role like you have now? What advice would you give your younger self?
Maybe this isn’t the popular answer, but yes I did see myself having a leadership role. In college I fell in love with directing. As a director, you can shape the whole story, every scene, every nuance, and guide your team of actors and technicians towards a singular vision. That’s not very far off from what I currently do (although, I’ve certainly encountered a lot of bumps, veers, and mishaps along the road. Probably drove backwards a few times, too!) A couple of things that I’ve learned along the way stand out as particularly helpful, and I would hope my younger self would have listened (she most likely would not have): 1) Incremental steady progress is still progress. Celebrate every small win. Don’t beat yourself up so much about the losses. 2)Habits will make a much bigger difference than goals. Every time you make the choice to tackle something that maybe you don’t want to do today, but recognize will move you forward, that’s a small win. You’ll look back and be amazed at how quickly they add up. Goals never seem to be reached “in time.” Habits form in their own time.

Who inspires you and why? What is your most valued attribute in the leaders you respect or mentors you have had?
I have a personal list and a business list. Personally, I’m grateful to be part of a hugely entrepreneurial and creative family. My parents, my sister, both of my brothers - we’re not perfect but we’re also not afraid. My husband and his family are included in that list - they emigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union and I am still learning from their stories of recreating a life here. On the business side I’ve cultivated the habit of reaching out to and meeting with business owners and leaders from many industries, including my own. As long as they are open, which most are, I learn, I laugh, and I commiserate with them. Some of these develop into long term business relationships and some are only a few communications, but I really wouldn’t even know how to place a value on it. I value authenticity and humility in the mentors I’ve had. The biggest issue can be trust. It’s hard to be vulnerable and ask for help! Authenticity and humility builds trust very quickly.

What did it take in order to trust yourself to step into leadership?
Oh, I’m a leaper, not a stepper. But it’s taken a lot of falling and getting back up to grow into the leader that I hope I’m becoming today.

Have you experienced any hardships and how did you overcome the obstacles? When did you know, the business was going to make it?
Um, I’m still not sure the business is going to make it? (Should I say that?!?). Lots of hardships. Because we depend on project work, and some of that work is only a few days to a few weeks of billable time, for many years it felt like we had a sales operation instead of a video production business. A big change was when we moved from a consulting producer/freelancer model to an employment model and hired a W2 team. We learn and grow together exponentially faster than when we were piecing each project together independently. It’s scary, but we’ve gotten past some of those initial major hurdles and the road ahead looks exciting. I will say that there is a day that stands out in mind as an “AHA” moment. We were out of town filming, and I invited one of our employees to join me and a friend of mine to dinner. She asked him about his job and the company, and he told her, “We’re the top company in St. Louis because we’re the only ones who do what we do best” and then proceeded to repeat what I say about how we do business. I thought, “well, damn, I didn’t know they were listening!” That’s when I saw how this business has become bigger than me and my partner.

What do you attribute your success to?
It’s not always going to be fun. But if it’s never fun, you’re not doing it right. Enjoy the process.

What advice would you give other local women leaders?
You don’t have to take care of everyone. Ok, no, maybe someone could come and give ME that advice? I recognize that one of my challenges as a leader is that I do want everyone taken care of. I’m a nurturer, that’s my instinct. I’m learning that taking care of everyone doesn’t mean coddling them, and it’s ok if we’re not a great fit for each other.

Join the GRIT Community:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8987243/
A professional women’s group that provides
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women to thrive.

Jennifer Bardot (ownyourgrit@gmail.com, or
314-630-1451) is CEO and Founder of G.R.I.T. Community For Women.

Marianne Biangardi (mbiangardi@uhy-us.com or 314-322-4871) is Sr. Associate, Marketing and Business Development, at UHY LLP.