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Founder@ Interview
With Temima Shames
“I say this all the time, but there is no perfect time to start, or a day you will wake up and feel ready. Running a business is not linear. There are some days where there are more fears and other days where you feel equipped. As long as you are spending your free time learning and that you learn from your mistakes, you will succeed. Stay heads down focused on yourself and your goals. Take one step at a time. ” – Temima Shames
Today we feature Temima Shames, the founder at Next Step Talent. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Temima Shames and I am a 24 year old entrepreneur and founder. I started a talent management company called Next Step Talent, which now has a team of 8 full time employees and 25+ clients with over 6 Billion views on Youtube alone. With a focus on analytics, storytelling and long term growth, we aid talent in taking their business to the next level. In the next few months, we will begin offering additional talent services, so stay tuned! I am also in the midst of launching a second company called Next Step CRTVS that we are working on behind the scenes. It will launch before the end of the year. This company is focused on helping artists to understand social media algorithms, as well as shifting their perspective to use social media as a storytelling tool.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
Growing up in a broken household with a lot of loss at a young age, I was always someone who was really determined to make a difference and have a tough skin. Every day I would come up with different ideas of what I wanted to be or who I wanted to help. At age 10, I started working at a Hebrew school, and for my uncle sorting and packaging in his Ebay warehouse. My mom worked really hard to provide for us while struggling with mental health, autoimmune disease and battling bipolar disorder.
As I grew up, I grew to respect and appreciate my childhood, as it allowed me to see things differently and understand different perspectives. My dad, an Israeli Touring musician, immersed me in the studio at a young age, which later led to me having various phases of being a fangirl for artists such as Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato. Simultaneously, my love for acting grew, and I went off into the city to pursue it.
I volunteered at the acting school in order to pay for classes. After getting an acting manager at age 15, I decided I wanted to go to school for music business, where I studied and was active on campus with the record label and managing artists. Prior to starting Next Step Talent, I interned at various record labels including Atlantic Records, and Apex International and then I worked at Visionary Records in Influencer Marketing. When quarantine hit, I started an organization called Women PowHer Music alongside my friend, Danielle Gray, to empower women to keep pushing during their down time.
I remember while everyone was complaining about everything being shut down, I would wake up, eat, work out and then message as many people on LinkedIn as possible to set up informationals. When 5-6 PM would hit, I would sit and watch panels and take notes. People say that people are lucky, but I say that you have to line the cards up and be willing to learn. While I was working in Influencer marketing, I started to see a gap in how managers were currently operating and the services that were being provided to talent from a holistic view. After a lot of thought and a few amazing clients giving me a shot, I jumped into the Influencer-side knees deep and started learning as I went. If there is one thing that someone can learn from my backstory, it is: “If a door opens, go down it. You never know where it may lead you or if you may like the path that you find.’
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Next Step Talent is located in Los Angeles right now. I am interested in opening additional offices but focusing on building out here first. As a talent management company, it is hard to pinpoint a few duties as we really do whatever we can to help our clients build long term careers. For each of them, that means something different. We also are working to build out Snapchat shows, YouTube channels for talent on our roster and outside our roster as well.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
I don’t think there is ever an aha moment. It is all about small wins each day and learning from the people around me. I always hire people who are smarter than me and complement the areas that I struggle in. There are so many people that contributed to my success thus far. I have an incredible team that works hard every single day. Each and every one of them has a different strength that magic happens when we all come together. The talent I work with are partners, we all work together toward a common goal. As a female in the industry there have been roadblocks with people who try to get in the way of my success, steal talent from me, or knock me down. I just try to learn with each moment and understand that things happen for a reason and new doors will open from those experiences.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
The biggest lesson I have learned thus far is you can’t force someone to see things the way you do. I have had talent that I did absolutely everything for. Helped with their personal life, paid for birthday trips, got them all the deals they wanted yet they were always looking at everyone else and that was something I couldn’t keep up with. In an industry where loyalty is so hard, it is important to stay heads down focused on the value you can provide and build strong relationships. At the end of the day, that is most important and if someone doesn’t appreciate it then it wasn’t meant to be. If I had a talent in a similar situation, instead of giving in too often, I have learned to stand my ground with my value and provide it in different ways versus allowing myself to follow the chain of them caring about what other people think. As a leader, it is important to help steer them out of the mentality versus lean in which is easier said than done in the moment.
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I wish I knew when I was younger that many of the people in LA at the red carpets and doing the flashy events are the ones struggling the most with money and those that are doing the best are the ones typically more behind the scenes. I also wish I had more information before starting a business on business laws and regulations. It is something you truly learn on the fly and that changes all the time. When it comes to employee insurances, regulations, new LLC regulations, payroll laws and taxes etc. Every year, this information is put out and not sent directly to employers so it is important to keep up with it.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
I would tell myself to focus on myself, my health and the things that are important to me. It doesn’t matter what anyone else likes to do as long as you know what you like and where you are headed. When I was younger, I struggled a lot with surrounding myself with people who I didn’t fit in with. In the past few years, I have spent a lot of time finding people who challenge me, like similar things to me and it has made me grow so much. It helps you to realize that the things others bullied you for, are the best qualities about yourself. Me being called “bossy” or a “nerd” is now what helps me to succeed. I believe entrepreneurs are born that way. For me, I have always been curious and asking odd questions about why things are the way they are. This shaped me to want to help make change in a stagnant industry.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
I wish I knew when I was younger that many of the people in LA at the red carpets and doing the flashy events are the ones struggling the most with money and those that are doing the best are the ones typically more behind the scenes. I also wish I had more information before starting a business on business laws and regulations. It is something you truly learn on the fly and that changes all the time. When it comes to employee insurances, regulations, new LLC regulations, payroll laws and taxes etc. Every year, this information is put out and not sent directly to employers so it is important to keep up with it. 
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
I don’t think I have one moment that I was most proud of. Every big moment for my talent is something that I get excited about. When they hit a big milestone for growth on their platforms, or we have a viral music moment, or the team comes together and solves a problem together… For me, it is about the journey not the destination.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
In the future, I really want to do more thought leadership such as coming out with a course to help inspire other young women to start their business. I would love to speak on a Ted talk and travel to third world countries to help them expand their businesses globally. A big passion of mine is helping people to understand different perspectives and spreading love through different cultures.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
I say this all the time, but there is no perfect time to start, or a day you will wake up and feel ready. Running a business is not linear. There are some days where there are more fears and other days where you feel equipped. As long as you are spending your free time learning and that you learn from your mistakes, you will succeed. Stay heads down focused on yourself and your goals. Take one step at a time.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Next Step Talent”
To learn more about Next Step Talent Visit https://www.nextsteptalent.co/
Find on social media @ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nextsteptalent/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nextsteptalent_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nextsteptalentmanagement
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nextsteptalent/
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